Nepenthe

I'm not saying it's a brilliant plan, just thinking that it sure looks like it is the plan! OTOH, the only game from your list I'd consider buying is Alan Wake, and let's not forget it's an x360 exclusive. Of course my preferences don't really mean your point doesn't stand.

Nah, they looked at Red Faction: Guerilla's sales figures, and decided that was precisely the spot they want to hit with their new IP.

If they bothered, they'd be scientists, not journalists. Y'know, using Wikipedia as a valid source and all that.

"the Black Isle Studio crew of Baulder's Gate fame."

Eh? How wasn't it "consolised" before? Well they'd make it less turn-based, probably something along the lines of Fable or Mass Effect. I wouldn't mind, I guess, the combat was always pretty ****ty in those games. Not the answer to my question - both kotors were xbox games, as well. If you mean "dumbed down for a mass audience", you're entitled to your opinion, but consoles would hardly be the culprit, as the old system worked just fine on 'em.

Eh? How wasn't it "consolised" before?

This. It's working as planned.

Same problem here. Unlike my Arcane Warrior who stays standing, when Low Brow Dwarf gets mobbed by 3 d00ds, he drops like a sack of potatoes. I'm not really into micromanaging during combat, so I managed to set up properly the tactics for Emo Archer with Daddy Issues, & also Sarcastic Reluctant Mage, but Low Brow Dwarf remains a problem. Also, my game won't progress past the smuggler battles on the streets of Amarantinewhatever since it crashes straight to desktop. Is this the end of my DA:A sojourn or is the game afoot? He kept getting killed in the main game as well, so at least he's consistent. I had similar issues with him, but don't think I managed to get anybody else killed more than once - he might have bitten it 5-6 times.

And why would you do that? Pre-order bonuses are an extra, not a requirement. As for the CE, EB doesn't even have a listing for it, I don't think we are getting one. More like these things will come together at the last moment. I'll preorder it, probably - in late May - early June.

It still boggles my mind how someone is able to play this with a controller. It's a drag. Basically means you just control the one character and pretty much forget about the rest. I think Ser Cauthrien was the only battle where I actively paused and skipped between characters. Or: It's doable, but given the choice, I'd never ever have bought the console version. Didn't have the choice, though.

That'll be the day. No use worrying about it, though. We'll see it when we see it.

What is so special with "CECH-2100" model of the PS3? Rumored to have a 45nm GPU.

Or mebbe a ME2 disc expansion. Would be about the time to announce that, if one looks back at the Awakening time frame.

I thought it was pretty straight forward how to keep everybody alive.

Like I said, I was obviously not doing something right.

I got totally massacred in the first combat with it - decided to try again later with somewhat better focus.

... after all, you can only buy games during the month they come out, right? After that, they become *outdated*!

Stone Prisoner gear should port over, as well. So it's mostly Warden's Keep and preorder stuff that doesn't. That said, "you don't need it" is a load of it. I think my mage hit the final area with just his staff coming from the expansion - and I'm pretty sure I would've been using Final Reason for a good chunk of the expansion, if I'd been able... If I'd just import my warrior with no extra tweakery, he'd be basically naked (starfang and warden commander armor would disappear)... Of course, this isn't a problem for you PC guys, some quick community member already made a mod that fixes the issue (I don't have the link here, as I'm not a masochist).

Agreed. I liked Awakening more as well. It was better paced, had some more visually and atmosphereic interesting areas, and less filler combat. Bioware has done it's homework. Better villains, too. Was REALLY easy on "console normal" with a mage, but I abused the heck out of being immune to my own Storm of the Century. I assume I will get my bottom thoroughly handed to me with a warrior PC, as I won't have a similar sledgehammer and the console controls make micro management kind of like getting your fingernails pulled.

Just on the PC version, mind. AFAIK, a lot of the bugs fixed on the PC side remain unpatched on the console side - can't really verify, as I haven't played the original game in the ~2 weeks since the first PS3 patch came out. Awakening worked pretty well getting my mind off some unpleasant stuff for a couple of days. Might even replay it straight away with a warrior-type. We'll see.

DAO: Awakening. Almost completed, barring any last-minute fubars, I'd have to say that I'm preferring this over the original. The structure is very similar, but a lot tighter - it doesn't feel like every area runs for (a bit) too long and most dialogues don't turn into 45 minute expositions.

TBH, it's not completely throw-away, but you really have no idea how major the consequences scripted for that choice are (when I say major, I really mean out-of-proportion).

Exactly. This idea that hardcore fans of whatever have that a new sequel or prequel will ruin the original is incredibly childish. I don't get why so many people out there in internet land seem to be expecting Project Snowblind 2, a Deus Ex themed linear shooter. It's not like the gameplay featured in DX is some sort of unique gem that can't possibly be replicated. Hell, Alpha Protocol seems to be doing something similar. The impression I get from the devs is that this is a labour of love, so I feel much better about this then I ever did during the development of IW. QFT I agree. It wasn't a bad game per se, but it's a textbook example what streamlining can do at it's worst. While Deus Ex 3 is Eidos Montreal's first game, I'm still optimistic. I wonder what kind of music style they choose and who makes it? Music in DX1 was and is fantastic. This too.

Dear Matt, what does inventory got to do with RPGs? Apparently a lot, judging by the many people on various forums bitching about Mass Effect 2 because it doesn't have Sniper Rifle +2, Shotgun of Fast shooting, etc. Including this one...