The worst words in videogaming

[MankeyMan]

It seems to me that there are always a few key words that I look out for when reading a videogame review or a post about videogame, that tend to tell me whether a game is worth getting instantly. I'm not talking about your run of the mill alets like 'Rubbish,' and 'Crap.' I'm talking about the dirtiest words you could give to a videogame. Like:

Port
Multi format
Movie Licence

Now of course, there are exceptions to these rules, as many people will attest to, but as a general rule of thumb, which words do you tend to look out for when finding out about a videogame?

[Alex Kidd]

I don't look so much for keywords, but HOW they describe it.

If all they talk about is graphics, sound, and the ability to kill a guy with a spoon, and don't mention actual GAMEPLAY, I have a feeling it's real turd.
Now I don't just mean if ONE person says that, but if EVERYONE is saying it.

Same goes for how I decide whether I wanna see movie or not.

To this day I STILL refuse to watch The Matrix.
Everyone I know has seen The Matrix. when it was new, it was all the rage, when they released that "Revisted" DVD, it was all the rage.
All everyone talked about was special FX, not ONE person mentioned a part of the movie they liked that actual had something to do with plot development.

I'm not sayin the movie has no plot, cause I never seen it, but just the fact so many 'fanboys' think special FX are what makes a movie and these movie makers fed them with a silver spoon to rake in dough, is what irks me.

Alex Kidd

[ManekiNeko]

Acclaim. They make good toilet paper, though.

JR

[Britboy]

Actually, the only word that annoys me is "videogame", used in place of the correct "Video game". That's like saying "naveloranges" or "computergames" or "racingcars", it's just wrong without the space.

[Zaxxon]

Simulation, RPG, real-time strategy. = nap time

[ashbourn]

turned based strategy

[Atari7800]

"port" isn't necessarity a bad word...

The X-Box version of Silent Hill 2 is a port of the original PS2 game, and it's better in several respects.

The Saturn port of Castlevania features several new characters and levels, making it superior to the original PSX game.

The Saturn version of Tomb Raider began development way before the PSX game, but the PSX game looks better and sold 10x as much (though that had alot to do with the PSX user base)

The N64 port of Resident Evil 2 surpasses the original PSX game in every respect except video quality, and is better than the DC and GC games in terms of special features.

[badinsults]

Edutainment

[rbudrick]

Videogame, not video game, is grammatically correct, dumb as it looks.

-Rob

[ManekiNeko]

Alex: I didn't want to see The Matrix either, but it turned out to be a pretty good movie with (surprise, surprise!) a very imaginative storyline. I don't want to give anything away, but they do explain what The Matrix is, and it's much more logical than you would expect.

JR

[IGotTheDot]

Army Man
and usually any game with the phrase 3-D in the title.

[Captain Wrong]

Simulation, RPG, real-time strategy. = nap time

Heh heh heh.

Arcadey, arcade-ish, 16-bit, etc.=I'm probably gonna like it.

[MankeyMan]

"port" isn't necessarity a bad word...

The X-Box version of Silent Hill 2 is a port of the original PS2 game, and it's better in several respects.

The Saturn port of Castlevania features several new characters and levels, making it superior to the original PSX game.

The Saturn version of Tomb Raider began development way before the PSX game, but the PSX game looks better and sold 10x as much (though that had alot to do with the PSX user base)

The N64 port of Resident Evil 2 surpasses the original PSX game in every respect except video quality, and is better than the DC and GC games in terms of special features.


Now of course, there are exceptions to these rules

[IntvGene]

For shooters, I look for the words BOTS and MULTIPLAYER CO-OP to tell if I want it or not.

But, otherwise I hate reading "UNLOCKABLE / HIDDEN COSTUMES" (read palette scroll). MINI-GAME does nothing for me also. I also laugh at the over-used word "EPIC" when describing RPG storylines.

For PC games, the most important part of any box / review are the specs... and how unfair it is that my computer never makes the cut. That's what I like about the consoles.

It reminds me of the best DVD "feature" that they advertise: Interactive Menus. LOL

[Britboy]

Hm, my American Heritage writer's complete dictionary says that "Video game" is correct and that "videogame" is incorrect.

[Raccoon Lad]

NES + THQ = utter crap.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

"Camera angles" will chase me away screaming most of the time. I don't want to play anything where I need to worry about having different camera angles. I want to play a game, not direct a smegging movie.

[Griking]

I'd have to say that the term "3D" in general turns me off nowadays. There's just certain games that aren't supposed to be 3D.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

Yeah, here in Argentina, everybody says "Fichines" instead of Arcade, and fichines it´s a horrible word :(

[Britboy]

Is Fichines a direct translation, or does it have some other meaning?

[zmeston]

Hm, my American Heritage writer's complete dictionary says that "Video game" is correct and that "videogame" is incorrect.

As written in "The Elements of Style," an invaluable resource for videogame journalists (right after "Digital Press Collector's Guide 7"), "The steady evolution of the language seems to favor union: two words eventually become one, usually after a period of hyphenation."

I use the compound word videogame, so I'm either at the forefront of evolution or just impatient. Salon.com uses the hyphenated video-game, the only outlet I've found that does so.

-- Z.

[davidbrit2]

Personally, I find the scarlet letter of video games to be a particular name. A name that conjures up images of trite story lines, unreasonably linear gameplay, and infuriatingly frequent random battles. That name is Squaresoft. It's a crime that they call any of there products Role Playing Games, as that would imply you actually have some control over the sequence of events. They might as well just call Super Mario Bros an RPG. It's interesting that Square's only good games have been action games rather than horribly long adventure games: 3D World Runner (NES,) Slalom (also NES,) and Einhander (PSX.)

I'll take Bemani over that other boring crap any day.

Okay, flame away. ;-)

[zmeston]

I'd have to say that the term "3D" in general turns me off nowadays. There's just certain games that aren't supposed to be 3D.

Which genres do you feel aren't supposed to be 3D?

I've always been intrigued by the insistence of some players (especially fighting-game guys) that 2D is better for certain genres, when the reason most early games were 2D was because that's all the technology allowed. Even in the '70s and '80s, game designers and programmers were constantly attempting 3D presentations, trying to overcome visual limitations to present a more compelling experience.

A 2D fighting-game guy once explained his preference as a gameplay issue; he said 2D fighters played better because the camera view was unchanging, allowing the players to precisely judge when and where to punch/kick/block. I kind of understood what he meant, although I've never been a hardcore fighting-game guy.

Puzzle games seem to play out better in 2D -- I never really got into the 3D iterations of Tetris, for example -- but puzzle games are also the only genre that's essentially unreliant on visuals.

-- Z.

[Chunky]

eBay

[Britboy]

Hm, my American Heritage writer's complete dictionary says that "Video game" is correct and that "videogame" is incorrect.

As written in "The Elements of Style," an invaluable resource for videogame journalists (right after "Digital Press Collector's Guide 7"), "The steady evolution of the language seems to favor union: two words eventually become one, usually after a period of hyphenation."

I use the compound word videogame, so I'm either at the forefront of evolution or just impatient. Salon.com uses the hyphenated video-game, the only outlet I've found that does so.

-- Z.


Oh no, not an Element of Style user! I hate that rag, it sacrifices everything in the name of brevity! No offense, but Elements of Style would shorten anything in order to save a space on a headline. Personally I don't think two words always have to become a compounded pair just because they are constantly used together. Until videogame with no space it makes it into the dictionary proper, I stand by my statement :P

[zmeston]

Hm, my American Heritage writer's complete dictionary says that "Video game" is correct and that "videogame" is incorrect.

As written in "The Elements of Style," an invaluable resource for videogame journalists (right after "Digital Press Collector's Guide 7"), "The steady evolution of the language seems to favor union: two words eventually become one, usually after a period of hyphenation."

I use the compound word videogame, so I'm either at the forefront of evolution or just impatient. Salon.com uses the hyphenated video-game, the only outlet I've found that does so.

-- Z.


Oh no, not an Element of Style user! I hate that rag, it sacrifices everything in the name of brevity! No offense, but Elements of Style would shorten anything in order to save a space on a headline. Personally I don't think two words always have to become a compounded pair just because they are constantly used together. Until videogame with no space it makes it into the dictionary proper, I stand by my statement :P

No offense, but there isn't a decent writer in the world who'd call EoS a "rag." Brevity is a crucial element of writing, and one that's been forgotten in the current era of rambling Internet posts (including my own -- doh!).

Do two words have to be compounded when they're frequently used together? Of course not. But I don't find "videogame" any more offensive than "wildlife" or "bellboy" or dozens of other compound words.

I'm cool with your waiting until the compound form of "videogame" appears in a dictionary, of course. Just realize that day is coming! :)

On a related note: is it "a RPG" on "an RPG"? (I use the latter.)

This debate reminds me of the quaint term Katz/Kunkel/Worley use to describe gameplay: "play action."

-- Z.

[Brisco]

A guy that I know believes that the Matrix is a complete ripoff
of the movie TRON. Check it out for yourself:

http://www.amazing-colossal.com/suspects11.html

He's been saying this for years, and truly thinks everyone needs to know this, so see if you think he's on the up & up with this.

[Raedon]

Rip off or not; the Matrix and Tron have very little in common when it comes to story. It would be like saying The Song of the South is a rip off of Gone with the Wind..

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

A guy that I know believes that the Matrix is a complete ripoff of the movie TRON.

Actually, I've felt that way for a long time too. I like the Matrix, mind you, but it does hit a lot of the same beats. Besides, I'm a lot more comfortable with the thought that Flynn is The One than I am with the thought that anyone played by Keanu Reeves is. :-D

[bargora]

Until videogame with no space it makes it into the dictionary proper, I stand by my statement :P
How recent is your dictionary?

This fiery debate brings to mind the stylings of T. Herman Zweibel, publisher emeritus of The Onion, America's finest news source. He hypenates many compound words, like "base-ball", "newspaper-man", and "re-run".

And "trades-men".
http://www.theonion.com/onion3531/profanity_primer_3531.html

Furthermore, what's up with baggin' on entire genres? I don't really think that's where the question was originally going. Although I think that the criticism of Square's so-called RPGs being linear (with optional side-quests) is a valid one.

So what's the dirtiest word possible in a gaming review? I'd go with "lush".

[Cafeman]

A personal pet peeve, but in sports games reviews, I loathe when the talk goes straight to how good the 'franchise mode' is. Franchise modes add depth to games , but have you noticed how this mode is often given the most weight in a football game review? The game can be no fun, 'but it has a detailed franchise mode', or vice versa. (I have yet to play through a franchise mode).

"Acclaim" is not synonymous with crap to me ... even they have had some great games under their label. For example: Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden on Saturn.

"over N hours of gameplay" , a tag usually reserved for overblown and dull RPGs, tells me to expect plenty of random monster battles and backtracking galore.

[bargora]

"Acclaim" is not synonymous with crap to me ... even they have had some great games under their label. For example: Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden on Saturn.
Does Acclaim develop games, or is it only a publisher? Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden were both originally Taito games.

[Cafeman]

Acclaim is a publisher. Their choice of developers usually are the stinky ones, but not always -- case in point ... Taito!

[Captain Wrong]

Personally, I find the scarlet letter of video games to be a particular name. A name that conjures up images of trite story lines, unreasonably linear gameplay, and infuriatingly frequent random battles. That name is Squaresoft. It's a crime that they call any of there products Role Playing Games, as that would imply you actually have some control over the sequence of events. They might as well just call Super Mario Bros an RPG. It's interesting that Square's only good games have been action games rather than horribly long adventure games: 3D World Runner (NES,) Slalom (also NES,) and Einhander (PSX.)

I'll take Bemani over that other boring crap any day.

Okay, flame away. ;-)

Gabba gabba we accept you we accept you one of us one of us.

:)

Hey, I gotta give Square Rad Racer too. For an Outrun rip, I gave it a lot of play back in the day.

[zmeston]

Acclaim is a publisher. Their choice of developers usually are the stinky ones, but not always -- case in point ... Taito!

They're both, actually, as they've purchased a couple of developers and renamed them "Acclaim [BLANK]," in keeping with a very ugly trend of modern videogame publishing. (DMA Design to Rockstar North, Origin Studios to EA Austin, et cetera. Independent development studios will be assimilated! Publishers must be given all the credit for games they had little or nothing to do with! It's like the days of Atari before Activision -- programmers and designers are, with rare exceptions, a bunch of anonymous schmoes.)

-- Z.

[Kid Fenris]

Personally, I find the scarlet letter of video games to be a particular name. A name that conjures up images of trite story lines, unreasonably linear gameplay, and infuriatingly frequent random battles. That name is Squaresoft. It's a crime that they call any of there products Role Playing Games, as that would imply you actually have some control over the sequence of events. They might as well just call Super Mario Bros an RPG. It's interesting that Square's only good games have been action games rather than horribly long adventure games: 3D World Runner (NES,) Slalom (also NES,) and Einhander (PSX.)

Of course, the "scarlet letter" of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel was affixed to a woman who, though not wholly innocent of her crimes, possessed strength, talent, and inner value unnoticed by those that condemned her. How fitting that you would apply such a symbol to Squaresoft.

I've found that Square RPGs seldom exhibit the faults you mention. The storylines are usually appealing in one way or another, the random battles don't frustrate me, and I actually view the confines of a linear, story-focused approach as a pleasant change from the directionless, unrewarding banality than often infests computer RPGs.

And what's wrong with calling something an RPG when it features all of the elements typical of Role Playing Games, albeit with a path more restrictive than a related category of gaming? I suppose one shouldn't call PC RPGs by such a term unless they allow the same freedom of action that tabletop role playing provides. For you see, if a video game doesn't let me pick my nose and throw fruit at barmaids, it's not an RPG.

Oh yeah, my least favorite thing to see in a game preview is "attitude," especially when it refers to some boring, soon-to-fail mascot. Zapper's got an attitude! Bubsy's full of attitude! Titus the Fox will rock you with his hardcore attitude! Ugh.

[zmeston]

Oh yeah, my least favorite thing to see in a game preview is "attitude," especially when it refers to some boring, soon-to-fail mascot. Zapper's got an attitude! Bubsy's full of attitude! Titus the Fox will rock you with his hardcore attitude! Ugh.

I blame Sonic the Hedgehog for a decade of overly attitudinal mascots. Wasn't he the first mascot to appear on the cover of a game making a "mad face"?

-- Z.

[ManekiNeko]

"Personally, I find the scarlet letter of video games to be a particular name. A name that conjures up images of trite story lines, unreasonably linear gameplay, and infuriatingly frequent random battles. That name is Squaresoft. It's a crime that they call any of there products Role Playing Games, as that would imply you actually have some control over the sequence of events. They might as well just call Super Mario Bros an RPG. It's interesting that Square's only good games have been action games rather than horribly long adventure games: 3D World Runner (NES,) Slalom (also NES,) and Einhander (PSX.)"

(Jess claps and cheers loudly)
Tell it, my brother!

KidFenris: You forgot one more quality of the wearer of the scarlet letter: she was a dirty, dirty slut.

Zach "some would call me Eddie" Meston: First of all, it's good to see you on the Roundtable. Secondly, while it's true that Sonic started a rather annoying trend, his existence is more than justified by the fact that he really is a cool character, in a cool series of games. I wouldn't sacrifice Sonic even if it meant flushing all those other mascot characters down the toilet with him.
To be perfectly honest, though, I like Tails more. :-D

JR

[Kid Fenris]

KidFenris: You forgot one more quality of the wearer of the scarlet letter: she was a dirty, dirty slut.

Yes, Squaresoft is a slut. That's why I love them. That's why I hate them too.

(God, I love oblique alt-rock references.)

And Tails is the Scrappy-Doo of the video game world.

Edit: Hey, Kid Fenris of 2003. This is Kid Fenris of 2009 telling you that you were a big dumb pretentious cocksuck.

Although davidbrit2 of 2003 was a dipshit. I'll give you that.

[zmeston]

Zach "some would call me Eddie" Meston: First of all, it's good to see you on the Roundtable. Secondly, while it's true that Sonic started a rather annoying trend, his existence is more than justified by the fact that he really is a cool character, in a cool series of games. I wouldn't sacrifice Sonic even if it meant flushing all those other mascot characters down the toilet with him.
To be perfectly honest, though, I like Tails more. :-D

How did you know my mega-secret nickname?! Then again, better Eddie than my usual nick, A-Hole.

I dunno... if taking out Sonic meant the collective and painful demise of Bubsy the Bobcat, Johnny Bazookatone, AND Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, I might just have to snuff the spiky bastid.

-- Z.

[davidbrit2]

Hey, I gotta give Square Rad Racer too. For an Outrun rip, I gave it a lot of play back in the day.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Rad Racer. I'll have to sit down and tear into it sometime. I've never really played it much, despite the fact that it's been sitting on my shelf for a while.


Of course, the "scarlet letter" of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel was affixed to a woman who, though not wholly innocent of her crimes, possessed strength, talent, and inner value unnoticed by those that condemned her. How fitting that you would apply such a symbol to Squaresoft.

Yeah, their games do bear some virtue, and that's the extreme amount of effort and attention to detail in the development. It's just a shame that I find their design to be so horribly flawed.


KidFenris: You forgot one more quality of the wearer of the scarlet letter: she was a dirty, dirty slut.

That's just flat out hilarious. And I think I can even contextualize it...
Squaresoft is slut for the strategy-guide-buying, gameshark-cheating, couch potato mass market. You know the kind of people I'm talking about, so I won't bother describing in detail. Rather than catering to an audience that appreciates carefully crafted gameplay mechanics, they just spit out discs full of "click to advance the FMV" games. Well, that's what they've always seemed like to me, at least when you're not walking around a field for hours, trying to level up. Ugh.

[ManekiNeko]

"How did you know my mega-secret nickname?!"

Because I gave it to you, silly! I met you briefly at E3 back in 1999, when you were still working for Working Designs. I was the chunky guy hanging out with Ben Leatherman. We got to talking, and I remarked that you reminded me a little of Eddie Haskell from the Leave It To Beaver series. Then, after ten minutes of seeing Victor Ireland's hand and absolutely nothing else peek out of his makeshift office, I concluded that he was the video game world's answer to Dr. Claw from the Inspector Gadget cartoon.
A note to everyone else: eh, you had to be there.

"I dunno... if taking out Sonic meant the collective and painful demise of Bubsy the Bobcat, Johnny Bazookatone, AND Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, I might just have to snuff the spiky bastid."

Wow, when you put it that way, that IS a tempting proposition. Throw in Rocky Rodent and Aero the Acro-Bat and you might just have a deal. Just make sure you get him in one shot. Well, maybe two, to shake loose any rings he might be holding at the time.

KidFenris: Oh, poo. Tails got better after Sonic 2. If anyone worked as an anchor to drag the Sonic series down, it was (L)Amy and that jiggly-boobed bat Rouge.

JR

[zmeston]

"How did you know my mega-secret nickname?!"

Because I gave it to you, silly! I met you briefly at E3 back in 1999, when you were still working for Working Designs. I was the chunky guy hanging out with Ben Leatherman. We got to talking, and I remarked that you reminded me a little of Eddie Haskell from the Leave It To Beaver series. Then, after ten minutes of seeing Victor Ireland's hand and absolutely nothing else peek out of his makeshift office, I concluded that he was the video game world's answer to Dr. Claw from the Inspector Gadget cartoon.
A note to everyone else: eh, you had to be there.

Forgive my mental lapse, yo. E3, even when I'm not working a booth, is invariably a blur.

I've also been compared in appearance and/or demeanor to Doogie Howser, Art Garfunkel, and the most stoned-out surfer you've ever met, so I'm cool with being Eddie-ish.


Wow, when you put it that way, that IS a tempting proposition. Throw in Rocky Rodent and Aero the Acro-Bat and you might just have a deal. Just make sure you get him in one shot. Well, maybe two, to shake loose any rings he might be holding at the time.

Hell, let's throw in Punky Skunk and Bug while we're at it.

-- Z.

[Eternal Champion]

I would have to agree about Squaresoft's supposed "RPGs". I think FFIII and Chrono Trigger are neat, but the story basically leads the player along. "Go to town. Explore. Now go here." Sega's Phantasy Star series is much more of an RPG, because you have to figure out where to go next. Zelda and MEtroid/Super Met are much more non-linear than FFIII, fer crissakes!! What's up with that? They're still "linear", but you aren't led by the hand.
FFVII is basically Dragon's Lair. Phooey.

STYLE: I prefer video SPACE game, but seeing as other adjective + nouns have become compounded, I see it as fair. What really gets me is increasing sloppiness of plural and third=person conjugation of verbs all over the internet--i.e., using an INAPPROPRIATE APOSTROPHE. Nouns are made plural by adding S, not 'S. CDs, NOT CD's. TVs, not TV's. Games, not game's. THAT IS POSSESSIVE. They're versus their. GO BACK TO THIRD GRADE. he/she/it buy's something. ????!!!!!?!?!?!?!?! >:( Increased use of the internet for communication is inversely proportional to degree of skill of written communication.
(Can you tell I teach English?)

P.S. Calling Hester a "dirty, dirty slut" and seeing all of the scantily-clad wank-material avatars around here...hmmm, quite a double standard...

[Kid Fenris]

I would have to agree about Squaresoft's supposed "RPGs". I think FFIII and Chrono Trigger are neat, but the story basically leads the player along. "Go to town. Explore. Now go here." Sega's Phantasy Star series is much more of an RPG, because you have to figure out where to go next. Zelda and MEtroid/Super Met are much more non-linear than FFIII, fer crissakes!! What's up with that? They're still "linear", but you aren't led by the hand.
FFVII is basically Dragon's Lair. Phooey.

Eh? So Dragon's Lair includes menu-driven character management, a heavily customizable magic system, reaction-centered special attacks, and a half-dozen optional mini-quests to be completed at the player's discretion? I must have missed those parts, though I confess that I could never get very far in Dragon's Lair. Under my control, Dirk just couldn't evade the rolling pin of that angry harridan at the orphanage. Or is that Dragon's Lair 2?

And by the way, isn't the last third of Final Fantasy III an array of dungeons and vignettes that can be tackled in any order? That seems less linear than anything the old-school Phantasy Stars ever provided.



P.S. Calling Hester a "dirty, dirty slut" and seeing all of the scantily-clad wank-material avatars around here...hmmm, quite a double standard...

U CALL SHANTAE WANK MATIRIEL?! U R WURSE THEN SATEN!!!!11!

[Aswald]

Anything with the word "extreme" in it, or "X".

Not just videogames, either.

[Eternal Champion]

OK, I'll admit I'm not very far into FFIII, and I guess it's not what I expected..."RPG", or "Role-Playing Game", brings with it certain expectations. To me, FFIII lacks some important RPG elements, SO FAR in the game, and that's being able to move about and explore.
OK. Compare Metroid Fusion to Super Metroid. That's what I mean.

But I do like the game, don't get me wrong. I just picked up Jared (?), the fighter dude, and pulling off SF 2-type moves in a typical RPG battle scenario is pretty nifty--so that shows you how early in the game I am. I'm also frustrated with the raft in the falls--I don't seem to be able to even control where I'm going. Again, I'm just being pulled along to fight the boss.

All right, maybe Dragon's Lair isn't a fair comparison to FFVII, and I haven't played it really deeply, but I thought it was even more linear than FFIII, just being guided through graphical storyboards. That's just my impression of it, and maybe we have different conceptions of what "linear" is. I suppose you could say only games like "Civilization" are non-linear. A true non-linear RPG would be one that has no pre-determined outcomes, but how do you program a game like that, and how could there still be a story? If there's a game like that I'll eat these words...
Anyway, maybe this should be a separate thread...

EDIT: Heh...Shantae is a cutie :-D ...I confess ignorance...who is she?

[Kid Fenris]

You make a good point by comparing console RPGs to Metroid Fusion, as both stick you on a path and allow you to break free and explore only after you've satisfied the requirements of the story. (That's certainly true in FFVII, where you don't even see the world map until you're two hours in.) The best of these games, I think, are the ones which interest you to the point where you don't realize that you're being pushed into a path, at least not as long as you're playing.

There's a website (http://home.earthlink.net/~bozon/GG_Index.htm) all about Shantae, but the short version is that she's the star of a surprisingly good Game Boy Color game, as well as a GBA sequel that's now in the works.

[NE146]

"SOUNDTRACK BY ROB ZOMBIE! AND THE OFFSPRING!"

[ManekiNeko]

(thinks about playing Way of the Warrior the other night, and shudders)
I second that notion. In fact, I third, fourth, and fifth that notion too. Way of the Warrior got the ball rolling on those awful Rob Zombie soundtracks.

JR

[Neonsolid]

Gone.

[GarrettCRW]

Anytime the review, the box, or the game makes specific reference to the female breasts (and, specifically, their movement and/or physics), that game is *talks like that on Klingon from "The Trouble With Tribbles"* garbage.

[FlufflePuff]

Exclusivity. I want to play Fable, but I don't want to waste the money on an X-Box dammit!

[junglehunter]

Game Over :P

[LiquidX01]

Geez, Im surprised no one said this.

CANCELLED, CANNED. Never to see the light of day. :D

[TheMaestro]

How about "no North American release expected"

[Wavelflack]

Any sentence "punctuated" as a series of individual (and capitalized) words. To wit:

"Best.
Game.
Ever."

(etc.)

This sort of thing is just downright fucking irritating.