SHodges

I think they're all good, since you can actually have different experiences with each unlike many games with a class system. If I had to pick a favorite though, it'd be Jedi Master/Sith Lord, since I love playing a "force powers" character.

It took me more than one play through, but I really enjoyed the story. I didn't think it was as good as KotOR 1, but still very enjoyable, better than most everything else. I think the biggest problem I had with not liking it the first time I played through was that it was very easy to miss large chunks of the story. I guess some would say it wasn't spoon fed, but whatever. I finished the first game without even knowing I could train Jedi, or really getting to know my party members besides Kreia thanks to the influence system (which I ended up liking, I just didnt know how to use it at first). It's a good story, it can just be kinda hard to get the whole picture.

I thought Silver looked terrible.

Sion. I think Nihilus looks much cooler, but he was basically a throw away character. Very little development, and he did very little in terms of the story. Sion was a more interesting character, and was more of a "big villian" than Nihilus was.

G0T0's my real "most hated", but he isn't there, so I picked Bao Dur. Just something about the way he talked made me dislike him.

I didn't like G0T0. Pretty much useless, and a very boring character to boot.

That really doesn't make it a "bargain", but ok. That'd be like saying "The japanese clearly think the 360 is a bargain, since they bought all 100,000 units of the Blue Dragon bundle as soon as it was made available" (source). It doesn't have any real relevance to whether or not something is a bargain. At best, all it really proves is that the Japanese gamers want to play PS3, Wii, and yes, even the 360 when games are developed for it that appeal to them.

I hear Sony talking about potential all the time, but it really just isn't there, it's a sham, like everything else Sony has talked about and hyped up for their consoles. The Playstation 2 had the largest library of games because it had the largest userbase and was out for a longer period of time than the other consoles, not because of any "connections with 3rd party publishers". The playstation 3 doesn't have that, the "potential" isn't there for a larger game library any moreso than it is with any of the other consoles. And no, blu-ray is absolutely not needed by most developers. Go look up a game called Roboblitz sometime. A little lossless compression goes a long, long way. The only time developers are truly going to eat up a DVD this gen is when they're not using reasonable compression, or are overusing CG. So no, blu-ray has no real potential to deliver gaming experiences that I can't find elsewhere. It remains a $200 addition to the PS3's price for something I can't even use, nor have any interest in. The PS3's "potential" is a lot of hype, and not a lot of substance. There's no truth behind any of it.

I really don't know how people can say this "PS3 is a bargain" stuff and still take themselves seriously. When I look at the PS3, I see a more expensive version of my 360 with an inferior controller and $200 tacked onto the price for a next-gen storage format that my games don't need and my TV can't use. I see a much smaller game library, with the only exclusives being games I have absolutely zero interest in. But this is somehow a bargain because it forces me to pay for things I don't need (Blu-ray, wifi, etc) while the 360 lets me save money by making those things optional. I just don't get it.

After Gears of War turned out to be a 15 minute game, I tried going back to Oblivion for a few days, but got sort of bored with that, so I'm replaying Jade Empire again, taking my time and stuff. Bioware did a really good job with this game.

Depends on what platform you're buying them on. I tried playing Chaos Theory on the PC, and the controls were just awful, not very well suited for tat type of game at all. I've played them all on consoles as well though, and they're enjoyable games, the first two can be a bit frustrating though due to the "3 alarms and mission is over" gameplay mechanic, which they removed for the last two. If you decide to get into them, I'd start with Chaos Theory. Double Agent is pretty good, but it's pretty buggy, to the point that it makes it a chore to try and play.

Complete a design document (you can find help with this on google, like anything else), practice writing, play lots of games and get a very clear idea of what you do and do not like and what you think does and does not work in various types of games, etc. Just keep in mind that you won't be head of the team right out of college, no matter how early you start. If you want to make games, make sure you're ok with making someone else's game before you get to make your own.

I have no problem with people not liking Halo, but....Killzone?

A lot of the people that love the Dreamcast now are the same people that treated it and it's incredible library of games like the ugly stepchild of gaming in favor of the at the time all hype PS2. Electronic Gaming Monthly is especially guilty of this, they mention Dreamcast as a classic now, but they gave it nothing but crap when it was still alive. If Dreamcast had been a success and remained a viable platform for the 6 or 7 years Sega wanted, we probably wouldn't care that much about it.

I was disappointed with Halo 2 when I first played it, much like Fable, it just didn't live up to the hype. However, I went back to play it a little bit later after it had been out for a few months, away from the hype, and I enjoyed both games heavily now that I wasn't expecting the sort of game Jesus would play. Aside from trailers and stuff, I think I'm going to dodge what hype I can so I don't get unrealistic expectations.

This seems like the common attitude, and I don't really understand it. It's true that there are console players out there that prefer more action than thinking, but those same players are on the PC as well. I'm sure there are many guys playing Counter Strike Source that wouldn't touch a Fallout game for instance. As a console-first, pc-second guy, trust me, I was just as disappointed at what happened to Deus Ex: Invisible War as the next guy, or that Oblivion was child-proofed and scaled to death, or that Thief III was Splinter Cell'd, etc. I hope that Bioware doesn't share this attitude, because I'd much rather have a deeper Mass Effect as opposed to a twitchy run and gun version. As for the game itself, looks awesome, I can't wait to play it. KotOR and Jade Empire were some of the best games I played last gen, I hope the Mass Effect trilogy can keep it up.

I'll let you decide, but I don't think gaming laptops are a great idea. The hardware just isn't meant for that sort of thing, and you'll eat through your battery in no time unless you're sitting at a desk plugged in...and if you are, why not just game on a beefier desktop with a better screen and probably speakers? If you need one for games, obviously stick with Windows-based machines, but if you need one for other purposes I would look into Apple's line of products. I've had no complaints.

Microsoft has a (imo) more realistically priced console released first that is just as powerful as the PS3 and easier to work with, has a more impressive lineup of games (again, in my opinion). Too Human, Mass Effect, Fable 2, Halo 2, etc etc etc. This E3 took me from "I really don't care to give my 360 away at this point" back to being happy I picked one up at launch. The only thing I can complain about as far as the console's coming lineup goes is that Shadowrun is a crappy looking generic Counter Strike knock off with nothing to do with Shadowrun, on a console that is already over saturated with generic looking crappy First person shooters, and starving for RPGs. As for the others, I plan on buying a Nintendo Wii on launch day along with Zelda and Mario, maybe the new Smash Bros as well unless something else is there to take my money instead, so I don't have too many complaints about that console either. The only real problems I have with it are that aside from Nintendo's games, I'm sure that the controller will only be used in gimmicky ways rather than fun and innovative ones, and I'm not very happy about the fact that as far as tech goes, the Wii is actually more comparable to the Xbox and PS2 than the Xbox360 and PS3, even if that is the reason the console is so attractively priced. Meanwhile, I have nothing but complaints for Sony. A $500-$600 price tag depending on what SKU you buy, a horrible library that's best showing was Assassin's Creed, a game originally announced for the Xbox360, rumored to be running on an Xbox360 at E3, and it's being made by Ubi Soft, so will be running on an Xbox360 after Ubi Soft gets done porting it to anything that can run it like they always do. They announced a tack on gimmick feature of their controller clearly ripped off of Nintendo and done half as well, only being utilized by mediocre games that seemed destined to fail like Warhawk. As a matter of fact, every game at the show was either something that will be ported, something that will suck (Killzone "t3h hal0 k1ll3r!11!!1" part two, anyone?), or Metal Gear Solid 4. And after playing the games and realizing that part of the plot involves an 80 year old Russian cowboy who can keep up with guys in their 20s who has been possessed by an arm that used to belong to an evil clone, an arm that was sliced off by a dead cyborg ninja, I haven't been that interested in metal gear games. As far as I'm concerned, Sony bombed at E3, they weren't even worth looking at. Microsoft and Nintendo however, as I said, impressed me a lot. So, as far as the threads question goes.... Sales Wise 1) Sony 2) Microsoft 3) Nintendo Quality Wise 1) Microsoft 2) Nintendo 3) Sony It would if I had experienced it. I've had my 360 since launch and I've given it very consistent play, having left it on for upwards of 14+ hours on rare occasions, without a single problem, heating or otherwise. Like most things, I wouldn't believe everything you read on the internet. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these posts like "oh man, I just got an xbox360, I wanted one really badly, but then it burned down my house, I'm waiting for ps3 guys, you should too!" aren't exactly being honest. The manual clearly states not to leave it on carpet or in a tight space, and so long as you don't put it in a sweater or something, you usually won't have problems. I'm sure there are real overheating problems, don't get me wrong, I'm just saying, don't believe all the internet hype about them. I guarantee you that the PS3 and Wii will also be getting tons of exaggerated reports of overheating and the controller shooting out rays and giving them brain cancer and all sorts of stuff, there are lots of fanboys out there with not much to do.

Very good game. I got it on the 360, as I didn't enjoy a single mod for Morrowind that I played on the PC, the only ones I ever used were graphics and city expansions. I had to take a break from it though because of the horribly implemented scaling system, which breaks immersion and for me at least, breaks gameplay. I'm probably going to play it again today after about three weeks of letting it gather dust, and don't get me wrong, everything else is perfect as far as I'm concerned, but that scaling stuff is the biggest case of dropping the ball on an impossible to ruin game that I've seen. I just can't understand why they would do that, it's on par with Microsoft having a perfect E3...and then showing off a Shadowrun mod for Counter Strike.

Sales wise, Sony will win. As far as the quality of their product goes, in my opinion, Microsoft is already the obvious winner. Aside from Shadowrun (which is a disaster that I just can't understand, no matter how hard I try, surely the guys at FASA and Microsoft Games Studio's aren't this dumb...), I honestly can't think of a single mistake they've made with the console. I can't say the same for Nintendo (who I plan on giving money) or especially Sony (who I don't plan on giving money), which has a laundry list of screw up's a mile long at this point.