Heroin, Frank

I Recently bought FTL, and I really like the writing. Each small encounter has the potential to benefit or destroy you. Choosing to help a civilian ship caught in an asteroid field (Star Wars style) could get you free stuff, repairs, even new crew (something you desperately need). It could also get you nothing, or damage (or destroyed!). Every encounter becomes important, and the writing gives you enough information to fill in the blanks, without making it a huge deal. You feel good for rescuing those chumps. You are dismayed when your ship blows up. Both of these things happen all the time.

And I'd like to see it in another game. A Naked Gun game set in the movie series universe starring Leslie Nielsen. The plots and characters were ridiculous, funny, and over-the-top. Kind of like GTA, except fewer hooker murders.

Which brings me to my second point. In the game, you could play in a GTA-style city, with L.A. Noire-like dialogue choices and side missions. You can go anywhere and do anything. Sometimes the radio directs you to a crime, or you catch 'em as they happen. Apprehending a speeder turns into a cross-city chase on a horse, until the perp accidentally drives into the ocean. The plot is not one, but many - dozens of big businessmen, all of whom are villains at some point (for different reasons). The queen of England comes to town. Shakespeare in the Park. You can investigate or ignore them as you wish, and good or bad things happen according to your choices. And Frank Drebin, the main character, can't figure out clues or solve crimes without player dialogue choices.



I really want this game to be real.

Sometimes I get uppity

There are probably a few ME3 spoilers in the podcast. I try to keep it to a minimum.




This guy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H_A7SeawU4) does a good job explaining some of the common gripes with the ME ending. I don't agree with all of them, and as I mentioned I was relatively satisfied with my ending, though I made up another that made more sense to me.

And this guy: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/03/14/mass-effect-3-the-end-of-an-epic/

I forgot to mention Silent Hill in the podcast. Silent Hill is an excellent example of games that reward exploration. By exploring the town (which is necessary to progress) you get more story, some of it obvious (the cult) some not so (the executioners and pyramid head). And your story is formed by how you play; though most of the story is the same throughout, the ending is dependent on how you've played. No obvious choices are presented (dialogue is not chosen) but if you are aggressive and rush through, you get a negative ending. Take your time and avoid unnecessary fights, and you get a positive ending. This also depends on how you view the character: I saw James (Silent Hill 2) as a man who very badly wanted to do the right thing. Others saw him as a monster, others as a victim, or in-between. My story reflected my character and gameplay, and the same is true for others. In Heavy Rain, I saw Ethan, the main character, as desperate but weak. Because of this, he was not able to save his son. Others saw him as strong and determined. This is the power of games as stories; they are not just "choose your own adventure" books, they are complete, powerful stories that differ from one player to the next.