David

I wish that was a movie, and it was coming out tonight. Gotta agree with Sofa King. I'd be right there in line.

Sigh. I need a better computer. I don't care what the gameplay is even like. I'll play it for the story and the cut scenes.

The new ads are worlds better than the bizarre empty-room commercials with creepy babies and demonic rubix cubes. Plus the light-hearted tone helped remove a bit of strange elitism the PS3 was pushing (most likely as an attempt to justify their rather high price point at the time).

I must admit I still laugh every time that guy berates the little kid about his grandmother.

A stick!

Whether or not the value is worth it will depend on too many variables for this to be reliable. The user has to have a very solid connection, live within so much distance of a server, pay for a significant amount of PC games, and actually play them over a console game.

Personally, I think its doomed. Their selling point was "why pay for a console?" You're right. Why would I pay $199-299 once for five years when I can pay $180 a year, all for the privilege of NOT buying a console?

For those who spend 200 dollars a year upgrading their PC's video card, then this might be a solid investment. But my impression was that they were trying to bring back PC gaming by targeting console gamers. In that, it is an unneeded service, or at the very best, too early for the market.

A hexagonal grid allows much more consistent movement in all directions. Anyone who plays a varied amount of board games should know that. As for the no-stacking, that is also a major improvement. Having massive amounts of units crammed onto one tiny space never felt epic. Plus, it killed any sense of realistic strategy. How do you set up defensive perimeters? Guard an entire border? Plus, seeing half your continent overrun with troops will add far more visceral feel than seeing one tiny stack.

If ranged units can fire many squares away, then it looks like newer strategies will involve rows of melee hexagons guarding a second row of ranged. Again, far more obvious, enjoyable strategy. Plus, this allows mounted units to effectively crash through a line, allowing successive attacks by mounted units to punch through to the weaker ranged before the opponent has time to move and close the gap.

Overall, these changes are making me smile. Hope that doesn't become a frown when the game actually launches.

Let's see just how bizarre this game can get.

Spawn a guillotine, followed by a zombie. Stick the zombie in the guillotine and chop off its head (perhaps some rope will help to die it down?).

Then conjure up a cricket bat. Smack the severed zombie head with the bat into the bottles of glass. If all this works, then I will pre-order the game immediately, as well as look forward to more attempts of Shaun of the Dead Golf.

Not sure if I've seen this answered yet, so I'll ask:

Do Mortal Strike and Bloodthirst share a cooldown?

You say Bioshock is a new IP, but for the most part, it's just a heart and soul remake of System Shock. Someone else mentioned Oblivion as a new IP, and that is just amazing ignorance (Oblivion would technically be Elder Scrolls IV, hardly a new IP). And can you claim Rock Band is really proof new IPs by small companies can succeed when Rock Band was basically the same game developers taking their OLD IP, Guitar Hero, and adding on drums? Oh, and Mass Effect. Made by Bioware, a company who can release any product and have it sell millions of copies.

New IPs can be created and be successful ONLY by established companies with significant name power. Just because Blizzard or Bioware can do it doesn't suddenly prove its still possible by Tiny-game-company-A. And yes, there are one or two exceptions that succeeded by their excellent gameplay. But that's just it. One or two.

Costs are spiraling out of control for development of most games. This is BAD. The reason the market crashed during the Atari age was because a glut of cheap, easy to produce games flooded the market, causing the high cost, AAA games to be buried and undersell. What do you think will happen when game companies decide to instead make drastically cheaper games based on television and movies for only a million? Oh wait, we already have game developers promising to do just that.

The epic, expensive games will become fewer in number. The glut of bad games will grow as companies try to absorb costs or make quick bucks (look at all the greedy companies that were oblivious to the upcoming success of the Wii and ported trash at reckless speeds to capitalize). Remember grumbling about $60 games becoming standard when the PS3 showed up. Just wait until next gen.

Ebert liked Unaccompanied Minors, eh?

"'Unaccompanied Minors' may not be the worst holiday comedy ever made, but frankly I can't think of something from that genre that sinks lower than this frighteningly bad movie." - Roger Ebert.

Yup. Talk about a ringing endorsement.

David

4,000,000 x 62.....

I so need to buy Nintendo stock.

They didn't pick my Douchebaggery feat, I'm so disappointed. Bonus to all skills when used solely for the purpose of being a douchebag. Way more fun!