What's this? A call for level-headed consideration of an issue? Logic and reason have no place on teh interwebz! It's all supposed to be knee-jerk, name-calling and FUD! (jk)

Honestly though, it's nice to see someone else who feels that way. I don't understand the rational of "Hey, these are critical services... So let's put it in the hands of the profiteering and penny-pinching private sector... 'Cause that's a GREAT idea for stability!"

I'm not a socialist, nor a fan of big government, but, sometimes these sorts of things are by far the better (not saying "ideal") option.

I understand what they were trying to do with the flashlight being separate from your guns. It was a mood thing. But it was also ridiculous. I couldn't take the game seriously (let alone the inherent frustration of needing to *see*) because of that. They should have used something like the shoulder lamp from AvP2 where the battery would run out and leave you in the dark until it recharged. Trust me, that game was damn pulse-pounding freaky when playing as the marine even when the light *was* on. Or even just have the flashlight battery run down and you have to find replacement batteries along with your usual assortment of ammo. That would have forced the player to be conservative with light... Whatever mechanic you want employ for a game, there's just no plausible reason why a marine would be running around in the dark, switching between a flashlight and a gun.