Monte Carlo

Been playing lots of NWN2 recently, especially MotB, MoW and SoZ. These three show the versatility of the engine and D&D 3.5 rules. I'd be very happy with a NWN3, but obviously a bit more wary if it were 4E D&D. Cheers MC

Maybe the Blight's secret weapon is really, really bad pop music.

And, in a shock development, I declare this is a very cool plot twist. I like it. And, as others have said, there's a way around it. Hey, it's a fantasy game, there's a way around everything.

Hurlie, we could jobshare if you like. I also have an English accent and am Lawful Evil. I could get out there a couple of times a year to QA the whole nemesis business plan and go MWUHAHAHAHAHHAAAA in a slightly camp but sinister way. Cheers MC

You obviously haven't read that many of them because for the past few months I've said lots of positive stuff about Dragon Age, astonishingly the stuff I like. "The spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate" is nudging it's way to a 40/60 ratio of approval and despair.

^ They've made a hell of a fuss about choices and consequences, they've cranked the hypometer up to turbo. Yet the consequences article makes it clear that the 'consequences' aren't particularly consequential: I might need six or seven more healing potions. Wow. Maybe I'm missing something.

Still playing Company of Heroes on skirmish mode. Can't, for some reason, unlock the Germans as playable though, which is a bit strange. Still, playing allied factions with the airborne support option toggled is great fun, dropping gliders everywhere. Cheers MC

Whenever I hear Sten this is what I immediately think of... Cheers MC

^ I would make an excellent nemesis for this person. However, although the Bay Area is very pleasant, it is a bit of a commute from London. Cheers MC

^ Horses for courses - it's why I'll be wandering around with a dog and a golem.

^ To be fair, I'd rather they just showed off minor / mundane ones to show us how it works. From watching that what I do know is that I'm going to get bored / annoyed by the approbrium of my Tamagotchi NPCs very quickly. Cheers MC

Yep, I take your point, indeed you can leave them to it. But what you can't do, it would appear, is choose to help them and lose. Not without re-loading. So all those choices affect only the conduct of the battle, you might have to glug a few more healing potions (etc). Hey, even the battle at the redoubt at the start of IWD2 had all this. Cheers MC

^ Actually, I was a bit harsh on Dave. He's clearly a lovely bloke and really into what he does, it's just that I get the sense that he thinks he's writing LotR, not a video game sometimes.

And therein lies the rub. All the cutscenes and 'choices' and influence points with NPCs resulted in... the same outcomes. Which is what Bioware does. How about... "I chose not to seek help, and despite fighting valiantly we were forced to retreat from the monstrous horde. From our vantage point we had to watch the villagers slaughtered, their houses burnt, their crops despoilt. We could not return again to seek aid or succour or +5 magical swords from the blacksmith or indulge in puerile dialogue asking a barmaid for a kiss." Why, Bio? WHY? P.S. Re. the interview... I've always liked Dave G. A lot. But if he gets any smugger he'll actually warp the space / time continuum. Mate, your making a video game, not capturing the Higgs Boson. Cheers MC

This might surprise you, Maria, but a female gamer friend of mine swears by Medieval Total War as one of the best strategy / civ games ever and never plays a single battle in tactical mode. You just auto resolve them, takes seconds. If you fancy trying this, buy the bargain bucket original as the strategy GUI / music / atmosphere (etc) is beautiful compared to the more technically accomplished and grapihcally enhanced MTW2. Cheers MC

The 'interview' with the imaginary NPCs was cringe-worthy, self-indulgent and embarrassing. I lasted about two paragraphs. Stop it Bioware.

And the reason I will win is because I will base my operations in a five-star hotel with a flat screen TV, jacuzzi and room service. This is the way of Blue. Maria, being Green, will set up her base of operations in a Yurt. Very ethical, but not conducive to plotting world domination. Mwuhaahahhahaaahhhaaa!! (etc).

Hey, Maria, thanks for that.

Hey, how do I post the result of my modish colour personality test?

^ I might have been rough on DA on a number of occasions, but...

You're mellowing Grom, admit it.

Seconded, my party are just about to hit level 14 and are cutting about the Sword Coast making more loot than you could shake a stick at. The randomness, lack of balance, mindless combat and ability to make uber-items easily are all, for me, massive pluses. To be fair, on the Sword Coast some of the encounters have more thought put into them than ones you find in more allegedly deep RPGs. The Port Llast quest is a good example. Lastly, in a shocking development, of all my attempts at this game my best, most effective and fun to play party so far has been the most vanilla: Human CG Rgr 3 / Rog 8 Moon NG Elf Wiz 13 Dwarf LG Cleric 13 Grey Orc Ftr 10 / Fzd Brkr 2 I've levelled up Lastri the Halfling Swashbuckler at the adventurer's guild too. She's pretty good, those flank bonuses are very useful and watching large creatures try to hit her is hilarious. Cheers MC

^ Epic levels, dungeons, bald red wizard chicks, rainbow bears, witches, cold baths with crazy beserkers, phat lewt, over-the-top uber-combat... what's not to love about MotB?

My IP? No big deal, like I said, I don't mind people knowing that I have trenchant views on video games and am geeky enough to be posting about it If Obsidian want to dump a cookie so it's easier to post here, they're welcome. Cheers MC

No tinfoil hat, just a POV. Privacy is a precious commodity, especially in the 21st Century. The stuff people in their twenties post online about themselves is, to my mind, bizarre. For example, if you Google my name I don't appear anywhere. I like that, not because I've got anything to hide, but because I'm a bit of a libertarian and I value my privacy as a commodity. I've grown up watching the internet develop as an adult - it simply wasn't around when I was younger so maybe that informs my view. But the stuff younger people put on social networking sites never ceases to amaze me - you're giving all your private data away to these folks for free. I have friends in work in IT who are agog at how cavalier companies are with the data we provide them everyday. They just treat it as another bulk commodity. I don't like that, so I'm innately suspicious of attempts to harvest data about me - why does, for example, a cell phone company want a copy of my driving licence? I told them they couldn't have it and guess what? They backed down. They just wanted to try it on. Same as the bloke in the apple shop. Same as the loyalty supermarket card whereby your purchases are analysed and used to build a picture about you for 'focussed marketing opportunities.' Their ain't one of those cards in my wallet. However... as well as being a libertarian, I'm also a free-market capitalist. You want my data? Maybe I'll let you have it, but what will you give me for it? Same with Steam - you want me to register with a third party to use your product? What's in it for me? I do give my data to companies I trust, but it's an informed decision I make on a case-by-case basis. If more people were like me, companies would be less irresponsible with personal data and treat consumers with a bit more respect. Cheers MC