RPGmasterBoo

Yes I liked the possibility of getting into encounters that could be simply beyond your power or really easy ones that you could punch through. As for much harder encounters I've only seen two so far in DA, the defense of Redcliffe and Flemeth - and there are no easy ones at all.

I wouldn't exactly call it fun that my PC kills all the enemies before they lift a finger but okay. I wouldn't trade it for struggling with fighters and rogues though. Purple raaaaain: Why does the minimap show me enemies I don't actually see??

I can see why the deep roads were a nightmare for you. I'm strolling through them with no effort at all because I use one single tactic. Cast earthquake on enemies in front of you (you can see them before they can see you in third person view), follow up with Blizzard + Lightning storm = Storm of the Century. Nothing survives. Also you don't have to even cast Blizzard on enemies exactly because when SoC starts the radius significantly expands, and if you damage just one creature all the rest charge right after you - into the storm. I've killed everything by following this tactic, rarely getting touched at all. If I had to go through all of them with a fighter however... ugh... That would not be easy.

Its just a mistake in DA's design. If they made the main quest hubs linear (like a progressive journey), with the ability to roam around at the end of each hub it would have been much more palatable. The illusion of choice in picking a hub, (since you have to visit them all anyway) comes at too high a cost gameplay wise.

Mistake.. I did the same thing, and I'm still surprised I managed to force myself to play the game to the end. Have fun in grind hell I figured out what's so jarring about DA combat. Okay, there are the annoying and unavoidable grind filled areas: haven/temple, werewolf lair, blood mage hideout in Denerim, the Carta hideout in Orzammar etc. but that's not all there is to it. Playing BGII at the same time I've noticed that the biggest difference is in length of encounters with average/weaker enemies. In BGII combat is in general much quicker, barring boss fights. There are practically no enemies you can pulverize your way through in DA, since they are all scaled to a similar level of challenge. The average wolf takes almost as much time to kill in the middle of the game as it did at the beginning which not only doesn't make you feel very badass - it can also get tedious. Its not a huge difference, but it adds up over time. I in general play DA for about two hours then I have to take a break because it drains my concentration and tires me out. This is the result of unnecessarily splitting the main quest into 4 areas. If it were more linear (with pauses for free roaming), the enemies could have been much better dosed and there would have been less need for scaling. Sometimes you want the next thing around the corner to be a pack of goblins you can crush in ten seconds, not an enemy that forces you to fight equally each time. In DA that doesn't happen, all of the (white and yellow) enemies are equally difficult with the occasional miniboss to spice things up.

Finished the Redcliffe quest. That was so far the best paced and most interesting one in the game, at least the parts in the village and castle. Unlike the overlong excursion to the Fade in the Circle this one was nice, short and to the point. I intimidated the demon into giving me a point to spend on my abilities I've only the deep roads left until Landsmeet.

Lol, yeah me too. I have fond memories of charging straight into him with my fighters, only to watch the game over screen seconds later.

Beta is open, just join Gamespot and get your key.

Storm is obscenely powerful. It deals roughly 80 dmg (lvl15mage) per every few seconds and lasts as long as blizzard/lightning storm. The only problem is the huge radius which on some of the cramped maps can kill your entire party in seconds. I didn't know how big it would be the first time around and went straight to the loading screen. I killed the Dwarven thug boss Jarvia and everyone else in that room by standing near the door and casting it in the middle. Good thing I wasn't. Its just a one way affair on his side. The predictability of the AI is troublesome. At least when playing as a mage with a high damage output. Every battle looks the same. I throw a spell, everyone starts chasing me and ignoring the others. I run around positioning for cone type spells, throw some single spells, chug a potion... Since none of the enemies require a particular, exclusive strategy its always like this whether I'm fighting dwarves, werewolves, cultists etc. There's some comedy here as well. The high priest in the temple chased me exclusively and was killed because I ran in circles while the others pelted him with arrows/staves etc. Since there are no penalties for moving in the combat area....

I did, but PS3 did drop in price significantly over that time so it does make sense. There's still catching up to do. Regardless I wish they'd all crash and burn, *sigh* if only I could cast level 9 spells.

Lord, someone actually buys that PSP crap...

Probably, because this way 10 lyrium potions killed an ancient dragon. I did pay a few gold coins for the ingredients though The point was that it boiled down to attrition: my potions vs her health bar - not tactics, which is kinda sucky. The battle arena didn't exactly allow her to move around and change position. Wonder whose clever idea that was.

The Wii is going like they're giving it away with a happy meal. The PS3 seems to be following the XBOX curve all the way... I'd say these sales are peaking because the cost of the consoles has dropped sufficiently for them to become accessible to most people + many of the older games can be bought at smaller prices. Still, there's about a year to go I guess until it starts winding down.

Tried out CnC4 beta. Frankly this game has little to do with CnC, the gameplay is entirely different. Its fun though but it does feel a little simplistic. Overall its nothing special. The single player campaign might be worth a shot though.

Obivously I don't have the relevant data, but nonetheless I think it too late for that.

Interesting. We'll see how the next generation of consoles will fare. The current success of the X360 might not necessarily continue on the next XBOX (because that's the real competitor here). After all the PS3 bit the dust quite easily.

Well this was slightly comical. I set about killing Flemeth. Sten + Alistair + Wynne were my party of choice. (lvl 15) A minute into the fight Sten and Alistair are dead. Too expensive to keep raising them so I keep them like that. I hang out on the other side of the map with Wynne healing me and throw two "Storm of the Century", with a few small spells in between. Flemeth just keeps fireballing me, which doesn't do anything since I've got a high fire resistance. Flemeth dies. If I was willing to throw away health poultices I could have killed the dragon on my own which makes no sense... at all. Not much of an achievement. Mages are definitely overpowered. At least a pure elementalist like mine.

I have Divine Divinity. Good for an action RPG.

To think I get warnings over this

"As soon as I find the right small group of girls, the seven or eight women who are right for me, my wandering days are OVER buddy! " You smeghead

Excellent idea. How about, you mod it, and I'll play it. Team-work, baby, team-work! Oh yeah, be sure to include a Geralt v/o and weapons bling. Of course. I'll mod in 30+ naked chicks for your viewing pleasure as well.

@Jaguars Now that you mention it I wonder how much effort and skill it would take to mod a Witcher kit into BGII.

Oh, we remember it, occasionally play it, too. Just don't place it on a pedestal - as much as considering a game to be in the top 3 games I have ever played is not placing it on a pedestal.

Some old game no one remembers