I spent most of my weekend gaming time playing more Dragon Age and knowing I was coming up here I was sort of comparing and contrasting to Mass Effect as I went along. One thing that stood out to me was the difference in how each handles the signature BioWare branching conversations. Dragon Age goes back to their old method of having the literal phrases your character says as opposed to Mass Effect where you were more selecting a posture. It has an interesting impact on the narrative. To me it felt more structured. In some cases that was frustrating where I felt like I wasn't able to get the character to behave the way I wanted them to. But as a result, the personalities of those characters are more under the designer's control and hence they're able to create complex relationships.

While I was on the plane up here today here's what was happening out there:

• Job Listing Hints at Multiplayer in Dead Space Sequel
• Valve Gives Exact L4D2 Steam Unlock Times. Wait Almost Over
• Use Your PS3 to Get the PSP Online for Playing GT Portable and Monster Hunter Freedom
• Borderlands PC Patched to v1.01

The week got off on a sad note with the passing of Ken Ober who hosted MTV's Remote Control. Kurt Loder wrote a little remembrance in his honor.

New Zealand specialists are going to try to dig two cases of 100 year-old scotch out of the Antarctic ice.

450 lb. Giant Jellyfish growing in number.

New Oxford American Dictionary picks Unfriend as its Word of the Year 2009