most games are still missing a very special something that traditional media have spent centuries or even millenia refining. Sitting in that hotel room in California, I realized what that is: emotional engagement. Two decades ago Electronic Arts, now the world’s biggest game publisher, unveiled the marketing slogan, “Can a computer game make you cry?” The answer: not yet.

That I thought this during the Mass Effect demo is not a knock on the game. Just the opposite. Mass Effect, which is forthcoming from Microsoft, seems to play a bit like an epic interactive movie where the player controls the combat, but, more important, helps direct the story. And the story, not the fighting, seems to be the heart of the game.

As in many games, the basic idea in Mass Effect is that you have to save the galaxy from an all-encompassing evil. Fair enough. But without giving away the plot, the depth comes from the fact that you may have to sacrifice friends and decide just what your values are and what the greater good really means.

In Santa Monica the game’s makers showed a scene involving those sorts of choices that literally shut up the whole room. When it was over, a half-dozen normally chatty game writers sat there for a few moments digesting what we had just seen.

It was powerful, but it was still no Mahler.

Much the same could be said of Fallout 3, another of my favorite games from E3. Like its esteemed predecessors, the third installment of the franchise is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where you, the player, decide how to carve out your place in a horrible new version of America. Put simply, you can be a good guy or a bad guy and there will be plenty of heart-rending, suffering people to either assist or exploit.

That is, of course, what makes games distinctive among media: within the confines of the system it is the user who decides what happens next, whether that means turning left or right in Pac-Man or deciding whether to blow up a town for pay or save it in Fallout 3.

But merely providing choice is not the same as generating a deep emotional response.

Yes, when my spaceship in Eve Online gets blown up, I am upset. Yes, when my guild in World of Warcraft beats the latest demon, I swell with pride. Yes, when I finally slay that mythical beast in God of War I feel both insightful and dexterous.

But in all of those situations, I as a player know that the outcome was largely my own doing. And so the emotional connection is more akin to a golfer who shanks a drive or hits a gorgeous approach shot; sure you get happy or sad, but ultimately you can’t be emotionally surprised because you did it to yourself.

Full Article

This is the most asinine, unbelievable stupidity I have heard all week. Raise your hand if you fooled around with the opposite sex when you were in High School. Yeah, that’s what I thought. me too. Thank God we are normal. Too bad lawmakers, courts and moronic juries in Georgia are not. This is totally bizarre to me.

July 20 — Only a few observers usually show up for arguments before the Georgia Supreme Court. But the gallery was packed on Friday as the seven justices heard two expedited appeals on behalf of a young man serving a mandatory 10-year sentence for having had consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl at a New Year’s Eve party in 2003.

The man, Genarlow Wilson, now 21, was convicted of aggravated child molestation, which was a felony in Georgia in 2003. The state legislature has since made the crime a misdemeanor.

Mr. Wilson, who was 17 at the time of the party, has served two years of the mandatory minimum sentence, which was so harsh it shocked even the jury members who convicted him. State law also requires that Mr. Wilson be listed as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The two appeals the court heard Friday dealt with whether Mr. Wilson’s sentence was constitutional and whether he is eligible for bond as his appeal moves through the legal system.

Why didn’t the girl go to jail? That would make just as much sense to me. Actually, they should throw the pet gold fish in jail too because that makes as much sense.

Full story on The NY Times Website

Two of my favorite actors in a totally suck movie … no pun intended at first, but now it is after I write it.

I need your help here folks. This goes out to all the straight guys in the audience. Is it just me, or is there anybody else that can’t figure out why movie-makers think a straight guy wants to see anything that has to do with gay guys? Seriously. WTF?!?! I know this isn’t as bad as "Broke Back Mountain", where the actors portrayed real gay guys. In "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry", Kevin James and Adam Sandler are playing guys that are pretending to be gay in order to get domestic partner benefits. Dude, I wouldn’t pretend to be gay for 1-freakin-million-dollars. I LOVE Kevin James and Adam Sandler (in a totally non-gay way), but this is one movie that I will wait to buy the discounted, previously viewed version from Blockbuster.

The NY Daily News says:

The new Adam Sandler comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" is the movie equivalent of a double-jointed contortionist who can walk forward with his head turned backward. It is an hour and a half of clichéd gay jokes and 25 minutes of pro-gay apologies.

With a script partially credited to the team behind the Pinot Noir comedy hit "Sideways," "Chuck and Larry" is a lazy sitcom about two straight firefighting buddies who pretend to be a gay couple in order to get domestic partner benefits.

Seems that the chubby, recently widowed Larry (Kevin James) cannot provide for his two kids in the event of his death unless he’s married to a woman or officially partnered with a man. Since he’s too in love with his late wife to consider a second romance, he turns to the friend whose life he has just saved and requests the favor of a mock marriage.

The friend is Chuck (Sandler), the incorrigible, skirt-chasing Mr. February in their Brooklyn firehouse’s annual beefcake calendar. Larry is just sensitive enough to pass for gay, but Chuck, no way; there are five women in his bed at any time.

That’s the setup for the anecdotal sketches that are strung together in lieu of a plot.

Just imagine the panic in the firehouse shower when Chuck and Larry show up and somebody drops a bar of soap. Or, imagine Chuck’s suppressed delight when his bodacious legal advocate (Jessica Biel) asks him to fondle her breasts by way of confirming their naturalness.

Jessica Biel?!?! Breast fondling!?! Ok, maybe there is something good about this movie!

Read the rest of the review at The NY Daily News (Opens in new window)

Britney Spears’s Bodyguard Sold Sex Toys on the Internet! Oh My!

Give me a fucking break. Like that’s the worst thing someone could do?!?! It’s not like he is a psycho-killer or something. What’s so wrong with helping to provide sexual pleasure to the masses? This is the stupidest thing to get one’s panties in a bunch over. Here’s the stupid news:

BRITNEY Spears’s bodyguard Daimon Shippen allegedly used to sell sex toys on the internet, according to gossip website X17online.

The 34-year-old burly security guard - who has been protecting Britney and helping her look after her children - was reportedly fired from his previous agency, Galahad Security, because of his adult website business.

The domestic service security agency he now works for reportedly does not perform regular background checks.

Sources also say Daimon is gay and currently has a boyfriend called Sam.

Read the rest here

*SIGH* This is so dumb.

Britney Spears on Mr. Skin

Who do you think is the Sexiest Female Singer? Some of the choices are below. Click any picture to vote on the poll at TheDrJohnnyShow.com

Christina Aguilera	Gwen Stefani
Jessica Simpson	Mariah Carey
Rihanna	Shakira

I love Christina Aguilera. I think she is super hot and extremely talented as a singer and dancer. I am happy for her that she is pregnant, but there is one thing about this that makes me want to cry.

Yesterday, I wrote about how Paris Hilton now wants a kid because she is afraid that Nicole Richie will steal some of her attention now that she not only has DUI issues, but she is pregnant too. This may now only fuel the stupidity of that idea.

It looks like Christina Aguilera has given up on trying to hide her pregnancy. The sexy singer performed on stage during her first Australian concert for her Back to Basics tour in Perth, Australia.

During her performance Christina pointed at her growing belly and smiled insisting that there is a little person growing in her. She can’t hide it even if she didn’t point at her belly. A usually tiny Aguilera looks like her stomach is about 3-4 months along.

I guess she gave up hiding it after her dad blabbed to the press. Parents can’t keep a good secret these days.

Christina Aguilera Nude on MrSkin.com

Paris Hilton Nude on MrSkin.com

Nicole Richie on MrSkin.com

I like a girl that knows her place in the world. Here is a short video that will make any guy smile and nod his head in approval. This was recorded in Thailand by Dr. Johnny, whom you hear narrating in the background. You can also hear his sidekick, Platypus coaching and laughing in the background as well.

Click here for this funny, short, 23 second clip named, "Polish the Knob".

Dr. Johnny is a friend of mine with his own online talk show. It is a hilarious live talk show and blog covering entertaining topics of celebrities, relationships and general humor. Listeners can call in live, or leave messages. The show is archived for easy, entertaining listening anytime.

Click Here to listen to a funny talk show online while you work. (Will open Windows Media Player.) There is music in the beginning. You can just drag the bar to fast foward to the start of the show.

Holy Mother of God!

This is pretty fucking scary, but I will volunteer to be the father anyway!

Ever since one of her close friends, Nicole Richie, informed the public of her pregnancy, which is to say, ever since everyone else did it for her, Paris Hilton has been brooding. The famous rich girl said that she was ready to start a family. (Yeah right. She just got pissed that someone else got more attention than her for 5 minutes.)

A source close to Paris told British magazine Closer: “Paris told me, ‘I want lots of babies and a more simple life away from the celebrity spotlight. I did a lot of soul-searching about my partying and then I heard Nicole’s pregnant and I decided it’s time for me to grow up and take responsibility - and the best way to do that is to become a mother.’”

Reportedly, Paris Hilton is so sure that she is ready to become a mother that she is even considering adopting. Unless her prince charming arrives soon, she most likely really will adopt a child. She confided in her friends that she was aware that the life she has led so far was not exactly commendable, but now she feels like an entirely different person. She admits that she has a job and a beautiful house and that she could be the best mother in the world.

Ok, if she wants to adopt, maybe she will adopt me? Can I be breast fed?

Seriously though, these celebrity adoptions are getting fucking ridiculous. I may have to kill myself if this happens.

Paris Hilton on Mr. Skin

In other news, The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department opened an investigation into allegations that Paris Hilton received special treatment during her 23 days in jail for violating… [more]

Don’t know the difference between a halter top and Brazilian bottoms?

Check out Stuff Magazine’s helpful, and oh so sexy picture guide to sexy swimwear - Click Here

If you are a reader of Playboy Special Editions, you will recognize Louise as Playboy’s “Model of the Year 2006″ and “London’s Sexiest Babe.”

Savvy.com presents British megamodel Louise Glover with a photo gallery and profile article - Click Here.