Tigranes

Finished DX3, dallying with Witcher 2 again just to enjoy having all the graphics on Ultra. DS3 looked pretty cool with insane shadows, too, though I have to say that the textures really aren't very good on that one, and if Onyx has performance issues with that camera angle, those textures and that amount of enemies, that's a big question mark over the engine. Also need to check if Shogun 2 has had a cool overhaul mod come out yet... I sense that for 6 months or so I'll be a total graphics whore. Hey, first time in my life I'm ahead of the curve!

I don't mind unbalanced if it leads to funny or creative things, yes. That's what I liked about levitation / etc in Morrowind. On the latest trailer - (1) dear me, that is a terrible, terrible, terrible UI, and that's coming from someone who thought Alpha Protocol / Witcher 2 wasn't that bad. (2) I don't know what it is, but Skyrim seems to have trouble setting itself apart from many other open world fantasy games that have followed Oblivion, whereas back in the day Oblivion was at least unique - i.e. nobody did open world exploration as 'well' as they did, apart from the Gothic series/Risen which is a different beast. Wondering whether, depending on how the competition shapes up (i.e. not shooting itself in the foot like Two Worlds 2), Bethesda's supremacy in their own niche will be threatened.

Kind of bored. There is a lot of stuff to do for school but none of it seems particularly urgent for some reason, and since I don't know anybody I'm sort of stuck at home.

I'm sure that my opinion will change when I see how the remainder of the game plays out. What I mean by interchangeable, though, is that... well, basically, when you think about what they believe in and what role they are meant to play in the world, Taggart and Darrow, for instance, are very different. But if we're talking about how we are introduced them and our interactions with them in the actual game, I mean, Hugh Darrow just pops out of nowhere. If I didn't read the e-books I'd have little clue who the hell he was. As it is, I don't think the whole Panchaea stuff gets enough buildup to really surprise - I mean, I'm and still don't really know . It doesn't help that So far, you could easily have erased either Darrow or Taggart, and merged them into one smooth-talking influential character, and the plot would roll along just fine - even though the two have completely different viewpoints on augmentation! It's the same with the but there is no development, no reflection, no philosophical discussion even. And again, although I let live, when I found him again I basically shot him on reflex and that was the end of it. Combined with the lack of any real choice in the plot so far, basically I stop caring - there is no reason for me to have any investment, beyond fringe connections to the original DX. The only exceptions were . edit: I play Deus Ex difficulty, and the routines seem very simple - (1) if they're caught out in open, walk backwards to the nearest cover, then stay there; (2) if they're already behind cover, stay there. You only get some interesting exceptions when (1) they can't see you well enough so decide to rush you; (2) they have cloaking augmentation; (3) there are more than 3-4 enemies, in which case they do attempt to flank. But in many many areas, I could just take cover by the entrance, pull out the 10mm laser sight, and headshot each goon one by one - because of course many of them just keep popping up and down at the same place. It's a pity because the game shows in a few places how exciting and dangerous the combat could be if the enemies were more proactive - e.g. escaping .

Nearing endgame now I think - just arrived in . Can't help but feel that it is a good, fun game, but definitely not creative or excellent in any way. I can't remember the last game that was so consistently good-not-great. (1) Solid gameplay but limited by particularly static AI (they just find one cover and stay there... even Alpha Protocol's was better I think, or at least, combat pacing was faster so it didn't matter as much that the enemies were doing pop-a-mole) and the sameyness of all the hubs / levels / areas (chutes, offices, corridors...) (2) Generally well delivered dialogue and a cool convo game, but a really, really meh story - there's quite a few interesting things in the background, but both the main plot thus far, and more importantly, Jensen/the player's involvement in that plot, is really cookie cutter. Hugh Darrow, Bill Taggart, Zhao - they're all interchangeable despite clear differences in who they are supposed to be, and the same with the mercenaries. (3) I've already mentioned the limits of the praxis system, and in particular, too much XP. I did 'rush' through quite a few areas, and never reloaded for a few things I wanted to do differently (letting ), so I think I'll have fun with another playthrough, but beyond that... not too much to remember.

Ohh. I thought you needed a weapon, too. All this time I've been lugging round spare praxis & typhoon ammo. >.<

I actually never found a Typhoon. I don't know how. I have gone through areas without exploring every nook and cranny, just to leave stuff for a second playthrough, but I imagine that was something very hard to miss... Worked it out with

Trying to kill the second boss, , and being generally annoyed. I'm not sure why, but TW2's bosses never pissed me off like this - I suppose because I was better at manipulating the various combat skills involved. I'm not good enough at shooting and in first person it's hard to dodge things, as well. Conversely, I'm wondering how much there is to go, since I've already got most of the praxis upgrades I want, but story/hub wise it seems like there's a while left. Kind of disappointed by the character development system - there are some cool stuff like the icarus landing and punching through walls, but don't see a lot of different Adam Jensens being possible. Still, having loads of fun jumping out of vents on top of guards, etc.

Aha. Blue mussels is right... silly me, should have realised this isn't New Zealand. Much obliged.

Doesn't sound different enough from Oblivion at the moment for me to be really excited. i.e. there's a lot of fun stuff in there, but I wish some of the disappointments that inevitably come with an Oblivion-style game (e.g. a world that becomes increasingly hollow and lifeless as you explore, a character level up / loot / reward / preen system that increasingly becomes meaningless and dull after the first ten levels....) would be addressed or at least shaken up. I would like to just take a romp around a nice looking fantasy world though, there's been way too many dystopian sci-fi near future settings lately.

I've read parts of a bunch of Ultima LPs and to be honest, they don't seem worth it if not for nostalgia. Before 4 they seem pretty raw and undeveloped (kind of like Final Fantasy before 4), 4/5/6 look interesting but not that fun to play due to the UI and the not so great combat system. I did have fun with 7, but partly only because the combat was so broken you could completely ignore all the battles. :D

Still acclimatising to the American Life, with the necessary funny/stupid slipups. Tried to cook some mussels but the supermarket only sold bags of horribly smelly, liquified crap that somehow passes for mussels. Predictably, I was sick all evening.

Theres no third person view in DX3, right? I wish I could use it when not in combat... I kind of like the cover system here, though. Not sure why, but despite similarities, I never used it in AP, but use it quite a lot here. I suppose it's that lack of third person view.

Just got to the second hub, having a lot of fun but nothing that makes me think 'whoa awesomeness' yet. The conversation system seems like a good idea but pretty basic and too dependent on the UI information, for example, and I'm not quite sure how open some of the levels are, though I imagine that's because I haven't explored near enough. Story seems OK so far except for the silly boss fight.

Only starting DX3 now, just a little bit into the first mission and I'm enjoying it, though nothing amazing. I like the visual style mostly, the production is slick, and there's enough stuff there that feels Deus Ex-y. Definitely not a fan of the third person take-downs, though, which are exactly like FO3's mandatory slow-mo mutilations in their boring waste of time, and hopefully there aren't too many cutscenes where you have no control. Feels a lot more like a slower-paced, higher-production value Alpha Protocol at the moment.

Spent 5 hours building my computer, mainly because I didn't realise I had to put in the hydro cooling first as opposed to last.... then realised I forgot a wireless adapter and had no internet. Now installing Dx3.

Starting PhD program here. All the parts for my new computer arrived today.... except the case, which means I can't do anything. *sob*

Can't think why anybody would waste money on that crap, even if they really like the game (or rather, expect to like it). I do sometimes like to have big maps of the gameworld, but not if it's bundled together with.. I mean, that dragon is probably styrofoam or something, no?

Steam is nearly always the most expensive DD option, so I don't know why you would ever buy from Steam if you care about price.

I've never found that to be the case, even now that I'm in the US. I think it's fair to say that for many games, half or more of the sales come online, now. Perhaps more for, say, Paradox games than Call of Duty or Madden.

My parts are arriving this week and that's what I'll be doing - the OS and maybe game installations for the SSD.

I find it a pretty good call actually - usually devs say "branching paths are too costly because most players will never see them", but in the case of long(ish) RPGs like TW2, well, most players never get to the endgame anyway.

Been in Korea without internet, finally bought an online copy now but without the 10% sale. Have read hardly any impressions about it but am pretty sure it'll be enjoyable. Last few pages seem to be all about people playing it all day and all night.

Hang on, so the region lock applies to online purchases as well? Doesn't the official statement say it's only for boxed copies? I was going to buy mine from UK online.

The game may have sh'art by whatever standard, but to be frank Gothic 3 still looked better than Oblivion. Was rather disappointed Risen decided to drown itself in a hallucinatory wave of megabloom, though.