Reyturner

It might be ok. How to communicate like Jack Bauer:

I was looking for the key to the language, saw that, went "haha, it's a reference to that saying", and then wandered off to look elsewhere. I was very disappointed in myself when I looked up the spoiler a couple hours later

Just use that funeral zombie bit as the style guide.

It's weird to me that people think the name Skullface is out of place in a Metal Gear game. It isn't even the dumbest one.

I'd play Garth Marenghi's Dark Souls

There is an ENORMOUS amount of content in Torment. Honestly, it isn't a story that relies on it's twists. DISCLAIMER: I'm not a person who is bothered by spoilers so YMMV.

A man awakens in squaller and is confronted by his dead-end existence, at the mercy of forces beyond his control. He isn't even supposed to be here! Angry and unsatisfied, and with his foul-mouthed friend in tow, he digs into his past, determined to reclaim what he thinks is rightfully his, which happens to be represented by a lost lover. Along the way, he encounters a host of characters who denigrate and demean him. He's the hero tho so fuck them, on he goes. He uncovers secrets best left hidden, hurts those around him and is betrayed by those closest to him but on he pushes. Finally, he literally disappears up his own ass and is confronted with his true enemy: himself. He realizes the folly of his quest and has to confront the damage he's done, damage that can't be undone. Also there's some combat, but it kind of sucks. --- Those who love this story love it with an undying ferocity. This is reinforced by the fact that those who come across it feel like they have discovered something. When others fail to appreciate it, or point out its very real flaws, it's grounds for holy war. Even with its rabid fans and even though it sort of creaks today, it is hard to deny that it did accomplish something impressive. Those that worked on it are minor deities in some circles, yet they've never quite emerged from the shadow this early work still casts and, despite themselves, they still touch on it.

I've hard charged through Metal Gear. It's such an ambitious game, but definitely rough around the edges. The seeds of the themes which bloom in later games (and run rampant in laterer games) are on full display here, if you squint a little: The nature of war Conflict between duty and personal ambition Family caught in the cross hairs Unreliable Bosses The fact that it takes place in South Africa during the 80's probably means... something. Anywho, one down, several to go. Next up: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Planescape: Torment is the Clerks of video games.

A game where the main character is an enigma with ever escalating weirdness: Killer 7. That game is bad in a lot of ways, but it's also great in a lot of others.

Guardians of the Galaxy was super fun. I knew it was basically going to be Farscape: The Movie and I was mostly not disappointed. The only downer was the end was more what you'd expect from a Marvelverse movie and not the high stakes heist / hairbrained sceme that gives the villain and the hero an excuse to chew scenery at each other without a gun fight breaking out like you'd get from Farscape. Though, I guess you do get a tiny bit of that.

Heh. I can close my eyes and walk around Shadow Moses like it was the house I grew up in.

I would say use gold to get into the arena, but mostly because I think drafting for decks is more fun than constructed. YMMV.

Has Isometric come up yet? Hosted by 3 women (a journo, a dev and a psychotherapist) and 1 guy (a dad of indeterminate profession). It's 12 episodes in and the hosts are starting to get into a pretty good groove.

Poorly. I lost a lot of progress due to my own dumb ass forgetting the game doesn't have auto save and then again when my PS3 had to get reset to default due to a profile problem. I think I'll give it another go.

Dota with a concede option exists and it's called Heroes of Newerth. As far as I'm concerned, it isn't a hypothetical that a concede mechanic completely changes the psychology of the player-base for the worse. The amount of GG CC 15 spamming I've run into playing HoN FAR exceeds any game extending trolling I've experienced in Dota 2. Players trolling other players is a problem, but a GG button isn't the solution. There's another criticism that I often see, especially from professional game designers: that Dota 2 without a concede mechanic is disrespectful of the player, wasting their time forcing them to complete a game they "know" they can't win when they'd rather quit. Not just a game where they are getting actively trolled but ANY game. While I don't doubt that people have had games of Dota ruined by assholes on the other team dragging a game out long, I do suspect that these experiences are a little overemphasized to buttress this criticism. The logic goes: Losing Dota 2 isn't fun and a game that can leave a player not having fun for an extended period of time must be broken. Therefore, remove the potential for that period of time to occur. Misery is removed, so net enjoyment must be preserved. Expecting the player to change their mindset to meet the expectations built into the game is unthinkable. I feel like this is supported by the amount of pitches for new LoMas that concentrate on making games less stressful and easier to pick up and play. Dota 2 is a brilliant game to figure out and master with a huge possibility space and I honestly don't think you can force Dota 2 to be fun or painless to lose from the top down without seriously damaging what makes it unique and amazing. I'm basing that on my experience with every other LoMa I've played that has tried to solve these problems and have, in my opinion, failed. Heroes of the Storm is shallow and boring, LoL's meta-game is calcified and rigid, HoN is dominated by early push line-ups and fast concedes. I don't know for certain that nothing can but done, but I do know that a lot of sweat and treasure has been spent trying to no avail. The elephant in the room is, of course, League of Legends which HAS a concede mechanic and is VASTLY more popular than Dota 2 (and every other game combined). I can't say that a part of this success isn't the presence of the concede function, but everyone I talk to going from LoL to Dota 2 stay because they believe Dota 2 is a better game, while anyone starting or moving to LoL is do so because that's what their friends play. It's a totally valid reaction to not want to get sucked into the Dota 2 and the its learning curve, and its complexity, and its mad systems and its low low LOW lows. However, a lot of criticism gets hurled at games that don't follow the rules of what a game is "supposed to be", but because those games don't tend to be insanely complicated, hyper competitive, systems driven and enormously popular, it isn't a lot of people's first instinct to extend the same consideration to Dota 2 that you might for The Walking Dead or Gone Home.

Pros can be trusted with a gg button because they have a vested interest in winning, not finishing fast to get to the next game (tho ViCi at the TI4 Grand Finals proved even pros can strain that trust). Dota 2 needs a gg to better accommodate time sensitive players the same way the Vatican needs to knock the ceiling out of the Sistine Chapel to better accommodate giraffes.

Though I don't play nearly enough to gather a reliable crew, I definitely think this is the right way to play. Dota is a team sport and is best served by this mindset (both by the players and the developers), and "fixing" the problems that come from mming with randos with a surrender button undermines that. Besides, there are Lords Managements with surrender mechanics out there so, if that lack is a deal breaker, you have options.

I would say reviews are consumer advice, not objective

You should review a game based on what it is and what it says it wants to be. You can criticize a game through whatever lense you like.

Between the interview with Klepick and the stuff O'Riely has been retweeting, I'm 90% sure it is some kind of troll.

Thomas was Alone is a testament to how much a small amount of good writing can impact a game.

The Ping-Pong Theory of Tech Sexism by Ariel Schrag. A good read, and something I notice around the office at times.

Shovel Knight Perfectly captures how you remember the best NES games feeling.