qaz156

Also known as the Shandification of Fallout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvwlt4FqmS0&list=UUI3GAJaOTL1BoipG41OmfyA

Same here. Absolutely no bugs in my experience... On top of that, I was so so sad when it ended. It was my favorite gaming experience by far this year.

For a hack n' slash it certainly is ambitious (and controversial). Also again I hate to bring this up again but in which way is Alpha Protocol better? If you take the C&C away its even less ambitious than DSIII. I mean I love Alpha Protocol. Its my favourite Obsidian Game actually. And I defend it like hell at any oppurtiunity. But there seems to be a hell of a lot bias going on here. Seconded. I love Alpha Protocol. It's also my favorite Obsidian Game.

I really can't believe how good this game is. In fact, it's the first time in a long time I'm actually excited to get home, whip up a nice cool soda and play the game. I've played them all - DA, BG, PST, KOTOR, etc... and this seriously is the most I've enjoyed gaming this year. I really am tired of the stupid negative reviews. And I love the graphics; I think they're beautiful. Just because a game doesn't have complex, buy a $300 gpu just to play it physics, doesn't mean the art design is flawed or bad.

I have to say there is something charming about the old graphics. I miss the days when character sprites looked like low-res clay figurines...

I like points in all these responses. I'm bringing this up not because I believe there are only two options, but rather that even mighty Bioware wrestles with insane deadlines that make their games suffer in SOME way (cf. DA2). Not every company is Blizzard and gets to fine tune, polish and QA the thing to their hearts content. And other than massively supported AAA titles and flawless casual games (Plants vs. Zombies), it's difficult to produce a game in the middle tier that doesn't compromise in some way. But this brings up an interesting question: should obsidian games be shorter in order to make sure all elements are firing on all cylinders? and by how much? Should a 40 hr game be 30 hr. Or if hours cut doesn't equate to the same proportion of development time, what about areas? Should there be 3 large towns instead of 4? Should there be fewer bosses, fewer NPCs, fewer romantic options?

Buggy games don't matter, so long as their souls are pure gold. I'd rather play a buggy game with an awesome core than a mediocre, yawn-inducing game that runs without issues, but I'll forget in a few months. The former, you can fix with patches - not to mention, the community will probably patch it and continue to do so for years. If a great game comes out with bugs, I still buy the game, I just wait for a few patches, then I make the buy - at full price. The yawn-inducing game that runs like butter, however, may not be "fixable". Just sayin... Granted, I don't play console games, so I don't know if those games can be updated.

I think Obsidian is starting to get it wrong these days. I'd rather play a buggy game that is awesome at its core, than a sub-par game that runs like butter. The former can be fixed with patches, the latter - not so much. I think we got the latter with Dungeon Siege 3, according to reviews. It's bug free - but who really cares? The loot system doesn't really drop any rare items that make you FEEL the difference. And no one seems to be able to make sense of the stats. The characters and voice acting are wooden - the LAST thing you'd expect from Obisidian, making a game that should have come from Ubisoft, not my favorite rpg maker.

what did you think of the Witcher?

Okay, we've talked about Oblivion to the death here. But I'm referring specifically to the reviews. Why in the world are they able to secure such solid review across the board for such a crappy game? Are they paying the reviewers?

Did Not Finish: X-com terror from the deep Heroes of Might and Magic 5 Dreamfall Galactic Civilizations 2 Unreal Tournament 3 Lords of the Realm 3 Lionheart

Give it a few good hours. It seems clunky at first, and there are indeed some unorthodox aspects to the game. But it looks beautiful on my system (new vigor gaming rig, 9600GT overclocked), and piranha bytes keeps the experience points flowing around just about every corner. Briefly check out a walkthrough so you can understand a few key points in building an effective character (skinning/poaching). Once you get into the swing of things, you'll see what everyone means when they call this game an "unpolished gem." Don't forget the patches.

... hopefully the loot you get won't just be for pawning. I like getting loot that at least has something useful right then and there - like a mod for your weapon. The useful items can be small, and not dramatically affecting your outfit.

KOTOR, Fallout 2, Mass Effect and Gothic 3 got it down. They either had opportunities for experience points or random goodies in nondescript metal cases around every corner. Each time you played into early morning, you considered ignoring your drooping eyes, because a reward - small or big - always loomed on the horizon. In KOTOR every case had the potential to deliver something useful. In Fallout 2, every town had another quest to discover. In Mass Effect, even the combat in the Mako delivered valuable experience. And in Gothic 3, whenever you got a quest you knew the solution wasn't far away. As long as Alpha Protocol reinforces the player in such manners, we will be playing well into the next morning. Mass Effect got it right in that it rewarded players for simply going through all the options in conversation and learning more about the game world. Also, it was easy to gain levels. Almost every session you would be putting points towards improving your character. Older rpgs would make the higher levels much more arduous to attain. You would have to spend hours just going from level 40 to level 41. At that point, only the most dedicated would take the time to "level up" while the casual gamer might just give up or try to finish the game at that level.

Alpha Protocol Aliens RPG Dragon Age Fallout 3 Gothic 3: Expansion Arcania: A Gothic Tale NWN: 2 Storm of Zehir Starcraft 2 Diablo 3 Red Alert 3 Resident Evil 5 KOTOR 2: Sith Lords Restoration Project (I guess this really doesn't count as a release but I'm waiting for this in order to play KOTOR 2 again). The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Too bad Grad school begins when these games come out. Darn. Perhaps there will be a way...