Morning Discussion

After twelve days, six engineer visits and countless hours on the phone to British Telecom, my ADSL at long last seems to be fixed. I've thought that before, mind. Still, while I'm online I will be sure to check out the co-op in Sol Survivor.

I enjoyed Warcraft III's millions of custom tower defenses an immense amount and Sol Survivor is the first commercial TD I've played that learns from the archetypes. You're offered a choice of 'executive officers' with their own towers and support powers--active, targeted abilities from lowly orbital lasers to nukes--so it's not simply "plonk towers down; watch." I look forward to trying the co-op and competitive multiplayer.

Shatter is also fun. I haven't played that as much. Fun though.

Hey, it's Saint Patrick's Day! Time for degenerate American frauds to pretend they're Irish, get ratted and yell "WHOOOOO YEAH BRO!" You sicken me.

From The Chatty
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    March 17, 2010 5:08 AM

    Like many other people, I scored a copy of God of War III yesterday. I was able to walk into Best Buy and pick it up. The only inconvenience in-store was the cashier, probably ten years my junior, carding me (a first).

    Things got interesting on the way out, however. I went back to my car, and like a true internet whore, photographed the box and MMS'd it to Facebook. Then I started up the car, and began to leave the parking lot. I pulled to the end of the row and got ready to turn onto the road, waiting for traffic to clear. At this point my car is stopped facing the store, with a handicapped parking spot immediately to my right. It is at this point, waiting to turn, that I suddenly see a light out of the corner of my eye. I turn and see it is the handicapped parker's reverse lights--he has chosen the time at which I am stopped behind his car to back out. I lean on the horn to try and get him to stop but that doesn't faze him. He gracefully powers into my passenger door and my car lists to the left. Then a second or two passes as he, I assume, realizes something is amiss. He finally notices that he is crushing my car and pulls back into his spot. I pull next to him and get out to assess the damage. My passenger door has a big dent in it, and upon closer inspection I see that the impact occured right at the edge of the door so some of the energy had transferred to the door jamb and put a small dent in that too. Fantastic. I turn back to the other driver and after the driver's door slowly opens, a 60-70 year old guy pulls himself out and leans on the car for support, then stammers out an apology. We swapped insurance and contact information and both filed claims on the spot. I talked to an agent again this morning and his insurance is covering it, so at least that is taken care of.

    But who gives a shit about that? Let's talk about God of War III!

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      March 17, 2010 5:08 AM

      This is a really cool game. It's exactly how I remember the series. I played for a few hours last night and I am presently in the Underworld and I just met Emo Hephaestus. Kratos just can't keep himself out of trouble, can he? The introductory cinematic was really well done. The first level was raw insanity. The finale of the first level, where you watch Kratos kick the shit out of Poseidon from Poseidon's point of view was hilariously brutal. The blurry vision and looking around was great. There was a complete sense of, "oh man, you are FUCKED."

      I did a temporary backlog push to play this game, and so far it is worth it. I will need to resume Valkyria Chronicles once I finish God of War III, but if the rest of the game offers the same amount of action and excitement that the first two did, this will be totally worth it.

      However, I have noticed a few quirks and bugs so far. For example, if you run behind Gaia's Heart on the first level and swing your blades, it looks like the resulting red light actually makes the walls darker, which looks really awkward. I've also on two occasions noticed that if you jump and do an L1+[] (fantastic crowd clearing move, an old favorite of mine from God of War II) while sliding along a wall, Kratos will sometimes pick up a ridiculous amount of speed and fly across the map. I also once saw a minotaur get stuck on a wall and start moving in turbo speed for a few seconds. None of these are major and I am really enjoying the game so far. I can't wait to play more.

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      March 17, 2010 5:12 AM

      fucking old people.

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      March 17, 2010 5:15 AM

      finished gow1 on sunday, and pretty far into gow2. i just finished the atlas titan stage, probably about 30 mins past it. i wonder how much more there is, but it's been a blast the whole time except i'm impatient with some of the puzzles. is gow3 like that? puzzles every 15 mins? i would imagine as that's pretty much what gow is.

      bummer about your car man. at 70 dudes probably don't give a fuck, i doubt he even bothered to look behind him.

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        March 17, 2010 5:17 AM

        There have been maybe three puzzles so far, so perhaps one an hour or so?

        You have some awesome fights ahead of you in God of War II!

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        March 17, 2010 5:29 AM

        Finishing the game took me about 11½ hours. I think Atlas is about halfway through, maybe a little later than that. It's been a few weeks since I finished it (review copy), so my memory is a bit sketchy.

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          March 17, 2010 5:35 AM

          Fuck, are you talking about III or II?

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            March 17, 2010 5:56 AM

            atlas is pretty far into 2. I just got past him too, and played like 1.5h yesterday and got to the sisters.

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              March 17, 2010 6:09 AM

              Yeah I know Atlas is in II but I thought the reply I replied to was talking about II so I blindly clicked the spoiler but then saw "review copy" and realized his post was probably about III.

              If so, it's a minor thing, but still, I hate when I do that.

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              March 17, 2010 6:15 AM

              so i'm like 90 mins or so from the final part? i should be able to knock that out quickly

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                March 17, 2010 7:10 AM

                yeah if you play on easy, taht would be about right. mostly bosses after the phoenix part.

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                  March 17, 2010 7:27 AM

                  Just like Final Fantasy VI.

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                    March 17, 2010 7:32 AM

                    i guess! but I like their imagination of the mythology so fucking much. can't get enough. (and you get to play the bossfights 1st hand!)

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            March 17, 2010 7:31 AM

            Oh shit, sorry! I was talking about III. Never played the second one, so I didn't realize that was the one you were talking about.

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        March 17, 2010 5:31 AM

        i found all the chests in gow1 with no problems on my first run but i keep getting the feeling i'm missing stuff in gow2 (even more frustrating because i've finished it once on the ps2 already and i missed some stuff then too) pah!!!

        really looking forward to the uk release tho!

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          March 17, 2010 5:57 AM

          BTW you dont have to find ALL Chests, just 18 out of 36 possible (3 upgrade cycles). I knowingly (and stupidly) missed some cause i'm just going for story, and I got the achievement!

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        March 17, 2010 6:18 AM

        i give the puzzles 4-5 tries before i just youtube the fuck out of it. i'm also playing on easy. GoW3 is sitting on the table just laughing at me so i needs to get this shit finished asap!

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          March 17, 2010 6:19 AM

          lol exactly what i do. i give it like 2 tries or 5 minutes of thinking and then say fuck it and cheat.

          i also accepted the "change to easy?" option because i just want to get the story now.

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            March 17, 2010 6:39 AM

            NINJA DOG

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            March 17, 2010 7:08 AM

            that's normal. the lore, imagination of the mythology and the story are far more interesting than most of the long drawn out battles.

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      March 17, 2010 5:24 AM

      Should have called the cops and had them take that stupid old guy's license. Holy crap.

    • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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      March 17, 2010 5:27 AM

      I am considering not even going out tonight just to play it

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        March 17, 2010 5:47 AM

        I had to stop playing after an hour. I felt like Kratos was fucking me raw dog and I just couldn't take anymore Kratos. That game just doesn't fucking let loose. I cannot wait to power through it this week/weekend.

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      March 17, 2010 5:49 AM

      I'm confused by these posts where someone seems surprised that they were able to just walk in a buy a game at a big-box store like Best Buy or Target or somewhere similar. Why wouldn't you be able to buy God of War 3 at any store on opening day? I can't recall EVER seeing any game sold out at big stores like that. Maybe at lame Gamestop due to their retarded pre-ordering policies but not at any huge chain. Weird.

      Sorry about your door, Omaha. That guy clearly should NOT be driving if your honking didn't even phase him. Scary.

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        March 17, 2010 5:53 AM

        You know, I feel the same way, because I was able to do the same thing with God of War II, and Grand Theft Auto IV, both of which were huge launches and I was able to grab it halfway through the day.

        I think the horror stories come from smaller places and places with shitty policies like Gamestop. I have never had a sold out Best Buy experience on a release day.

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          March 17, 2010 6:15 AM

          Batman: Arkham Asylum for PS3 was sold out at BB on release day for me. They had a sale for a few days after release day and I couldn't find it anywhere.

      • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
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        March 17, 2010 6:18 AM

        It's because Gamestop intentionally conditions people to believe that a pre-order is actually necessary to acquire a game at launch. In reality it's just a marketing scheme to lock you into purchasing at Gamestop.

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        March 17, 2010 7:50 AM

        BUT YOU DIDNT PREORDER IT AT EB YOU WONT GET IT AT LAUNCH!

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        March 17, 2010 8:03 AM

        [deleted]

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        March 17, 2010 12:19 PM

        they run out all the time. one target here sold out of ff13 for ps3 last tuesday in the morning

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      March 17, 2010 5:50 AM

      this is why you preorder on the internet ... fuck the brick and mortar

      • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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        March 17, 2010 5:52 AM

        yeah man, fuck walking into a store and buying it when they have plenty of copies and you get right away

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          March 17, 2010 5:54 AM

          yeah and old people can fuck you over just as easily on the internet, all calling you and saying "SONNY MY INTERNET SAYS I HAVE A VIRUS SHOULD I CLICK THE OK BUTTON" and "nigerians want to make me rich!" and "where do I find the naked ladies? they told me there would be naked ladies!"

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          March 17, 2010 5:55 AM

          When I preorder online w/ overnight i get it before I would if I went to a store on release day ...

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            March 17, 2010 5:56 AM

            Maybe you should get a car so you don't have to wait until your friends get off work to give you a ride.

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            March 17, 2010 5:59 AM

            you also probably pay like 10 bucks more?

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              March 17, 2010 6:04 AM

              It's actually about $4 less if you have Amazon prime.

              You get free launch day shipping and you don't have to pay tax so you shave about $4 off the top compared to retail. They also had a $5 off deal for GoW3 so my total was something like $54.

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                March 17, 2010 6:12 AM

                yeah amazon isn't shipping mine until like the 22nd. wtf.

                regular shipping

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                  March 17, 2010 6:12 AM

                  oh i already told you that yesterday i think, i figure fuck it - i need to finish 2 anyway

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                  March 17, 2010 6:17 AM

                  I have unopened copies of the GoW 1&2 collection and GoW3 sitting on my entertainment center right now... I can't stop playing BC2 long enough to start playing :)

                  SM your name and email address and I'll invite you to my Amazon Prime account

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                    March 17, 2010 6:20 AM

                    bonus, gimme yours and i'll paypal you whatever the split is

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                      March 17, 2010 6:22 AM

                      I already have Prime and no one else is on the account, I don't care about splitting the cost (since I am going to keep it regardless)

                      I can add you to my account since I have a bunch of slots open anyway, no big deal.

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              March 17, 2010 6:06 AM

              worth it not to have a 60-70 year old man back into my car :D

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              March 17, 2010 7:20 AM

              $55 on Amazon, release date delivery, with no taxes or shipping costs + $10 future credit. There is no better way to go.

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              March 17, 2010 7:48 AM

              [deleted]

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                March 17, 2010 7:48 AM

                [deleted]

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                  March 17, 2010 7:49 AM

                  They give you a free credit for all pre-orders?

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                    March 17, 2010 7:52 AM

                    Not every pre-order, but most of the big ones there is some sort of credit. It's usually $10, but I got $20 for BFBC2 and $15 for Just Cause 2.

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                      March 17, 2010 7:54 AM

                      That's pretty awesome, I got the $20 credit for BC2 and used it to pick up the GoW1/2 collection for $6.

                      Amazon is going to be the death of me.

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                        March 17, 2010 7:55 AM

                        These deals + Prime + 1 click ordering is a dangerous combo.

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                    March 17, 2010 7:52 AM

                    [deleted]

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                      March 17, 2010 7:53 AM

                      Awesome, I got one for BC2 and GoW3 but didn't realize this was something they did all the time.

                      Kickass!

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                        March 17, 2010 7:55 AM

                        From what I understand, it's only with certain games and only if you preorder at certain times. I preordered the CE of Mass Effect 2 and never got a credit because they didn't start offering the credit until a month after I preordered.

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              March 17, 2010 8:53 AM

              Haha look at this non-Prime user

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          March 17, 2010 5:59 AM

          Walking into my condo after work and having someone hand it to me is pretty damn convenient.

          :)

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          March 17, 2010 6:54 AM

          [deleted]

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      March 17, 2010 6:03 AM

      Haha, I've had that exact same kind of thing happen. Some dumb ass old guy backed RIGHT into me when I was stopped. The thing that makes it even worse though... My car was stopped there to unload stuff for like 15 minutes. He walked into his car, with my car behind it, got in, and then hit it. Now that's paying attention.

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      March 17, 2010 7:19 AM

      I finished the game last night I think my final time was 12 hours or so? There probably were 3 spots I died for 20 minutes trying to beat them, fuck those minotaurs ;(

      Holy fuck I can't imagine beating it on hard or veryhard mode.

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      March 17, 2010 7:24 AM

      One of the first holy shit moments for me: You enter a room with a reflective glass floor. There is a plaque nearby. Here lies Ares, the fallen god of war. The camera pans down and you can see Ares laying there. "Holy shit!"

      I momentarily thought, wait, didn't he explode in dramatic fashion when he died? But then I said it was very cool and moved on.

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      March 17, 2010 7:24 AM

      THOUGHTS I think I'm close to the end so here are some.

      So far its been a pretty good game but not without its flaws. I've ran into quite a few bugs which have detracted from the experience. For example, the first time I got on that ridable 3 headed fire breathing lion thing, I couldn't get it to turn right or left, just back and forth. It was infuriating getting it to where I needed it to be. Also there was another couple of parts where I was fighting something and got smashed through the world to an instant death.

      Some of the other issues I had have to do with pacing of the coolest moments being broken up by split second timing events where you die because you don't know whats coming so you have to replay the whole thing such as the Hermes chase. I'm also not sure why all other models outside of Kratos look like shiny plastic playdough, especially Zeus. The game can look so good but so bad at the same time.

      Lastly, I think I'm not a fan of most of the new weapons outside of the Whip Blade which is ridiculous.

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        March 17, 2010 7:26 AM

        yeah, in the few times I've seen him so far in GOW3 Zeus did look pretty plasticky. I get the unpleasant feeling that parts of this were rushed, but the gameplay is solid so far so I am looking past that.

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        March 17, 2010 7:28 AM

        I have had a couple graphical glitches and jumping glitches. Its kinda dissapointing.

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          March 17, 2010 7:29 AM

          The high speed jump I described in my post was hilarious and almost did throw me through the world, but luckily I caught on a ledge.

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          March 17, 2010 7:34 AM

          During the sex scene with Aphrodite, where the 2 chicks are talking with each other, during the second time, one of the girls disappeared so it was just the one girl talking to no one and then the VO didn't match her lips. I still finished the deed, but it almost threw me off my game!

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            March 17, 2010 7:55 AM

            When i did that he never killed them? he just kept going back for more and then he would get red orbs, and those other two bitches would go down on eachother :(

      • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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        March 17, 2010 7:33 AM

        I hope I am not rushing it, I am 4-5 hours in and I am maybe 30 minutes past boning Aphrodite and then going through that huge ass door that Hephaestus opens for you

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        March 17, 2010 8:05 AM

        [deleted]

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      March 17, 2010 7:56 AM

      [deleted]

      • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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        March 17, 2010 7:57 AM

        yeah, it is something to do with the actual controller and the analog buttons

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        March 17, 2010 7:57 AM

        [deleted]

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          March 17, 2010 9:04 AM

          shit so i when i play it i should start with hard?

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            March 17, 2010 9:08 AM

            play it normal first, then replay on hard with some of the unlocks.

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        March 17, 2010 8:00 AM

        Jumping over pits has thus far turned into the deadliest thing for me. I have only died in combat a couple of times.

        Kratos previous abilities to block just about anything seem to be lacking in this installment.

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        March 17, 2010 8:02 AM

        I thought it was just me. DJ seems to be less sensitive in this game than previous GOWs.

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        March 17, 2010 8:18 AM

        I think i died more times at the early parts of the game due to jumping :( so many times dd would not work

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          March 17, 2010 8:28 AM

          I thought I was getting old and was starting to suck at games. I'm glad it wasn't just me.

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            March 17, 2010 8:33 AM

            lol at the "do you want it to be changed to easy mode" because you keep dying ala Ninja Gaiden

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              March 17, 2010 12:06 PM

              I kept getting that because of shitty double jump issues.

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        March 17, 2010 9:53 AM

        It doesn't work like normal double jumping - you can't do the second jump in the middle of the other jump, you have to hit it twice right at the start. And the timing is pretty fast for it.

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        March 17, 2010 10:43 AM

        I had problems in 2 but not here. The timing is a little tricky because he can't jump again if it's too late, it has to be near the peak of the jump. At least that's what id do and no probs so far.

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      March 17, 2010 9:59 AM

      A few months after I got my first brand-new vehicle, my 2007 Tacoma, some genius off-duty rent-a-cop decided to change lanes into mine on the freeway. He didn't hit me bad, just enough to lightly scrape the paint, but when I chased him down and made him pull over, a plastic wheel well flare piece was lodged in the side of his vehicle. That would've been funny if I hadn't wanted to throw him off the overpass. Fixed with rental car on his insurance's dime, nothing too serious. The rental car was fun, a Toyota Avalon.

      A few months after that, I get nailed by ANOTHER rent-a-cop. This time in the goddamn parking lot of my own workplace by a senile old grandpa. I've got the right of way on my way out of the lot, he's coming up to the top of the T in a row of parking spaces. He "just didn't see me!" and lightly, scrapingly T-boned me. That one resulted in some serious scratches on the bed and back of the cab and a dent. My truck was in the shop for weeks on that one, being shortly after Hurricane Ike, and requiring actual body work and reprimering and painting and all that. The rental car sucked, a Chevy Impala.

      TL,DR: Rent-a-cops hate Tacomas. True story.

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        March 17, 2010 10:41 AM

        Was there a QTE involved with these collisions?

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      March 17, 2010 10:43 AM

      [deleted]

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        March 17, 2010 10:50 AM

        do you think i could go back and play GOW 1 and 2 (never played them) after playing awesome 3? Or will i cry about shitty graphics?

        • gmd legacy 10 years legacy 20 years mercury mega
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          March 17, 2010 10:50 AM

          you should play them before playing 3

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          March 17, 2010 10:52 AM

          [deleted]

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            March 17, 2010 11:17 AM

            just play them on easy and cheat on the puzzles imo

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          March 17, 2010 11:06 AM

          you should play them because they're good games. also playing 3 before 2 and 1 will make them useless to you after because of all the little things that got better.

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