Luckmann

I love how he tries very hard to find nice things about Fallout 3.

Perlman is just a nod to the first two, he's unnecessary. Groin shots are unnecessary too. [...] You shut your whore mouth! I was making a point Mr Compensator. Don't you even dare to insinuate crotch-shots are unnecessary, even in jest!

Yeah. GOG is great. Never had any issues whatsoever (with the service) and it's basically completely DRM-free. Provided that you keep track of your files yourself, the entire company could tank and you'd still have your games. Edit: Oh sweet lady in heaven, they have both Arcanum and Outcast, now! Where's my credit card..?! I wonder if they'll take my first-born child as collateral..

It's very common on most forums. They start having issues after a certain number of pages. I remember that the WoW forums did too and afaik they do lock threads that have become too big. But locking a thread with 500 pages just to immediately see another 500-page thread pop up an hour later is a bit futile, especially since no-one is going to take the time to go through the full thread anyway. And if they started to lock topics on the subject immediately, the situation would likely go from bad to worse in seconds. But yeah. Forum software. It tends to get dodgy in big threads. Spiders appear out of the cracks and destroy homeless people if we don't. (i.e. forum doesn't like it) [...] I am now imagining Arachnophobia II: New York.

Well, yeah. Until all we got was cheap DVD cases. A game collection is like a well-sorted movie collection on the shelf, or a library of books. Except that they are, you know, video games. [...] That's exactly the kind of thinking that has put gaming in this cultural slump. My point was that I'm not going to put Temple of Elemental Evil and Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines next to War And Peace and Schindler's list. Gaming can get out of the slump when it starts taking itself seriously. No, of course you don't put ToEE and VtM:B next to War and Peace, or Schindler's List. But you're comparing apples and oranges, there. For example, I wouldn't have a problem putting PS:T next to any philosophy novel, or Deus Ex next to my Da Vinci Code. VtM:B could be put next to anything by Lovecraft, or any dark fantasy. Point in case, though; You wouldn't put the movies "Inglorious Basterds" next to "Braveheart" or "Casablanca", either.

Perlman is just a nod to the first two, he's unnecessary. Groin shots are unnecessary too. [...] You shut your whore mouth!

Well, yeah. Until all we got was cheap DVD cases. A game collection is like a well-sorted movie collection on the shelf, or a library of books. Except that they are, you know, video games. [...] That's exactly the kind of thinking that has put gaming in this cultural slump.

Given the 1500 page thread on their forums that appeard within 3 days, I kinda expected they'd drop it. Bah, 1500 po.. wait.. 1500 pages? In a single thread? Dear.. god.

Well, yeah. Until all we got was cheap DVD cases. A game collection is like a well-sorted movie collection on the shelf, or a library of books.

It seems it's the latter, judging from the popups that came in the trailer/show-and-tell thingomajig. Sure, all they did was blow people up and it went from "Disliked" to "Actively trying to shoot you", but I didn't actually -see- anything suggesting numerical values on the reputation side. It would also be consistent with how reputation worked pre-FO3.

http://planetfallout.gamespy.com/articles/...w-Vegas-Steamin -1 sale then... -2, at very least.

Oh dear god in heaven, can it be?

Afaik, the "small area plague" that has hit gaming is primarily a console concern, affecting the PC equivalents by proxy, due to the related "porting plague". Is it even possible to buy PCs with only 512 RAM these days?

I actually liked it. ...Once I got used to it. I've played through four times and only just got the hang of the architecture. The only thing I would have liked is to be able to spraypaint so I could keep track actually in the game. I wonder if the engine would allow it... That'd be a nice little addition. On that note, I wonder what kind of flexibility id Tech 5 would have... Mmmmm Obsidian RPG on an id engine... *drool* If the engine could support it, you'd think there'd be a mod for it already. There is even a chalk mod for Morrowind, allowing you to paint/write on any surface. ANY surface? I'm sorry but that would turn the entire game into a moustache drawing simulator for me... Hahaha. I should've worded that better. It's any flat surface. Unfortunately, you can't draw on other characters.

Likely because it's one of the few recent games that have effectively ruined it's entire franchise with "neo-games". You'll probably see a similar reaction to the new "X-Com" (I shudder even to call it that). From what I've seen on various forums, peoples reactions seem to fall into three groups. Group 1: I've never played the series, but this looks interesting. I hope it plays like (insert generic shooter name). Group 2: This looks gay. Group 3: OMG, WTF did they do with xcom? Did Enforcer teach you nothing, 2k? Yeah, I think that sums it up. What irks me the most is that, from the setting to the gameplay, it doesn't seem to share anything that makes X-Com X-Com. So one have to ask himself why they even want to have the X-Com label. It's not like it appeals to the old X-Com fans, or that the "next generation" of "gamers" even know what X-Com entails. My brother recently saw my PC Gamer magazine with X-Com on the cover and went "Oh, awesome! A new X-Com". Shortly before reading the article and exclaiming "This looks gay".

How did this suddenly become a matter about me? You asked a general question, which I answered with my own interpretation of events; the why's and the whens. If we're talking about me specificly, though, it has nothing to do with Fallout 3 being popular or not - it's pretty rubbish and would've been pretty rubbish whether it was popular or not - just like how I dislike Baldur's Gate: DA and Fallout: BoS. It should come as no surprise that Fallout 3 comes up in conversations much more often. It's existence cannot be disregarded in the same fashion as the aforementioned games. I don't dislike Fallout 3 more because it's more popular. And even if Fallout 3 is in another part of the universe, like it or not, but it -is- a direct continuation of the franchise. The two other examples you gave can be considered spinoffs at best. I would've preferred if Fallout 3 was similarly classed as a spinoff, but alas, c'est la vie.

I actually liked it. ...Once I got used to it. I've played through four times and only just got the hang of the architecture. The only thing I would have liked is to be able to spraypaint so I could keep track actually in the game. I wonder if the engine would allow it... That'd be a nice little addition. On that note, I wonder what kind of flexibility id Tech 5 would have... Mmmmm Obsidian RPG on an id engine... *drool* If the engine could support it, you'd think there'd be a mod for it already. There is even a chalk mod for Morrowind, allowing you to paint/write on any surface.

Fallout: BoS and Dark Alliance were never considered canon by anyone at all, nor where they major releases or released on the same formats as the main titles, nor where they direct continuations of their predecessors. Apart from being vehemently sucky into the extremes, they simply never garnered very much attention. They managed to dodge the bullets by simply being obscure and have absolutely no relation to their namesakes. And as far as I know, there are only two Jagged Alliance games, not counting stand-alone expansions. That said, I think Jagged Alliance is much more resistant to tampering, because there simply isn't that much to tamper with, as long as you stay somewhat true to the basic format. Each installment have been relatively stand-alone with only the basic premise that you're in charge of a mercenary force in "the real world". Not much canonicity to break.

I don't understand how this is related to the checkpoint system, but I think that you should listen to Mina and go take a shower. Seriously. Go take a shower.

I parrot this sentiment.

Likely because it's one of the few recent games that have effectively ruined it's entire franchise with "neo-games". You'll probably see a similar reaction to the new "X-Com" (I shudder even to call it that).

If I'm not mistaken, Spy Drone is a Cranial augment, whereas Targeting is an Eye augment. The only two choices for Cranials are Spy Drone and Aggressive Defense System. If you're surprised in combat, I can see how it could be annoying to activate the ADS, but if you activate it beforehand, it means being completely immune to rockets, flamethrowers, and even darts. Fully upgraded, it can potentially kill enemies shooting rockets or throwing grenades, detonating them so close to them that they will take considerable damage. That said, I can't say that I used either of them very much. When it comes to Eye Augments, there are similarly only two choices. Targeting is actually great, because aside from increasing your accuracy with each and every weapon, it also displays the health of the target. However, I prefer Vision Enhancement, which allows you not onto to shift into Night Vision without Tech Goggles, but also allows you to see enemies through walls. My favourite Augments overall, by far, is likely Speed Enhancement and Microfibral Muscle. It can radically change the way you do things, by allowing you to jump off tall structures without taking damage, or rearranging big crates to allow you to access areas otherwise inaccesible. I've been meaning to make a seriously playthrough where I'm not using any of these two, but.. I just can't do it. The other options are great, especially if you are doing a pacifist stealth playthrough or somesuch, but I just love mobility augments and mobility spells, no matter the game.

Ha.. the.. wha.. bu...! What about Fallout/2, Jagged Alliance/2 and X-Com/2/3?! We were talking about the present/future. And they just magically stopped existing, or what? All of them are still great turn-based games. As for the future, it's impossible to say exactly as to what will be made. The hopes for a good turn-based game is still very much alive. Bethesda did. Seriously. Fallout 3. It has some minor aspects that are traditionally considered RPG aspects thrown in there, but it's still more of an FPS than anything else, and absolutely nothing prevents you from playing it as such.

Ha.. the.. wha.. bu...! What about Fallout/2, Jagged Alliance/2 and X-Com/2/3?!

Couldn't disagree more. Quick "wrap-ups" is the bane of modern gaming. If anything, I think the game ended too abruptly with Area 51. On the topic of augments, I sorta agree, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. All augments do have a place for a specific playstyle. The only augment that I find absolutely craptastically useless is.. well.. Spy Drone.