You're preaching to the choir. (I think.) I can't figure out how the Earth's ready to be overrun by robotic space overlords from Hell and you're running errands for anyone at all. It just seems silly that Bioware'll make claims about how certain things aren't essential to the plot, cut them, then sell them back as DLC…

I agree to say that this wasn't "crucial to the overall plotline" - however(!), by that reasoning, isn't most of the game kinda pointless? The Reapers are blowing the ever-living hell out of Earth, and I'm supposed to be out running side-quests. I mean, can Shepard not delegate tasks or, you know, put in a phone call.

Why did Bioware cut that section? It's kinda drastically unimportant to the story. Earth's on fire, giant death-ray robots are actually blowing apart humanity's last chance at survival, and I'm worried about some Asari on the cheap equivalent of a floating Mos Eisley?

This is a little bit of the reason why I saw that whole discussion on the new Dragon Age and just couldn't get excited about it. I like a sequel here or there, especially if the series develops over time with the same tropes and eventually builds a strong theme of reincarnation - it's got a fun, almost Borgesian spin…

I think the important distinction is between minimalism and an economy of content. Thatgamecompany's managed to achieve both in Flower and Journey, as the game's content didn't need any more bells and whistles to achieve the developer's aims - in fact, more content would have likely only convoluted the game (which is…

It's not that bad if you're willing to admit that Bioware's grasp on good storytelling was slipping very hard with ME2. A lot of the uproar has to do, as hagren points out, with the fact that Bioware marketed the living hell out of this one - and, in that light, the endings are pretty disappointing. It also doesn't…

They had a script produced. It leaked awhile back. To say that it was a complete waste of space is an understatement. I'm actually glad they didn't make it with that script.

Obligatory mention of The Room?

So gaming finally got a good movie? (Surprise, surprise - it got picked up by Drafthouse Films, who also had the good graces to pick up Four Lions... and then show it for free when the DVD came out, getting me to win a free poster of knowing what the hell "Wahhabism" is. Whoo - loot!) I'll have to make my way over to…

Does anyone else think it's a little bizarre for the games put into the exhibit to be voted on by the public? I'm all for fan interaction to some degree with the exhibit, but it sounds like they more or less sidestepped a moment for serious discussion and criticism and instead gave into the (seemingly growing) notion…

I had to break up my game about half-way through, but I had someone with me throughout almost the whole second half. Absolutely genius way to bring humans together without saying a damn thing. At first, I went through the areas a little faster than my friend. I eventually caught myself actually waiting for them,…

I'm not exactly getting in on the ground floor ('bout a week late for that) in terms of talking about Journey, but - holy hell - it's amazing.

I played through ME1 and ME2 as a renegade cowgirl/soldier. If I had the option to shoot someone in a cutscene instead of talking through the situation, I took it. If I had the option to punch someone, I did. If I could have romanced Wrex, I probably would have.

I've always just assumed that Rush was the second coming of Manbearpig, but a goblin works as well.

As for having both: I think the assumption of a dichotomy - "polished" or "new" - is because it's rare for these two things to co-exist. It's rare with virtually anything crafted - art or not - by human beings. When it actually happens, it's a pretty special thing to behold - and ultimately is something that will make…

I'm still occasionally shocked that people don't understand the concept of public speech and private speech. I guess I can understand it on forums/boards. There's a fair number of cranky teens and trollish types that patrol those kind of murky web spaces. What shocks me is when people think their free expression…

New mechanics are both healthy and necessary for the growth of gaming in general... but, that being said, few things become more tedious than poorly-polished mechanics.

Because people will claim that it's a free country and that they have the First Amendment right to say whatever they want. ... I mean, never mind that that sort of thinking, legally-speaking, makes absolutely zero sense given the context of an online community. Mods and admins - of a weaker-stomached variety - will…

If this is legit, it's the Comic Sans that tells me this kid hasn't been schooled properly by their teachers. It's every teacher's ethical responsibility to warn kids about the danger of using Comic Sans and the lifetime of shame and loathing it can cause.

This would push me into a tucked away, hard-to-get-to cave full of lore books and potions. I'd finally be - by gameplay necessity - a wild old wizard in the mountains.