HoonDing

It's an open-ended RPG like Oblivion, with a huge sprawling world... but with terribly unbalanced combat that enables simple woodland creatures to easily kill you by means of a "stun lock" while the big bad guys in the game (Orcs) are ridiculously easy to beat. The game also has terrible performance compared to Oblivion, but those issues are solved by a community patch - so d/l this if you're planning to play. For a "new" single-player RPG, I'd recommend Drakensang: the Dark Eye. This game combines the party-based combat of NWN 2 with a unique, highly detailed fantasy setting (Aventuria) comparable to Tamriel of Elder Scrolls (but even more detailed, judging from the many lore books that have been released).

Most unique LucasArts adventure ever... since all puzzles solving involves music (literally weaving songs). On hardest difficulty, one does not even see the 'notes' one needs for weaving and has to rely solely on one's ears.

The new AI is the pink elephant everyone talks about but no one has actually seen. Wait... an elephant in Phoenix armor?

Taking down the Archdemon:

How long is the game?

Pretty good Sean Bean impression in that video. I don't know why all 'evil' nobles are based on him.

I'm sure EA will quickly release another cheesy trailer to quell our new-found enthusiasm.

Never played No One Lives Forever 1/2, The Longest Journey, Portal or Beyond Good And Evil? I weep for you. You forgot the ultimate chick-game: FF-X2.

Even Divinity 2 has a 'pause' button. But with DA:O being hauled as the spiritucal successor of BG... I can see now how it is called an "action-RPG".

Templars? Illuminati? -1000 Enthusiasm.

It's a good preview but I'm also confused now... the combat doesn't consist of attack & parry rolls? Does one always hit an enemy, with damage being determined by special combat abilities, attributes & skills?

How many people envision themselves as the in-game character when playing a game? That seems to be the issue of the OP. Following such a dogma, one would miss out on many a great game...

That can't be. I haven't spotted any romance threads yet...

Add a lamp post as party member in a BioWare game and I bet it'll get its own romance thread.

Heavy Rain has the potential of becoming a classic. At least Cage is trying to do something new, mixing quick-time events, dark/gritty storyline & Sims gameplay into the cauldron of ambition... he is almost the Peter Molyneux of elitists.

Knowing Tornquist, it's all going to end with a horrible cliffhanger anyway.

Betrayal at Krondor. Maybe Dark Messiah, though it takes place in Might&Magic universe which is high fantasy.

Dreamfall with guns?

Wouldn't most console "kiddies" be more likely to pick this game up than Dragon Age? As soon as they read that Dragon Age isn't like God of War or Devil May Cry, they might completely give the game a pass.

Boll's movies are mostly fun. The lad has an uncanny talent for getting the worst out of big-name actors. Boll should've named it "Tunnel Snakes" though.

I'm interested in this one myself... art design reminds me of BG&E. Strangely enough, all new games I've played this year are European developed.

"I win" spells are perfectly fine, as long as it's compensated by taking 100 rounds to cast.

Just because of this, I hope that Tali will be unmasked in ME2 in a similar fashion as Mileena in MK2.

Having someone in heavy armor during a dungeon crawl doesn't make much sense either. The beasties would hear the knight ringing & clanging from 5 miles away... not to mention the knight would never be able to keep up with the light-armored companions. Heavily armored warriors dashing across the screen in games is always hilarious to watch. In the quintessential dungeon crawl, the Mines of Moria in LOTR, the heaviest armor worn was ringmail by the dwarf.