Starwars

I was gonna get a copy off battle.net but the registration process fails for me.

They are pretty fine candles!

The colors and lighting look great. Wish we could've gotten a slightly more zoomed out view in some screenies, something to really show off the environments.

Ziets researched a lot of Slavic stuff for MotB so I guess it makes sense for some of that to bleed over into DS3 as well. Not a bad idea as far as I'm concerned as I tend to like the texture that gives fantasy settings. I adored the settings in both MotB and the Witcher.

Pretty boring trailer unfortunately, even as far as teaser trailers go. And most of the interview answers were along the line of "we will be revealing that in time". Really want to see something from the actual game.

Amazing interviewer. Really.

Wouldn't it be awesome if the smiley face on Josh's cheek changed based on his moods, kinda like the robot with cowboy on its display? '-' ^_^ *-* >.<

I really enjoyed the clunky cars of Mafia 1 and some of the other "realism" stuff. I especially liked how, when you actually did get up to high speeds in car chases and whatnot, driving felt pretty damn dangerous. I'm pretty sure that Mafia 2 will be a damn fine game but I do worry a bit that they'll make it a bit too arcadey. I also really loved just having a game like that set in the 20s/30s because I love that time period, and driving around listening to Django was just awesome. I'm not nearly as much of a fan of the time period in Mafia 2. *whine whine* But the game looks like a lot of fun. I hope there won't be a return of some of the more crappy missions in the first game.

Where on earth are these things in gaming then? I sure as hell don't see it but I guess I have different expectations? People often praise Bioware for good storytelling in games for example but I don't see it. And in my opinion it's either extremely low standards or a severe lack of analytical ability that causes people to *not* point out how extremely stupid some of the plot elements in ME2 are for example. Or the horrendous encounter design in Dragon Age (not really specific to that game, but) I mean, a game like Heavy Rain garnered good to great reviews. What. The. Hell. Man? I'm thinking more that bugs, graphics and all that are highlighted because they are extremely easy to notice for anyone whereas if you want to critique the design of the game, you have to put on your analytical glasses. Again, I'm not saying that the bugs should be overlooked, far from it. But it's the easy way out to dismiss a game as a "technical mess". And to clarify a bit, I would *gladly* welcome more critical reviews in the gaming industry generally speaking. But the trouble with many of low score AP reviews wasn't that they were harsh or critical. It's that they were lacking any sort of substance and meaningful analysis.

I don't think some of those complaints are without merit. I just wish people were *more* up-in-arms in other games about stuff like the player being able to affect the story, good writing (especially for story-driven games), having to aim carefully before shooting and so forth... I don't think bugs or lack of polish should be automatically excused, not at all. But I hate how it seems to be the basis of many people's gaming experience. How about raising the standards in other areas as well? I think it's disappointing how the reactivity seems to be just a footnote for many people. I think that should be a real driving force in games, because they're supposed to be interactive (again, even story-driven ones). I just can't relate at all to the importance of bugs (unless they really do render the game unplayable of course), technical polish, graphics and so forth. I feel it's so secondary.

How is the groin targeting *not* a tactical element though? Sure it's humorous I suppose (haha, groins) but it's not there for solely comedic value. I used it a lot on builds where I didn't tag a weapon skill, chances were still fairly high to get a knockdown and it wasn't as hard to hit as the eyes or head (I believe). Just because it may have been a gag doesn't exclude it from being part of the gameplay. It's not like in Alpha Protocol where you can hit Darcy in the nads once and have a laugh about it.

The Human Centipede. Had some pretty decent tension going on in the first half or so but after the big "moment" the film just doesn't know where to go and becomes quite boring.

Dead Space had some great lighting but that's about it. Was incredibly underwhelmed by it after hearing so many great things about it, thought it was very mediocre.

Let System Shock rest in peace for God's sake... I long for the day when the idea of digging up old franchises is abandoned and new titles will be encouraged.

I think much of it depended on the stance. I generally liked Professional Thorton, except in the beginning segments. Aggressive Thorton is fun but I wouldn't say that I particularly care for him. But Suave Thorton, oh yeah... That's the best way to play this game. Some of the game's best writing is found in Thorton's smartass comments there, hehe. In the end, I liked him a lot more than I thought I would.

I'm not gonna argue for the NWN2 OC, I don't like it much overall myself. But you have definitely entered the worst part of the campaign and unfortunately, that awfulness carries on a bit beyond the warehouse. It *does* get quite a lot better (Act 1 is a real drag in general) but I don't think it ever reaches great. MotB is loads better but even though I dislike the NWN2 OC, it does give a rather nice context to the MotB story and your character in it.

Painkiller is way more fun than HL2. Still replay it occasionally.

I was a bit disappointed with it actually. It's superb visually speaking, the Ravenloft setting is very well realized. But I found the gameplay and story kinda lacking. Trinity is my fav NWN2 module. It doesn't look as good but I found it to be a lot more fun to play. But yeah, definitely worth a try. A lot of people like it.

Defcon: Everybody dies Love this game.

Henry Leland - 7 Konstantin Brayko- 12 Omen Deng- 39 SIE- 39 (+1) Scarlet Lake- 38 Sis- 34 (-1) Steven Heck - 22

SNEAK ATTACK! Albatross - 1 Henry Leland - 13 Konstantin Brayko- 13 Omen Deng- 37 SIE- 36 Scarlet Lake- 37 Sis- 32 (-1) Steven Heck - 22 (+1)

Yeah, the Hong Shi convo... It's really sorta weird how much the music in the background can help in a situation like that. I also loved the little musical theme that kicks in right as you encounter Omen Deng the first time, really helps the drama of it. I also really like what I guess could be considered the romance theme. That's just beautiful. There are many subtleties that I think they succeeded with. Like the computer room in the Saudi safehouse. You can just tell how hot it can get in there with the computer fans humming away.

I have no idea what's going on but I really enjoyed that for some reason.

Really interesting read, it's a shame he is not at OEI anymore. Very talented guy. The MotB soundtrack is a fav of mine. The music of Alpha Protocol feels pretty low-key most of the time. It's not really music that jumps out at you, which I think is good. But I *really* enjoy some of the more locational music. There is one track in Saudi Arabia (I wonder if it's the same one he talks about) that's really haunting and some of the Taipei stuff also gives a lot of character to those areas. The sound outside of the music is great as well. The VO of course, but the effects as well. Activating Room Sweep really is a shot of adrenaline because of the sound effects work so well with each other.

Would be nice. I haven't heard the music for Dungeon Siege but the Jade Empire soundtrack is goddamn amazing.