[QUOTE="Uncle_Tbag"]

I don't know which is more shocking, the sudden departure of Jeff or the willingness of so many people to go batsh|t crazy over a story that is still 99% speculation.

The word of someone with the screen-name of "gamespot" is absolute gosphel - is it that particular screen name that engenders such unquestioned trust?

Some moderation is deserved here. You should be preparing to leave, preparing to "burn it down," not doing so before any of this has played out and the facts are actually revealed.

lol at all the people with under 10 posts saying they'll be leaving forever. *sniff* What a loss . . .

beat89

-Penny Arcade (Who are pretty well on with the GS crew) did a comic about Jeef being fired, saying it was true

-Admins are on gag order about Jeff's firing which is fairly suspicious

-GS has been plastered with K&L ads for the past while

-There is still no official statement (While not a big deal, one would think CNET would be quick to quash this if there's no truth to the matter. Hell, they'd be quick to quash it anyway, as it could be a serious blow against their credibility.

-Several anonymous messages from people claiming to be GS staffers have surfaced corroborating the story

Now I know none of those are definitive sources, but if you throw all of them together, it's pretty hard NOT to be suspicious of what's going on here...

Suspicion is fine. People aren't treating it suspiciously though. They're treating it as fact.

- Yes, I know he's been fired.

- Every corporation would be on "gag-order," especially on a Friday evening when no one is in the office.

- GS is plastered with ads EVERY DAY from numerous games; some score well and others don't.

- No official statement on a Friday night an hour or two after the story hits? NOt a surprise at all.

- I know, and I already said that I think it's naieve to take anon posts as fact. Anyone of us could do the exact same thing, claiming to be official staffers.

Believing Jeff got fired over one review is a pretty big claim and deserves some pretty big backing which hasn't shown up yet.

I know it's stupid to expect moderation from OT anyway, this is pretty much freak-town, no offense to anyone in particular.

[QUOTE="Uncle_Tbag"]

I don't know which is more shocking, the sudden departure of Jeff or the willingness of so many people to go batsh|t crazy over a story that is still 99% speculation.

The word of someone with the screen-name of "gamespot" is absolute gosphel - is it that particular screen name that engenders such unquestioned trust?

Some moderation is deserved here. You should be preparing to leave, preparing to "burn it down," not doing so before any of this has played out and the facts are actually revealed.

lol at all the people with under 10 posts saying they'll be leaving forever. *sniff* What a loss . . .

xboxdudeman800

99% speculation? this story has been confirmed by numerous sites.

And you do know people come to gamespot for other things than forums... (use your brain when posting)

The only confirmation is that there are rumors. Stories of rumors abour rumors and more rumors.

Of course people who aren't familiar with GS forums RUSH to make an account to announce their canceling their accounts. Not likely. These are people that want the ability to save face when theyre back here tomorrow posting as usual.

You don't have an iota of proof the rumors of payoffs are true yet post it in your sig like that. Reallly immature and intellectually dishonest.

Idk I really feel like I played a different game from everyone else, maybe it gets tremendously better after the first couple of assassinationsHiResDes

The big problem is it stays exactly the same and only has 3 major cities aside from where you start. If you don't like it after your first two assassinations, prepare to give up on this game shortly. I'm sticking with till the end, I hope, but I also enjoyed in from the get-go.

The combat get more challenging and varied once you get more of your weapons and skills back, but by then much of the game is gone and you've seen all there is to see.

[QUOTE="CarnageHeart"]

Some of the stuff its detractors say sounds reasonable and persuasive (poor AI is a big problem for a stealth game in my experience) but many of the posters here paint an equally compelling picture stressing different aspects of the game.

A demo would be ideal, but failing that I will have to rent AC during a less hectic period.

Grammaton-Cleric

Poor AI is the fallback complaint these days when people have no other viablecriticisms to levy against a game. The AI is uneven but hardly horrible and the guards are insanely aggressive and will follow you on rooftops and chase you through the streets.

Frankly, this is one of the most amazing and divergent gaming experiences of the last several years and I hope everyone gets a shot at spending some real time with this title.

That would be a valid complaint if it were the main criticism levied against the game. The problem most people have with the game is the extreme level of repetition that sets in. How long will the tricks of the game distract you from the fact the story and overarching design of the game has no real substance at all?

Imagine if GTA took out 95% of all the missions, and all there was to do was drive around and cause mayhem? It would be a horrible game. Fortunately, in AC the combat and platforming mechanics are light-years ahead of GTA and that gives this game legs, which is why I like it, but think about it in this context and you might understand the complaints of eventual boredom. This is somewhat like a GTA style game with only one type of mission.

Aside from AI being the less serious complaint, it is definitely a valid one. In a stealth hybrid like this it's a pretty important element and when the AI falls on its face, it jumps out at you. It's not like mediocre FPS AI; it's "HELLO THERE, THIS IS REALLY DUMB AI."

When two guards are standing right next to each other, with another a few paces away, it's laughable that you can "blend" up to one, execute him, immediately hit blend, execute the guy right next to him, (who for some reason had no idea you just killed his partners ever though there's no one else around) then hit blend again and walk away without any alarm being raised. This is in the middle of a soldiers camp in the kingdom, not a bustling city. "Uh, hey chief, you think that guy in white with the swords strapped to him, walking around our camp and who just happens to be 3 paces away might be responsible for those two guys just dropping dead?" "Nah, he has his head bowed in prayer, he is obviously a scholar." Uh huh.

Or how about leaving line-of-site for less than two seconds and jumping in one of those little kiosks? A guard with an IQ of 50 would know where you were hiding, because it's the only place to hide in a sea of barren rooftop. Good idea implemented poorly and made worse by bad AI.

If you can't see that as a valid point of contention and a pretty jarring at times, I don't know what to say. Maybes it's an ego thing, not being able to see legit faults in a game you declare genius. I'm enjoying the game, but I really, really see where the detractors are coming from. I think you just were oohhed and awwed so much at the beginning to recognize the flaws.

Collecting flags (or crosses) is a miserable excuse for content. Scouring the kingdom for Templars is a miserable excuse for content, and I think a sign of desperation from developers who knew they had a great movement/combat system, but were way short on content. They are both miserable boring and I can't imagine anyone but the biggest achievement hound going for all of these.

Outside of that, there's eavesdropping, pickpocketing, interrogation over and over. Citizen saving is fun and all, but it seems tacked on just to give you an excuse to engage in open combat in a city.

I think what used to constitute the term console is dead, and has been replaced by something much closer to a PC. I think that's where a lot of the griping is coming from. It seems like every time I turn one of these things on, it wants to do something other than PLAY A GAME. It wants to update, or it wants to sell me something, or it wants to not work at all.

Shame-usBlackley

The best way to learn the ins and outs of having a trouble-free PC is to build your own. A month looking at forums like guru3d, extremesystems, arstechnica, and you will easily gain a working knowledge of how to build, fix, and maintain a really good gaming PC. You'll learn when to avoid or ignore when it wants to update (like turning off auto updates for one) or do other things. Being such a well-versed gaming connoisseur you owe it to yourself, because your missing out on a lot. A whole lot. Just stay away from Vista atm. And I'm not a PC fanboy; I get accused of being a xbot far more often ;)

Right now, you'd probably be a lot happier just formatting your hard-drive and reinstalling XP. That will solve 90% of your problems right there.

Look at my system: I built it early 2002, put $300 in it for a new GPU and CPU ($100 for a cpu that was originally $1300) early this year, and it's still chugging along. I'm due for a new build (but I spent all my money on a new TV intstead lol ), but I'm still able to play new games like World in Conflict, The Witcher (incredible game), even Crysis on medium-ish settings.

[QUOTE="Uncle_Tbag"]

I thought Halo 3 had a fine ending, quite sentimental, but you'll only know this if you watch through the credits. It's not some crazy, mind-blowing endings to end all endings (zing) but those who like it certainly don't deserve the disrespect some of you are giving them. ^Like COD4 has the most amazing ending to a five hour campaign ever :roll:

The Witcher also has a great (actually I think 3 great) endings, and it's without a doubt one of the top games of the year. Really one of the best RPGs since Planetscape or Fallout 2.

The reviews say ME also has a really good ending that also sets it up for the next two in the trilogy, which is no mean feat.

OneWingedAngeI

I'm not comparing it to another game's ending. That comment was directed at someone, not either game.

Saying it's a "fart" really offers deep insight into why you think it's so bad.

I liked it because it contained a cliffhanger within the ending, one with a nice resolution before the last cinematic ends; set up a divide between 2 sets of characters, both eliciting different emotions, both going through two different "endings" to the saga.

The exchange between MC and Cortana was quite nice, with here calling him something she'd never called him by before. (Not saying to much here in case anyone hasn't seen it.) It also shed quite a bit of light on the emotional makeup of MC and Cortana, and a reverence Cortana has for him that's never really been revealed before.

It also did a good job in wrapping up the trilogy while leaving room for more, especially if you see the legendary ending. It opened up a HUGE possibilitly for another chapter starring both main characters (and also possibly tied it in to Marathon).

Once again, so sorry you thought it was a . . . fart.

I thought Halo 3 had a fine ending, quite sentimental, but you'll only know this if you watch through the credits. It's not some crazy, mind-blowing endings to end all endings (zing) but those who like it certainly don't deserve the disrespect some of you are giving them. ^Like COD4 has the most amazing ending to a five hour campaign ever :roll:

The Witcher also has a great (actually I think 3 great) endings, and it's without a doubt one of the top games of the year. Really one of the best RPGs since Planetscape or Fallout 2.

The reviews say ME also has a really good ending that also sets it up for the next two in the trilogy, which is no mean feat.

Also, not to start a fight or anything, but I think people are much, much more hasty to put the "best game of all time" on a Nintendo franchise, or any game for that matter, if they have no or limited exposure to the PC platform.

Fallout 2, SystemShock 2, Galaxy or OoT? Hell, I don't know and certainly would have no idea which one to crown "best." I know which one first brought perfect midair control and it certainly wasn't the same one that brought a depth of storytelling never thought possible in a game before.