"Pile of shame" -- terrific stuff!
My own includes Bioshock and Red Dead Redemption even though I've enjoyed every minute of them that I have played. I have often opted for the lazy gamer experience and just fired up the multiplayer. That said, I agree that the gaming experience is one that offers many levels of enjoyment and, to perhaps a lesser extent, accomplishment. I think therein lies the crux of the difficulty dilemma.
I played Mass Effect on easy because I wanted to see the end and without it, I would not have had the wherewithal to get to conclusion, be it time or skill or persistence. But I've also logged hundreds of hours playing Guitar Hero, started on medium and made the progression to expert though there will always remain songs I cannot complete or will never five-star.
Yes, there's this machismo/pride about playing on the increased difficulty, but there's a certain satisfaction that is only attained with the sacrifice of time and effort.
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It's one of those games I'd like to play, but don't know I have the time. That's actually probably the same thing I said about the first one. I was glad to hear about some of the improvements -- especially the AI of the would-be survivors. Any word on the co-op? What about the integration with DR: Case Zero?
Nice pic!
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I guess what I would ask before getting to the issue of whether a game can do more than portray homosexual representation, is whether any game can or has fully realized its potential of communication through "procedural rhetoric?"
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