My appreciation for "Golden Archipelago" has improved with time. I was mildly disappointed with it after the amazing "Rooks," but now realize it fills a much different space for me musically. The quieter, more reflective tone of songs like "Hidden Lakes" is perfect for the right circumstances.

I'm so happy "The Tree of Life" is ranked so high on this list, because I desperately need my own opinions validated by pop culture website. But truly, I've never connected so profoundly with a movie both emotionally and intellectually.

Yeah, there are few things that get me angrier than Joel Osteen and his ilk. Kirk Cameron, on the other hand, struck me as proud in his stupidity and harmful in his influence but at least not overtly evil. Now he seems to be actively seeking the worst aspects of American evangelicalism to incorporate into his shitty…

It still boggles my mind that Cameron flat-out endorses crass materialism as an essential Christian symbol of the Christmas season. That is a level of grossness I didn't think even he could achieve. Once again, Charlie Brown and Linus prove themselves to be better religious leaders than a washed up sitcom star.

The Jeff Gerstmann thing is what really exposes the movement's true heart for me. A writer being fired for giving a poor review to a game that happens to be a major advertiser is exactly the kind of corruption that should be troubling. Or how about the Geoff Keighley Doritos thing? And the review embargo arrangement…

I figure it's because a healthy, useful press for any niche interest, be it film, music, sports or games, should serve as more than press release outlets. Journalism distinguishes itself by being thoughtful and analytical about the greater impact of its subject, and that includes its influence on social and cultural…

I always liked Webb as a TV personality. I remember an X-Play segment where she struck back at Internet critics saying she wasn't a proper gamer by showing her 60+ hour Tales of Symphonia file. Funny how more than ten years ago, that moment pretty much sums up exactly what everyone is arguing about now.

Yep, Sera for me as well. Her dialogue cracks me up. I actually spoilered myself a little to ensure my Inquisitor had the bits she preferred.

My guess is it depends on what you look for in an RPG. Amalur had tremendously fun combat and a ton of content, but I found the story, world and characters mostly generic and lacking a certain oomph.

I'm only a handful of hours in, but I think things picked up a bit sooner than that for me. It really depends on how many side quests and collection-type stuff you do once the first zone opens to you, which can vary to an absurd degree. If you want to focus on pushing the plot forward until you're really absorbed, you…

As much as I enjoy Felicity as a character, this article makes a few good points. The recent episode devoted to her fleshed out some of her motivations and her family background pretty well, but the character is still largely defined by hacking and love interests.

I'd say any game that allows me to role-play as a magical lesbian atheist is worth the time of day. I love it so far.

A very intriguing development. As a historical fiction fan, I grew to originally love HBO by watching Rome, so I'd love to see something similar to that show again. Of course, there's also Deadwood and Boardwalk, but with those, it felt like the big historical events were running in the background as opposed to…

You know, I wonder if the stories of Mike's conservatism are a little overblown. Now, I have no doubt that he tends toward conservatism and is active in his church, but it sounds like he's not much of the blustery type who shit-posts on Breitbart every night. Here's what Bill Corbett had to say in a recent AMA about…

Let me cheerfully recommend The Cat Lady as well. Good grief, has that game managed to unnerve me. I'm playing the game right now after learning a friend of mine contributed music and voice work to the title, and so far, it's a terrific experience that is in turns emotionally gripping and terrifying.

Maybe it's just my Minnesotan upbringing coming out, but I think we should try to be nice to each other, even when people hit our pet peeves.

I just want to echo PaganPoet's recommendation of Final Fantasy IX. I'm one of those dicks who was introduced to Final Fantasy as a kid through VII, with which I naturally became obsessed. Now that I'm an adult, however, IX is my favorite.

Secret of Mana is terrific, and both it and an emulated, translated version of Seiken Densetsu 3 (never released in the states) were staples for me growing up.
SD3 keeps the multiplayer and adds a really interesting element where you pick three of six main characters (each with their own unique abilities) and run into…

Well, that's very cool, and from what Guy posts on Facebook, it seems like you're marrying into a really fun and creative family. It appears he tries to meet up with SH2 fans when he's in the states, so if he's ever in the Pacific Northwest, I may try to attend one of those meet-ups.

Holy cow, you're related to Guy Cihi, huh? As a massive Silent Hill 2 fan (one of my top three favorite games ever), I'm one of the bunch of enthusiasts who are friends with him on Facebook. He seems like a great guy who is sort of bemused and delighted by the fact he has a fan base.