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Heh, it's not original by any means, but it's maddeningly effective, especially in explaining the contradiction of the player running a character in a way that doesn't jibe with the character's backstory. You get amnesia, become a different person, yadda yadda.

If they make an expansion for NWN2 hopefully they will implement this style of game play. NO EXCUSES. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm pretty sure Sawyer's made it clear that he's not going to be involved with any official expansion effort. As for the "stupid hero plot" thing, it's difficult to make a game in which the, uh, protagonist is not the hero. You can make some anti-heroes, but generally the PC is supposed to defeat the bad guy at the end. Fallout made it possible to submit to the Master, but the "correct" canon ending was destroying him. I haven't seen many games in which the PC is a straight antagonist. I can't think of any off the top of my head. As for Vampire, it's a noir universe, there are no heroes.

I think the intent of the question is rather obvious. "Non-linear RPG like Fallout 2" is obviously meant as "Non-linear RPG that is good", thus, why the **** is anybody even talking about TES? Judging from JE Sawyer's comments, if he had been lead designer from the get-go NWN2 would have been different and more akin to a Fallout style in some ways. I think it's a given that the Obsidian guys want to make a game like Fallout 2. But given the ever-escalating intricacy of game engines and greater costs in time and money required to make such a game, I think it's a long shot that they ever will. Like it or not, straightforward linear games like KOTOR and NWN2 are likely the future.

Sometimes. My high school had a program in which students would get credit for going out and being aides at elementary schools. A lot of college-age teachers in training do one-on-one tutoring and such. I got to work with 4th graders, who were old enough to have a concept of personal space and didn't hug.

I think you're all forgetting what the real draw of Splinter Cell is. QUAAAAAIIIIIIIDDD!!!!

And speaking of Mark Morgan, I've added a whole mess of Fallout songs to the gallery. I can't seem to track down the Vault City theme, so if anybody has it and wants to upload it, that's cool, I'd appreciate it. There are a few songs I didn't put up, so if there's one that somebody needs I can upload it by request.

Uploaded some Aphex Twin stuff. Aphex Twin - Heliosphan Aphex Twin - 25 Aphex Twin - Match Sticks I'd include the songs that Mark Morgan ripped off for the Fallout soundtrack (he couldn't have made it more obvious) but they're too big to upload. Oh well!

I... did something?

Perhaps, but this isn't Bethesda. Bioware has made good games before. This is undeniable. No reason they can't buck a trend or two or three. We could get a Jade Empire or we could get a Baldur's Gate. Without having played the game, I don't see how we could say with absolute certainty that Mass Effect is going to continue Bioware's recent slump (if we consider KOTOR to be of lesser quality than earlier offerings, which I think is safe) We can still be surprised.

Oh no you didn't. No way those are scored using the same criteria.

I would love to see a WW2 themed movie from a japanese or german perspective <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can't tell if that's sarcasm or not, but if it isn't, Clint Eastwood's about to release a WW2 movie told from the Japanese perspective. If that was your post was nodding towards, then... whatever. The thing about war movies post-Saving Private Ryan (or war itself post-Vietnam) is that "the glory of war" theme has become rather quaint. That's why it's relegated to these schlocky action movies.

Looks like a genre picture to me. Frank Miller's The Scorpion King 2: the 300. Oh yeah. I just wonder if they'll have the balls to show spartan women as they were, no-bull**** militants who trained for battle just like their husbands. Judging from the trailer, the women in the movie seem like the noble feminine-beauty types (the kind of woman a real man would fight for). Kind of a let down. But I realize that this whole Thermopylae thing is a thin pretext for some cinematic professional wrestling + swords. It's to their credit that I haven't seen a "based on a true story" yet.

All flaming aside, this thread is pretty pointless. 99.9% of people here aren't even going to consider going below 8. This is the Obsidian forum, after all. People who come here to disapprove of what the board is about (Obsidian games) by and large are called "trolls". You either like the game, or you don't say anything, or at the very least you have to be willing to kiss Obsidian's ass while you voice your disapproval. You might as well go to the Jimmy Dean boards and make a thread rating the deliciousness of sausage from 1-10.

Well, for one, Splinter Cell isn't an FPS. Its main mode is third person. I wouldn't even call it a shooter, either. It's kind of like Hitman, with more stealth. You go through each mission and complete objectives, and when you complete the objectives you leave. The gameplay is actually pretty similar to Thief, as far as the stealth part of the game goes. As far as the plotlines go, they're not too different from standard Clancy. But it's all about espionage instead of paramilitary stuff. And unlike most Clancy games, there are characters (albeit not very well developed ones) present. I recently played Double Agent, and I thought it was pretty good. There are parts of the game where you can't kill anyone, and you have to remain completely unseen and sneak around. It's also got some semblance of a branching plot, but it's more cosmetic than anything. I also hear the MP is pretty fun.

Jade Empire comments never fail I think it odd that they would show all these vids with the same PC and never mention or show the character creation process. You'd think that they'd have that worked out by now. Bioware games as of late seem to also have dwindled in the number of "avatars" you can choose, with KOTOR being fairly limited and JE having 3 per gender (each of which was tied to a certain character type) I could definitely envision Bioware going the JRPG route and making a PC that has a clearly defined backstory based on a single conception of the character that can't change. Revan's story was about as far as they could go without restricting character choice. I'd hope they'd go beyond that, but I don't expect it from them.

That's the $x-amount question. Judging from the vids so far, the name of your character is set in stone. From that, I would assume that gender is always male. I don't remember the name exactly, it could be something androgynous and I could be wrong. But I'm guessing the best we could hope for is a Deus Ex-style skin color choice. As for character abilities, I'd say that's a given, regardless. They wouldn't be able to call it an RPG if you aren't able to customize those, even if something like Jade Empire would have been the same had there been no customization at all.

5, not taking into account engine issues, which I don't mind much. Thin, mechanical villains, largely static NPCs, a fairly restrictive feel. The Keep sequence was pretty good, though. For reference, I would have given Fallout a 10, F2 and BG2 a 9, BG1 and Vampire an 8, KOTOR2 Arcanum and PST a 7, KOTOR 6, IWD a 4, Morrowind / Oblivion a 3. Them's the deal.

Instead of burning goats, I think we should all be doing our part to promote world peace this solstice time. The "positive energy fields" stuff is new age wank, but it's good stuff for a good cause. Grab an attractive friend and, uh, come together. In the interests of peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? btw, there's 11 days left, so some of you had better start preparing now. You know who you are.

Since when has Viggo Mortensen been the Christ?

Seems like a lot of D&D players I know tend towards schizoid personalities. So I can see where they're coming from with this. But the idea that they're some kind of security risk is ridiculous. Schizoids can hold down a job just like anybody else.

A little late on the reply, but thanks for the ideas, Blank. Now all I have to do is implement them and figure out where to get the components, and what abilities will be required to create said items. I'm writing Fallout again, since the semester has ended. Planned everything up for next week. Basically, the party is in Denver, which is kind of like the Necropolis, except much bigger and much less populated. A few police robots and some salvagers and a lot of dogs, that's it. There are also some slavers and some mercenaries, but at least one of those you fight. My question posed to you all is this: Given that there aren't many NPCs to flesh out here in Denver, what would be the best way to initiate quests and such over a large area? The thing is that without any NPCs, the whole area runs the risk of being a gigantic dungeon crawl. I don't do dungeon crawls well, so I need some inspiration here.

Was that the "Alternate Reality" game that was supposed to be a great leap in gaming a few years back? A nice high concept, to be sure, but it worked better as a marketing tool for serial television than an end in and of itself. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm pretty sure you are thinking of "Majestic" <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That's the one.

It's kind of humorous, kind of, but variations on the fifty hitler post are always an eyesore.

Was that the "Alternate Reality" game that was supposed to be a great leap in gaming a few years back? A nice high concept, to be sure, but it worked better as a marketing tool for serial television than an end in and of itself.

Hmm, where is the glowing ink? I think my golem quest may be bugged.