Beriallord

I never liked gamestop, or their customer service, or their business practices. I went in to purchase a game and I asked for a new copy, and this guy has the nerve to hand me a disk in a paper sleeve with no box or manual and call it "new" just because its never been played. My first response was "Are you serious?". I asked him how he could define a game with no box or manual as "new". Uh, its never been played he said. According to them it was the last copy they had, and they had the box out as a display but gave the box and manual with another copy, BUT its still a "new" game. In a way I found it comical that they even had the audacity to sell that as "new". But, that is typical gamestop. If that is how they do business, well its a freaking joke. And from the way the OP is describing their online store, I wouldn't expect any less. Now what would happen if you purchased a "new" game online and had it mailed and they sent you a game in a paper case without the original case in its factory wrapping? Would anyone else be pissed? I know I would.

I watched the first episode, and didn't like it. I felt like the alien races appearance were done in a very generic way, all the makeup seemed overdone and not very realistic at all. And the story was just not very interesting or believable. Part of what makes a Sci-fi good, is the ability for them to tell the story and make you see and relate to it in some way, or maybe view it as a possible future. They succeeded in doing none of that with me. Considering that I don't have high expectations for the game either, which means I'm not gonna buy it.

Couple strategy Sci-fi games I liked are Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri and Starwars Rebellion. I think you can get both on Steam for really cheap.

He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither - Benjamin Franklin Wise words and it very much applies today. You're about as likely to get struck by lightning as you are to get blown up by a terrorist. Maybe they should make everyone wear rubber suits at all times so nobody gets killed by a lightning strike? Freedom to wear what you want be damned. *sarcasm*

*Edit sorry for the double post.

Actually I would add Newegg.com to the list of worst companies I ever had to deal with. They send me a DOA hard drive and I have to pay the return shipping? Really? I guess the next time I need to buy a bunch of parts to build a PC I'm gonna drive 120 miles to the nearest microcenter out of spite for Newegg. Also I've frequently had to RMA stuff over the years back to Newegg, but it wasn't until recently they change their policy and charge the customer for return shipping on bad parts. Last time I built a PC with Newegg parts, I had several bad parts. 2 DOA MBs (in a row), 1 bad stick of ram, PSU was low on the 12v rail, case looked like it was dinged up with a forklift. It would have cost me like $100 to RMA all that. If I had to pay that out of pocket, I would be seriously pissed. Also another thing, I got accused of mishandling a motherboard because the guy said its incredibly unlikely I got 2 bad ones in a row. The nicest way I can put my response is I let him have a piece of my mind for that comment, and he put me on the phone with his supervisor. People like that sometimes make me wish I was Darth Vader.

Man I loved all the RPG games for PS1, and I still replay a lot of those games over the years. In the last year I've played more PS1 games than PC and PS3 combined. Many of those games aged very well. Last PS1 game I replayed was Vagrant Story - great classic action RPG. I'm still pissed they never made a sequel to it, because the game sold well, got great ratings. They got no excuse.

I'm not sure if I'm getting a PS4, so I hope they either release it on PS3, or give us a quality port for PC. From should just hire a respectable company to port the game to PC if they aren't up for it. I think the PC community has proven they would support them. I'm sure Valve could help them port the game, and sell it. Hoof: I also hated how they keep patching Dark Souls, and wished they would have just left the duping glitches in the game. For the PC version, I don't care if they patch it or not because I got ways to get my stuff without grinding excessively and repeatedly for it.

Mist - I'm going to pick and reply to a few of those points. Its pretty much a given that if you have nuclear capability and missiles that you can put 2 and 2 together to make it happen. The USA had delivery methods for nuclear weapons via artillery shells in the 1960s, its ancient technology. North Korea obtaining that know how shouldn't be very difficult. Guessing otherwise would be underestimating them. Suppose you show me a video of a bird jumping out of a tree that then flaps its wings, then the video cuts off and you ask me to prove whether that bird was flying or not? That is like trying to prove whether or not North Korea can deliver a nuclear payload with a missile or artillery, for the same reason its safe to assume that bird in that video was flying. For the sake of argument, I don't believe anyone but the Chinese has any reliable intelligence about too many things in North Korea. The US is limited to mostly what they can gather from satellite images. Guess what? Guns are primitive technology, and they can still inflict massive amounts of destruction and death. You think just because artillery are 19th century technology that they aren't capable of inflicting massive amounts of destruction? If you have thousands of artillery pieces aimed at a large target, for example a city, you could inflict massive destruction in a matter of minutes. If your target is as big as a city, and you are remotely skilled at aiming it, then you basically can't miss. Whether each one kills someone isn't certain, but what is certain is massive amounts of property/infrastructure damage. Also as primitive as artillery are, no weapons defense systems can intercept artillery shells. WIth thousands of Artillery spread out, they can't exactly take them all out with a few conventional bombing runs either.

Vinderkarr I got no idea why you think China is pissed with North Korea? Have you wondered even for a minute that North Korea is just a puppet of China? North Korea gets almost all its food, oil, and commodities from China, and they would be absolutely retarded if they bite the hand that feeds them, and I don't think they are that stupid. If China was really as pissed as you claim about the situation, then they would have cut off North Korea quite a while ago. It seems clear to me that China has an invested interest in the Korean Peninula not becomming a unified country. They don't want a country as prominant as South Korea bordering them due to clear political and economic differences. For one, workers are actually paid fair, livable wages in South Korea. A country like that on their border could destabilize their own political/economic system which is far different from South Korea. Yes, a unified Korea would definitely be a threat to China, not militarily but economically/politically. One thing I can guarantee America will NOT do is do a preemptive attack on North Korea, under any circumstances, because nuclear weapons are involved. Obama doesn't have the balls to do it. They got away with shelling an island and the USA didn't do jack about it. Not just that, but North Korea has thousands of artillery pieces aimed at Seoul. And no missile defense system in the world can intercept artillery shells, which can also be loaded with nuclear warheads. In reality the North Korea situation is a stalemate, meaning there will be no war solution that doesn't involve millions getting killed.

I'd steer him clear of any MMO community, because they are all terrible IMO. I wouldn't want someone in their 70s to suddenly lose faith in all humanity from one bad experience after another in dealing with people on the internet. As for strategy games, you could have him start off with something simpler, like Civilization II for example. And then move up from there. I think Civ II is a great entry level strategy game.

I'm not buying any more EA/Bioware games. I skipped ME3, and I got no plans on getting DA3 when it comes out either. Even though they are both genres I generally enjoy playing. Bad company, bad games. EA can go suck it.

What if the 720 isn't gonna be selling because people don't want an "always online" DRM on a console system? DRMs be damned, which ever console sells the most is going to get the most attention from the developers. This will be the make or break for the future generations of gaming when it comes to "always online" DRMs. If sales are bad because of it then its unlikely they will pursue that route again, and will probably attempt to save face by issuing a patch to remove the always online DRM. Also as a result of the always online DRM, there will be hackers who make mods for the system to circumvent it. If there is a demand for people who want to play the games on the system but absolutely refuse to tolerate an always online DRM, then modding the 720 will be a pretty big market. I'm sick of this attitude from developers, when its been clear the majority of the gaming community has spoken out harshly about always online DRMs. Their attitude is they don't care if you like it because you will buy it anyway. And I hope they get an attitude adjustment by poor sales directly related to their arrogance.

Its been a long time since I preordered any game. Mostly because I no longer trust them to give me a good quality game at face value anymore. Also preorder bonuses are just gimmicks that don't interest me in the slightest.

Steambox? Not enough people are going to buy that. The Steam fanboy enthusiast group isn't nearly massive enough to carry the weight for purchases on a new system. Besides, most people who use steam got PCs capable of playing the said games, so why would they even need a Steambox?

I quit playing months ago because of the shadows. I couldn't find a setting that made good looking shadows at far draw distance without them being blocky and flickering. It took away from the immersion of the game for me. Did anyone mod the game to completely overhaul the shadows? Or can someone post some settings for clean/crisp looking shadows that don't flicker at at least a 3000 draw distance?

I hope they don't turn the game into "Casual Souls".

I knock points off for any game that has quick time events. I think its incredibly lazy, and was disappointed to see them in Witcher 2. I hope they leave those out of Witcher 3. Edit: http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/02/05/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-includes-horse-riding-sailing-and-the-grisly-death-of-quick-time-events/ According to CDP, no QTEs in Witcher 3.

The guy was clearly a nut job that went postal. It happens. I hope the kid is safe and isn't being abused. As far as government goes, I got zero trust + complete lack of confidence in them to solve anything responsibly. They lie to me on a regular basis, and prove time and time again they are inept at solving problems with simple common sense solutions. I don't believe in compromising if I believe the other side is woefully wrong in every single category. I consider the willingness to compromise a weakness. I'd rather they stay completely partisan grid locked, permanently than take is down the path we're going.

I'm not sure how anyone can defend the durability of the current gen consoles. They got far more problems with defects and malfunctions than most of the previous consoles. I still got a first gen PS1, PS2, Dreamcast, and even a Sega CD that still works. All the cartridge systems still work. Every previous console system I've purchased up until this gen has stood the test of time. I also don't need any specialty tools to take them apart and clean the dust out of them. I've had 2 YLOD PS3s, and 1 360 (didn't buy another one). I've also had 3 HDDs go bad in PS3s, which is more HDDs than I've had go bad in all the PCs I've ever owned. Casualties this gen: 3 All previous generations combined: 0

90% of Dark Souls difficulty is trial and error. Once you play through the game once, its far easier the second time. As far as a noob build, just go with a pyromancer, and put the minimum points in STR and DEX to use the weapon you want, then upgrade it to lightning or fire, and pump the rest of the points in vitality, and do 40 endurance. A new player definitely wants a build with good health. I'd say 50 minimum in vitality, then 40 endurance, then the rest of the points in whatever you want. Or aim for something like this: http://mugenmonkey.com/darksouls/?c=397489184599271693 The Avelyn crossbow wrecks PVE, its deceptively powerful because it shoots 3 bolts. And the large club is the highest single damage type for the least amount of stats, and pure physical is better than split damage just because of the way defense works in this game. Power within is for boss fights, or areas with a bunch of huge high HP mobs

If the price tag on the new systems is over about $400, I think I'm gonna pass. I didn't buy a PS3 until the price dropped to $299. The PS3 and 360 both have terrible issues with heat. I'm not optimistic about the next gen being built to last. I'm not gonna spend $400 on a new system for it to brick on me 1-2 years later. If there are any serious hardware launch issues whatsoever, I'm gonna wait awhile, possible 2-3 years before buying one.

Ben pretty much outlined everything as to why modding shouldn't be monetized. I think it would be a disaster to the modding community. And Gabe Newell is being too greedy.

Its a legitimate concern, but there are no easy solutions to these problems. Being elderly doesn't make someone a complete invalid, there are still things even they can do in a community to provide something useful to carry their weight. The elderly could teach children, among other non-physical or less-physical jobs. Its likely a lot of elderly people would have knowledge about things most of the younger of the group don't. Elders have traditionally been teachers and mentors. Life expectancy in general would probably drop to 45-50 if such conditions persisted for a long period of time. One day someone could be healthy, the next day they are bed ridden and dead within the week. Anyone reliant on medications to survive, simply wouldn't. The thing about Anarchy, is everyone might not cast these people away, and some might take these people in and help them. In one area, might be complete thuggish brute rule, with barbarity going unchallenged, another area people might make more safe and stable communal groups. Knowledge is power and the ones who have it are powerful. There is no way around that. Its like that in the modern world. Suddenly, suppose a guy shows up to a community with no electrical power, and says he can provide the knowledge to make that happen. Such knowledge would be priceless to a people struggling to make ends meet. Such a person could make whatever demands they want, within reason. There are likeable characters in the real world who skirt buy on charisma alone. I've seen such people at several work places, many of them perform less, or get away with a ton of stuff that just about anyone else would be fired for. Its called a buddy system, there is no way around it. Its life, and life isn't fair. I'd rather be the person they keep around because I'm genuinely useful than being kept around because I'm the nice guy that everyone likes.

True anarchy is not like what a lot of people would expect. It doesn't necessarily mean complete chaos, although it could be. Honestly I'd rather live under true anarchy than a Liberal Democracy. The most talented and successful people won't be things like hedge fund managers, or bankers, or lawyers, but people who know how to make, fix, or grow stuff. I think Anarchy for a few years would give society a gut check, and get rid of a lot of dead weight. People that are lazy, dumb, not talented, or slow to adapt wouldn't last long. Pardon my lack of empathy, but its a genuine opinion, and I'm not sharing it with the intention of offending anyone. Also anarchy won't ever last indefinitely, because I believe people come together and establish forms of order, and laws that will eventually develop into localized governments. It would probably start out as a primitive form of Communism on a small scale, but definitely not egalitarianism. Meaning you don't work, you don't eat.