-Snowblind-

Re: Game length Not sure how long it took me to play the first ME, but it definitely felt longer. Looking back (and my memory isn't the greatest, so....), I think the first ME was more plot oriented, so it stretched the story further. ME2 still feels very epic, but seems to be far more character driven. More story time seems to be spent on the characters and their backgrounds, than the bigger picture. It feels like the actual plot-based missions in the game are relatively few and far between (a couple at the beginning, then a long stretch of recruitment and loyalty missions, and then a couple more plot missions to finish things off). I think this may contribute to the game feeling 'short' even though there's a lot to do. Re: N7 missions I'm guessing N7 has become a generic catch-all for the minor side-quests? In ME2, N7 refers to a very specific set of side-quests (under the assignments tab, rather than the missions tab). Anything that doesn't take place at one of the main game locations (random missions picked up through scanning planets, or in 'email') are tagged as N7. The rest are tagged by the planet/location they're found on/in. They're all minor, nothing plot-specific or necessary. Just a bit of background fun and a resource/experience grab.

I suspect it's a jab at ME moving away from being a traditional RPG and being more of an interactive shooter with a deep plot. Anyway... finished the game (paragon) last night. Very epic, but I wish it had been longer. Can't wait for the next one. ...Off to start another game (paragon again, but playing it a little differently). And then I'll probably give renegade a try.

Argh... Bought the PC version today. My DVD drive won't read the first disk at all. My 4 year old laptop can see it fine... time for a new optical drive, I guess.

Clooney and the revolving cast was only a symptom, not the disease. The real problem was letting Joel Schumacher anywhere near the franchise.

I don't think it's fair to say that it has no plot - it's actually plotted fairly well outside of a few minor holes/unexplained background - it's just that it's a plot you've probably already seen, so saying it's predictable is very accurate. Think of it as Macross Frontier - for the most part you knew what was going to happen before it happened, but you went along for the ride and saw some cool and pretty visuals along the way. Visually it's a beautiful bit of filmmaking, plot is far from original, but it's serviceable. Overall a lot of thought went into creating the world, if not the plot. If you're ever going to see it, even just once, the visuals deserve to be seen on a theatre screen.

If Cameron needs to give credit to Card, then Card needs to give credit to a number of people that came before him. Trying to use points that are common to many, many sci-fi/sci-fantasy stories such as the primitive locals and ex-soldiers turned peaceful negotiators doesn't help the argument that Card deserves credit for 'his' ideas. These weren't new ideas when Card wrote Speaker for the Dead. And the connection between the Na'vi and the trees owes far more to various Earth-bound myths/religions/spiritualist movements than it does to anything in the Enderverse. If you're just going to pick and choose ideas and concepts that are similar to other stories, then there's nothing original out there - as has already been pointed out elsewhere. If you're going to say that Avatar is unoriginal, and that's a fair comment 'cause it's far from original - it's easier to point out how it's almost a note for note imitation of other films and books.

...Shouldn't that be the other way around... Given that the AT-ST came first an' all?

Minor nitpick, but the Stargate shows are shot in BC, well away from Toronto. Also, it's (probably) not fair to compare a film budget to a TV show budget... unless they're really trying to do it on the cheap.

You're never going to let him live that one down, are you?

I saw it last Monday. There's really nothing to say that hasn't already been said... no, it's not original, yes it looks fantastic, etc etc. Overall I enjoyed it and will probably buy the blu-ray. As for the toys... I agree with eugimon - they looked pretty horrible. Kind of surprised they didn't go with Hasbro. They seem to have a winning formula for the 3 3/4" toys these days.

That is Home. It was meant to be a virtual social and media hub a la Second Life, but it flopped pretty badly from what I understand (I haven't touched Home since last year)

I agree that what was done with the final five wasn't a retcon, but it was sloppy plotting. They spent two and a half seasons building up these characters (well, Tigh, Tyrol and Anders, anyway) only to throw it all away because making them Cylons sounded like a good idea at the time. It would be different if it had been planned all along, if the writers had been consistent with developing these characters from the beginning of the series to the end, but they weren't. To my mind, they took several good, interesting, well developed characters and replaced them with cliches for the sake of a 'shocking' reveal. They never could make it fit (not that they even attempted to) the world they had already established. Like I said before - Anders was an athlete on a pro-sports team - his entire life would be on record. Tigh was reinstated as a captain - how does that happen without having the experience and records to justify it? (It's easy to say his records were falsified, but is Colonial security really that bad? And what about all of the people he would have served with over the years? There's no way the Cavil and company could have simply made up the depth and breadth of knowledge and memories that someone with Tigh's background would have.) There's also the problem with the differences in age - Tigh was shown as appearing 'younger' (well, he had more hair, and it wasn't gray) in the flashbacks with Adama, so if he's a Cylon, then it establishes that the Cylons age. How do you explain Tyrol, Anders and Tory who all appear much younger, who have much shorter back stories, but were all integrated with the colonies at the same time? It's not the idea that these characters were Cylons that bothered me, it's the way they undercut good characters for the sake of a big reveal and the logical inconsistencies that followed that bothered me the most. This could have been avoided, and been much more interesting if it had been planned and plotted all along.

Yes, it was Gary Owens (according to Wikipedia).

Minor nitpick, but that's not entirely true. They're pretty much dead even in European sales. The Xbox is ahead, but the proportionate gap is much smaller in Canada and Australia. The only place with a huge disparity in sales between the Xbox and PS3 is the US. ...But the point stands that it would be foolish to ignore such a large customer base.

...You're being facetious, right? O.o

Be careful, the Crazy may rub off.

Re: The Super Scouts Don't say you weren't warned...

If nothing else, Galactica 1980 will make you appreciate the well written episodes and amazing special effects from the original series. (...Only by comparison, of course)

I'm sure someone will have a straitjacket waiting for when you need it.

But... paying money for Galactica 1980 just sounds so... wrong. O.o At least I waited for the Space channel to show it.

I seem to recall them saying that they expected something like a 8-10 year life cycle from the PS3 when it was launched. Plus it helped put a blu-ray player in almost 30 million homes, and ensure a market for their format. That will probably pay off for them in the long run, too.

I don't think coward is the right word. Like others have noted, he's not afraid to take a plunge when it's the only way to get to what he wants. He chose to go through a gate into the unknown. He wanted to stay with the ship in "Light" when the safest bet was get on the shuttle. He has debated or foiled most attempts to get home safe and sound. I don't see him as a coward, just a man with a mission that he intends to see through, and everything else is a distraction.

Not only that, but Young has leverage against Rush. He's the only one (supposedly) who has a copy of the video proving Rush tried to frame him. Rush hasn't come off as a cookie cutter villain to me yet. I still see him as being someone very driven. He's not out to get anyone, he just doesn't like it when people get in his way. Another stereotype, maybe, but he makes an interesting foil for the other characters, it isn't a black and white situation, and he's not just another big bad of the week.

I gotta say that I didn't really like Greer in the first couple of episodes. He came off as a stereotype. He's grown on me, though. Definitely one of the more entertaining characters on the show.

Of course not. That's Bob Tigh of the Virgon Tighs. Distant cousin. I know it can get confusing with the strong family resemblance, though....