SteveThaiBinh

VI is probably my favourite because I found the story the most memorable. I'd probably say that V was a better movie, but I somehow managed not to see it until much later in my life, whereas IV and VI were part of my childhood.

It's terrible news. Listening to NPR Worldwide, it seems there was a smaller incident earlier, with maybe one or two shootings, then two hours later the main incident. The tone of the interviewers suggested that there are questions to be asked there - fair enough, I suppose - but it also seemed as though the hunt was on very early for someone to blame (the police, the college authorities, the gun laws, who knows?).

Because it was just mile after mile of hacking through improbably numerous monsters to get to the other side of the map to be rewarded with a single paragraph of badly-written plot from the NPC and the next quest, which consisted unsurprisingly of traipsing back across the other side of the map through waves of slightly different monsters. It's essentially a hack'n'slash version of Pong. I hated it. Broken Sword 3 was a really good game.

What he said. :sad:

Eric the Unready. I waited three days for it to come in the post, I took seven hours to finish it, and for a so-called comedy game it didn't have a single decent laugh. I was so angry I called the publisher and told them how awful it was and how disappointed I was, and they agreed to replace it with another title. The replacement wasn't up to much, but nevertheless I was really impressed by their generosity. Would that ever happen these days? Oh, and Sacred.

Civ IV has become kind of my default game, for when there's nothing much else going on or I'm hanging around waiting for something. Like now, I'd just got into the mood for another run through of NWN2 and they went and pulled the latest patch - so now I'm playing Civ IV until they release it.

*thread pruned* "Please keep on topic," said Steve, slightly more pointedly this time.

They should enter the house for the Turner Prize. I don't see why the girl should be staying with friends for a 'cooling off' period. Why isn't she cleaning up the house?

Let's keep this about Kotor 3, please.

You mean the big flaming gates to hell don't just sit there waiting for you to come and close them? Actually, it's quite a nice feature. I'd hope to see a day/night cycle that matters (no more 24-hour shopping, for example). Second, time limits to quests (little Timmy can't survive more than 4 days down the well, surely?). Third, timed events in the wider world that don't depend on your character, so revolutions, battles etc. where you can arrive at any time, before, during and after - and none of these is 'correct', they're just different, and you get different choices as a result.

That's cool. I am looking forward to this game, but I think I'll wait for the 1Gb patch (and subsequent fixes) and properly enjoy a stable version, rather than struggle through a flawed version and spoil it for myself.

I bought Gothic 3 months ago, but heard that the developers were planning to produce lots of patches and improvements and deal with bugs and performance issues, so I stuck the game on a shelf and never looked at it again. Does anyone know what stage the game is at now? Are they still making improvements or is it now as good as it's going to get, and thus time for me to install it?

It's odd. Simply knowing that there's an expansion pack on the way has made me want to replay NWN2. It somehow makes it more meaningful to know that the story will have a proper conclusion. Please don't just kill off Casavir or Elanee because you weren't happy with their romance paths in NWN2. By all means go back into NWN2 and improve the romances, but many fans, myself included, really appreciate well-written romance options. And I don't like killing off characters just because it makes the writers' lives easier. I turned off The Bourne Supremacy after 20 minutes for exactly that reason.

Now Bethesda have the rights to do anything they want, such as to bring out a Fallout-based first-person shooter. Hmmm... I don't feel so much about Fallout, never having got much out of the first two games. I have to imagine how I'd feel if Bethesda bought up the rights to Gabriel Knight and planned to turn it into an 'action-adventure' . I think I'd go ballistic.

I'd like for Obsidian to cut out anything that you have to collect three or four or five of - activate the five ritual statues, collect the three ward stones, you know the kind of thing. While it's fine the first time I play through, these parts really drag when I replay a game, especially when combined with the aforemention warehouses or orc caves. Collecting allies for the defence of Crossroads Keep was fine, because each quest was so different. Other times you feel it's just done to slow you down so that less story is required. But I like story. Give me story!

I pretty much agree with what's been said. I enjoyed the companions a lot - their backstories, the fact that influence generally made sense and was gained and lost at appropriate moments - and the fact that many of the companions were interesting and fun. The banter really increased the replayability for me, and the writing had a pleasantly light and comic touch in places - all in all, a good mix of humour and seriousness. I disliked the forced NPCs too - not so much Shandra, because I think she works in terms of the story and she was given the bonus fifth slot in your party, so she didn't stop you taking others along, but the fact that you had to recruit everyone and they all hung around no matter what you did. The choice to turn away someone who doesn't fit with your alignment or outlook is an important one, I think.

You commented twice on the henchmen/companions. Can you tell us a little more about the henchmen you liked so much in NWN, and what was it about them that made them so appealing? Also what was it about the NWN2 companions, by comparison, that didn't appeal? This is one area where I think NWN2 is streets ahead of NWN, so I'm interested in hearing your opposing view.

I knew I'd heard it somewhere. Boo cameo!

I don't mind epic levels at all. I would have been equally happy had the NWN2 campaign been reconfigured to end at level 14 ready for the expansion pack, but it doesn't matter all that much to me. What matters is that there will be an expansion, and the story will be continued, and hopefully some of the same NPCs will make a reappearance. What's in Rashemen, and why does it sound familiar?

Hooray!

Thanks. Added to FAQ.

Not a very nice man, no. According to my understanding of karma, he'll now be reborn in a form that allows him plentiful opportunity for purification of the soul through suffering. A Man City supporter, perhaps?

Miserable day. I had stomachache all day, from eating something last night I think, and I couldn't get rid of it. Plus one of my students has been jailed for speeding - only for a day, but Saudi jails are not nice and I was a bit worried about him, but his friend says he's out and okay.

What doesn't? I'm sitting here trying to think if I've seen 2, and I honestly can't remember. Either I haven't, or it was really forgettable. Which is a shame, because the first one was quite entertaining, so hopefully 3 will be as well.

You made me go and search for my earlier post :sad: . It was like nearly two years ago - that's some memory, Wals! Fortunately I don't post about statues too much, so easy enough to find. I said this: So I stick to my guns in saying that it was covered well in the media, though as I was in Viet Nam at the time, 'the media' to me meant the BBC World Service, Vietnamese State TV (don't ask) and the Guardian Weekly - perhaps not a sufficient sample from which to generalise, so for that I apologise. If you say the coverage was much more slanted elsewhere, I can't really disagree with you. I wholeheartedly agree. That said, I think we did set aside our differences - I mean the pro- and anti-war lobby. The United Nations legitimized the 'occupation' of Iraq and even recognised the 'not much better than American puppets' Iraqi government of the time, with French and Russian support or at least without their vetoes, allowing the UN to go in there and start working. It was the poor security situation that forced the UN and NGOs out, not pettiness on the part of the anti-war lobby. Yes, perhaps other countries could and should have done more. I don't think they should have sent troops - why should they send their young men to die to clean up George Bush's mess? Helping with poverty alleviation, basic services and so on is a different matter, but the security situation is the problem here, I always thought. I'd also make the point that many people are calling for troops to be withdrawn not because we're still fighting the battles of the past without regard to Iraq's welfare, but because when you here senior military figures make comments like this, it's hard to understand what we'll achieve by staying there any longer. While he may not have been advocating an immediate total withdrawal, the logic of his comments points in that direction. Could not agree with you more about Afghanistan. Everyone supported the war in Afghanistan, everyone promised to help the recovery, and everyone let them down. It's stupid and short-sighted as well as selfish - another mess of a country ready to throw up problems for the whole world when we least expect it.