Of course, that doesn't mean that you aren't free to like it. You're not me. I happen to love Chromehounds and Tenchu (a well-documented fact from our hugely successful weekly podcasts), but I know that those games are terrible for most gamers. I can't tell you that you're wrong if you don't like Chromehounds, because if you don't like it, you don't like it... that's just how you feel and nothing that I say or do will negate the beliefs that you harbor deep inside. That said, some people take these reviews a little too seriously, and so it is with great pleasure that I give you the first piece of reader email for this edition of My So-Called Live. Michael writes:

I've never sent feedback on a game review before, but I'm blown away by this one. You're either literaly[sic] retarded or you played Shadowrun for 5 minutes to give it 2 stars. Of all the people playing this game online, I've never met one who said anything other then[sic] great things about this game. For one thing, to rip on connection is rediculous[sic] when it's nowhere near as bad as Splinter Cell: Double Agent for 360 was, yet I'm sure you gave that game a 4 or 5 star review [note: Splinter Cell: Double Agent was reviewed by Justin Leeper (not Patrick Joynt), who gave it a 4/5 stars]. And second, if this game was majorily[sic] based on shooting, then what the [expletive deleted] purpose would all the spells and race choices have. Shooting is SUPPOSED to be a fraction of the game, with spells/swords/race choice being of as big if not bigger importance. If you want a Halo style shooter, GO PLAY HALO. This game was very well made if you look at what they were trying to make, a shooter unlike most others, with an rpg/fantasy feel to it and endless spell combos to turn the tide of a match. Bitch about it all you want, I just know I'll never use GameSpy again, and neither will the hundred friends, and hundreds of people i know on live, I promise you that...
Yeesh, how about that for a tirade? Michael, I don't want to crap all over your letter or anything, but the best way to get me not to care about your point of view is to tell me about your hundreds of friends on Xbox Live that are held ruthlessly in your thrall. Let them write letters if they want, but don't presume to speak on their behalf, because, frankly, if this is the way you argue, I doubt you have hundreds of friends on Xbox Live or anywhere else. Okay, that was pretty harsh, but it's these kinds of personal attacks that piss me off to no end. Yeah, you got it Michael, Patrick is "literaly retarded," but we let him write for a website read by millions of people each month because he knows how to spell "literally." I hope you catch the sarcasm there, because I'm heaping it on with a shovel.


On a lighter and more positive note, we got this little gem as well, from John:

Despite the backlash you probably received by the game's rabid fans, the review posted here is probably the most accurate Shadowrun write up on the web. It's terse, perceptive and doesn't seem afraid to expose the obvious flaws in the game. I'm sure you'll get a lot of flame mail, but from one critic to another I'd just like to tell you that you did a great job and I'm glad others picked up on the poorly implemented teamplay mechanics as well as the overemphasis on special abilities as opposed to actual player skill. In a perfect world the abundance of Mitch Gitelman's team would be either fired or dissolved, according to [a competing gaming news outlet's] recent look at the FASA team, it would appear the world is only 75% perfect.

Congrats on the terrific review, good to see some journalists still have their integrity.
Ah, see? When I like what you say, I spell check your emails before posting them in my column. Biased? You betcha, but here I am openly admitting it. While I'm not entirely sure that FASA's team should be "dissolved," I do feel like they need to do a serious post-mortem on Shadowrun to review what went wrong and what went right. Like I said earlier, I didn't care for the game at all, but I respect the things that FASA was trying to do. I just feel like it didn't pull it off.

Since the last installment of My So-Called Live was incredibly massive, I think we'll cut this one a bit short this week. Honestly after such a heated debate over Shadowrun, I'm feeling pretty drained. Be sure to check out my excellent Battlefield: Bad Company preview that went up earlier today, because I'm super proud of the feat that we were able to pull off during the demo. As usual, be sure to send your feedback to me at the email address below and I promise not to be as mean as I was today. That would be much easier if you don't attack the author though; as my fellow GameSpy and trusted cohort Associate PC Editor Allen 'Delsyn' Rausch is fond of saying, "don't poke the bear."



My So-Called Live is written by a vexed Gabe Graziani who is still reeling from this week's column and the bitter vitriol it contains (both from him and his readers). Shoot him an email here and let him know that he needs to be nicer to his readers for crying out loud.