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Watching the credits to Mass Effect 2 all I could think about was the continuing struggle it seems to be for video games to nail an ending. It's one of the clearer examples of the hurdles designers face in uniting the narrative of a game with the playing of it. While an uneasy balance can often be struck during most of the game, climactic moments expose that fractured relationship between the two.

After the ongoing internal push-pull between the action and the narrative for dominance throughout the game, this particularly held true in Mass Effect 2. I appreciate the dilemma facing the team at the end. With so much invested in improving the combat for the sequel there had to be this tremendous sense of need for a big payoff. From there it must have been a very short road to the cliched ending sequence that resulted.

Giving in to that -- taking the easy way in a sense by falling back on formulaic design -- took the wind out of my sails at the worst possible point in t...

White Knight Chronicles: International Edition presents the classic coming-of-age tale of a teenager learning what it truly means to be a thirty foot-tall killer robot.

Dark Cloud developer Level-5's first foray onto the PlayStation 3, White Knight Chronicles tells the tale of a teenaged orphan named Leonard, who through a series of unfortunate circumstances makes a pact with the White Knight, a powerful weapon of war from the distant past. Using his newfound ability to transform into a gigantic armored behemoth, Leonard sets out on an epic quest to rescue a kidnapped princess and solve the mystery of the Knights.

It's a relatively straightforward role-playing game, only made less so by the inclusion of Geonet, an online community feature where players can join up with up to three others to participate in challenging optional quests, earning fame, f...

Authorities today identified a Stickney man as the person found strangled and beaten in the city's Little Village neighborhood over the weekend.

An autopsy performed this morning determined that Luis Rodriguez, 25, died of strangulation and blunt head trauma in an assault and the death was classified a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Rodriguez's body was discovered in an alley at about 6:45 a.m. Sunday in the 3000 block of South Christiana Avenue, Chicago police said. He suffered from obvious trauma to his head and upper body, police said. Rodriguez, of the 4000 block of Oak Park Avenue in Stickney, was pronounced dead at 9:15 a.m., a medical examiner's spokesman said.

Police today had no new details on the case, adding that no arrests had been made.

--William Lee

 

Source: Chicago Breaking News | Published: 8 Feb 2010, 7:51 pm

An area winter storm warning has been issued for late Monday through early Wednesday with up to 12 inches of snow expected to blanket the area, according to the National Weather Service.

WGN-TV's Tom Skilling thinks there's a possibility the final totals could be closer to 14 inches, making this storm the worst of the winter for Chicago. According to the WGN Severe Weather Blog, the storm could last 35-40 hours, affect three rush hours, and generally make life unpleasant until at least Wednesday.

The warning takes effect at 9 p.m. and will continue until 4 a.m. Wednesday. The heaviest snowfall is expected Tuesday afternoon and early evening. Blowing and drifting snow with near blizzard conditions in open areas can be expected Tuesday night, the weather service said. Both surface and air traffic are expected to encounter severe difficulties.

By Tuesday night, snowfall will generally be in the 6- to 12-inch range, with some locally higher totals possible, especial...

UPDATE: Police said tonight that Patrycia Bochmulski returned home. No further details were released.

Chicago police said tonight they are looking for a 16-year-old girl last seen a week ago at Prosser High School in the city's Belmont Cragin neighborhood.

Patrycia Bochmulski, of the 5400 block of West Addison Street, was spotted at Prosser at noon on Thursday, police said in a missing persons alert.

Patrycia is described in the alert as Caucasian, 5-foot-4, 130 pounds, with a fair complexion, green eyes and brown hair.

She was wearing a black jacket, black T-shirt and blue jeans, police said.

Anyone with information about Patrycia's whereabouts should call the Grand Central Area's Special Victims Unit at 312-746-8365.

--Jeff Finkelman

Source: Chicago Breaking News | Published: 8 Feb 2010, 7:21 pm

A 42-year-old Hanover Park man was sentenced in Cook County Circuit Court today to 20 years in prison for his role in a series of home invasions that began nearly two years ago in the northwest suburbs.

Daniel D. Suddoth, of the 2200 block of Walnut Avenue, pleaded guilty in Rolling Meadows branch court to home invasions in Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg and Streamwood. Suddoth was arrested in May 2008 following a home invasion in the 1500 block of Stafford Circle in Elk Grove Village in which the 51-year-old resident was beaten by four men, authorities said.

Police learned the Suddoth and the other three men were involved in home invasions in the 1900 block of Keystone Place in Schaumburg and in the 700 block of Russet Lane in Streamwood. In each case, residents were beaten and cash and electronic items were stolen, Assistant State's Attorney Mike Gerber said.

During the hearing, Assistant Public Defender Scott Slonim told Judge Kay Hanlon that Suddoth is...

A slew of Ferraris are coming to Need for Speed SHIFT this month -- but for the next eight days exclusively to Xbox LIVE -- via a 'Ferrari Racing Series' downloadable content pack from publisher Electronic Arts. The new DLC packs in ten different Ferraris and eight new racing events containing forty-six challenges designed specifically for the new cars.

The new cars can be used in online races and the pack includes one hundred twenty-five new gamerpoints worth of achievements to be unlocked.

Here's a complete list of what's included: Ten New Cars 1996 Ferrari F50 GT 2005 Ferrari F430 Spider 2005 Ferrari FXX 200...

The City of Chicago today was awarded possession of a 161-year-old cemetery that lies in the path of a future runway at O'Hare International Airport and could begin moving about 1,200 graves within weeks.

DuPage County Judge Hollis Webster ordered that the title of the 5.3-acre St. Johannes Cemetery in Addison Township be transferred from St. John's United Church of Christ to the city. She also ordered that Chicago pay the church $630,000 for the land, which stands between two segments of a new runway that are already under construction. The acquisition was considered one of the last major impediments to the $15 billion O'Hare Modernization Project.

Webster ruled in December that Chicago had a legal right to use eminent domain proceedings to acquire the site from the church, which has argued against the city's plan. On Monday she approved the city's motion to acquire the site under quick-claim proceedings after the city said a delay in the runway project could unnecess...