DemonKing

I can't believe how blindly optimistic you guys are. This is Herve and Interplay we're talking about - it's not like EA just announced it with a press release and screen shots. There's more chance of my dead grandparents coming round for tea than this reaching fruition.

IF you like Thief give them a go...they're kind of similar (even down to the cynical, world-weary protagonist) except with higher-tech gadgets in SC. Definitely start with CT - the first two are a bit dated and DA seems to have a lot more missions that are conducted in broad daylight rather than under cover of darkness.

I'll be interested to see how CoI turns out, but given that I find the gameplay of CoH to be like CC on speed, it will be difficult to convince me to try CoI out if it is essentially the old games in a slightly upgraded package.

Why would any one want to play a MMO that consisted of meeting up with friends to read a novella's worth of text together - isn't that more like a book club rather than a game? Seriously though let it die, Planescape, like Jefferson, is dead. It won't be coming back anytime soon.

I've had a Samsung 930BF for the last year or so and I really like it - before then I was a strict CRT man but this model has changed my mind.

I have to buy the wife a new laptop as her old one has crapped out - only problem is she is writing her PHD in German and would like to install her German version of Office 2003 on the new computer. Unfortunately - it's a little hard to get German versions of XP here in Australia. I figure it will probably work because you can change the language settings in XP, but thought I should check and see what people think before I go ahead and buy it.

Great...an annoying, slightly nutty gnome. Just what I wanted.

The game is fun, albeit annoying... 1. There are parts which are extremely difficult to navigate, even with a gamepad, requiring precisely timed jumps depsite the imperfect control system. 2. The way to progress forwards is not always clear. 3. The Interface, reward and save game system is non-sensical. 4. You can't get out of cut-scenes no matter how many times you've seen them before. 5. It's annoying that you can't access every area on a level the first time through. 6. I encountered a game-stopping bug in my save which wouldn't let me progress past a certain door despite having the correct "head" on. Lucikly I was able to complete the level on my wife's save. 7. I got the install bug (which has since been fixed in a patch). 8. My wife won't get off the computer and let me play.

Thanks guys...I'll try and find a repairer and see how it goes tomorrow. I only hope if they get it running they don't get too confused as it's got a German version of XP installed (my wife's German).

Hi All, My wife's notebook just died today - it won't even boot up or make any noise other the initial startup whir and the screen is dead. Luckily it has been acting strangely for some time and we saved all her data last weekend...any ideas what the most likely problem is? It is four years old and pretty much superseeded, but before we buy a new one I'd like to get an opnion as to whether we should throw it on the scrapheap or not. Cheers

My first reaction to ads in BF2142 was outrage but I guess I could handle it as long as it was done with a minimum of fuss...like maybe in a loading screen or at the bottom of a server list. It would be totally unacceptable if I was trying to fight a future war set over 100 years in the future while Axe deodorant or Athlon64 commercials (ala Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory) were plastered on every billboard or computer monitor. I'm prepared to take a "wait and see" attitude.

It looks good - but it definitely appears to be a more advanced version of the KOTOR engine, and with that and the space opera setting, it does appear to be a bit of a SW rip-off. I'm not unhappy that they're giving the main character a voice - it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Still probably won't motivate me to buy an XBOX 360 though - given that a PC version will probably be released eventually once the MS exclusivity clause wears off (although I wonder why MS make XBOX exclusive games given that almost all PC games require their OS to work anyway).

Can't see the movie - even after I've registered everytime I log on I get kicked to the atari.uk page and can't get back to the NWN2 one.

The original COD and expansion pack (United Offensive) were fluffy awesome...but COD2 leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It looks great, but it's definitely a console port - the multiplayer maps on the PC version are so small that frequently you die from nade spam before you can even get started, plus some of the weapon sounds are aweful compared to the original. They also removes sprinting, portable LMGs and vehicles which were part of what made UO so fun. Guess I won't be playing COD3 since it is a console exclusive, which is a bit of a shame seeing as IW wouldn't be anywhere today without the PC players that made the COD series a hit in the first place.

I'm philosophically opposed to killing other human beings as a way to solve a difference of opinion (particularly as these differences in opnion are usually limited to the politicians who send you off to kill and die while they inevitably sit comfortably back home), so I have never and would never join the army unless perhaps if some invading force had sworn it would kill every man, woman and child in my country, and even then I'd think seriously about fleeing the country instead. Honestly, joining any organisation that can potentially send you off to die in the hell holes of the world for no good reason and without any say in it yourself is strictly for loonies, IMO.

I'll miss his blooper videos.

Dark Reign was an RTS released in the late '90s from Auran, a developer based here in Brisbane, Australia. Dark Reign Website I believe there was a sequel released some years later (not developed by Auran). Fury is their new MMPORPG that will apparently concentrate on PVP play. I had a look at it earlier this year when I was at their offices for work and to be honest I think they're going to have a tough time competing against the WOW juggernaut.

From what I have read it's definitely wait and see as far as the Aegia processor goes. 1. There's only one released title that supports it and the PPU doesn't do a lot for it, by all accounts (GRAW). 2. There are alternative technoliges that may achieve market dominance (eg the Nvidia/Havok solution). 3. Early investors in new tech always pay a premium. 4. If it's anything like GPUs a new generation will be out shortly.

I doubt I would buy it even if it was released on PC - the idea of buying a console port quasi-RPG in a mish-mash oriental setting with last-generation graphics hardly rocks my socks off.

I doubt I'll pick this up...I managed to get a copy of Civ IV cheap but it didn't grab me like Rome:Total War did: the combat was too simplistic, the graphics nothing to write home about and Leonard Nimoy really phoned in his performance.

Yep - I knew the only way to make a truly next-gen RPG was to include Sims 2 tech. Im assuming the worst until we hear otherwise (ie that it will be a console title).

I liked the first two games but alas the lack of a multiplayer game with wide appeal (despite the game being quite engaging it only supports 4 players maximum - a deathknell for online games) meant that it never took off like MOH or COD online. I'll certainly give episode 3 a whirl. I do wish that developers would take the time to give PC titles a quicksave option though - repeating large sections because of console saving restrictions sucks.

Actually it's only a problem if the developer actually controls the on-line distribution path (eg Valve going out of business would screw Steam bigtime). Most companies use 3rd party services to distribute their titles online (eg Steam, Direct2Drive etc), so the developer going out of business would mean you could still play any of their titles you legally purchased.

I used to be like you, but have come to embrace Digital Distribution: 1. I have hundreds of CDs/DVDs/Boxes lying around and I just don't have space for them all, considering my other collections of comics, role-playing game books, board games, Star Wars figures and other junk (which I also have to rationalise). 2. No new game boxes/discs/manuals lying around means the wife has no idea I just wasted money on a new game. 3. It can be substantially cheaper and faster to download a game - for example I just got Commandos:Strike Force from IGN's Direct2Drive service for $29.95US but if I waited for the boxed edition to be released here in Australia later this week I'd pay almost double the price. As it is I'm playing before the official Australian release *and* saving money. 4. I'd rather my money went direct to the developer than to someone like EA.