PixlBit

People did complain somewhat about Miranda and her costume which looked more like body paint on her bare ass than a real costume, and the gratuitous close-ups of said painted ass. Bioware didn't throw that stuff in for artistic effect, they did it because sex sells. Whether that was an idea that came from EA brass or from Bioware producer Casey Hudson himself, it was still a case of "sex sells." And Machocruz is exactly right. Bioware was, at the time, a can-do-no-wrong critical darling while Konami is a "dirty Japanese developer" in the eyes of the Western press.

Personally, I think the outcry is a bit stupid. MGS is military fantasy. I didn't care about Miranda's painted ass, I rather liked the Sorceress and Amazon designs in Dragon's Crown, and I'm kind of "meh" about Quiet's design.

But that isn't exclusive to video games, either. Look on any Forbes or Fortune article about smartphones and you'll find people supposedly mature enough to be involved in the business community at high levels throwing shit at each other regarding their preferences for iOS/Android. Or Apple vs. Samsung. Cars are even worse, especially in the Chevy/Ford debates or the US/foreign car wars. Women in the 50s used to fight about Maytag washers vs. Whirlpool washers.

Gaming never was, and never will be as mainstream as TV/movies. Even the cell phone games mainstream business publications keep blathering about are only diversions for ADD people to keep their hands busy while they're sitting on the toilet, and once they find something less demanding the mobile games industry is going to follow Zynga and implode.

That said, I don't really give a damn about mainstream acceptance. If I'm waiting at the doctor's office, I reach for my 3DS, not my iPhone, because as much as I otherwise like my iPhone, it is a shitty game platform. My wife is a gamer. I have nothing to prove to anyone. If they think I'm weird, fuck them, that's their problem, not mine.

I'd download the free version from GOG.com for the PC. I'd also get a utility called Pix's Ultima Patcher to patch some music and color into the game.

I've been playing, but I'm on Midgardsormr. I might join you on Coeurl.

If only I did not have a Wii U already, I would jump on the bundle! Regardless, I will be more than happy to sail the Great Sea once more!

I like the game a lot, from what I've been able to play of it. :) However, in my case, it's not entirely a problem on Square Enix's end. My area is not exactly awash in broadband access, sadly, and no means of getting anything better than what I have.

Kid Icarus' opening was quite epic. I got that game back in 1992, having been a fan of the NES original, and I loved it. I wish that Nintendo would dust it off for download on the 3DS e-Shop, because that game was leaps and bounds above the original game.

I really like this game. My wife and I have been playing it together a lot on PS3, which is one strong advantage the PS3 version has over the Vita version (simultaneous two-player action without having to own another console). She has an Amazon, I have a Sorceress.

As far as the people griping over the character designs, they need to get over themselves and stop sending Kamitani so much hate mail. This game has an unabashedly over-the-top art design that I rather like.

The game really does play like an update of Capcom's D&D arcade games, and that's no accident. Kamitani worked on those games when he was working for Capcom.

Not surprised. The XCOM shooter had a lot of baggage attached to it, and the XCOM people really wanted, Enemy Unknown, probably killed what little hope there was for it.