Monte Carlo

^ 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

^ NWN2 is one of the only games I can remember whereby an XP gave the original such a drastic graphics overhaul. I'm playing SoZ at the minute and it looks great. Cheers MC

^ Piracy is being used as an excuse to make all us submit to registration / marketing / data harvesting opportunities. When I buy a game I only want to buy the data transfered onto the disc without any necessity to go online whatsoever. I don't want any other relationship with any other third party unless I choose to do so. Another example: I was in the apple store the other day. A guy asks me for my email address so he can send me an e-receipt and help save the polar bears by not printing out a tiny square of paper. Who, in the name of assorted deities, are they trying to kid? Cheers MC

Ain't touching Empires until they de-Steam it. You have to submit to Steam / online activation to play it, which is my line in the sand. Cheers MC

I make all wizards, whatever system I'm using, combat auxiliaries. Invariably I spend a few feats on archery / martial weapons skills so that they can plink away at the baddies if (a) their spells run out or (b) the enemy doesn't deserve the spell power wasting on them. DA, as I understand it, gives mages a staff that allows them to dish out consistent low-level ranged damage. Fine, I've no problems with that. Cheers MC

^ actually, they've got a brunette too. Never clicked on it, what is it?

Problem with JA2, from a gun-nut POV, is that it's dated. No G36, M4 modular systems, SiG / HK series pistols or Minimi LMG (Ok, that's been around since forever). Somebody needs to do a nerdy gun freak update mod. Cheers MC

^ Look at how pen and paper RPGs have managed spellcasting over the years and you'll see that they are virtually identical to how computer games have looked at them, even after you've taken away the obvious legacy issues of PnP RPGs > CRPGs. That is to say, how to manage a modal, as opposed to passive, power? Mana and cooldown timers are, to my mind, as valid as Vancian D&D 'Fire and Forget' system. The D&D system is idiosyncratic, for sure, but it's still pretty viable (as for choosing the right spells in advance... imagine your D&D wizard is a fragile fighter-bomber: choose the right weapons package for the target and listen to the bloody briefing!). A barbarian, with 'Rage' ability can only use it 'x' times a day, right? Where, really, is the difference with a wizard using a magic missile? FWIW, I like the sorcerer spellcasting model as employed in 3E D&D, for me it strikes the right balance between mana and classic Vancian D&D. Other systems? RuneQuest - best pen and paper fantasy RPG ever written, period. Uses a mana based system based on a primary characteristic called POWER (on a 3-18 range). Use a spell - lose POWER. This weakens other abilities like combat and hit points over time... the answer? Hoarding POWER crystals, matrixes and other storage devices that put off the moment you have to use your own innate power source / mana. It really works, especially when power storage devices are rare and extremely expensive. Want to cast a really sexy, enemy-melting piece of magic... choose wisely and take a big power hit. Want to cast minor buffs / hexes / curses - no problem. Of course, this was a fairly low magic setting where even relatively powerful wizards knew their way around a couple of weapons and would wear some armour, a bit like classic Celtic mythos druids. Of all my numerous criticisms of DA:O, what I've seen how it handles the magic system ain't one of them. It seems fit for purpose for balancing the classes and how the game world setting approaches magic as a phenomena, you can't ask for much more than that. Cheers MC

BG1, Coran was my favourite NPC, I know they're not deep or anything but sometimes less is more. BG2 I really liked Edwin, OK he's a pantomime villain but amusing. Admittedly, he's also an arcane howitzer, which doesn't hurt either. I also liked Minsc, I know he's a bit of a love / hate NPC for a lot of people but he made me chuckle, the whole Boo thing didn't get old for me for a long time. I find myself unmoved by most of the NWN2 NPCs save Sand and Bishop. In JA2 I always took Grunty along, he was cheap and his German accent was strangely comforting in an old war comic kinda way (Achtung Himmel!). Currently playing Mysteries of Westgate, I'm growing on Mantides the Fallen Paladin, he's a sympathetic character. Cheers MC

^ No, it's Frasier. Seriously. British sitcom? Spaced and Black Books.

Actually, cute / crazy could be encapsulated by Rose from Two-and-a-Half-Men (favourite sitcom at the Schloss Monte at the moment). Rose is cute and ditzy and wears ankle socks. She is also a talented and shameless stalker with acute dependency issues. I wouldn't leave her anywhere near sharp objects if she hadn't taken her meds, and I wouldn't be surprised if Charlie doesn't keep a Mossberg jungle gun under his piano. Just in case. Cheers MC

Still playing Company of Heroes, which is basically like playing your own version of Saving Private Ryan. I love almost everything about it, especially out-of-control Hanomags veering out of control and exploding after you've machine-gunned them. The mission difficulty is inconsistent - I've just done the para mission taking out the V2 battery (very easy) and now I'm trying to hold a small village from a whole SS Panzer Division with three men and a dog (very tough). It doesn't matter, though, because it's just so much fun. The game and both expansions came in the gold pack for UK

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Blood-spattered characters are driving me nuts! NUTS I tell you. As for the NPC, hey it's Imoen (again) one of the devs has a thing about redheads. But a thief with archery skills would be useful. already I can see her, the blonde fighter guy and Morrigan being the vanilla, balanced party of choice for lots of people. Me, I like the dog. And the comedy dwarf, I bet he likes beer and wenches. Cheers MC