I thought he really drove the discussion; the show was much better for him being there. Ryan was a smart host in just letting the talent they collected in that room riff off of each other, moving the discussion forward whenever it felt like they were exhausting a topic.
I feel that the E3 Bombcasts have become event programming because of how rare it is to assemble these people in a casual environment and turn them loose. They're right to let these run for 3 hours or more; as long as the guests are engaged, let them go. I learn a ton about the industry and how games are made every time I listen.
Making this game more accessible by fixing the leveling system is the best thing they could do for Skryim. The appeal of an Elder Scrolls game is exploring a huge world while doing and being whoever you want to be. Anything that removes the barriers to those is an improvement. If I'm playing a Thief, I should never have to strap on Plate Mail and swing a Mace for two hours to level up my Strength; there the system is pulling me out of the experience.
I have faith in Bethesda's ability to improve the experience with each new game. I like the story and setting of Morrowind better than Oblivion, but I'm finding it very tough to go back now; that's proof to me that the experience has improved.
(It's like driving a car with power steering and then going back to one without.)
I don't have nearly the time to play games that I used to, so my backlog in immense. Because of that, I have to really want a game to buy it at release since every time I go into the store there are 2-3 year old games that are marked down or Greatest Hits that I'm still waiting to play.
Right now I have New Vegas untouched since I haven't finished Fallout 3. I'm 5% into GTA IV, and barely into Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Skyrim or MGS Rising are probably the best candidates for a game I'll buy at launch right now.
I cut my cable a couple of years ago when my son was born and other than sports I don't miss it all that much. All TV shows come out on video eventually, so I get my Mad Men fix that way. The best thing about watching TV online is how much time I get back from only watching what I want to watch. It helped me realize how much time I spent channel-surfing, watching shows just because they were on. Now I watch what I want and go do something else.
If it's a story-heavy series, I will not only play them, but play them back-to-back before playing the new installment. Before I played MGS4, I played MGS1, 2, & 3 back-to-back-to-back. That's quite a marathon. Same thing with HALO and Half Life. It can be hard to play through games you've already played when the new one is sitting there calling your name, but I find it makes the new one more rewarding. I'll probably do this when Uncharted comes out, but not sure about Assassin's Creed. Brotherhood was such a gigantic game I'm not sure I can do that again. Maybe just play through the story-related missions.
The Bethesda Game of the Year Editions are great value for the money; they have so much content out of the box and are one of the most active DLC providers. All that in a GotY edition is hard to pass up.
@TheVeteran13: Yeah, I'm bummed about both of them. I guess I meant check them out on video if you haven't seen them. Terriers one season really stands great on it's own. Every episode of Good Guys pretty much stands on it's own. Long live the 'stache!
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