Raithe

I actually kind of enjoyed Jade Empire.. at least the story. I've never been able to make up my mind on the actual game play.. but the story I liked. Heh, I'd heard they decided to change Miranda's last name to "Lawson" just because it sounds better with the australian accent and they thought it would confuse people otherwise.. ah well.

And now they've released the companion trailer of Miranda as well.. It might take me a little bit to forget Chuck when she starts talking during gameplay...

I liked the Vanguard mix.. but I'm not a big fan of the shotgun.... I went through ME using a pistol only for my Vanguard attempt.. Not sure if that'll work with the ME2 version.... I was liking the look of the submachine guns...

Everyone would be immune to the taint. I thought Grey Wardens weren't immune to the taint but rather were special individuals that could withstand and use the taint to some degree. The taint would eventually overcome them driving them insane, hence the self exile of older grey wardens to the Deep Roads. Thereby dealing with the whole problem of looking after the aged and decrepit in society.. When everyone hits that age..they wander into the deep roads to fight deepspawn until they die.. No need to support them in the thriving kingdom above ground..

The key wording to me is "concepts for" which suggests they might just be throwing ideas around so that when AP is released and they see how sales do.. they can turn around to Obsidian and say "hey, how about doing the next one along these lines" and start the ball rolling on that...

Stalker, Shadow of Chernobyl.. picked up for that

That old adage.. if a country needs to put "Republic" or "Democracy" in it's title, it's nearly always a dictatorship. If it's a "People's Republic or Democracy" it's usually a very serious dictatorship..

I kind of get the vibe that Shephards body was more then just "chunks of burnt flesh" .. and that Cerberus have been using funky tech inside him.. "we shall rebuild him better, stronger, faster" as part of a process of returning him to life.. But it's giving me this whole.. almost like if something crops up later they're going to be able to hit a few buttons and shut down that tech.. or do a remote takeover.... Maybe thats my cultivated paranoia running rampant tho...

Hm, the way I read it was that that "default" is more the.. basic cannon for the universe at large, but that there's going to be a couple of early in game conversations that will let you "choose" some of those history moments for your game if you didn't import a save. As they did with KotOR 2 between the Exile and Atton.

But they just never match up to the one in NOLF...

Only against pigeons. That's not racism, just a deep seated grudge and need for vengeance that can never be satisfied...you spend x many decades getting pooped on by pigeons and see how you react..

New games picked up this year.. hm, not that many actually... Prototype Batman Arkham Asylum Dragon Age So where's the "Top 10 Games of 2009 that got delayed and aren't out for another year or more" list?

Hm, looking back over the years.. let me contemplate the ways.. Planescape Torment Deus Ex For the first two, no explanation needed NOLF 1 / 2 humour and story in such a great combination. KotOR 1 /2 both had good points and bad points, which makes it hard to choose between... Fallout 1 / 2 although I think 2 might just pip 1.. Civilization - the original , for that first time you sat down...and lost the next 24 hours to conquering the world.. Hitman Blood Money - the whole series was just so... coldly enjoyable, and the last one tidied up all the problems of first few. Alpha Centauri - It's just so damned addictive. Privateer - my introduction to serious space trade / mission / fight.. Wing Commander III / IV - well, hell, all the wing commanders fed my space opera geek but damn it, they had some fun.

There was even something about being able to select civilian clothes and/or loose bounty hunter type outfits as well as the armor for some areas... So that'll be added curiousity.

Finally got around to finishing off the Mass Effect game on Insane, and finishing off the ally achievments... Still have the 2nd run through on Dragon Age to jump back on... Thinking of having a break from gaming for a few days, or maybe trying out some Prototype.. Although I did dig out an old copy of AvP2 (from back in 2002) to have a dabble with at some point... Mostly just waiting for the new year to arrive with those awaited game releases for the PC...

Well there was some mention of armor customisation.. specifically along with the "you don't have to go around with pink armor now..." So beyond having 5 pieces of armor.. apparently you get to custom paint it or some such...

Maybe the hype has only been in certain circles, but there's been chunks of it going on for the last year+ over "there's this totally original concept that Cameron's been working on for years and finally got greenlighted thats going to be the most awesomest awesome". On a level of "I'm a sci-fi geek and it looks interesting" I'm going to watch it. But there's a point where tv adverts, online adverts, magazine adverts, hype in forums months before its released, movie news and rumours hit an emotional wall of "for crying out loud I'm sick of seeing Avatar!!! every other time I look around, turn a page, or flip a channel.". That's the sort of hype that pushes me into the "nah, I'm going to wait awhile." When I don't get a mental cringe from seeing the film's name, then I'll be able to sit back and try enjoying watching it.

The over=hype and the extreme amount of adverts hitting about it are kind of pushing me in the "eh, I'll wait" in regards to the cinema experience.. It's getting to the point where every 4th blockbuster seems to have the "films will never be the same again!" tag in some format.. But I did flick through one of those "Art of Avatar" books the other day, and I have to say the concept art and development art really hit my imagination buttons..

If it goes "modern age" setting, it could be really bizzaro.. And the franchises combine.. Assassin's Creed : Hitman.. where it turns out Agent 47 actually has genetic material from....

Ah the joys of forum threads when they sideline into the arguments over what games are RPG and what aren't... to add gasoline or not.. Next thing you know there'll be discussions of Jedi Truths...

I've actually been doodling around a bit with Mass Effect again... that pre-prep to remind myself of it all before ME2 comes out in the new year...

The thing that I do wonder on (sort of , in that occasional way fanboys of any subject can) is that if you look back at it, people started to say the pacing slowed down and too many "meandering" lines appeared when the authors illness first kicked in and the first delay in publishing occured... Looking at it from the sidelines.. (and maybe with a certain squint) makes you wonder if the "one a year" schedule kept going would people have found the books to be as "slow" as they did when you had the various pauses and hitches in their delivery? The other thing is, an author laid up in bed, is probably going to end up looking at his stories, and tweaking them, and having cool ideas (at least in their own mind) and just naturally... adding bits and pieces. Of course, when there's hordes of "little" tweaks and addendums added to your central plotline and assorted subplots... Which might be what you call getting "sidetracked". Sort of random thoughts, but there you go..

There's always room for a Blofeld cat. And where better then an AP forum?

It's always the trouble with a certain amount of intricate plotting on those epic scales... how much detail you can spend on the characters developing in certain ways and moving around the "chessboard" in preperation for those end sequences and big finishes.. The first couple of books were introduction, then I'd say 4-6 were the "big ball starting to move" areas and the world really starting to notice and be affected.. then 7-10 was the orchestration, the laying out of gambits and the moving into place. Starting with book 11, and now with 12 it's the final phase and the big sweeping finish. Some people enjoy that sort of pace, some don't. But that's the way it's felt to my mind.. (now I'm prepared for the scorn to be heaped on my head...)

Hm, more funky goodness...