Raithe

So the other side of the question is.. if you do want all the physical goodies of the $140, even if you put in extra, you're out of luck for the expansion pack and other purely digital goodies of the $165... Oh the choices, the choices...

There are aspects of DA2 I enjoyed a hell of a lot more then DA:Origins. It just had an equal number of annoying flaws that let it down. Personally, I really liked the setup of a single city seen over time and the whole concept of your choices potentially affecting that city. Unfortunately, it never actually felt like they translated that into a good execution of said idea...

"Google turns 12 this year. That means we only have another year to use it before it turns into a teenager and won't answer anything..."

To be fair, there were a couple of threads about the idea of a "big dungeon" and a whole heap of fans talking about some of the classic big dungeons from those games of yesteryear and what they liked / disliked about them, and whether they hoped there would be such a dungeon in this game... So it seems to me that Obsidian have been paying attention to the fans and thought "yes, that actually makes a good stretch goal that would naturally fit into the game, and could get a few fun minor-stretches out of it". As to the expansion pack, to my mind, what they're saying is they have the money to make the game they wanted to make, they'd talked about how they want to carry this IP forward beyond just the one story in the future.. So now they have double the money they thought they'd need, they've added a bunch of ideas to expand what they were doing.. and they've turned around and basically said "we aren't going to do crappy dlc, we now plan to do old school expansion packs in the future". At a guess, I'd say they plan to actually SELL the expansion pack when they do come out, but they're going to provide it free to people who've pledged a fair chunk of money. It's a brucey-bonus to the folks who can and have gone above and beyond in support of this project. They aren't saying that they're going to do an expansion pack that is ONLY available to those people. So it's not being a slap in the face of folks who haven't / cannot pledge beyond certain amounts. I'd say it adds encouragement that they want to make this good enough that they can push it beyond the one game. They aren't just doing a one-off and that's it. They're creating a world, and a system and hopefully it'll last long enough that we get to explore a fair portion of it in and share a variety of stories over the next decade.

Still trying to train the german shepard to NOT get overly exciteable, bark and lunge at visitors. Got him to sit, told him to wait, which he did to a point, then as I accepted the package from the deliveryman and stepped forward to sign for it.. the bastard dog jumped up and out the front door, and started bounding around the guy barking in over-excitement. While I know he's not attacking or trying to bite the guy, to some random dude who doesn't know, it's going to look bad. That and the odds of an accidental bite happening because he's barking and bouncing around like that.. It's just a wee dangerous and is a pain in the ass trying to get the stubborn mutt settled.

Although rumour has it that Zaeed makes a bigger appearance in the upcoming "Omega" dlc... Also, I have to admit I liked the change of pace of Kasumi's mission (at least , the first section which wasn't run n gun).

Watched Looper. It's some nice performances in it, but the temporal causality / paradox issue is just a bit... meh. One of the things that every Looper (hitman) knows its that at some point his future self (30 years in the future) will be sent back for him to kill and get a mass payday to live life as he wants until it happens. I mean, I know there's no forward thinking, but you'd expect it would make more sense to send the future selves of these hitmen to one of the others, just to make sure there's no problem with it happening... Also, the crime syndicate sends someone back in time to run things, why the hell aren't they worried he's going to use his knowledge to set it up so he's in control in the future? That and it's yet another time travel story where Either it's me, or thats cropping up more often these days. I'm sure it's a cliche now.

I finished off ME3 last night, first time I'd actually played through it with the "revised ending" and the leviathan dlc. As I mentioned, Leviathan really helps flesh out some aspects and really makes me wonder why they didn't include some mention of it in the "full game". Also, I really, really loathe that defend the missile battery point on Earth. 5 Banshee's, that all seem to hit the "automatic kill sequence" if you get within a few foot of them, nearly a dozen Marauders taking potshots at you, and that Reaper Destroyer laser that insta-kills you waving back and forth constantly. There's so much rubble you can't even move around that easily, if you try sprinting you end up taking cover where you don't want to, or jumping over cover you meant to hide behind... Killing the enemies doesn't actually achieve anything because its you waiting for a timer to run down and the moment you do kill any, more show up.. That and for the really important aspect of the mission, no-one beyond you and two squad mates can actually get there to defend it... On a random aspect though, has anyone played through it with a really high "Galaxy of War" rating? And beyong the potential "Shepard alive" 3 second vid, does it change anything? I mean, do you get more of Hammer's forces arriving alive, does it effect that end push in any way whatsoever?

The awkward bit is that the dlc of Leviathan does flesh out a whole chunk of stuff about the reapers and what turns up with the Crucible and such later in the endgame. It does kind of beg the question of why they designed it like that.

Just having a minor bash at ME3 again. Re-ran the Thessia mission. I have to say, whilst there are all sorts of bits about it to like (the reveal of Asari secrets, the handling of Asari sacrificing to help you and such like), it still really bugs the living hell out of me the way they handle the ending of it. One pseudo-boss fight that you totally kick his ass, until a gunship drops missiles and blows the floor out from under you.. and then you get crowing emails from the boss about how He beat you. And you don't even get an option to yell at the Asari over hiding things until the last minute. All that frustration and grrr, and all Shephard does is go totally angsty over how he lost the mission.

That depends how far you are into "Joss-Whedon-Is-God" perspective.. He's put in a fair few in-jokes and nods to fans if you're that aware of the history, and frankly the sequence between Hulk and Loki could almost make the entire movie worthwhile on its own. It's got a couple of chuckle out loud moments spun in it, Scarlett Johanssen in a bodysuit (if you enjoy that, which a lot of folks do), Chris Hemsworth & Chris Evans flexing biceps and pecks (for the other side of the crowd's enjoyment), Robert Downey Jnr providing a few snerkworthy lines of dialogue, Mark Ruffalo performs a low-key but nerded out philosophical Bruce Banner... It's hard to really provide much focus on any specific character in that sort of large gathering, but Whedon managed to balance it all fairly well. You get about a quarter of the film spent in set up and gathering the group, half the film of them interacting and annoying each other to various degrees with villain plotting along, and then the final quarter of big battle when they've figured things out. It was entertaining to watch and most people I know who've seen it felt the same way.

Well I'm having a few days break after having completed the Jedi Knights storyline and gotten my companion conversations all done. The Emperor's Force Blasts in that battle were a total surprise the first time I tried it. I mean, c'mon. 20,080 hp damage with a single attack? Once I got back in, I really kept an eye out to interrupt that attack when he tried it.. Plus the minor annoyance of being caught out with T7 as a companion (the only one you can have for that particular mission) with no warning, so all of his equipment was completely out of date where I haven't been using him.. Still, it was an entertaining finish, and leaves tht slight question of whether the Emperor is actually dead and gone or just.. force ghosting somewhere ready to do something nasty... Once I've had the break, I'll get back to my Sith Juggernaut and wrap up Chapter 2.. Hm, and potentially do some more with the Jedi Consular I've left at 10th level for awhile... That leaves me the Republic Trooper and Imperial Agent to give a go as well at some point in the future.

I think folks are forgetting one of the primary reasons behind the backstab originally. The Rogue could only backstab when he was in stealth, and wasn't detected by the target. Which was also why the Fighter didn't get to do so. It wasn't about flanking someone, that's totally seperate and anyone can do so. The reason for the backstab critical was that it was a> unexpected b> stealthy Rogue could take his time ensuring the perfect aim and strike for the attack. A fighter's attack's are more for the frenetic, in the middle of combat blows. Not because he could disapear into shadows, sidle around and then strike without the target being aware of him..

Heh, found out that a 7 page "paper" I wrote/doodled last year on combining Scrumm with OSS (Operation System Shock - a method of modelling & analysis) apparently turned up at multi-million pound defence company, and is apparently being cited on something they're doing. So I'm occasionally bringing up that warm glow feeling from that to fight off the wearyness as autumn falls along... Achieved very little so far today. About to do a complete empty/clean of the cats litter tray, but let myself be distracted on a bunch of warhammer 40k reading when I started following links on the lexicanum....

Slice up several bananas (the short way, so lots of diced banana).. Take one pyrex bowl and build a layer of banana slices - add sultanas, sprinkle cinnamon, dark sugar, add a splash of cream and rum / brandy (your choice). Then repeat, building layers until you've used all the banana. Put in the microwave for about 1 minute (maybe 2) depending on just how much you used.. If the banana has all melted, you heated it too much.. But if you get it just before that, it's perfect.

Wrapped up my Jedi Knight's storyline on TOR last night.. Kind of interesting to raid Dromund Kaas and take on the Emperor directly. Although they leave a couple of potential storyhooks hanging, so I guess they're the groundwork for potential future expansion of the game beyond the end "interlude". Key things to note for folks playing Jedi Knights who haven't reached there yet.. 1> For various story-reasons, you end up with T7 as your only companion for that section. With no warning. Which means if you're like me, you likely find that all his companion gear is still around 28-32 and he gets stomped on a lot during... So pay attention and improve his gear before trying to take on the mission. 2> They do have a rather annoying element, in that the Emperor has an attack "Force Blast" that cheerfully does in excess of 20,000 damage with one blast. So unless you know what you're doing, you have no clue to interrupt that specific ability when you see him start to use it. For the somewhat amusing, if you complete Lord Scourge's companion conversations, he does this really nice chat about how he feels it's such a shame that someone with my power wasn't raised by the Sith where I could have taken lordship and dominion. As such, he feels it would be a total crime against the universe if any children I have are not raised according to Sith principles. So he makes the kindly offer that he will keep an eye on me for them, just to make sure they have the proper opportunities to grow and gain control of the galaxy... The nice response of "Um.. thank you in a..that is very creepy sort of way"

Judge Dredd. They handled it quite nicely, Karl Urban makes a good Dredd and the whole "Anderson's Rookie Day" was a good nod to the comics.

Oblivion also felt pretty soul-less. It was technically impressive, but actual gamewise it just sucked the joy and life right out of me. Skyrim actually had more atmosphere that engaged you in what was going on.

I enjoyed The Postman. It's interesting how they varied some of it from the book it was based on, but it was still a fairly decent attempt.

In the immortal words of W.C Fields.. “Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer.”

I keep thinking of the trial in Kotor on Manaan, and the trial in NWN2... (although the latter does end up in combat). But the steps you take, having different preperations/people you talk to and investigate shaping how the big trial goes.. Shaping up your conversation options, and whether various NPC's will take part, or what they'll end up saying. Having all of that come together to provide different results and consequences. Having a few moments like that would be rather damn good.

Well the Director was a huge fan, and had control of the advertising for it. But in his extreme fandom, he thought John Carter of Mars was as familiar a name as Batman in the households of the world.. Thus, resulting in pretty much one of the worst advertising campaigns for a potential summer blockbuster that pretty much left people confused and blase about going to see the movie.

Heh, frankly with what they've said already I'd pledge more if I had the budget. As it is, I'm hoping a work related project gets picked up in the next 20 days and that would give me the freedom to throw more cash into the pool...