HoonDing

I must be missing something, but the melee in two worlds 2 is... errr... nothing spectacular. at least it haven't been so far. the character isn't very responsive to comands, most of the time I just keep clicking the left mouse button because there's no way to apply tactics while attacking, I get surrounded all the time. I hope it gets better as you level up and find new skill books. and then there's Dragon Age-style slo-mo kills gotta give credit to the developers, though. at least they tried to make it complex and interesting. but mob placement ruined it (unless they had a jack-of-all-trades character in mind when designing dungeons) There's that whirlwind attack for melee. What I like is that sometimes mobs are positioned in such a way that sneak kills are actually possible, unlike in the first game.

I was a bit surprised that I didn't receive good karma for wiping out the Boomers. Those people are maniacs.

It's a good game, much better than the first, but I put it on hold for a FO:NV replay. I'm about 8 hours in. If TES V introduces a similar melee system, it will be heaven.

In Arcania you're a shepherd that saves the world.

DKS.

Jade Empire is an original setting (albeit it smells a lot of Kara-Tur), has no ancient evil and no Save The World! plot (you can also "lose" in the end). It even has a personal storyline. Combat is Dynasty Warriors like and pretty fun. Hence, I cannot call it bad.

Shivering Isles was a satisfying conclusion to the Oblivion franchise. It was a nice way of getting the Champion of Cyrodiil out of the picture by making him/her a Daedric Lord. Not to mention being able to change the weather by just the wave of a hand was pretty neat. It certainly beats the whole "I heard the Nerevarine went to Akavir" crap.

Bloodmoon part deux. Mead halls, ice, snow, frost giants, Ricklings, wolves, bears, pine trees and naked berserkers.

I finished Gray Matter. Best story-driven adventure game since Syberia 2... but it really should've come out at least four years ago. Hopefully there will be sequels.

I think Martin was the only bastard born from an Imperial woman. There's probably a whole drove of little Septim Nords & Bretons. Maybe even Dunmer. There were rumours that TES V would take place in Skyrim, hence a storyline about tracking the Septim bloodlines and investigating Tiber Septim's origins would be logical.

The irony.

A game where the player has to fill the shoes of another Imperial agent and find a heir to the throne (Uriel Septim VII had actually many bastard children other than Martin) before the entire Empire falls apart could actually be interesting. Back to a more political plot, like Daggerfall, after the ancient evils in Morrowind & Oblivion.

More like "direct sequel to the novels", hence already taking place way into the Fourth Age, with a new Emperor.

I liked the first Bloodrayne as a cheesy, mindless hack 'n slash. It manages to combine enough B-movie clich

Arcade is better than Boone. At the times he decided to use the laser rifle I gave him, he vaporized Fiends from further away than Boone... and now he's using the Gauss rifle I picked up from Brewer Beer's bootlegging, and one-shotting cazadors with it. He's an interesting character as well, not the autistic version of Carth Onasi that Boone (currently) is.

You need to use power attacks in melee to win battles. With default swings you barely hurt the enemy. Wait til you meet Orcs or ghouls. Dark Messiah is really fun if you don't abuse the kick cheese like the game wants you to. Use fire traps, charm spells, telekinesis to liven things up. Sniping with the bow is the best tactics against undead.

It's better to ignore the plot completely, like with FO3. There's just too many "WTF??" moments... like suddenly being forgiven for all your sins by Caesar, not to mention even being invited into Caesar's tent even if you had previously done everything in your power to sabotage the Legion, e.g. wiping out Cottonwood Cove, Nelson and generally killing every Legion clown you come across. It's on the same level as Dad from FO3 mildly chastising the main character for having blown up Megaton. Or Moira Brown's reaction to Megaton's destruction.

Two Worlds 2 may be mediocre overall, but the game looks absolutely stunning and runs silk smooth even on my subpar computer. If a small Polish developer can pull this off, what is a AAA developer like BioWare still doing with a rickety engine? Do they spend all their resources on celebrity voice-over and "writing"?

Yeh well, I'm still waiting for that Cass & Veronica Romance mod. Although, in case of FO3 modding, "Romance" obviously has a completely different meaning than for the average BioWarian.

Anyone know the history behind the Yangtze Memorial? Did the US invade China during the Great War?

What I really miss, is my friggin Chinese assault rifle. The assault carbine is a pathetic peashooter in comparison.

Drakensang: River of time is a good game, much better than the first... and the only non-indie traditional RPG released this year.

Speaking of piracy: CD Projekt is out for blood