I think they're supposed to be facial patterns a la the asari. Not my favorite part of the picture, but easily explained.

Hmm, no, I've never read it but I have heard of it. Might want to check it out.

Indeed. That's also the heart of the issue in the game. The System was actually created by the world-spanning conspiracy as a means of control, for example, and the main antagonist wants to overthrow that conspiracy and replace it with his own vision of utopia (which is arguably just as destructive).

Now that's more or less what I was expecting. Something alien but vaguely-human like, like turians, batarians, drell, or asari (in order of increasing human-ness). I'll gladly accept this as my personal canon and even overlook the cliche facial patterns (which BioWare themselves used anyway).

Looks too much like Kerrigan in my opinion. Also a bit too sexy (but maybe that's just me).

I'll admit, the idea of mentats is kind of nifty and cool. But it's definitely an example of technological regression.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which essentially has the "all weapons set to record the unique identifier of whoever pulled the trigger" idea as a major plot element. Needless to say, it all goes horribly wrong (as depicted in the picture), mostly because it's all controlled by the same system (which is…

Technically, I suppose Dune might count. While the series takes place thousands of years after the apocalyptic Butlerian Jihad they have subsequently banned all forms of AI or even pocket calculators.

Well, not canonically. That's just a result of good old-fashioned zeerust (aka, the problem of how our view of what "looks" futuristic changing over time). It's hardly unique to Star Wars either.

Wait... there were 34? As in...

"...you could have all weapons set to record the unique identifier of whoever pulled the trigger, so that there would be total accountability."

$200 million overseas over the the course of more than a month (the film came out in early April outside the U.S.) is underperforming - at least for a film with high-profile branding, an expensive cast, and blockbuster ambitions.

Right, I knew that, hence why I made the comparison in the first place. But since this is a distribution decision I figured they wouldn't have the final say in the matter, hence my question.

I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with Battleship's underperformance. True, G.I. Joe already has a built-in audience and seems to be more willing to make fun of itself (instead of the deathly seriousness the marketing for Battleship played at) but it may be that Hasbro is rethinking their plan…

Everyone's absolutely right that it is the Citadel, but most concept artists get to repost their work on their own site (although they don't get to name any trademarks or use anything outside of the art).

It depends on your tastes. I think the article is specifically saying that attending a midnight premiere is the best way to watch a movie if you want other people to be there.

The main difference is that it's leveling the playing field. While I don't deny you have a point (hell, I even the racists who threatened to boycott Thor because Heimdall was black had a point) the fact of the matter is that many of these characters are several decades old and they were shaped in a time when being…

Wouldn't be news. She's been bi for years.

B5 was mapped extensively in advance by JMS, though he still altered details as he went. Game of Thrones is also presumably well-mapped out, seeing how it's based on a book series, and IIRC Whedon had a plan outlined for each individual season of Buffy (though not for the show as a whole).

Eh, that's actually incorrect. Quite a few animes are planned out ahead of time, as was Babylon 5.