Monte Carlo

Bit of a lazy generalisation isn't it? Perhaps you mean the "socially conservative bit in the middle most of us fly over sandwiched between the two anything-goes liberal bits on each coast". California has the biggest adult entertainment industry in the world, so how the USA is 'puritan' baffles me slightly. I do agree, however, that the 'sex is scarier than violence' meme is interesting. It's not a necessarily a Western thing either. Regards MC

"Morrigan plays a really key part in the story..." Not in my game she won't, she's going to die very quickly because I don't like being told who to take in my party. Unless of course there's a lame deus ex machina "she can't die" mechanic because it might spoil a lovingly crafted cutscene.

Well of course it would. More so than probably F3. I have to disagree. The BG fanbase is pretty chilled out compared to the Fallout Taleban. Unless, of course, BG3 was a side-scrolling retro kung-fu D&D console title.

Sorry to go slightly O/T (although it won't harm this thread given the non-rumour that kicked it off)... but it really is time for a HACKMASTER CRPG. Seriously. Cheers MC

With reference to the point about a Pathfinder CRPG... I'm pretty sure that the D20 'licence' (i.e. the Open Gaming Licence / SRD / etc upon which Pathfinder is based) specifically excludes third party media like computer games. Unsurprisingly, they saw that one coming a mile off when the lawyers wrote the OGL. I would be surprised if they ever allowed another 3.0 / 3.5 D&D computer game after NWN2. Wizards will want to push 4E. And future licenced products will be 4E. Would be giddily happy to be proved wrong because 4E = Pokemon. Cheers MC

About BG3 versus Throne of Bhaal. Vol can bang on as much as he like about it being an XP. Yes it is, but that wasn't the original intention. The idea was always to have a trilogy. Then it came to pass that they couldn't do Bg3. Why, I can't remember. I think it was either (a) NWN became Bio's focus or (b) something to do with WotC / the D&D licence. No doubt someone can provide us with the definitive answer. So, as Dave Gaider has explained, the role that BG3 would have played was essentially crammed into ToB. I know a lot of people are indifferent about ToB (I liked it personally) but it is a pretty big XP with lots going on. OK, it's a series of boss fights, but those are one of the best bits of the series. To say ToB isn't BG3 is technically correct, but a bit of a lawyer's answer. It's meant to be BG3, that's pretty unambiguous. Anyway, any BG game would have to be 4E and is, ergo, screwed from the off. Cheers MC

I don't, on the whole, like cutscenes. I like gameplay. Developers like cutscenes. They get to show off their writing skillz and pretend they're in the movie business. So, cutscenes, for me = meh. On the plus side, I like the way the gameplay looks. Yes, it does remind me of Gothic / Oblivion a little, but there's only so many ways to present a single-player CRPG. Personally, I'd rather play the whole thing in tactical view but that's just me. On aggregate, from those videos I like the look of the game. Just hope there's less darn cut-scenes. Yes, it's generic, but so what? I'm ignoring the hype and looking at the product, which looks pretty solid to me. And I'm as far from a Bioware fanboi as you are likely to get. Cheers MC

I know arguing with you is pointless, but I'll ask anyway - how would you pitch BG3? I'm not asking for a lot of detail, just a couple of ideas of how it would look / fit in with the brand and take it forward. Bear in mind FR canon - personally I'd have a Bhaal-spawn war decimate the FR and the player begins in an almost post-apocalyptic part of the Realms figuring out what went before, i.e. hundreds of years after the last game. But that is unlikely to happen because of the WotC attitude to their IP. Cheers MC

ToB is BG3. It was always the intention to make it the epic-level third game, except it ended up as an XP. The Black Hound was Interplay's (doomed) final hurrah - a D&D game using the BG brand but in fact something completely different. I'm sure JE will chip in if he thinks that this is an erroneous description. So at the end of ToB you are a 50th level badass demi-god. For me, that's it. The end. Mission accomplished and game over. What on earth are you going to do in BG3? Huh? I love BG. I also love Indiana Jones, which is why I didn't like the last movie. Stop flogging the horse when it's clearly dead. The type of plot-wrangling you'd need to do to get any sort of credible link between a FR 4E (shudder) D&D game and the Baldur's Gate franchise would be meaningless to new players. I mean, I was pretty impressed by the candour which Obsidian displayed about the actual link between BG and The Black Hound, but look where that all ended. Cheers MC

Quite possibly because there's nothing to comment on. OK, if it were in development Bio wouldn't be involved, we all the know the story about the licence etc. In any case, I doubt Bio really want to get wrapped up in the D&D / WotC licence again. I mean, they make Star Wars games, right? I suppose our intrepid writer met his 'Deep Throat' in the underground car park of the Watergate building. Because this is so vague as to be pointless. More incisive reportage from our hero. Now I'm losing my patience. I know for these youngsters the height of research is a quick once-around Wikipedia, but even that would yield some intelligence on The Black Hound. Not 'said to be' in development. No, I'm not going to speculate away because this story provides nothing to actually speculate about. I'm astonished Atari even bothered answering, to be honest. Cheers MC

Why does your archer need a Wisdom score of 21? I mean, if she was human and you were going for some cleric dual-classing action I'd get it.

Medieval TW 2 + Kingdoms Baldur's Gate 2 + TOB NWN2 + MotB Blitzkrieg 2 + expansions So only four at the moment. My rule of thumb is that if I'm not playing 'em regularly I uninstall but keep all my old saved games backed up. Cheers MC

@ Samm, By "my-way-or-the-highway" I mean scenarios that have only one real way of winning. In resource-restricted games like Blitzkrieg (i.e. it's not an RTS where you get to create units - they're allocated to you) there can be a tendency to have battles where you have to do things in a particular sequence of events or you won't / can't win. It's very frustrating. And it's not as if it's tough: once you've figured out the magic formula it's actually easy. But dull and took sixty re-loads. Happily, Blitz 2 and mods addresses this. Blitz 2 allows you to call on your reinforcements as and when you like, although the numbers of units is still controlled. However, if you want to call on three squadrons of tanks RIGHT NOW you can. Cheers MC

Forced, plot-critical NPCs you have to take with you. Annoying VO 'talent' (most annoying ever? Easily Ira in JA2). Turn-based mass rat fights. The thing that made me give up on Fallout 2. My-way-or-the-highway tactical solutions (cf. unmodded Blitzkrieg / Silent Storm).

As an atheist I find God Games oppressive. Or something.

RTS fantasy games that give 'hero' units names and the odd upgrade then claim that this means that the whole joint has "RPG elements." It doesn't. It has a couple of lame hero units.

Romances.

No, it is not for "free." If I do not like the game I uninstall and delete it. If I do like the game I buy it. Priceless. It wouldn't stand up in court, and it doesn't stand up here. Theft is theft is theft. I know that the rise of the internet and file-sharing has been used by many to try to redefine property rights. However, they've all failed. Intellectual property is as tangible as physical property. You can steal it. OK, catching you might be tougher, but it doesn't change the simple fact that piracy is theft. Cheers MC

Cheers Starwars. After a thre-year gaming drought I'm suddenly inundated with games I want to play, a pleasant dilemma! MC

I'm following this since another poster raved about it a while back. It's a RPG that looks like Medieval TW:2. Cool. I'm picking it up. Also looking forward to Majestic 2. Cheers MC

^ TrueNeutral, I understand where you're coming from and I genuinely agree to a large extent with what you're saying... but... If you look at the sheer breadth of games enjoyed on this forum, many of them are utterly mainstream. Posters here like sports sims (which leave me cold) that are best-sellers. Others dig the wildly successful GTA games (which, incidentally, I find repugnant) which are uber best-sellers. Others, like me, like twitchy crack-games like Diablo 2 or best selling strategy games like the Total War series. People here are, by and large, hardcore enough to see and appreciate games for what they are and what they are trying to achieve. In much the same way that I am an exceptionally nerdy movie buff who loves 1970's and 80's crime movies, sci-fi and horror, I can also appreciate popcorn stuff if it's done well. So although I'm unlikely to pick up Spore, I definitely don't dismiss the opinions of the people here just because they are 'hardcore' gamers. Sure, I take it into account, but look at the sympathetic account above by a regular here, which I think rather proves my point. Cheers MC

Starwars, is there a release date for Age of Decadence, and is it only available as a download? Cheers MC

Re-reading my post I think I was a bit harsh on the gaming press. I actually quite like some of the games journalism in the dead tree magazines etc, it's the 'professional' gaming websites that drive me nuts.

^ Let's face it, all trade press suffers from this, it's part of the deal. I'm sure that "Soldering Irons Monthly" has to get in bed with the soldering iron industry now and then. Having said that, there is something uniquely infuriating about the gaming press - lots of otherwise unemployable twenty-something men in ironic tee-shirts writing about games they're not wildly interested in. Personally, if I were going to be a trade journalist I'd rather be a motoring correspondent and suck up to Porsche, BMW etc and drive really fast. Not play some console dreck and pretend to be excited about it. Cheers MC

Gadzooks! How on earth could any of us impress you? You are magical Volo and we are merely your clueless puppets, here to amuse and entertain you. Mindless foils for your unique wit, wisdom and incisive conversational style.