The dream, as related here, is completely accurate. But I would like to emphasize that we know absolutely nothing about playing the game, and indeed, we are not actively playing it. We are not intrigued by the unprecedented crafting options, nor do we find the rich palette of social options titillating. We certainly haven't signed some sort of Non-Disclosure Agreement related to it, if that's what you mean.

We wrote the strip before every PR department in gaming cried havoc and let slip the dogs of information, and as such it reflects the calm and tranquil world before we were exposed to invigorating data. All sorts of games, new and old, looking very exciting - but if it came right down to it, I would take a Tribes 3 by Irrational Games over a Half-Life 2 on any day you would care to mention. That isn't an insult to Half-Life, it's a compliment to Tribes 3 and an indicator of my faith in Irrational and in the franchise. I don't know how many of you bought Starsiege, back in the day - or remember that the official name for Tribes is Starsiege: Tribes. There is some really cool fiction that underpins the universe those games take place in, as evinced by the plump Universe book that came with Starsiege, and I'm very curious to know how far back Irrational is going to generate this single player campaign.

Also, I don't put much stock in Nintendo rumors, for two reasons. One, Nintendo is a fairly conservative company, and when I say "fairly" I mean that they epitomize the term. If you read an exciting rumor about Nintendo, discard it because it is probably not true. They make their games, some of the best games in the industry, at a glacial pace and virtually all of them are based on existing, beloved intellectual property. The second reason is that all this exciting stuff gets said before E3, tantalizing rumors about 3D screens and online shit and rare new Yeti controllers, and though I've seen stuff there that really impressed me none of it came out of left field. They always put on a good booth that leaves me smiling, but I've never been like, "Holy Shit, they have altered (or suspended) physical law with their magnificent thing."

I'm going to have to play a lot more Enemy Territory before I know how I feel about it. At the moment, it seems as though - like myself - it needs a good editor. It is jammed with great ideas, and when I play it, it is like a box of mice that has been shaken vigorously. All these ideas mewling for attention, and all they want is love. Perhaps you see, now, what I was saying about editors.

Strawberry Shortcake Update: I have mails in to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and I'm supposed to talk with a person from the ACLU today. I don't think this is something we can do without a Sugar Daddy.

(CW)TB out.

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