Morgoth

A little OT, but I just found pictures of different versions of Mass Effect's boxart (and imo they're much better than the final boxart):

To prove my point why DA is gonna rock, here's a snipped from the Bio forums. So, we get woman in DA that don't look like your average pop-star chick covered with some medieval armor. We get real woman!

No I disagree! I have played Half-Life, Thief, Starcraft more times than Jade Empire but to each their own I guess. Then again I have played System Shock 2 most of all.

For 2002 standards I thought NWN was a pretty darn good game, but I'm saying that because it was the first RPG that brought me into this genre. After that, I started playing BG2 and the entire BIS catalog. So probably I'd have reacted differently if I'd have enjoyed great RPGs prior NWN release, but whatever. It's still a great product with a great longevity.

Maybe in Finland, but I do have a choice of what I want to eat. So if you think NWN sucks, just don't play it or play something else. Maybe you're craving for RPG's and there isn't anything else good and new left? That reminds me a bit of the RPGCodex syndrome. They all whine that there are no decent RPGs available, yet they condemn everything that Bioware announces in advance.

That's a subjective thing. Probably comparing single features on a checklist with other Bio games (that SS and MDK nonsense excluded) may let it look like it's the weakest RPG, but it's longevity made it a winner. Even today I see me tempted to return to HOTU once a year, while I've never touched Kotor or JE again after the first playthrough.

Poor Roy. I remember him eating the Hamburger on the Seaquest and then just throw it into the garbage bin. Bad Roy. And I think he also angered big fishes, but I can't point out right now what film that exactly was....

Maybe in Finland, but I do have a choice of what I want to eat. So if you think NWN sucks, just don't play it or play something else.

Click As usual, I really enjoy his honest interviews/rants, even though he now abseiled more into the theoretical fields of game design instead of just releasing some damn product. Anyway, he fluctuates between Tresspasser, Looking Glass, Ion Storm, Disney Culture, makes a bit fun of Bioware and talks about his must-do list before he dies *hint* he wants to make a movie *hint* It's also noteworthy to mention that JPS's first announced game "Ninja Gold" has been shelved, and Warren's characters are now being raped by a green-lit movie to Ninja Gold (no John Woo though). Enjoy.

I'm less worried about the graphics and more worried about...ya know, it's from Bethesda.

LoL. This game isn't made for relaxing, you jerk. However, the devs claim that they improved the shoddy combat in Black Plague vastly. I just finished the demo, and the easiest way to to avoid that Zombie was just to sneak by. Really cool game, I think I'm gonna get the boxed version that will be released next week for a mere 20€. Except people here have good experiences with GamersGate?

As long as there will be PC gaming, there will also be a healthy mod community. And NWN surely wasn't the first game that drove custom content. There's a lot healthier mod scene supported by id, Epic, Valve and Crytek.

I just tried out the Penumbra: Black Plague demo. Wow. It's smart, it's intense, it's what Bioshock should have aimed for. I think I'm gonna buy the full version. Has anyone played Overture (full version)?

Now I applied the patch, and it still runs like a hog. It's like no-patch vs. with patch makes no difference whatsoever. In that regard, I fail to see why NoGood tried supporting such a crippled game in the first place.

Yup. The gameplay was very repetitive. The worst thing of all is that you never learned much about your buddies. In fact, the homepage descriptions where more detailed than the in-game characters. The only positive that comes to mind was the last level (train level - brown instead of grey - Yay!) and those cute Berserkers. Still, it's a testimonium paupertatis that such a weak game actually sold over 3 million units. Says much about today's market tastes.

Why so extreme? Sure they won't go out and say "Dragon Age will suck. Do you trust us now?". But devs should generally keep the mouth shut about details and quality assumptions until it gets officially announced (including media storm). In that regard, Bio have done their homework right. Compare that to many other dev houses that announce a game 2 years in advance, then claim "It will have a revolutionary XYZ"... and when it hit's the shelves, only 20% of all claims made it into the package. Oh yes, this still happens even today, sir.

I never cared much for DLC. Once I'm through with a game, I just move on. And I fail to see how some new shallow planet/items/creatures/whatever could improve Mass Effect.

Yeah, sure. Find drunken dude A, get to drunken dude B, and so forth... I mean that was pretty frucking cool, don't you think?

If Fallout3 is just going to be minimally reminiscent to STALKER, then.... Apropos: Is it already decided whether it will have a story, yes? I want more than just wander around bloomy soil...ya know.

Yes, that one was canceled.

Agreed. But on the good side, they never behaved naughty...like making certain, eh, assumption about it's quality. NWN comes to mind?

What do you mean with "Big one"? If you mean the one that was supposed to replace most world meshes, then the answer is no. Piranha and NoGood broke off over that matter. However, there're also fixes from Spellbound (the dudes that now make Gothic4). It's a quite impressive list, and even more impressive that NoGood actually paid the Community coders, too. I say go for it! It's prolly the last patch anyways.

That's lame, you can't even click on it. We want your information on the game not Bio's. There. Even directs you to the DA forums, Mrs. Tunichtgut! But yeah, I fail to see the pessimism around DA. Sure it got a very extended pre-production phase, but that's just necessary to create an RPG and the universe around it. This also leaves a lot room open for sequels. But everything I heard so far from it sounds very exciting.

I hope you played Mask of the Betrayer, because most "issues" you mentioned there were addressed. The NWN2 OC henchman were indeed mostly for functional purposes, but you get a lot deeper insight into the MOTB comrades. I mean who could have guessed that I'd start sympathising with a bald woman?

I finished WH40K Dawn of War... and I think I officially became a little secret Relic fanboy now. I never really paid much attention to DoW, but it was surprisingly the most fun RTS since Starcraft. Now I'm playing Star Wars Empire at War... a little meh, but maybe it will get better along further missions.