Without looking any further into it, it might be a strategic result of NIFLA v. Becerra, where a California law requiring crisis pregnancy centers (basically anti-abortion family planning centers masquerading as, I dunno, quasi medical providers) to disclose that free or low cost abortions are available elsewhere and,…

To answer your question you need only look to PC gaming. Where console gaming received pretty strong pushback on digital distribution and single-use install codes when they became possible in the last two generations (really just the last when it comes to digital distribution) of consoles, PC gaming adopted it to the…

It might be worthwhile to actually consider exactly how much of gaming has been based on tech progress, because if you do you might come away with the impression that good gameplay often trumps cutting edge tech. And, more importantly, that good gameplay is rarely dependent on the existence of boundary pushing tech,…

Perhaps. I think Splinter Cell and the other third person action games Ubisoft has done in the last 17 years are a good indication that a more intuitive and streamlined gaming experience was possible. Dead Space is another example. Without delving too much into it, just taking an anecdotal view of games I’ve played,…

I don’t really see the distinction here, it’s all based on the construct of what if X worked this way. Kojima isn’t, I dunno, Tom Clancy writing material for people who get off on references to page 75 of Jane’s Fighting Ships, he does ridiculous stories. I could understand complaining that his version of genetics…

Narrative inconsistency isn’t Kojima’s issue. Take your example of MGS1, in a setting with a walking tank, a psychic soldier, a cyborg ninja, clones, and a shaman with a rotary autocannon you’re complaining that its treatment of genetics and viruses is unrealistic. That isn’t an example of narrative inconsistency or…

Say what you will about the French Gestapo, but at least when they tried to drown you in an ice bath they had the decency to dry you off in a bathrobe, rub you down in cologne, and give you a glass of cognac afterwards. Of course the whole process would repeat if you weren’t forthcoming, but still, cognac.

Oh yeah? The way I remember it they gutted the planning stages from the console release of RS 3, and then Vegas skipped mission planning and refined the D-pad AI commands. But I only remember Vegas for the cover shooter mechanics at this point, so I’ll just go with your recollection.

Didn’t mission planning and execution die off in the RS and GR series like 16 years ago? Basically with the switch from PC to console centered development. At that point they switched to some solo missions, rudimentary AI team commands, and gadget “minigames” that allow you to spot and target enemies.

Maybe few if any. Was listening to an interview a couple of days ago with Eric Holder where he trotted out the old “prosecuting Trump might not be good for the country” chestnut. The really big stuff has a way of being swept under the rug for political expediency and keeping up appearances.

What, was Sidney Applebaum one of the guests?

Yeah, I agree with you on the police issue, it’s just, look, Illinois has a version of stand your ground and castle, California has castle, New York has it, Massachusetts has it, Connecticut too, it just made for a weird point of either connection or distinction to me.

Why? Neither castle doctrine nor stand your ground create a duty to start shooting. I wouldn’t call it irony, but it’s unfortunate that the public continues to expect that police have a duty to act when courts have repeatedly been unwilling to recognize such a duty.

I don’t know what it means to be “more empowered than ever to ignore something if you don’t like it.”

People can claim a lot of weird things online. Jacobin had what seemed like a pretty well-reasoned critique of Warren’s foreign policy record from a leftist perspective back in April or May.

Can you cite any serious backlash to Silverman in 2007? Here, let’s make it easier, since Silverman was on a Comedy Central show that barely anyone watched, though it survived into 2010, and we’re discussing something that is widely considered offensive, can you point to serious backlash over it in Tropic Thunder? You…

Maybe he did. Maybe Bannon and Mnuchin gave us the Weekend at Bernie’s sequel no one wanted. Or Dave. Maybe what we think is Trump is just some schlub hired to play him.

Can you elaborate?

The foreign policy criticism has been a common one from progressives who view her as their second choice, after Sanders.

I’d say what social media does is provide various platforms for like minded individuals, whether they belong to marginalized groups or not, to congregate and discuss issues they feel are important. The clime strike and black lives matter are both aspects of that. Another aspect is cancel culture. Another is gamergate.…