Everywhere I turn, I seem to see someone else talking about how God of War III has effectively killed off all the Greek (and, for the fastidious, Roman) gods, leaving none for the assumed continuation of the series. But, these same people go on to point out, there are many other pantheons to choose from, and Kratos can continue his deicidal mania in any one of these alternative settings.

To all these people I say, give the man a break. I mean, he’s been killing everyone for a long time now, and it doesn’t seem to be helping much. I mean, can we really say things are better? Personally, I believe Kratos probably has a strong passion for collecting miniature porcelain dolls, and I think we should, as a community of gamers, support his pursuit of healthy, constructive alternatives to killing every supreme being he encounters.

I grant, God of War IV: Display Cabinet Arrangement doesn’t immediately seem to pack the same punch, but we have to give it a chance. If Kratos wants to settle down, I think we owe him the opportunity. And if it doesn’t work out, we steal his tiny Darth Vader doll and tell him Buddha took it.

Mass Effect 2 is one of the most talked about games for the PC right now. I admit to not having played it, with the understanding that this limits my insights into the game and may cause my immediate demise from a rampaging horde of Mass Effect/Bioware fans who see my nonconformity as a dangerous abnormality to be corrected by any means necessary.

However, this post is not about the game itself, which has received tremendous praise from almost every quarter. It’s about marketing vs. storytelling and how I’m confused about the lack of communication between one seemingly amazing department and another, much more confused one.

On the official Mass Effect 2 site, specifically the Info Page, they have the following bullet point under the Features List: “Prepare for a suicide mission to save humanity.”

Now, I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure someone from the marketing department took a brief look at the writing department’s summary and failed to grasp some very basic concepts. The idea that a game’s features include the unavoidable death of the player is not, on the whole, a desirable aspect, but someone decided this was not only a good thing, but among a sufficiently few laudable qualities that it should be highlighted specially.

Whatever the merits of the game, someone at this organization needs a good talking to.