Starwars

Just finished a playthrough of the demo using Lucas. Thought it was a bit slow-starter gameplay wise and the control-scheme feels a bit wonky initially. Think it could've been done better but I really started enjoying it a lot more towards the end of the demo when I got used to how it controlled. Like I said, could've been a bit better but I think it will work well. I would kill for a NWN like "free-cam" though to be able to look around a bit more. I went away impressed with the writing and story. Voiceacting could've been better, though I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that (at least for Lucas) the main character is mainly inquisitive, there is not much acting in the questions so it feels a bit stale. I think other characters were fine though. Hard to get invested so early on, especially as it starts a lot faster story wise than other OEI games. But I had a real "damnit!" moment when the demo ended. Want to see more. Combat feels pretty good, though a bit hard to get used to like I said before. Stances seem to be well-balanced, I found myself switching back and forth. Really like the way leveling up works, you can definitely push characters into different directions which should be good. Almost didn't use blocking at all though. Just like in Witcher 2, dodging seems a lot more appealing overall. Health pick-ups work well also. Was pretty skeptical about them but I think they found a pretty good balance of how often they drop. A bit on the easy side when playing Normal (though I did die on the Vera fight once, had a bit of a hard time seeing just what was going on for a while) but hopefully Hardcore will feel challenging. The linearity didn't bother me too much but I can definitely agree with the people who would've wanted some bigger areas. Graphics wise, I really like the way it looks. It's not as directly jaw-dropping technically speaking as something like the Witcher 2, but the art direction is great. The lighting and colors make the areas extremely atmospheric, and the game ran smooth like silk with everything (I think) turned on. And I'm not running a beast of a computer. Dialogue scenes could've definitely been a bit more exciting to watch though. Also, like WUE said, the cutscenes are a bit low quality which is a shame since the artwork is pretty nice. Surprised there is not more praise about the music, really loved what we heard in the demo. Especially the piece playing in the chapterhouse. Pretty pleased overall, and a good demo I think. Definitely left me wanting more.

Obsidian aren't the ones in charged of marketing, it's Square Enix. If it seems like it's being designed for the softcore RPG player, then why do you say that you can't figure it out? I'll tell you who it's not being designed for. It's not being designed for the people who enjoy having a character leveled up to level 157, who have collected the most shiny loot the game has to offer and enjoys showing that off to his friends (nothing wrong with this, just saying). And it's at least partially being designed for friends, families, even couples who enjoy just picking up the controllers together and playing through a campaign together. Maybe like the old brawler games, something like Streets of Rage, except in a RPG wrapping. As far as the co-op goes anyways. For the single-player, I'd imagine something like Torchlight except that the dungeon crawling/hack'n'slashing is somewhat dialed back and replaced with story/choices/lore instead.

You know, people complained a lot about Thorton's "duck walk" stealth animation... But Jesus, look at Shepard running. What. The. Hell.

I really have no idea what's going on in this "preview" but it's worth watching for the weirdness of it all I suppose: http://www.playboy.com/articles/jo-garcia-...-3-dungeon-tour It's safe for work as far as I can tell.

I'll be handing out razorblades and Linkin Park CDs on the day of release for anyone interested.

TV is more amazing when you are the controller! I wonder if this will lead to people not being able to find themselves when they want to watch TV.

I'm already tired of it and the first conference hasn't even started yet. Will purple be a major color or not in Halo 4? Let's analyze!

I think that's really only true up to a point. Most of the radios can be found pretty easily IMO by using the "go forward and look around, then retreat" strategy. And if you don't find any, then it's usually a "run through like crazy" section. There was *one* section in Dead Money where I found the radios extremely annoying (and died a few times) and that was a section fairly close to the end. Other than that, I don't think it was particularly bad.

He too wants to know what is Obsidian's secret project. Lulz.

Thanks, enjoyed watching that even though I don't understand much German.

Borrowed Silent Hill: Shattered Memories from a memory. Wow, how the mighty have fallen.... Terrible game. The franchise truly should've been buried after Silent Hill 2 (well, 3 was pretty fun even though they returned the more goofy storylines of the first game).

I love the artwork usage in cutscenes and hope there'll be a lot of it. Loved it whenever the Witcher 1 used it though I wasn't crazy about the art-style they used in the second game.

You can see some concept art on this link: Ulysses included. His clothes look... interesting.

It's not that the original was some amazingly complex game, but that the new one is even further dumbed down that the originals. Get it? And I'm saying that despite the "omg so many skillz0rs!" argument about the older games, DS3 still looks like it involves the player far more. Get it? Having plenty of skills is all fine and well (and like I said, I tend to prefer that approach myself) but it means absolutely jack if the core experience is dumbed down. From what I've seen, DS3 looks to be a far better designed game in that it actually involves the player far more. Again, it's true that it provides a slightly different experience (which is a fair point) but I would certainly not call it dumbed down if it manages to keep a decent challenge. It also seems to *add* a lot of lore and backstory to the table, as well as choices to make for the player. Again, a switch from the originals design goals but *additions* that adds complexity in other areas rather than the immediate "kill stuff" gameplay.

I'm amazed that people still hold up the original games as complex or... well, not dumbed down. The number of skills means absolutely jack, it's all in how they are used in the game. Now, most generally speaking, I certainly prefer to have a larger variety of skills to play around with but there is also a reason why Dungeon Siege is known for "playing itself". The very core of the Dungeon Sieges, and the reason why I personally hold it in very low esteem (even as far as action-RPGs go) *is* that they're incredibly tepid experiences. I would've liked a greater skill variety in DS3 but the game looks far more engaging and involving to the player than the old games do. I tried playing them around the times they were released, and have tried again now that I have them on STEAM due to the pre-order bonus, and I'm sorry. But Dungeon Siege is almost the definition of a dumbed down game. I can certainly understand that someone might be upset at DS3 because it's taking a different direction, taking cues from console action games and having the pre-defined characters. But complaining that DS3 is dumbed down is incredibly hilarious when you consider the history of this series.

What about those of us who played the original games and realized they were pretty terrible Diablo-clones?

Yeah, looks great. Kinda laffed when the guy couldn't figure out that he was supposed to the light the barrels though.

Dragon Age Origins is a much better game than the Witcher 2. There ya go, booyah. Dragon Age 2's problem is that it's pretty bad overall.

Yeah, felt it was unnecessary as well. It's obviously meant to reinforce Petyr's character (at least what he says when he's "teaching" them) but just don't think it was particularly needed. The additions to the series are hit and miss for me so far. I really enjoy some of them but really dislike others.

Pretty good episode, things are starting to heat up. A lot of the tension in the books is coming alive in the series which is great to watch.

Another small thing I hate is when you have these epic fights that the game has been building up to, and you're clearly winning... But all of a sudden, the cutscene magic comes in and you suddenly end up losing the fight. Reminds me of the Darth Nihilus fight in KOTOR2 where you can whoop his ass completely and then all of a sudden the cutscene comes in and it's like "OMG, HE'S... TOO STRONG FOR US". Just feels so wrong.

Beautiful stuff!

That Littlefinger gif is absolutely amazing.

Looks great in high resolution.

There are some parts about NWN2 that I quite like ( some parts of Act 2, most of Act 3, Ammon Jerro) but overall it's too much of a slog for me. I think the NWN2 OC is Obsidian's weakest offering yet. MotB is quite awesome though and I really enjoyed SoZ as well. The toolset is fun to play around in also.