Chewin3

Interesting read, Rob! I wasn't aware of Capone's involvement in Chicagos welfare to that extent. It's a good thing to know. You say that as if greatness and atrocity are necessarily mutually exclusive. Greatness the way I see it, is not a moral judgement, but is rather based on success and impact on the world in their respective field. There is a different between 'great' and 'good'. You may find an act morally reprehensible, but whether it was successful or not with regards to the intended goal can be determined more or less objectively, in addition to the long term effects and whether they were positive or negative (in case of leaders, naturally with regards to their own polity first and foremost). For instance, Augustus committed atrocities particularly in his rise to power. But there is no historian worth his salt who would not consider Augustus great for his achievement and that the Empire he created was better in almost all fronts especially for the common people than the dysfunctional Republic that preceded him. My main concern is not this moralistic judgmental stance, these kinds of sentiments have no place in history (or in politics for that matter), but rather some figures being overrated at the expense of others in terms of accomplishments. For instance, there is no doubt in my mind that Philip of Macedon deserved the title of The Great more than his son, for being an excellent military leader, general and tactician who revolutionized warfare, strategy and tactics in Greece, as well as an excellent politician and statesman who through force and diplomacy united almost all of Greece where Athens, Thebes and Sparta had failed. Without him, there would not have been an Alexander. And while Alexander was probably a better tactician than his father, the fact is that his military achievements were still conceived on the shoulders of a giant, not to mention that Alexander was not a match to his father politically. But one was more bombastic,'heroic' (even though Philip was in fact very brave and suffered 4 major injuries in battle) and at first glance more impressive, whereas the other was more subtle and with a degree of success and impact that go beyond the first glance.

I haven't had a real LAN party since the company closed the local place where people gathered every day. Now it's mostly simply through online.

Sounds useful. I'll make sure to add the GT as soon as possible.

Sorry, Robious. I'm afraid I beat you to it this time. Hopefully there are more challenges in the future! Quite fun.

Hassan is indeed someone that is worthy of praise. No only was he able to influence people to completely dedicate themselves to his cause, he was also a charismatic leader, a brilliant mathematician, a devoted scholar and a diabolical mastermind. Even Saladin feared the organization Hassan founded over its dominance and political influence. Please do! It's interesting reading people's impression over different figures. And you might learn something new over people you already know!

I'm very skeptical over this game. Was a huge fan of DAO, but sadly DA2 was a huge disappointment, including story wise. The words listed above are simply words right now, and I'm not sure whether BW have what it takes to deliver a promising game, especially with what they've been making recently. Though time will tell.

Nope. The Fiery Knight?

There is nothing wrong with 'admiring' Hitler for his accomplishments. History--and politics in this case--are fields of study. A historian or political analyst should keep their moral opinions to themselves and strive to be as objective as possible, with the knowledge that of course being fully objective is impossible. While I agree that him accomplishing to convince an entire nation to 'his side', it was mostly due to the nations desperate situation, and since he managed to achieve political power, many had no choice but to 'submit'. Overall, while some of his policies might be classified as great / successful, like the Anschluss or Night of Long Knives. Though ultimately, his career was more destructive than constructive, and he as a leader was mostly irrational, blind and in some cases, stupid.

I'm in! I'll let you know as soon as possible when I've completed it. Most likely by the end of this week (at least).

Well it does sound very intriguing, and a nice 'moment of fresh air' from Fire Fight. Really a neat idea to have the concept of the Spartan Ops in the in-game lore. Hopefully it'll turn out great, 'cause I'm very excited how it'll eventually turn out to be.

Disclaimer: Not sure whether a similar topic has already been posted, or if this is the right place to post, so sorry for that. During my leisure times, if I'm not playing games or doing something else, I tend to read a lot of history. History is a subject that I find to be very intriguing, especially when it depicts famous and notable historical figures who accomplished different deeds, either in warfare or in another area. So, as the topic titles states, who / which are your favorite historical figure(s)? Personally, my favorites range from a few dozen, so I will simply name a few out off my head: Muhammad - Religious and spiritual beliefs aside, on a purely practical, political and social / cultural level, there is not one man who was as successful and impactful as him. He was an excellent politician, great military leader and a brilliant statesman and lawmaker who in a very short amount of time, created a state from scratch, an army from zero and a culture inspired and well-guided enough to very quickly establish itself as a great civilization. From a purely objective point of view, very few can be deemed his equal in terms of impact and success. Augustus - Octavian was a shrewd, brilliant and astute politician. He was of short stature, well proportioned and he possessed that commodity so rare in rulers - grace. Through cold, hard political calculation he was able to achieve ultimate power in Rome. At the time of Caesar’s assassination, Octavian held no official position. Only after he marched on Rome and forced the senate to name him consul, was he established as a power to be reckoned with. He managed to expand the Empire not only through land, but also in a working honest government and a sound currency system and so much more. Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette - While perhaps not the most renowned military leader nor diplomat during the American Revolutionary War, La Fayette's courage and tenacity on the battlefield and his successful pleas for material aid for the Americans through correspondence and on furloughs to France, belied the monumental effect of his passion, instinctive skill, and connections. The fact that he left home and hearth to risk his life in a country not his own (and at his own expense) for the cause of liberty captured the imagination and admiration of Americans. Received as a hero in his homeland upon his return, and well-known for his liberal ideas throughout the western world, Lafayette played an important role in the political changes taking place in France.

Thanks for the very warm welcome, guys! With people like you around here, I'm certainly going to enjoy my stay! *leans backwards on the chair with feet on the table*

Greetings all! So I'm Kevin and I'm a major student in the faculty of Medicine of Finland, trying to become a surgeon. I'm currently undergoing a busy life; with tight schedules that involve work and studies. Usually I tend to spend my leisure time with playing games and other social activities. Anyway, Halo stuff is probably what you want to hear. I'm a long time Halo fan, which reaches back to 2005. I have to admit, I wasn't at first glance interested at all in the franchise, but thankfully a friend of mine convinced me to give it a shot. So I ultimately did, and have been playing / following almost anything Halo related ever since then. When I heard Halo was going to 'switch' owners, I grew skeptical over what the new company would do with the franchise. Fortunately, 343i seems to have managed to go to the right direction with Halo, and I'm really excited over what they will deliver when Halo 4 is finally out! So here's to Halo 4, and hopefully I'll enjoy both the game and my stay here!