Awesome. I'll go back and give it a read.

"Convoy" from Uncharted 2 was the only level that I felt really struck the aesthetic they were going for. It felt like a big, fun action film set piece as opposed to a boring shooting gallery. Examining how and why would be an interesting read, I think.

And NOT about drug use, which every armchair English major has tried to tell me, a person with an English degree, since forever.

It's clear that Brian Ashcraft has done his research, as he certainly has his fax straight.

How hard would it be to sell it without a plug, but also offer a bundle with the plug? It would be easier to buy the consumer choice angle that way.

The film was a well-written and well-acted piece that, on its own, stands as a great film. It really doesn't get as much credit as it deserves.

See, that's my thing. With the weapon drops being so random, I fail to see how trading would absolutely break the game. Just because you have someone that has the weapon you want doesn't mean they'll be able to trade it, and just because they are willing to trade doesn't mean that you can meet their demands for the…

I think that would be a fair compromise. I understand how, with your level being based on your gear, allowing trading would open up avenues to too much power leveling (though, if the drop rates are anything like I'm hearing, I don't see how even that would be an issue). But certainly there's no harm in letting players…

Had Activision released it for the PC, I would have played it from day one. Can't say I would have stayed with it, but I would have at least got my toes wet. As it stands, they didn't. I can still read reviews and hear what others are saying, and thus form an opinion.

In every other MMO I've played (not many, but there have been a few), players still do all of these things and trading is a mechanic used in game. I mean, somebody has to get the stuff to trade, and not everyone that gets it is going to be willing to trade it off.

Well, yeah, but Bungie isn't fixing the bugs that players *actually* want them to fix and that would improve the game play experience. That's what baffles me.

Diablo II had a similar exploit involving duping items, but it seems to me like they could close that loophole by making sure it couldn't be done. Also, that's an exploit I'm perfectly fine being patched out, so if that were the case I wouldn't feel bad for players taking advantage of it.

Both of those are negative side effects of the positive side effect that is making the cooperative and community aspect of the game that much deeper. Helping out your buddies by giving them higher level items is an integral part of any MMO; there's no reason the mechanic at least shouldn't be there. Sure, some gamers…

Fair enough, but what about all of the actual legitimate bugs they are ignoring? Even if they refuse to patch in things that their players are telling them will make the game better and more enjoyable due to their sticking to their initial design decisions, why do they not want to address the things that are hurting…

It just baffles my mind why Bungie refuses to address the issues that are legitimate player concerns. I get them wanting to address glitches and bugs that break the game, but at the expense of building up goodwill with their users? I don't understand.

Now that I think about it, that might be what this is: gauging how many people would still be willing to buy brand new, full-price DLC, and/or how many lapsed players would get back into the game for a chance to play something new.

So, they fixed this exploit but—correct me if I'm wrong, because I don't play the game and don't know first-hand—still no trading items between players, matchmaking function, or not locking out players who don't own the newest DLC from playlists, right?

Awesome! I missed that. I really hope it comes to the WiiU, since I plan on getting that anyway, but—call me crazy—a new Rock Band or Guitar Hero game is a console seller to me.

The only GH spin-off that didn't feel like glorified DLC on a disc was Metallica. That was actually a pretty solid game, as well as being a fitting tribute to the band, even if Jason Newstead and Cliff Burton received NO LOVE AT ALL.

I actually think it's time for music games to make a comeback. They were truly fun, relatively bug free, and a blast to play with friends. We need some games like that here lately.