Blade Runner also predicted photos that move, and computers that can scan photos, and can examine those pics in detail. Also voice commanded computer programs, although ST did that before. Not to mention talking crosswalks.

@Pyrosa:BR took place in LA, which already had homeless camps at the time. So not a prediction. It wasn't particularly squalid either. Maybe you're thinking of the book.

It did predict a massive increase of Asians and middle Easterners to Ca, though. But none of the above involves technological advances.

Nielsen ratings don't account for recordings or online viewing at all. The only reason it's still in use is that it's the only measure for viewing commercials other than the rare 'on demand' views, which in the last 3 years deactivates fast forward for most free shows.

But if you're watching AMC shows, you're probably not watching commercials. I personally have taken to muting as a last resort, stopping to watch only the ads which catch my eye. But overall, I haven't watched commercials since the 80s, when I purchased my first VCR recorder. So I gotta ask. Who watches ANYTHING live anymore?

Sports enthusiasts, I figure. But that's why time during game breaks comes at a premium.

You can't tell if people are paying attention to your ads, so stop trying to shove them down our throats. Seriously. Do the occasional zombie cameo instead. That always gets my attention. But if I spend too much time pondering sales gimmicks you can use, I will surely vomit.

I just got it, and have to agree that it's too much like Hot Pursuit.

Somehow, though, I don't mind. In fact, it gives me the distinct impression that Criterion begged EA to let them do the game over, because it's better than HP in every way.

I still have issues with the map- although it works as more than just a title page, it's too slow to pop up, interrupts gameplay while waiting for it to do so, and has no zoom feature, suggesting that its inclusion was granted grudgingly- but the thud of my jaw hitting the floor whenever I thought about how stunningly photographic the graphics were emphasized how much this is the game that HP really should have been from the start..

Using photos for texture maps isn't exactly a new idea, but it's never worked like this before. Tiling effects are not noticeable, all the lighting matches up, and even the shadows created during dusk and dawn look real. Consider my mind blown. The game is fresh, the physics much improved, and even the weather is great.

@shadomasta@thetrellanI appreciate the input. Thank you. Honest and unbiased input can be hard to come by these days. As are franchises that have a clue what makes the franchise work. EA seems to be having a lot of trouble with that these days. I believe they should make one franchise open world and perfect the open world racer, then create new franchises for track racers and shifters or what have you. I can no longer depend on EA for my fix, I suppose. We'll see. I may just get bored enough to pick the game up after all.

BTW, you never mentioned whether the map was interactive.

Looks like the reviewer really liked Hot Pursuit.

But as an open world racer, HP kind of sucked. For one thing, no interactive map at all. No game needs an interactive map like an open world game! For another, we were promised a huge world. We got that, only it was really the map of a smaller world blown up to add more detail, making the entire thing look like what it mostly was- large expanses of lonely desert. No cities or towns, just places along the road where people have apparently settled without any new roads being built. In short, an open world that would only appeal to closed world track racers.

Also no story. I don't think that really hurt Most Wanted, but all that open space needed something to keep you occupied, interested, and motivated. It could really have used the drama.

Frankly, if that's what Rivals is like, you can count me out. And I really am jonesing for a new open world racer right now. So please, can someone either settle or confirm my misgivings so I can make a proper decision? I use a gamepad, not a steering wheel and pedal, so that's not an issue.

Closed world racers need not reply, though of course some of you will. Suit yourself.

@Nosnitsttam This seems less an endorsement than a warning to lovers of the real TR. Emphasis should be on exploring, not shootouts. This is what's wrong with the CD approach. Lara shouldn't have to shoot at humans but rarely, and even then only when nearing the end of a level, for the most part. Most of her combatants should be wild animals.

@ComplexVariable @Gravity_Slave @1wikkid1 For me it's not the platforming, the puzzles, or the bosses. It's the fact that with each game, CD is trying to reinvent TR. I wouldn't mind, but they insist on making it something it's not by throwing away features that kept me coming back when Core was making it. First went the ability to save anywhere, then the ability to somesault. Underworld was ingenious, but after that the puzzles became boring and unimaginative. I just don't need a Lara who powers up to the point she never runs out of health and now explores the most realistic ruins. I want her to explore pristine, undiscovered Egyptian cities again and have that sense that I am the first person to tread this soil in thousands of years, NOT FORAGE THROUGH CITIES MADE OF RUBBLE AND GARBAGE in search of salvage. Let her enemies do the scavenging. This is not the Lara I know and love.

It is a good game. It's just not a good Tomb Raider game. The more I think about it, the more it seems to me that somehow Crystal Dynamics would rather be doing a different game, which is why they ignored the success of Underworld- itself a return to a more traditional TR type game- to come out with this, basically a 3rd person shooter. Eidos should get someone who actually likes TR to make TR games.

@Nosnitsttam @Optimizm324 Dude, it's called TOMB Raider, isn't it? For its spectacular ancient tombs, even if they had less and less of that over time- a mistake if you ask me. And I agree, in comparison this game is horribly linear for a game that once was the closest thing to open world there was.

Sure, there is a lot to explore, but with a beacon egging you on it's hard to even realize that until you're nearly done. Hate to say it, but fat guy has a point there. Especially since most sections are as linear as an FPS, little more than a twisting, one-way corridor.