Nepenthe

Or ME LI: 'You make me feel unlike anyone has made me feel before... But since we must save the universe, I just don't think we have the time for a proper relationship... and I respect you too much to just take advantage of you!" Shepard: '****' edit: yeah, that last one was incomprehensible, wasn't it

What I meant was they shouldn't be a quest that abruptly ends when you get laid. Yeah, and it's a very valid point. Even the BG 2 romances were guilty of that, to a degree (but were saved by ToB in that matter, and Viconia deviating from the norm). I think DAO handled this a bit better. Btw. I'm just having a rough patch with the future mrs. Nepenthe.

IMO relationships are one of those things that never ever should be portrayed realistically in a video game. Except maybe sim games. Yeah, I totally agree. Otherwise you'd spend 6 months on a game only to have it abruptly end with an excuse you could've beaten given 5 minutes, a hamster and a bottle of vodka.

The 'this game is easier than BG (2)' department called me and told me that I really should know by now whether the purple flames are just QT graphics, or if it actually hits with some other damage type than fire... but I haven't had to find out. But I agree, archie was kind of a letdown in the villain department. No Sarevok, Irenicus or Darth Malak - hell, not really even Melissan or that dude from Jade Empire I forget, for sure.

A word from real life. Relationships don't 'flow naturally'. At least mine don't. They ****ing defy gravity and make 30g turns.

Fair enough, good points.

That's not true. Steam has different pricing policies for different regions and Sweden (and the rest of Scandinavia) is in the most expensive echelon, thus the straight conversion from dollar to Euro. VAT has nothing to do with it. *looks around* You do realise that Sweden, with 25 % VAT, has the highest VAT bracket in Europe? Finland has 22 % and probably hits the same regional pricing... I'd say VAT has plenty to do with it - as well as the fact that local brick & mortar prices have a heavy effect on Steam prices.

I'm also getting the CE+Inferno armor for less than what the regular edition costs at gamestop.

A matter of principle. It's not the way things customarily work around these parts, and I'm not going to support anyone who thinks they can change it. Also, the $ is not the currency around these parts.

I've considered the Inferno armor to be a consolation prize for missing out on the preorder stuff from Gamestop. That said, I rather took the CE+consolation prize from a store that only charges me when I pick the game up over the Gamestop bs.

Well, Mass Effect 2, 2 DVDs > Dragon Age, 1 DVD That kind of mixes up that equation :/ As does: Mass Effect 2, awaited sequel to financially successful first outing > DAO, years in production hell to be finally kicked out Not really unless you're talking about romances for female PC's (which is possible since I don't play them). As far as male romance options are concerned the 3 in BGII haven't yet been matched let alone surpassed. (though I cannot confirm this for DA, I don't know what the romances are like there) Agree with Master Boo, here - and this includes DAO. The longer time given to the romances to build was essential in making them as good as they were in BG2. I think the issue is that now they are being kept pretty much just in the camp (Ebon Hawk, etc.). This is probably a good gameplay decision, as with parties of 3-4 including the PC, having to drag your digital love interest along would probably restrict your builds quite a bit... But it does make the romances - and other backstories - shallower :/

I dunno about everybody else, but that looks like the best year for CRPGs since, well, ever. Also, I'm very very interested in Deus Ex 3, even if its RPGness might be somewhat in question - as is its year of release...

Why?

No, we just don't feel obligated to repeat it ad nauseam every time the opportunity arises.

I really don't like that one. I'm OK with taking the conversation skills out, as they didn't add much to the first game and generally led to very poorly written ("you should reconsider" "oh, yeah, you're right") conversations-as-cover-for-a-skill-check. But this essentially ensure that, as in KotOR, the metagaming utility of conversation choices is going to trump roleplaying. Players will pick early on whether to go from the top or bottom of the dialogue wheel, and just do that over and over again for the rest of the game, or else risk the ineffectiveness of their character when higher level checks start coming in. They might as well just make it an option at character creation and take the dialogue choices out altogether. Maybe the companion loyalty meters can make this a bit more complex, but I'm not optimistic. Well, considering that paragon/renegade progress unlocked the ability to buy ranks in charm/intimidate in the first game, I'm not seeing as big a difference as everybody else seems to.

isnt that only the Collectors Edition? Nope, the Cerberus Network card is the Stone Prisoner of Mass Effect 2, ie. available with all versions. People mistook it for being exclusive to the CE, because it was originally listed in the CE contents (as is other stuff not exclusive to the CE).

And just like Shale, it will be free for those who have purchase a (new) copy of the game... Going off the 'chievos, I'm thinking the DLC character won't be Legion. Also, I have little doubt that there will be actual "day 1" DLC, but this isn't really it. (edit, edit, edit).

I'm sure they were just waiting for your guidance in the matter!

I don't think the RPG part of ME is made or broken by the amount of little boxes you use your arbitrarily determined number of points to fill. I'm not exactly sure I concur with the lessening of those boxes = dumbing down, either.

There are definitely issues with their DLC QA process. Pinnacle Station initially didn't work for people with the GOTY (aka Classics aka Platinum aka etc.) version, either. Of course, I could just remove 'their', considering the mess Beth made of their Fallout 3 DLC.

Double standards ftw.

Wondering if that leak had something to do with it... :/ Anyway, as no PS3, not even an option for me, and if I get ME2 before the PS3 version surfaces, might not be on the menu for a while...

Not to people who've played all the games you've got listed in your sig. TBH, I have no idea if the enhanced squad controls on the PC side make the game easier, too. I'd assume so.

We must have played a different game. I encountered the game over screen and more than a little text during my numerous playthroughs. Perhaps these are changes made to reach the average Serbian gamer? The first must have something to do with your gaming skills. I don't recall being killed more than once or twice during the entire playthrough at whatever was the standard difficulty. The game was a pushover. That explains the difference in our experiences. It's not that the game is easy, it's that you insist on playing on the default difficulty so you can complain.

We must have played a different game. I encountered the game over screen and more than a little text during my numerous playthroughs. Perhaps these are changes made to reach the average Serbian gamer?