First off, the X-men movie - Ratner was brought in at the end, the script was fubar, the cast chosen and had contracted start dates, and he had to get the thing rolling in no time. The result? Bryan Singer even said he did a good job -- and the film grossed more than the preceding 2 (Worldwide amounts $296/$407/$459). Was it as good as the first 2? No ... but, how could you honestly expect it to be?

Second, Brett Ratner has done the "dark" thing well -- go watch Red Dragon.

Third, he knows how to do large set pieces.

Finally, actors like working with him.

No, he doesn't know finesse, and he isn't going to be considered one of the greats -- but, he's far more than competent. If you expected God of War to ever be anything more than a popcorn flick, you're mistaken. 300 had way more gravitas in it's original form than God of War ever did.

The movie will be competently made -- the deciding factors will be the actors and the script. It may suck, it may be good -- we won't know until it's done.

Man, Kotaku has become the refuge of the whiner. People rush to be the first to complain with every post that goes up.

Tecmo may attempt to obfuscate things, but he delivered on his end, so they need to pay.

In Two Worlds, I'd periodically come across foes or groups that would tear my head off.

Anyway, yes, there were issues with the game, but the patches helped a lot, and it was fun to play for the time I had with it. Maybe it's simply that I didn't have high expectations for it ... but the hate is very much overblown.

I'll go cower in the corner while the votes are tallied ...

Good luck to all the prospective doom-bringers! :P

It's just an unwieldy program.

[www.square-enix.co.jp]

Better just to say something like, "You guys have requested this, so here it is." Don't act like you're doing it first ... it's like they expect us to be stupid.

First commandment of PR, "Know thy audience" -- I think he forgot the PS Blog is for gamers, not the casual public.

Still, I'm very happy it's nearly here.

The very beginning was frustrating because you had no idea where to go or what to do ... once you figured all of that out, the world was actually pretty cool.

I'm willing to give the second one a chance.

Personally, I'd rather play a 20 hour game with a tight story and killer gameply, than a 100 hour game that is pretty much filler. Games, per hour of entertainment, are still among the cheapest forms of entertainment ... a 20 hour game you're paying $3 per hour. Go to a movie in the theater, you're paying between $4 & $5. Buy a CD, $10 per hour.

Then again, I'm fortunate to have a job that allows me to buy more than one game a month. I can completely understand why some people would want games that last longer, so that they can get more out of their investment.

Game developers have different design philosophies, and that's good. Variety makes the industry stronger. A differeny philosophy doesn't make someone an idiot. However, an ignorant post may make you one.

That's why Witz was successful -- he just did it, end of story. And, a lot of people called him an a-hole for it, and dictatorial ... but, it was the right way to handle things.

Kotaku commenting isn't a right, it's a privelege ... one that can be taken away at any time by those lording over the site. And, in my opinon, more people need to lose their voice here for there to be any substantive discussions to resume. See, it used to be that way, but something has changed recently ...

Immediately discount anyone recruiting followers, begging for the job, or is even remotely annoying in their posts. I'd never want the job -- but, whoever takes over, will have big shoes to fill after Witz.

Now, let's say you're in a contested or wild zone, all is fair ... that's just how I like the games to play.

No there wasn't ... no revisionist history here. The whole thing started with a single blog post and rolled into the ridiculous storm it became. It was a manufactured tempest. People of every ethnic persuasion came out and clearly said that they did not see any racist intent, motivation, or colorings in the trailer.

Some people did ... I can understand that. However, the whole thing was patently ridiculous when it reached the levels it did. It's time to move on and stop dredging up problems where there are none.

Have we become a society that someone just informally suggesting that you place nice has become so onerous that it deserves a rant? Seems to me that a group of 15 people is plenty big enough to allow guild play.

I completely hate the precept that just because you can do something, you should. I give huge props to the GM in the way he politely handled the situation without being an a-hole ... and, I like how the guild member was polite and asked some questions. No doubt, they're laughing about it now, but there's nothing wrong with that.

This is a non-issue and to make it into something negative is just using an awful lot of spin. Again, an informal talk is the best way to first address something that players see as a problem. Self-policing is always prefrerred to a heavy hammer approach.

[img151.imageshack.us]