I don't know if it's a matter of not realizing per se, but maybe more "Intentionally Neglecting to Accept Fact." Sure is for me...I buy tons of games and I'll be getting a PS4 in the next few months, and I just choose to not think about how much money it costs me.

I'd ignored it myself until I started seeing glowing reviews for it. I'm not a big LotR fan, honestly, so I didn't really have any interest. Once I'd heard so many good things though I felt it was worth trying out, and I'm glad I did.

I have enjoyed this game far more than I ever expected to, mostly because of how solid the combat is paired with how wonderfully unique each orc is. I fought one yesterday that only spoke in rhyme. I did my best not to decapitate him, so he could come back!

Oh, I forgot:

Oh dear...bear with me. This is gonna get ugly.

JoePa truthers abound!

At the moment I'm diving into Shadow of Mordor and really enjoying it, despite my complete lack of interest in LoTR as a franchise. I plan to give Alien: Isolation a go, and after that I'll probably be tied to The Evil Within until Sunset Overdrive hits. So much good stuff coming out these next few weeks/months!

Playing to stereotypes works to get you out of jury duty, I've found. As an engineer, people assume I am a detached, logical automaton. Further, as an atheist it's assumed I'm a heathen monster with no morals. One side or the other wants nothing to do with a person with those credentials.

I only read the first four words of the headline before I clicked. Now I am very sad.

I can appreciate that feeling. I've been doing a lot of jumping back and forth between the X1 and the 360 the last few weeks, and when I'm trying to start a party on one I inevitably hit the jewel the wrong number of times. Muscle memory can be a pain in the ass, haha.

Oh I'm looking forward to it. I think it's a huge step in the right direction for the system. I just think that the 360 had/has the best UI of the available consoles, and the snap center looks to me like it apes some of the blade functionality from the 360, so I was advocating for it to be accessed in the same manner:…

Oh no, I remember that Academy Awards quite clearly as Best Picture and Best Director were both botched. The Social Network should have won Best Picture, though I suppose I can rationalize giving the Best Picture award to a very good period piece over a movie based on more recent events, even if I don't like the…

I know that a single tap brings up the home screen, I described that exact function above. I then stated why I would change it. I'll expound upon that and say that to me, the snap mini-menu would have far more value and be used more regularly, so making that the more finicky double tap is less ideal. I know that is…

The October update builds up this idea of a "Snap Center", which you get to by double-tapping the Xbox button on the Xbox One controller. Double-tapping it gets you this:

So...I read this as "While in stealth, press (SQUARE) to kiss your knife.

I'll add to your already salient point by pointing out that without those early encounters you likely wouldn't get the chance to experiment with kneecapping and more efficient ways to kill the enemies, as it's hard to practice the "advanced" techniques that help in that fight while in a mob.

I remember playing the BLOPS like a madman, and even MW3. BLOPS2 just felt off. I know that they tweaked the damage output/hit points and the guns felt just a little too weak, to me. Also, it dropped around the same time as Halo 4, and I spent most of my MP time there. I probably would have grown to be fine with the…

True, but part of that is how good their shooting mechanics are. Don't fix what isn't broke. The place that they're innovating (at least for them...considering Titanfall did it months ago, and I'm sure others before even that) is in movement. Keeping the same shooting quality/damage/speed while increasing the…

The fiction is there, in other words. But it's not essential. The textual plot-points are not the "story" that matters here. Sauron, Gollum, and any other Lord of The Rings staple cast members aren't the most important characters in turn. The game is about you and your unique cast of orcs—how you challenge one…

Maybe so, but if I recall correctly, Bungie stated they wanted their legendary/exotic items to have stories attached to them: "Hey, that's a cool helm!" "Thanks, I got it when I helped my guild slay Darkenlourde, the Dark Lord of Darkness." However, that doesn't really seem to be how it works. It's now: "Yeah, I got…