I will buy this. I'd buy anything that contributes to the slim chance of Nier 2 ever happening though.

This got to my house today, so I took a half day at work. Currently working on a melee Zero, PS3 version.

This sounds hilariously bad. Looks like I will continue to not bother with this 'series' after the shitpile that was FFXIII.

This is a long shot because they're old, but Shenmue and Shenmue II had a lot of exploration, in a sense. You really didn't go to very many places in Shenmue but there are so many damn things to do and discover in the town that you may enjoy it.

Read the article a few days ago and it gave me a lot of insight into how gaming can be a helpful tool for people. I can't imagine being in constant pain all the time though. As it is, I'll occasionally get bad headaches or tooth pain, and the last thing I want to do is play games when I'm experiencing pain--I just want to curl up and sleep. I figure being able to focus on anything at all while in pain is a good first step.

To answer Neal's question, back when I was a sadder individual I tended to use gaming as a way to escape being unhappy, although I've come to realize that that is not necessarily a good thing if relied upon. Still, it gave me a temporary break from reality when I needed it most. Now, I'd say gaming helps me in that it acts as a tool to facilitate relaxation at the end of the day. My fiance and I also play games together (or one of us watches the other) so it works for us partially as an entertainment/bonding tool.

Tonight my fiance and I split a bottle of tea-infused wine with dinner. It was rad enough that had I though about it in advance I would have drank it from a mug.

I really didn't like DA2, and I regret my purchase of the game. Bad writing may have contributed in part to that. That said, nobody deserves to be bullied because somebody else doesn't like their work--it's ridiculous. Additionally, even though I think DA2 was a stinker, I've really liked the majority of Bioware games I've played, and I really don't get all the recent slamming of Bioware. I'm hyped as fuck for ME3 and I really think a lot of people complaining about the 'cancer that's killing bioware' are bitching because they enjoy it first and foremost. :/

The song We Didn't Come Here to Rock by Andrew Jackson Jihad basically sums up my thoughts regarding all this--it's worth a listen.

I would punch a reporter in the face to play this game immediately!

I could never get into Koudelka, what with it's frustrating battle system and (at least a perceived) lack of balance. I did also love the music though. I remember reading about Koudelka before it got released in the USA, being interested but then forgetting about it, and then reading about and subsequently playing SH and being blown away that they were connected!

Speaking of themed podcasts, did you guys ever do a Nier podcast? I want a Nier podcast!

Suikoden Card Stories, back in like 2003. Still haven't beaten it but I was more concerned about adding it to my collection.

What the hell is Snow doing in battle if he doesn't join the damn party? C'mon Square, why can't you make the stupid monster party members optional and give us more than two damn permanent characters.

I'll get this game when it bargain bins, like I should have with FFXIII.

Got Skyrim yesterday.

This shit is crazy.

I wonder if they'll hold a DLC character over our heads to get us to buy the game new like what happened with ME2/DA:0/DA2. In some ways I actually liked it because most of the time I get this type of high-end RPG as soon as it's released, and I love having a lot of choice in who I put in my party. I'm thinking they probably won't end up doing this for 3 though because of how it's been mentioned that you only have a few squadmates that are around all the time. Still, I'd like a DLC character or two.

Edit: Collector's edition answered my question, heh.

When I have a lot of control over character building, I bizarrely enjoy playing a mage with lots of HP. The only time I deviated from this was when I played Phantasy Star Universe and used a hunter exclusively.

I missed the boat on this but I just listened to the Xenoblade podcast and definitely think you all need to do a Shadow Hearts podcast. Since I personally could talk about that game for hours I'd love to hear others do it.