Being the head writer for all of the main series games starting with 3 (because, it must be admitted, GTA1 and 2, along with 1969, are essentially irrelevant to most gamers under the age of 35), along with producing them, along with spearheading the move to a 3d open world that could be done on consoles is a pretty…

FFVIII is my favorite (and the first one I played), and I truly think that the only hate comes from people who were used to either 1. Outleveling the enemies for an easier game and/or 2. Not used to doing sidequests

You could start Blitzball as soon as you reach the Mi’Hen Highroad. You could start capturing monsters as soon as you reach the Calm Lands. The Lightning Dodge minigame opens up when you reach the Thunder Plains. You can find hidden weapons and armor in the Temples starting with the first one by solving optional…

People (and perhaps you) are conflating gameplay linearity with story linearity.

I’d assume the fundamental difference (and I’m biased since X is one of my favorites, while XIII is my least), is that the linearity of X makes sense because the overt goal, to get the final aeon and defeat Sin, is stated and reiterated multiple times through those initial, linear parts.

Gameplay and story segregation.

Sometimes, for the sake of the story being told, certain gameplay features (of the current game or ones previous that feature the same character(s)) have to be removed for the story to make sense (or at least have any sort of gameplay or dramatic tension).

Look at GTA games. Gameplay…

It’s always a question of the synthesis between gameplay and story, and what takes priority.

It wouldn’t make sense for the designers to spend most of their time designing the world with the knowledge that getting a particular movement would occur at Point A, and then the lead designer decides, “you know what, lets…

I think the problem is that with your earlier examples of using the force, taking it to the furthest extent doesn’t really break the solidified immersion of what we’re seeing, because it’s merely an extension of powers already shown (and believable, in universe).

Unofrtunately, the logical extension of a double-jump…

From what I read, Wanda actually got offered less than what they offered Mo’Nique (I believe it was around $250k-$300k), which I think is a travesty. Hell, for her work on Curb Your Enthusiasm alone, she easily deserved six zeroes in her fee.

She really let that Oscar win fuck her up. What she didn’t realize is that…

This suit is a publicity stunt.

Even with the burden of proof in a civil matter being much lower than a criminal case (you only need a proponderance of evidence, or put another way, 51/49 in your favor), you still have to abide by the legal dictate that the person making the claim has to be the one to provide evidence…

Exactly.

We see time after time that Hollywood will hold its collective nose and stick their heads in the sand when it comes to a individual’s behavior so long as there’s a truckload of money to be made.

Charlie Sheen acted a complete ass, demanded $2m an episode, got fired, and what happened? He ended up getting…

You’re absolutely correct.

The one thing that moves Hollywood, above all else, is money. People will hold their noses if they think working with person A, B, or C will earn them money. They’ll tolerate asshole, diva behavior, racism, homophobia, and the like, so long as they believe that money will be made.

Mo’Nique…

I’m a bit biased (since I’m a fan), but Ricky Gervais is huge. Almost every show he’s written or produced has been a multiple-award winner, his standup specials are almost always sold out, and The Ricky Gervais Show (started out as a radio show, then a podcast, then an animated show) is one of the most popular of all…

Your counterpoint seems to imply that since other groups of people (lets take white people) don’t necessarily hold themselves to a high(er) standard, then we should be like them and simply hope that stupid, asinine and outright shitty behavior from us black people gets excused as it does when white people do it?…

Screw that.

The moment that you are called, or consider yourself to be a “professional” at an activity, and are earning money doing said activity, is the moment that you should take full accountability of your actions.

Hell, I’d even go further and have Twitch, Epic, and these other game companies limit those who can…

I’m guessing it’s the fact that, for the most part, having repeated use TMs (which, personally, I think is best, for what you said above) makes it much easier, from a strategy standpoint, to min/max your Pokemon.

Most players will never go as far as delving into EVs/IVs/ or even natures, because game-wise, it isn’t…

Even the term fentanyl overdose is off the mark.

Okay, that makes sense. They did it just like BFA, where a base pre-order got you a 110 boost so that you could have a (or another) character at 110 to immediatey begin BFA content.

I have to agree with you.

Having played WoW since 2006, and both iterations of FFXIV from their respective launches (us FFXIV vets got a bunch of free months for ARR, and those of us who subscribed at the start of 1.0 essentially got to play the game, if we so chose, for free until ARR was dropped. That’s how…

Dear God. I had never been more amped for anything MMO related (aside from, ironically enough, the originally iteration of FFXIV) and more disappointed only a few months in.

It remains the only WoW expansion (post BC) that I played at the start and never came back to. Played Wrath all through. Left Cata after three…