MLMarkland

Or you might find that you prefer the nwn2 toolset to any alternative for combining power with extreme flexibility.

Indeed. I've never enjoyed a console shooter's multiplayer until now. MoH->CoD1->CoD4. Been playing a lot of CoD4 mp. Alternating between that and Mass Effect. Honestly, I'm having a hard time motivating myself to finish Mass Effect right now, just too many cutscenes, not enough actual meaningful roleplaying. I'd contrast it with MotB. MotB interupts the game just enough to keep the narrative moving, and yet provides lots of opportunities for significant decision-making by the player. Honestly, I feel like Mass Effect is more a game about being a film director directing a sci-fi movie starring someone named Shepherd, and less a game about playing Shepherd him/herself. Perhaps it is a step towards a new genre/niche of movies/games appropriately termed interactive movie. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but if that is the case it bears refining. Cut the length of the game in half and make the choices actually mean something and improve the squad AI beyond GRAW 1 levels and then I wouldn't be able to put the game down most likely. As it stands it hovers between game and interactive movie and never hits its stride. The atmosphere, music and presentation and excellent. The game definitely captures that semi-hard sci fi/space opera vibe of Reynolds, Niven, et al.

Like I said, drawing plotlines and story elements from previously successful endeavors is not particularly surprising or worthy of condemnation in the entertainment field. Lord of the Rings and Star Wars both draw substantially from previous works of art.

I've finally gotten around to playing cod4 multiplayer and its really outstanding. Best shooter mp since cod1, imho.

Alastair Reynolds

I've only played a few hours into the game, but the Reynolds vibe was evident from the beginning. That's not to say anything negative about borrowing liberally in the process of creating an entertainment product, it is pretty much sop. X borrows from Y who borrowed from Z who borrowed from Shakespeare who borrowed from some crusty merovingian who borrowed from Gilgamesh. The parallels to Reynolds are pretty striking though.

Did you not like the ferris wheel? Nah I thought the Ferris Wheel was a well balanced challenge at that point in the game, especially if you conserved explosives. That whole mission was great. The annoying sections occured, for the most part, from about the 1.5 to 4 hour marks if I recall correctly. 1.5 - 4 hour mark? That would be pretty much the entire US section right? Yeah, I was not a big fan of the US section of the game at all, I found it very not fun. Though it does end on an impressive, gripping and emotionally impacting note.

Did you not like the ferris wheel? Nah I thought the Ferris Wheel was a well balanced challenge at that point in the game, especially if you conserved explosives. That whole mission was great. The annoying sections occured, for the most part, from about the 1.5 to 4 hour marks if I recall correctly.

With CoD4 be prepared for some of the greatest shooter levels ever and some really mind-numbing sections as well. The game runs hot and cold. The best parts are easily worth the price of admission. The worst parts (on the hardest difficulty setting) are pretty much just endless waves of aimbotting fodder, which makes for annoyance rather than fun. Gears of War SP/Coop campaign is better than MP versus imho. Play it coop if you can, that's the best part of it.

Mass Effect Torn between being amazed and loving it and being bored by what is more movie than game. I like how it seems to be influenced by a lot of the past quarter-century's hard/semi-hard sci-fi writers like Alistair Reynolds, Larry Niven, et al. It definitely captures that vibe and atmosphere (If Alistair Reynolds wasn't consulted on this game directly, his books were certainly indirectly consulted). Combat is solid its the part of the game I enjoy the most so far (perhaps because it is the most gamey of the elements). The story is good even if the dialog is a little wooden. The universe is well-created and exploring has been awesome so far. The cinematics are a bit stiffling. I'm hoping Mass Effect signals the high-water mark of cutscenes and the device becomes less prevalent in future games as developers create their own language of storytelling and shed the little-brother-to-movies mentality. Still, I love sci-fi novels and its fun to "play" an interactive space opera. If I was not a sci-fi fan, however, I think I would be significantly less impressed.

Strict genre delimitations are a symptom of myopia. Saying Mass Effect is not an rpg is beyond silly.

Haven't played it at all yet, but the texture popping is peculiar to the unreal engine (happens a lot in Gears of War, a little but not as frequently from what I can tell in Bioshock).

Just started playing Assassin's Creed and so far its jaw dropping.

In this case, the fault lies with the player, not the game. If you don't like dialogue, you can play Halo 3. Or Oblivion. But whatever you do, don't complain about a lack of character development, 'cause that would be funny. Word. I think MotB is the most well-written game ever made, aside from perhaps Torment (scintillating economy vs. baroque excess, take your pick, both are fun).

I think you'll find MotB to run very smooth on any reasonable system, almost all of the kinks in the engine are worked out. Strategy camera mode is the best way to operate, alternating between the standard "focused on character" setting and switching to the completely free cam option of the strategy camera mode for complex, tactical battles. Character mode is good for getting views of some compelling environments in the game and for generally wandering around outside. In interiors stick with strat mode. Just as a side note, I disagree vehemently that the engine is a "pos". There is a reason there was no big Planescape module for NWN1 full of all of the custom content necessary for such a thing, and there is a reason there -will- be a big Planescape module for NWN2. The reason is the engine. It is emminently moddable, very modular and flexible, and strikes a great balance between the utilitarian and everyman nature of Aurora and the stringent technical challenge of Source or the UE engines. As I've said for 12 straight months and will continue to say, the value of the electron engine will be recognized in hindsight after folks take advantage of it for 5 years.