@david1230

Thanks for the suggestion! Here is just one link , a simple search will broaden the perspective on this issue. http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/02/honda-ceo-takes-responsibility-for-poor-reception-of-redesigned/

Honda agreed that the 9th gen civic is boring and not up-to-date, they listened to the customers, so that company will swallow their pride, and push up the release of the 10th gen civic by 3 years. They even apologized for releasing a product that does not please the MAJORITY of consumers. This is not to say that the 9th gen is bad, or lame, but it is not up to par with what Honda knows they owe to their customers. And they are taking steps to rectify it. Is a car, art? Should Honda say "we made it so you have to like it"? No, and yet by your logic you defend the gaming industry as some higher form of art where those who buy their games have no right to having an input or giving feedback. The more I re-read this article the more flawed it becomes.

There are a few holes in this article, but Including the Mass Effect 3 example was a fundamental mistake. I understand your logic - for example, if today you buy 10 different recordings of Beethoven's 5th symphony, you will hear 10 different interpretations. This makes sense. I might like one, and not like the others. But buying a video game that has set inherent expectations, and then, at the apex of the story, the ending, it is ruined by incoherence, inconsistency and poor craftsmanship, I do have the right to complain, and the studio has the obligation to set it right. It's not the essence of the story that was wrong, but how it was executed. It was cheap, it was lazy and it was a mistake. There is a fine line between art and rubbish - and Mass Effect is art, but the ending was rubbish, again, not the idea of how to end the game, but how it was actually done. I really can't understand how anyone can argue this, I really can't.

Good and fair review! It makes me (finally) relieved to see that GameSpot actually quantifies a reviews instead of just jumping on the pop-train. I haven't bought the game yet, and I am holding off until Blizzard can provide a solid guarantee that they have ironed out all the DRM wrinkles. I am really dead set against the online single player model, but absolutely dread all the stories out there about the failed launch. Yes, yes, I have read about those of you who had zero issues, but when it comes to $60 (plus tax), so ~$70, I will tend to assume that it's not a reliable system yet. I'll wait, but now I know why I actually want to play this game.

@alfaresalasmar - Guaranteed you don't even know the difference between monkeys and apes, nor do you have the slightest clue as to why exactly wolverines "puke" on their prey...in fact, you probably don't even understand the point that some people correctly make that homosexuality, and bisexuality is in fact a scientifically accepted reality. It happens - at times, nature even makes it part of a self-correcting mechanism to control overpopulation and other circumstances. Homophobia is not a natural fact because you were not born hating gays, just like you weren't born probably being racist either (which no doubt you are...I guarantee it) - though consider this...is stupidity and ignorance a natural thing? Have you ever seen a "stupid" bee, or an "ignorant" cat. Nope. But I'm sure seeing lots of humans who fit one, or both, and sometimes even more of those categories...

Wow....30 pages (and no doubt counting...)! Is there really such a big discrepancy between those that understand the normalcy of all-inclusive sexuality in games, and those that think that it's the devil's work? Each and one of you know (and love/care about) somebody who is gay - you may not know it because they might not be out or not out to you, but trust me....you work with someone you like, you sit beside someone at school - you might even share a kitchen table with someone who just so happens to have been born gay Chill the hell out people and worry about how to be a better person instead of making somebody's life even more challenging than it probably already is. And if you're so narrow minded that you choose to quote the bible, how about you look at the Bible as a whole - what does it try to teach you...what has Jesus done in his life? Do you think he would hide behind a keyboard and spew hate-speech? No, he wouldn't. BTW I'm not religious...

Excellent article Laura! Thanks. It's about time that this issue is presented in a dignified manner, without any apologies - the facts remain. Gaming is not a heterosexual phenomenon - and no matter what, everybody has a right to experience a game to its full potential, and just like (I will guess) not too many straight players would be all fine with only gay-romance options in games, it is exactly the same with gay players who are tired of being walked down the same straight-only relationship options. All in all, disregarding the reality that sexuality must be an all inclusive experience is just downright ignorant these days. Homophobes simply need to get over their fears...

How ridiculous it would sound if someone suggested that a teenager should not be permitted to buy books that contain violence. I am sorry but the only authoritative figure who should be given the first word and last word in this is the guardian of the youth (parent, caregiver, etc.) - not the law!

@frazzle00 You are one of the most ignorant losers I've ever had the pleasure to carry on with a discourse. Not for what you wrote to me, but for your comment to cosita46! I wonder how many languages you speak... cosita46 writes good reviews, offers good perspectives and looking at the thumbs-up he gets, I'd say people enjoy reading what he writes - so show some respect. Reading your comments here, I doubt you have the mental capacity for languages, and seeing how not too many people like your hate-rant, I'd say it's clear who's unwelcome here. To address your response(s) to me, I don't even think you know what you're talking about. I honestly sense that you're confused because you're unable to grasp what people write. Once again, to be clear, forums exists to share opinions. I wasn't even trying to convince anyone that they were/are wrong for liking this game - I simply stated what I think. Though, I am sure with your illuminated mind, you will now reply with "nobody cares what you think" - and yet you are reading a forum... Thank you for pointing out the Ubisoft error - as you could doubtlessly deduce, it was just a mistake. Correction made!

@frazzle00 "omnimodis78 and cosita46 - Your opinion is just that, opinion. How do you know that your negative opinion of DA2 is the majority one out there? From Web rantings? LOL!" My friend, a few things: ending a reprisal with "LOL!" just makes you sound like you're 8 years old. Try not to do that or you will not go far in life. Also, given that this is a forum, it's all based on opinions and subjectivity. The very essence of rating a game is an internalized process based on a multitude of opinions then consolidated into a single rating. As for the game itself, of course there are those who love it and then there are those of us who can see the many faults in it - and the very notion that BioWare even had to go on the defensive, regardless of how fake it is, tells you that they know that they stumbled. Yes, it's not the end of the World, but what's the harm with verbalizing our frustrations, in the hope that they will understand where they erred (if they care or not is out of our control). You don't have to get upset because we have opinions - if you don't think it's right to have one, and articulate it, then perhaps participating in forums isn't your calling.