Wrath of Dagon

With DAO they weren't trying to make an action RPG, the problem is their RPG elements weren't implemented well, so all you're left with is a bunch of filler combat where real RPG content should've been, so it plays like a bad action RPG. With DS3, Obsidian obviously set out to make an action RPG, so they never planned to put all the usual content you'd expect from an RPG. I'm not sure extended companion interactions would've fit here, or else they might as well have made a full RPG. Not that I'm against full RPG's, I just don't think that's what they were going for. Edit: May be we're using the term ARPG with different meanings. I mean a game with primary emphasis on loot and combat, not that it has "actiony" combat. New Vegas for example also has "action" combat, but I wouldn't call it an ARPG.

Eh, I disagree. Obsidian put their spin on the franchise, which was more emphasis on story and character, and less on hack & slash and loot. Just look at the complaints from DS1 & 2 fans that the game was changed significantly from the previous two installments, primarily about how there's less emphasis on combat and loot, and more story and deeper characters. So in that respect, it should be compared to games like KOTOR, NWN, Dragon Age, etc. because that's the sort of thing they were going for. Combat and loot are constant, so I don't see how there's less emphasis. Sure, they did add writing and characters, it wouldn't be an Obsidian game otherwise, but the structure is still quite different from the games you mentioned. Normal RPG quests involve lots of character interaction, in DS3 there's almost none, and what there is usually doesn't affect anything. It's always been called an action RPG, so I don't see how you can say that's not what they were going for. You could legitimately compare it to DAO, except DAO has a lot more pointless blather, and really tedious combat through repetitive boring levels. It's unbelievable to me how much DS3 is better than DAO, and obviously on a much smaller budget too.

I was referring less about the actual DA2 quality of interaction (though I actually enjoyed it), than I was about that kind of thing, where you have the opportunity to talk to, learn about, and even undertake a quest or two for those companions. IMO, they feel a lot more fleshed out the more you get a chance to have dialogue with them. DS3 was good in the way it integrated the companions into dialogue in various scenes, but it fell short, IMO, when it came to actually giving you a chance to get to know them better. I also think the game was screaming for a personal sidequest for each companion. One of my favorite parts of an old Obsidian game was the party interaction in KOTOR II. Learning about those traveling with you, expanding on the lore around them and their backgrounds, ranks up there among my favorite features from that game. That's one area where I think DS3 dropped the ball. It didn't drop the ball, it's an action RPG, not an RPG like KOTOR. The emphasis is on combat and loot, not character interaction and quests. Btw, another thing I'd like is to have the mini-map be a different color for the paths you've already visited, otherwise it's impossible to explore areas with lots of interconnecting paths and know if you already explored there or not.

Having lots of fun with DS3, hard to put it down. I'd say the third best Obsidian game.

The marketplace didn't think there was a crisis in mortgage securities either until the whole thing collapsed. I'd say financing 40% of your budget through borrowing with no end in sight is a crisis, and that's even before social security and medicare turn to deficits instead of surpluses. Well... and this is silly... we wouldn't be in this position if the same people pushing us towards a default hadn't blocked moves to try to raise revenue via tax increases on the top 3% Why don't we increase taxes on you instead? Why do people always assume someone else needs to pay for them?

The marketplace didn't think there was a crisis in mortgage securities either until the whole thing collapsed. I'd say financing 40% of your budget through borrowing with no end in sight is a crisis, and that's even before social security and medicare turn to deficits instead of surpluses.

If Westerners had any brains, they wouldn't be self-destructing, would they?

What else is in the genre?

Being self-contained allows you to pick any character for your party, instead of being limited to whoever best complements you, which is important when your party is only 2. So there are pros and cons to it.

Same in Oblivion. Really? I never saw one, you seemed to be able to go anywhere. Edit: Unless you mean the guards, but those weren't exactly enemies unless you wanted them to be.

I think it'll still scale, just the level of the area is set when you first visit it and won't level up later. I kind of liked that, although I played on normal and it was still painful sometimes. But it did make you reconsider your tactics and think about how you could improve your stats and equipment to do better (damn willowisps!)

I'd like the camera to have three settings, right now it doesn't zoom out enough and feels claustraphobic until you get used to it. It's especially a problem in coop because you're tethered to each other and it makes it hard to take out spread out ranged enemies. I'd also like an arrow showing the facing at the character base. Sometimes it's hard to tell where you're facing in the heat of the battle.

Wikipedia agrees with me : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_reserve_banking

Depends who you consider to be the middle class, in US the top 10% pay the greatest share of taxes. Also the stuff you said about banks is wrong. They have to keep a certain amount of money in reserve, but they still can only lend money that's been deposited. The Federal Reserve on the other hand really can create money out of thin air. Whether they actually print it as cash or transfer it electronically isn't really relevant, it's all imaginary.

Ever heard of Ernst Rohm?

The problem with the modern gamer is they're so willing to settle for less.

Space-time invisibility cloak: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/07/18/...sibility-cloak/

It seems to me that DS3's intented audience, and by extension the gameplay, were very clear. Combat-focused, gamepad-focused, not too much distraction in the shape of dialogues or secondary gameplay, a strong combat system. And the audience were the gamers who liked console ARPGs like the Dark Alliance series or some recent X-Men games. I don't think DS IP is as strong as either one of those, so not enough to carry a game by itself, and not being a real RPG there's not much interest from RPG players either. On the other hand, if the game only cost $5 million or so, a few hundred thousand sales would probably make a profit, so it may be OK.

Looks to me DS3 is about as successful as AP. In either case, it's not really clear who the intended audience was, apparently not to the publisher either. Normally it's the publisher that specifies all the features in a game, not the developer. Of course writing and low level gameplay design is still up to the developer, but the publisher is in control.

K2. NV comes pretty close, and is better in a number of ways, but I just didn't enjoy the quests as much and somehow K2 is just more compelling. All Obsidian games are worthwhile, though I haven't played DS3 yet.

The article is intentionally misleading, as is normal with environmentalist propaganda. The bulk of "renewable" in US is hydro and ethanol. Hydro has always been there, ethanol is mandated by law for the benefit of farmers, there's at best no energy gain from it, in fact it's possibly the stupidest policy of modern times, driving up food prices, making people in third world countries suffer and causing instability. Wind is the only true new renewable, but still depends on government subsidies and constitutes only a small percentage of the total.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light on sale for $7.50 on Xbox Live this week.

Apparently the sound the wind mills makes freaks out people who live nearby, or at least that's what they were reporting on the radio. I also saw one of the blades on a huge truck the other day, I knew they were big, but until you see it up close you can't fully appreciate how humongous they truly are.

For and against: http://kotaku.com/5815846/the-supreme-cour...ent-video-games

I'd really like to know why RPG players are their own worst enemies. I thought greedy publishers and sloppy developers are the RPG players' worst enemies.