Lamashtu

I'd just like for some of the devs for casual flight sims to acknowledge that there is no such thing as a delay for a missile lock. AIM-9 Sidewinders are usually launched in boresight seeker mode, which means having it to home on on a target is simply just a matter of pointing the aircraft (and consequently, the seeker of the missile) at your target, pickle, splash. 

Sort of the same story with active radar-guided missiles; if you're tracking a target, strictly speaking if you launch the missile, it will home in on it, it's just a matter of whether the missile is going to have the kinetic energy to make it to its target.

Sorry to be pissy about this, but I'm totally sure that Namco can still make a game like this exciting for a wide audience while having some semblance to reality.

One feature of Valve games I've always loved (besides the commentary tracks, obv) was how easy it was to get different localizations of their games, as one of my gaming past-times is finding out how my favourite games sound in different languages. Thankfully, they've carried over this feature to Portal 2 and it's become an endless source for amusement for me. For instance, GLADOS somehow sounds even more sinister in French:

SPOILERS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDHM4E-23Q&feature=related#t=05m30s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYDHM4E-23Q&feature=related

Minor niggles: Dubbing's a tiny bit off for some bits. And with my mere three years of high school French, I'm unsure if Wheately voice translates as well as GLADOS and Cave Johnson do.

If you want to try Russian and Deutsch, just right-click Portal 2 in your Steam games list, Properties, then Languages, et voila. 

" I'm surprised people haven't cought on the fact that every game is just a series of checkpoints where you need to get from A to B before you are killed by spawning enemies. There is very little in terms of tactics since the game is made so it constantly pushes you forward. It doesn't reward patience, but rather rushing. 

I also can't understand how some people call CoD a "realistic shooter". If so then Need For Speed: Most Wanted is realistic since it has licensed cars and Ace Combat is a simulation since it has licensed planes.

I loved the first game, second one felt like more of the same, third one barely worth playing. MW spiced things up a little bit with a change of scenery and crazy story, but it was still the same gameplay since then it's more of the same again.

When it comes to MP it's just pull LT and then RT faster than you opponent. But people play it because of the unlocks just like people play facebook games or grind in MMO's. I swear people would watch paint dry on a wall if they were given points towards gaining a level. It shouldn't be called prestige it should be called junkie. Points have destroyed games. Facebook games, MMO's, gamerscore, online shooters etc they all have points and people play games for the points rather than the game. What troubles me the most is that despite the fact that I see this I still have an urge to level up in ranks, levels or get points in many games. At least I don't play facebook games I still have some dignity left as a gamer...

"

Pretty much mirrors my opinions on CoD games. When I played CoD2, I was really frustrated by a lot of what I thought was totally fucking busted (what comes to mind was an easily accessible alley-way in one of the British missions that I thought was a great flanking opportunity, only to realize after dying trying to go through there a few times that it was in fact a Wehrmacht monster spawning closet). CoD4 polished it a little bit, but the infinitely spawning enemies with shitty AI made me shout "What the fuck is wrong with you, IW?" The perks system redeemed the multiplayer for me, but I eventually burned out on it, and had no interest in prestiging.

I will say that I have a better opinion of Treyarch's takes on the series. Even though they still use the same fucked gameplay model (which is something Treyarch really can't help), at the very least, the narratives they create aren't so totally up their own asses like MW2 was with Price spouting pseudo-philosophical bullshit.

" Smart idea.  Last Stand is the only thing I do in DOW2, the RTS multi-player isn't that good compared to SC2 and I always felt like I was only buying DOW2 for story loot and Last Stand. "

As a hardcore competitive RTS fanatic from the tradition of CoH, CnC Generals, and my current poison, DoW 2, I'd say that Dawn of War is superior in its micro game (as in, the actual fighting part of an RTS). For a newer player, its positioning, cover, and stance mechanics make much more visual sense than in SC2, where things like high-ground advantage are relatively abstracted. And, the different synergies with hero and army builds are enough to create a pretty in-depth meta-game. 

I also think CoH and Dawn of War do a much better job of portraying armies in line with how a new player expect an army to function. For instance, an MG-42 or a Shuriken Platform in the Relic games don't just kill things at a slightly faster rate than your basic infantry; with their ability to suppress an entire blob of infantry, forcing them to retreat,  they function as area denial weapon. And you can't just have a bunch of riflemen squads take down a Tiger tank on their own  (unless you got sticky-bombs) like you could a Carrier with massed Marines in SC2, you need a dedicated anti-tank unit like a 57mm field gun, bazookas, or a Wolverine Tank hunter.

There is the fact that focus-groups for purposes of designing a game is barely more reliable than tossing a dart at a board with: "Have re-generating health... Corridor Shooter... Drivable vehicles" in post-it stamps on it. 

Audiences are extremely fickle and you make generalizations at your own peril. For instance, back in the days of when WoW was still in beta, a lot of us who were coming in from Everquest tried it out and thought that Blizzard was way in over their heads and that it wouldn't take off. Even Microsoft and Bungie themselves were discounting Halo: CE; they had a truly atrocious E3 presentation of Halo and the Xbox, and Bungie had to crash for an entire 9 months to basically rebuild THE ENTIRE GAME into a state where the game was fun, but there were a few things that slipped the cracks (how absurdly overpowered the pistol was, the similar looking corridors, the difficulty of "Truth and Reconciliation," etc). 

There's a benefit to a small social circle of close friends. As the late great Mitch Hedberg once said:
 
"I just hang around everyone I know all the time. Then if someone needs to get in touch with me, they just say, 'Mitch'. And I say, 'What?' And turn my head slightly."

The Homeworld games are the only right answer here.

Best April Fools Day news reveal ever.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/04/01/a-vision-of-tomorrow-the-rim-of-the-sky/

I adore this site for its focus on the most hardcore of PC games and sticking up for the platform where Giant Bomb should. But today Rock Paper Shotgun have really outdone themselves.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/04/01/a-vision-of-tomorrow-the-rim-of-the-sky/

Always loved this website for their focus on PC gaming and sticking up for the platform where Giant Bomb should. But this April Fools, they've really outdone themselves.

There's no 4v4 in Dawn of War if my experiences in CR and the Retribution beta are any indication. Would love to play some 1v1, maybe run into Brad trying to pick up the game, then absolutely destroy him :D

Sign me up.