Lnin0

Unless without our "prior knowledge" refers to a prior contractual agreement with Square Enix then I believe GS is in violation of trade laws. Their 'open box new' policy should already be in legal question. 
 
If I open it I own it. It is about time the same rule applies to GameStopo. If they try to sell you a 'new' game in an open box insist on the 'used' price and threaten to report them to the BBB as you take your business elsewhere. OR...if you are unethical and know it is a game you can finish in a few days, take it home, play it and then return it in the open-box new condition and demand a full cash refund. "they sales guy never put that sticker on mine box"

Would you trust a pawn shop to sell you an item as 'new', especially if said item was not in the original manufacturers packaging? That would be a great scam. Why do we let GS get away with looking and acting like a pawn shop but charging retailer prices. WTF. 
 
Why do people buy into the bullshit that GS doesn't have the space or security to display factory sealed games? This is 2011, yeah? Are they not privy to the same security every other modern store has? However, it does make for a convenient excuse to mix used and open box new titles together. Which is better, buying a game back from a customer for $15 and selling it for $35 or selling it as open box new for $60? 

Great video. Was worried about how much COD was going to creep into Battlefield 3 but from the looks of it not very much. That video has put BF3 back on my most wanted list.
 
Does anyone have an actual map comparison in miles between BF3 and Bad Company 2? I think the image above is deceiving. Atacama is a pretty large map but the way they highlight the combat area against a larger square makes it seem tiny. If you were to just zoom in and make the highlighted area fill the entire square it would give the appearance of being much larger. The size of the roads are key and they don't really match up in the comparison, so I would say one is zoomed in and one zoomed out.

Remember, used games are the worst thing to ever happen to the game industry, and anyone who buys one should be ashamed of themselves.  If you think differently, you're probably a pirate!

 
There will be almost no point to resisting this system because of the rather ingenious way Blizzard has set it up. It isn't necessarily a "pay to play" system. Pay to play means to get the good stuff you have to open your wallet to the developers and they in turn sell you what you need/want to get ahead. 
 
Blizzard has created the first, "let it ride and play" system and it maybe a win for everyone. Well, maybe 'win' isn't a good choice of words but at least it appears to be a better nickle-and-dime model than EA or anyone else has come up with.  
 
Typically, in pay-to-play games, those unwilling to open their wallets for virtual goods had one choice - grind out every ounce of gear you want. Sometimes you are not even give that choice because the good stuff is held only by the developers.  
   
This is where Blizzard's system is different. The PLAYERS themselves control all the goods along with the sales and profit from those goods. 
 
Those opposed, myself included, to paying for in-game gear have a new option. Sell the loot you find for cash, let that cash ride, and use it to buy the gear you want. They are basically replacing in-game gold with real world cash but unlike other games, Blizzard will give you the opportunity to earn that cash right within the game. 
 
There will always be an abundance of aholes willing to pay to 'be cool'. Blizzard has come up with a way to let those aholes pay into the system while not punishing everyone else.
 
Sure, it is a slippery slope. The temptation, and I am sure ease, of adding a 'few' of your own dollars in the mix could make it all go downhill. Inflated prices could spell a quick end to earned enough in-game cash to afford items. If successful or not, it also sets a precedent open to abuse and misinterpretation by other publishers or even future Blizzard games. 
 
And yes, Blizzard gets filthy rich off it in the end but at least there is a little piece of mind in knowing that there is another way to make your way in the world without feeding the internet your credit card and hoping a pile of gold coins shows up in your avatars mailbox. 
 
This time Blizzard has made gold farming not only legit but required, and all proceeds benefiting them.
 
 
 
 
hARDcORE or nothing  for me though.

Seeing a lot of previews for Rage but not a mention of multiplayer. What gives?

Glad to hear someone complement the games looks on 360 hardware. The developers themselves had pretty much turned me off from buying this game with all the disparaging Xbox talk, but you gave me a little hope back. 

Enough teasing EA. Just charge me per team already!!!!

So you can be a humanoid or a cyborg humanoid or a blue humanoid or a humanoid with horns. No WOOKIEE. No BUY!

Regenerating health / vehicles really takes away the need to have any classes other than assault and sniper.  What do you need a medic or engineer for if you just park behind a rock and wait for 100% health. I cannot stand regenerating anything in a game. Yeah, health + pickups might be just as unrealistic but at least it is something you have to earn. 
 
Also, the idea the regen health is good for noobs is a misnomer. Noobs cannot shoot with the accuracy of a seasoned player. So head to head in a shootout the noob is ALWAYS on the loosing side when both players are at 100%. Now if there was no regen health then you have seasoned players moving around at various states of health looking for pick ups. Come across a noob at 100% and that noob has a chance to take down a seasoned player who might already be at 50% health. 
 
HARDCORE is the only way to play.