Irishjohn

I agree, as has been said already in this thread, I think she's poking fun at cookie-cutter reviews, not the game itself.

I agree. The question of "getting it" is an interesting one. GTA's big thing is satire and I would argue it's more successful than most "satire" at least if we're going by the old measure that the targets of said satire shouldn't realize they're being mocked... In that sense, good satire can easily be misunderstood as the puerility (in this case) that it targets. Games are interesting of course because they imply culpability on the part of the player. It's also a valid concern as to whether or not the game is effective in what it's trying to do thematically and I think it's fine to be upset if the game is trying to have it both ways. As I've gotten older, I've found myself more alienated by games than before. I loved Borderlands but found Borderlands 2 too distasteful to persevere with after a while. I was playing Saints Row the Third recently and although I understand what the game is trying to do, I find the rampant murder of thousands (including passers-by as I'm trying and failing to get a handbrake turn just right) to be disturbing. I'll play GTA 5 and I suspect I'll enjoy it, but I can see where the 3.5/5 (the horror!) review is coming from. Also, it's a healthy sign for game criticism if SOMEONE comes out and admits that they just didn't fall all the way in love with the game. I know that consensus happens, but groupthink is a killer. One more thing (spoiler for Bioshock Infinite)

Very cool, cheers for the recommendation.

Ugh, a cardinal sin on my part. ... Off to read the rest of the thread. I think this may be a purchase once payday comes calling.

Nope... I've kind of been forced into being more selective the last few years and I don't know much about it. I really want to play this! No... didn't know about it until now. Looks interesting.

Has anyone played Europa Universalis IV yet? I'm encouraged by the reviews citing the game's relative accessibility. I own III but never quite got into it. Love CK2.

I've been enjoying easily my most successful CK2 game yet, at least if you're measuring that by land conquered. I control the Abbasid Empire and became so powerful that I successfully vassalized just by asking. I now control all of Arabia moving west in Egypt, I'm creeping on the Byzantine Empire's doorstep and I just took a huge lump out of Hungary's eastern kingdoms. But I wasn't paying attention to decadence (in truth, I wasn't sure how it worked). Gulp. I suspect my fall will be so calamitous that I may just resign and start another game. I might go for vanilla next time.

I'm sorely tempted. I don't like British gentlemen (well, not stereotypical gentlemen anyway, i.e. imperialists) but I DO like robots of any national background.

You son of a bitch.

Welcome, new people!

As far as future MMOs go, I'd love to see them embrace the people that were running GTA servers where you'd get in trouble for running red lights. I want to build myself up until I own a bank and then hire people to protect it.

I would love it if they produced some kind of baby-Lords Management strategy thing for iPad that was really terrible, just to completely upset a lot of hardcore GTA fans who would then buy it anyway.

I could never get IV to work on my (admittedly oldish) computer.

I agree. Also, even for those of us who do have limited time now, there's nothing wrong with a game that goes and goes and goes. I am enjoying Guild Wars 2 a lot, for example. It will take me forever to get to level cap but I'm confident I'll get there. I finished The Last of Us and played a fair bit of multiplayer. It is up to us how to spend our time, after all. I sure as heck don't want an eight hour Elder Scrolls game. Yup, this. It's all well and good to wish for a more polished five hour experience, but (a) that wouldn't necessarily happen across the board anyway and ( I would not feel comfortable paying $50 or $60 for a five hour game, most of the time. You can talk about how much it costs to go to the cinema and any other example you want, but that's how I feel about it. Now, I have a whole list of games on my Steam list waiting to be played, but that's a whole different discussion. In essence, my decision to quit games (which I do all the time!) is rarely tied to the length of the story. If I like the game I'll keep playing. If I drop out, I drop out.

Hmmm. Thanks! Just got some DLC, first non-Irish game. Picking my home country actually fluked me into some great starting games in a strategy game for once.

Hmmm. I just started taxing my feudal vassals. Didn't even know I was being a crazy bastard. Damn it.

I also recommend this game highly. As someone who WANTS to be into board games more but often gets frustrated, Lords of Waterdeep actually delivers on what I'm looking for and it's easy to get into. It's also the only recently designed board game my wife has shown interest in, though she ignores the D&D theme.

Ha! Yes, for sure. I would agree that game breaking stuff like that can have a disproportionate effect, or at least what would seem disproportionate to "the likes of us", on people that don't play a lot of games and one of the coolest things about THE WALKING DEAD is that a lot of people that don't play games regularly seem to have gotten really, really into it. As for the issue, I'm sure nobody was more upset than the people at Telltale. I'm not just saying that because Thumbs work there; it would surely be the case that they would be freaking out over save game issues in their episodic game that relies heavily on tailoring specific stories to player choice and experience.

I don't think there was any conspiracy not to report on it or anything, but I had the issue, and I've seen people complain about it a fair bit. A google search for "walking dead save game fix" brings back plenty of relevant results.

Yup, I'd always been interested in the game and a recent Amazon sale helped me take the plunge. Haven't enjoyed an MMO this much since WOW (years ago). I solo mostly, but GW2 does a great job of making it easy to flit between soloing and grouping.

I haven't even started Iron Brigade, really. My surprising lack of quitting Guild Wars 2 has eaten into my increasingly limited video game time. Though I just bought Kerbal Space Program(me) so I fully expect to be quitting that in short order. Though I hope not. I want to see the Mun.

I just bought this. I was seduced by the possibility of space stations and planetary bases. I am not convinced I will have a single successful launch.

The switching out from dude swinging in window to dude with sniper rifle on roof is pretty exciting.

So, so terribly sad.

I feel like things have escalated rather quickly.