Monte Carlo

I'm not surprised the CE is a sell-out, the game is going to be a huge commercial success. It will shift units by the bucketload. I guess Zombies ain't as scary as they used to be. I've taught my kid that the age restrictions on games are sacrosanct, I know it won't last but at the moment he knows that he's not allowed games with an age restriction on unless it's on the grounds of complexity (i.e. Lego - if he wants to try and build the tough stuff then let him try mwuahahhahahaaa!!!).

Sadly, the BG2 morning stars always looked like a Puffer Fish on a stick. The rest of the weapons were fairly well scaled, even halberds. Daggers were tiny, look at the NWN2 ones which are huge with unfeasibly spikey guards and hilts.

:: Sigh :: I don't like some of the art direction. I've been positive about other aspects. I like the spell animations, the war-dogs, some of the monsters and the building architcture. Heck, zoomed out, I really like the top-down view and GUI as well as the character arbitration screens. I like some of the other origins and have said so on this and other DA threads. For every time I've had a go at Dave Gaider I've also trumpeted one of his (bountifully numerousd) good points I've observed over the years. Get a grip and read what others are posting and put it into context. However, the bits of DA I hate, I really hate. They deserve juxtaposition with the hype. I've said it before, but will reiterate, is this a "We all uncritically love Dragon Age" thread? These forums aren't a knitting circle, they are agreeably robust. When a moderator informs me that I've broken some unwritten rule that you can't monster the bits of a game you don't like then I'll desist, put on my kevlar and go someplace else (probably the...shudder... Codex). Cheers MC

Huzzah! It looks like a fun game, might pick it up for da kidz.

Because Bioware isn't a games developer, it's a belief system.

My criticisms are entirely valid. If you look beyond your general distaste for me, you'll see that they all hinge more or less on art direction. A fantasy game works by helping us suspend our disbelief - art direction helps achieve that. It makes us look at say... Sigil (good example) and go "Wow, that's so wierd and cool" not "look at that huge statue lady - that couldn't happen." Elminster on the other hand is a classic example of hokey art direction that makes me reach for my revolver. It destroys my suspension of disbelief. That's my line - and the Dalish Elves look like lincoln-green clad extras from Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, except armed with hilarious Manga bows. I'm not remotely interested in a Medieval life simulator or realistic weapons. I am interested in good art direction.

^ Not as awful as the City Elf origin, but still a bit.... meh. The Dalish elves look exactly like City elves but they've got ink on their faces. They also carry comedy longbows that would require a 200lb pull even if the laws of physics allowed that shape of bow to actually flex (note the slightly sexist composite shortbows deployed by the elf females, which look slightly more feasible). I also want the patent for the Ferelden pneumatic steadi-harness system that allows all characters, whatever their size, to carry huge weapons completely straight on their backs. The poor old humans wandering into the woods had shades of Deliverance about it, was half expecting Burt Reynolds in a wetsuit and firing a compound bow to rescue them For a game that wants to be dark and gritty, I also note how clean and antiseptic all the characters are. Except for the incessant blood spatters, the elves all shop at a baroque branch of Banana Republic. At least this origin story looks like it might have a tiny bit of dungeoneering involved (gasp!) which gives it a head start. So far I'd say that both the Dwarf origins and the Wizard origin are in the lead, the human noble in the meh-iddle and the elven ones flailing wildly at the back, weighed down by leaden cliche and impossibly large ranged weapons. Cheers MC

As I type I am downloading Mysteries of Westgate (first time I've bought and downloaded a game from a D/L site). So I'll be playing that for the next week or two and will jot down some thoughts as and when work allows. Cheers MC

No, there have been hex-based WW2 games on the PCs since forever. The Close Combat series was probably the first commercially successful squad-level WW2 wargame series (there were five I think, Matrix games do a couple of bundled, refreshed versions).

Dark Sun is indeed an original and refreshing setting, it feels strange and forbidding and Mad Max-ish. Fallout fans might like it. Unfortunately, for many, 4E is irrevocably broken and has literally nothing to do with the Dungeons and Dragons game. You can't make filet mignon with a scrap of gristly chuck stake. Cheers MC

^ I'll try to dig it out, the dwarf slums feel like a sort of Ancient Roman plebian mob crossed with Mad Max. Branded faces, lives of abject poverty, violence and criminality. There's also a gladitorial combat back-story that has a seedy boxing-match fixing vibe to it. It's as far as you can get from the Scottish-accented grumpy dwarf with a heart of gold cliche we usually have to suffer. Interestingly (and refreshingly), the dwarves all have strong American accents, personally I'd have made them all sound like they came from Brooklyn but I suppose that's too much to ask for. As long as they eschew the Fake-speare. I'll probably be playing that one. OTOH, the elves are still at-one-with nature emos. Personally, I think elves make good bad guys - intellectually brilliant fascists who live for a thousand years who would never find themselves under the human yoke. I'm thinking Elric of Melnibone rather than Dave's sob story. And the art direction for the elves is a massive fail - they are human with point ears. I just don't get where Bio, who usually have strong art direction, dropped the ball with that one. Cheers MC

I take your point, but I don't think this is the problem you envisage. In fact, you could present it as a win-win. CRPG gamers who like rulesets would like a Pathfinder-based game because of the ruleset. OTOH, Joe Gamer only wants to play a fun game and is un-bothered about what's going on under the hood as long as he / she can understand the key issues for his character and gameplay. I'd happily buy a Pathfinder-based CRPG, but conversely I'd also buy a game that was fun nomatter what the game ruleset. Cheers MC

Just checked out the 'City Elf' origins video. It's not very good, is it? The elves, despite being allegedly second-class, impoverished denizens of the barrio, all look like perfectly well-groomed humans with pointy ears. They are then subjected to the indignity of a plot device lifted from the first fifteen minutes of Braveheart*, when the English-accented Waffen SS act-a-likes come to scoop up all the elf maidens for a party at the human noble's frat house. Or something. It's dark and gritty in the same way as an episode of the Dungeons and Dragons TV cartoon show is. I half-expected the bad guys to be wearing top hats and have long enough moustaches to twirl as they tie the elf chicks to the railway tracks. Naturally, when the stormtroopers come for the elf maidens (the one that, almost inevitably, looks just like Imoen from BG1) grabs a sword and goes all Kill Bill on a half dozen well-built, plate-armoured warriors. After, of course, they callously slay one of the elf maidens just for a laugh (cue odd but ubiquitous blood-jet animation). Before the predictable backlash from the Bio-fans here, let me say that OTOH I really liked the Dwarf Commoner origin and everything about it. It felt fresh, different and (yes) even a little bit dark. This, though, is really quite poor. Am coming to the conclusion that this game, as opposed to not being aimed at players like me, is really not aimed at players like me. Still looking forward to the game, but won't be playing this origin - the dwarf commoner looks cool and I've hopes that the Dalish Elf one will be better, not that it would be difficult. Cheers MC * Let it be said that Dragon Age is probably more accurate piece of story-telling when it comes to Scotland in the 13th Century, though.

It was much funnier, though. I think Dave Gaider is too genuine to include same-sex romances just for the added publicity, but I'm sure there are some out there in developer land hoping for a bit of controversy to go along with the Marilyn Manson and preponderance of blood 'n' gore. I'm with Grom and the others who are utterly indifferent to romances of any persuasion, think they take up otherwise fruitfully spent development time and are generally cheesier than a truck-load of camembert. So, for the sake of posterity.... WHY, BIO, WHY? Cheers MC

The gay romance issue has been kicked about for so long they needed to just get on with it. People are gay, including people in war-torn countries. What, in the name of f***, is such a big deal about it? Bioware is a company operating out of a western liberal democracy, why is it so difficult to accept that it was inevitable that they would include same-sex relationships? I'm hardly Mister Political Correctness 2009, and I loathe CRPG romances, but if you are going to have them then denying the existence of gay relationships is ridiculous. And, just in case it matters, I'm straight. However, I am proud to be intolerant of intolerance, from whatever direction it comes from. Cheers MC

I have a copy of PS: Torment in very good condition (CDs only - no box) that I'd happily sell if someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Cheers MC

^ My bad. Actually, now I've thought about it some more, I remember Coran from BG1 as being a favourite NPC: a useful party member (in fact, used correctly a dungeon level-clearing death god given the sick powaz of archery and backstab in BG1 - both Coran's specialities) with a deftly drawn character and a sad little vignette about his deadbeat dad status that put his romeo persona into context. All in about twenty lines of dialogue and a funny portrait. And they left him out of BG2 as a joinable NPC to make you take Yoshimo as your party thief, deus ex machina. Like I said, sometimes less is more. Cheers MC

Praise the Lord (and pass the ammunition). That's why I like it so much, along with the IWD games. That's why Dragon Age is interesting, because Bio are TRYING TO DO IT ALL. I'm sure the end product will fall five miles short of the gargantuan plume of hype, but at least they seem to accept that plot, fleshed-out NPCs and crunchy tactical combat aren't necessarily contradictory. My favourite NPC is Llyranor, the idiotic talking sword from BG2 along with all the action-movie stereotypes from JA2. Sometimes less is more, Bejaysus the time I spend clicking through pointless NPC dialogue (::Cough::MaskoftheBetrayer::Cough:...

I quite like the idea of Drakensang as my pre-DA autumn CRPG but I can't find it in the shops at the price it should be. I only found it at HMV for UK

I like both single-player and party CRPGs altho' I much prefer party-based games. Artificial intelligence, at the moment, just ain't up to it. One day there will be intuitive, light-touch AI for NPCs. Until then, paty based games where you control to a greater degree what's going on will be, for me, the ideal. NWN1 suffered from the simple design premise that one character plus an NPC should be able to master every challenge. This is contrary to what D&D was originally about (I know I bang on about this but it's a small unit fantasy combat / tactics game where classes replicate the rock-scissors-stone or cavalry-infantry-archers idea). If you say "this is a D&D game" people will, not unreasonably, expect the classic D&D elements. OK, if you moved the whole concept away from dungeon with multiple challenges (i.e. where you need a thief, a cleric and fighter and a magic-user) to one that is neutral then fine. But in NWN1 they didn't. Notice how NWN mod-makers make extremely good single-player mods and fearlessly add the caveat - "this mod is intended for a thief type character." That works. You play a cleric at your peril. Even though it's single-player it feels like D&D. The result of the single-player compromise in NWN1? It was my single-classed thief and the Bard NPC chick (who I thought was very well done) put a melee smackdown on a Black Dragon. Please. I didn't feel like I'd been really clever or skilfull, I just felt that the game was gimped in my favour. For all my moaning, at least Bio realise that enough people like the old-skool model and implemented it in Dragon Age. Cheers MC

Hmmm, woman has visions and is burnt at the stake? Perhaps a superficial similarity to the tale of the Maid of Orleans, but not a lot more. Cheers MC

Nov 3rd release date in the US and Nov 6th in Europe? Heck, a lot of people State-side will have finished the game twice before I get to install it. Better go dark from Nov 3rd to avoid epic spoilz. Cheers MC

"The Chantry teaches that it is the hubris of men that brought the darkspawn into Thedas. Mages sought to usurp Heaven, but were cast out, twisted by their own corruption, only to return as monsters, the first of the darkspawn." Alternatively, it could just be the result of poor food hygiene, perhaps as the result of leaving some particularly ripe cheese out too long.

I would say the Total War series, but for me it's not an RTS series - it's a strategic war game with episodic real-time combat Pedantic? Probably. Nonetheless, the brilliance of the series speaks for itself and I will leave it there and move onto other games. The Command & Conquer duo of C&C1 and Red Alert are all-time classics and favourites of mine - wacky story, easy but well-implemented gameplay, a fun unit roster and eye-pleasing isometric graphics. I'm tempted to put the Close Combat series in there (my favourite is the Eastern Front, closely followed by Battle of the Bulge) but seeing as the strategy element occurs off-screen (a tiny bit like MTW2) I think it also eliminates itself from the running. I'm still playing them in compatability mode and love them to bits. Modded Blitzkreig (1 & 2) is a lot of fun with great graphics and that 'Wow, look at all my scale model panzers!' feel about it that appeals to most wargamers. However, when I look back over the dozens of RTS games I've played over the years one that really stands out and should be considered for any hall of fame is the original Warcraft. Quite brilliant, and was flattered by literally dozens of imitations. Most disappointing? The 3.5E Eberron RTS that was so awful that I can't even remember it's name. Cheers MC

I didn't intent to derail the thread, but medieval life expectancy has proved to be more interesting than the ongoing Dragon Age debate...