Promethean

Great read. Though I wonder how much input he will have on NV with AP still in production

I thought writing in the EE edition was well done, especially for a Eastern Euro RPG. Its not MotB but its at least NWN 2. Definitely doesnt get as bad as Drakensang or Gothic

Bloodlines intro is awesome

Well Peragus was integral to the story so its not like you should be able to skip it. T3's mad dash to save the Ebon Hawk is the real tutorial. And its a great one. Since T3 is awesome.

Oh the colors. Its like candy for the eyes.

Ya, this is a strange argument. On one hand folks (I cant remember if you do this...I ought to include you just for Drama's sake) argue that they can't possibly imagine anything that's not spelled out in the game specifically, then they argue that people don't like ISO because the lack imagination. When I was in the military, we used to sit around the hotel room and play DnD, with no dice...with nothing but our collective imaginations. That PnP experience...the root of it...the collective imagination, is all that is needed to roleplay. All the rest is window dressing...the rules, the stats, the environment, are nothing without that imagination. Yet folks want huge, complex stories, apparently because it's easier, and they want rock solid rules, apparently because it's easier, and they want solo games, apparently because it's easier. RPGs have been dummied down because kids these days grew up watching TV and playing console games...no imagination required. When I grew up, I played swordfighting with stick out in the yard and palying with all kinds of stuffed critters my mom made for me. Times have changed. What!? And besides, CRPGs cant possibly be like PnP, just like a game cant possibly be a movie or a play cant be a novel. And they shouldnt try to be.

Hopefully it will be more like the first, that is actually good

If I could push you off a mountain I would.

Dont forget Activision.

I would be shocked if they made a turn based RPG. Not that it matters to me since I'm a writing, story, atmosphere guy, but a turn based game would actually be a nice change of pace. I think most people consider RTwP to be turned though, so who knows what they mean.

Some reviews are in the OP of this thread on NeoGAF Gamebanshee gave it a 6.8 and Sorcerer's Place gave it and 8/10

Brutal Legend is Tim Schafer. That alone is enough to right home about it.

Body horror is the scariest horror. Nothing beats The Thing.

I do think it would be nice if crpgs could move beyond the standard chase-the-macguffin plot though. Also move beyond the need for ther player character to be savior of the world. Slightly more humble and less grandiose motivations migth actually be more interesting. Well isnt that why games like Planescape or KotOR II are so good. They arent save the world plots. They are personal stories. Its what made the SSs so awesome. You against Shodan. And thats like all it is. Yet its way better than 99% of game stories. Of course thats Looking Glass we are talking about. I dont know if there is a studio like them around anymore, where every game raised the bar.

They recorded 5000 more lines and they also had problems with the VA in Germeny. There was a lot of complaining about those things. The Enhanced Edition probably helped it here. The real issue seems to be that they tried to juggle 3 Witcher projects plus that shooter they have cooking

True yet its highly likely that what you learn about your past will affect how you act in the present, at least for your first playthrough

Bethesda PR is pretty bad with overselling features or outright lying, like with the number of endings in FO3. Yet they like to ban people that dont conform to their views. They really dont deserve everything their mod community does for them. Those guys are awesome.

Yeah and you really cant look at The Witcher as a standalone story. Its definitely suppose to follow the canon. It hurts an otherwise strong story.

But it did have concrete rules and reality in Fallout. The series gotten worse in this regard since 2.

Bah you are going too easy on Bethesda, especially with their resources they should be able to get a better writer and not have continuity errors on par with Tactics. And I dont think Geralt is quite the same since his amnesia doesnt really make to much sense in regards to the books. Geralt is much more structured then the Exile was. I think they should have scrapped the amnesia thing. The best thing about KotOR II other than Kreia and the definition of love was that your character didnt have amnesia and his dialogue options reflected that fact and Geralt would have been the right kind of character to continue that model.

White Wolf was a console game, it wasnt cross platform. PC wasnt getting that new version

I wouldn't count on that, previous Fallout games weren't done in that way. And they'd turn off the virtual-LARPers that Fallout 3 has, heh. True. I always thought KotOR II had the right idea though. It gave you a character that has a past but also presented you with a chance to justify and choose why he did those things that defined him. And like I said, blank NPCs can work. They just need stronger C&C and/or NPCs, which it why a game like Fallout or Bloodlines works. Or they can just have a really good antagonist and setting, like System Shock 2.

If you can't see the flaw in your own argument, then the discussion might as well end here. You bank your entire argument on your opinion that Planescape: Torment had a great story and that Fallout 3 sucks in every aspect. Well, my opinion states that Planescape: Torment's story wasn't very good and that Fallout 3 had some good moments. What do we do now? Why would it be "sad" if someone happened to enjoy Fallout 3's story? Do you really think you're in a position to judge people like they were less worthy than you to make up their own minds about what to like and what not to? Do you somehow think your opinion outweighs anyone elses opinion? And what's so urgent about ? Or ? Or ? This is what's the most sad about people still stuck in the nineties: they have to make **** up to discredit everything made after the year 2000 and especially Bethesda/Fallout 3. Well, I guess it's much better to create a sandbox world and then put a time limit on it so people can't explore it even if they wanted to.. biggest flaw of previous Fallouts, in my opinion. Well we could argument about writing quality, ideas, quest structure, dialogue. And its would all be opinions. You really arent saying much. Yeah I think my opinion has weight, TO ME. Would you like me to prefix IMO before every statement? I even gave some reasons why I thought his statement about the Lone Wanderer being a open NPC wasnt entirely correct. And you could say Planescape's story wasnt very good, but I also noticed you didnt say Fallout 3's was better, just that it had good moments. Moments dont make a story and neither does Fallout 3's level of writing. Also the time limit is Fallout was insanely generous. I think time limits used correctly giving a proper weight and urgency to your actions and to the story.

I love the total lack of sarcasm, you PC jerk.

Oh, I hope not. There's nothing wrong with structured RPGs per se, but I prefer freeform RPGs, like the ones Beth makes. I want to make my own story, not be dragged along some canned story. I thought the main quest in FO3, for all it's faults, was pretty good in scope. One can follow the quest or not, and work on it when the mood strikes, and still have plenty of exploring to do. And maybe I don't want to be the nameless one. That really irritated me in PS:T. I want to create my own character and make my own way in the world. That is, if the game is story driven, there better be more to do than follow the story, and there better be a way to make a character I feel comfortable with playing. Well then the story wouldnt have been as good without TNO's connection to the rest of the world and characters. And FO3 is what you want out of story? Christ thats sad. And how was it good in scope? That crap was over way to fast, and you basically were worse then the structured PCs cause all you did was follow your dad and then carry out his work. It was his story pretty much. You're just the follower. Not to mention how stupid it is that you can take huge breaks from this urgent quest to fool around yet nothing bad happens