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No, not interested. When I played the demo, the lighting/gamma was attrocious and the viewing angle is nerfed. I didn't detect any ability to zoom out to get a broader view of the area, and this really put me off. Monsters *do* rush in, so it's a clickfest like I thought it'll be. It's unfortunate. I've always loved the kind of micromanagement bradley championed in games. Looks like this game will be a no-go for me.

Ultima 5. My very first CRPG. It's a close tie between U5 and U7, but U5 was for me the most frustrating but one of my best experiences early on -- I took close to two years to get that game completed, playing on and off on my old 80286. Mongbats and magic axes, anyone? U7 was brilliant for the sheer atmosphere -- it was my first real encounter with fictionalized propaganda and its associated evils. In U5, you knew where you stood. In U7, you thought you knew where you stood, but the principles advocated by the Fellowship looked good on paper -- even slightly.. socialist? -- but horrific in practice. The addition of the (seemingly) omnipresent, evil Guardian to the mix really -- for me -- livened up the game (which kinda stank with its sixth iteration); you weren't fighting almost-corporeal shadowlords anymore, but a new, viciously insidious kind of evil -- a very real sort of evil. It really made me feel that the Avatar had, by circumstances, been driven to a lonely sort of crusade.

Wizardry 7, definitely. I got really hooked onto CRPGs after that -- before, I only dabbled. The world was so big I took the better part of a year, playing on and off, exploring everywhere. Some of the best areas/dungeons I've come across in any game are in Wiz 7. Heh, Munkharama was a blast.

Some pretty good titles were the RTS, Dune, Sword of the Samurai (really, really old...), and another microprose game, Covert Action (I think.. it was so long ago). heh.. anyone remember Mordor for Win 3.1 ?

I played BGDA 1 & 2 with my brother, and it wasn't very good. I gave up halfway and just settled for watching my brother pummel everything that dared cross his path. The graphics were ok, but nothing really to scream about. The gameplay itself was what got me turned off to it, and I felt the same with Champions of Norrath, and am not really looking forward to Champions: Return to Arms. I'd rate Third Age as interminably boring, to be honest. The in-game cutscenes, culled from the movies, were the only high-points. What really pissed me off enormously was the repetitive combat -- almost one battle per minute in a large part of the second half of the game. It was truly, truly uninspiring. Sudeki was fine, but I can't comment on it much, since I spent more time watching my brother play. Arx Fatalis for XBOX was a horror to control, most probably because I was so used to utilizing the mouse for first-person mouselooks and movement, so the controls became, for me, pretty cumbersome. I might get it for the PC, so... I had the same problem with Morrowind, but it's probably my own prejudices against the console for these sorts of games. Crimson Sea was pretty interesting. I might be picking up Crimson Sea II.

I'll have to agree with you, but just consider the figures for a moment. Total units sold for consoles numbered at 160.7 units. Now, 8.7% of that (RPG games in consoles) is about 13.98 million units. A large number by any stretch of the imagination, and -- though I do not have figures to back this up -- certainly larger than the market for PC RPGs. Can you imagine devs not salivating over the prospect of making a good, BG2-style RPG for consoles, and having it sell well? I admit, my experience of RPG console titles is fairly limited, but there clearly is a space for another KOTOR-styled RPG console title in the market. Most of the console RPGs I'm seeing coming out in the past 2-3 years are conversions from PC versions, like Arx Fatalis and Morrowind (and in my opinion, they don't port over very well -- controls are whacked as these games appear to have been designed assuming the use of a mouse). And by the above examples, I mean "western" RPG console titles, not the Japanese/Manga inspired ones like Sukoiden or XenoSaga II, or FF. The RPG console titles in the "western" milieu which I have played are KOTOR 1 & 2 and Fable. These games are definitely mass-market, and are dumbed-down, not necessarily for hardcore games (who, I think we all agree, demand more control of in-game situations, from movement to combat, etc.). It'll be interesting to find out just how much money these games made for their respective developers.

I particularly agree with this, and feel this is more viable. I'd rather have quick leveling and the ability to make choices on how to focus certain aspects of my character's development from the get-go and not have to achieve a certain level before certain abilities become unlocked.

I pretty much agree. That and the above are fundamental ways to inform the player that their PC has changed in some way, usually positively.

After reading posts in the KOTOR2 boards, I'd have to agree: close the damn forums and let the games speak for themselves. It might be better to be aloof and damned than being chummy and slammed for every petty little thing OE "didn't get right".

1. a good story. a really good story. this includes, great dialogue, great plot, etc. 2. an immersive world. 3. a NON-BUGGY GAME! 4. innovative combat system. 5. intuitive GUI

It won't be good for anyone if the boards closed. Though as Mreku pointed out, if it's a bleed on resources, then it might be a good reason to close down. However, having boards up gives the impression of this place being active. While participation from devs is great in and of itself, it shouldn't be the only reason for the boards to exist. There are other good reasons. Like building a community.

NWN2 is a PC title with mass market appeal. The notion that console games are "where the market is" is not accurate, PC gaming is very much alive and a sizeable industry. I'm not going to speculate or comment on why Troika closed down, but each business operates differently with different priorities; that Troika closed does not equate with PC gaming dying out, or that Obsidian will go down because they make PC games. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well, it's certainly true that PC gaming is alive and well, but I've got several figures off the ESA website with some numbers:- "According to the data compiled by the NPD Group, overall U.S. video game console software sales reached $5.2 billion (160.7 million units), computer games sales were $1.1 billion (45 million units), and a record $1.0 billion (42.3 million units) in portable software sales. In terms of total units sold, approximately 248 million computer and video games were sold in 2004

I completely agree. Dark Sun wasn't explored as well as it should've been. Dark Sun 1 was great, but DS 2 was da bomb. An update on this particular piece of setting is waaay overdue.

Oh feck, now *this game* should be updated, it'll be worth it.

I might get burned on the stake for this, but I hope it's a console title -- a good console title -- because that's where the market is. After seeing Troika go down in flames, they should shuffle out something with mass-market appeal and be in a good financial position before they try something new or experimental (such as developing their own IP). I don't want to see another developer go down in flames.

In no particular order:- PS:T Wizardry 7 Ultima V & 7 FO 2 SSI AD&D goldbox games - death knights of krynn + dark queen of krynn BG 2

The modding community is its saving grace. Some pretty difficult/challenging mods out there, several times better than anything on offer from Bioware. Interesting modules include Twilight and Midnight from Rick Burton (IIRC).

I disagree. It might be that we're confused between a PC having a strong background and how you eventually roleplay your PC. Playing TNO, you could be peevish and reject the circumstances of your past. You could even end it all in the Shadowplane if you so chose. In fact, the only static unchanging bit about PST was your past just before you slide off the bier/rack/table. How you respond in the world while moving towards a resolution of the game is entirely up to the player. And btw, I think very few games, if not stories, thrusts a character in media res a carte blanche. Even a simple Lvl 1 character requires some obligatory background. It's a matter of establishing the most basic of settings. PST just had it in heaps and heaps, and was quite sophistiscated in its complexity given how each incarnation of TNO was different. I think it worked perfectly, in my opinion. I agree with this -- there is that aspect of customization that people do enjoy (I know I do). Did KOTOR do this well? Well it depends what you mean. I found myself indifferent to it all, personally. Oh, I'd agree with this too, only because I think PST's done such a good job of it, anything else that comes along should use PST as a benchmark. That the story in PST was personal is of vital importance. As for the bloodwars vs. "that crapheap", well, there's the rub. Even this either/or could be read on several levels. It'll depend, I suppose, on your opinion of it all.

That's an opinion, however. It could well be said that people simply want to be entertained or engaged in an immersive story. TNO's history was central to this not because of his "nature" as with BG or countless other console titles, but with decisions that TNO had made. I found the process of rediscovery refreshing. Now, what made PST truly stand out is somehow the ones who came up with the story tapped into something basic and primeval about human nature. Which is probably why it was so easy to identify with TNO on so many levels -- my conjecture, of course. I don't think it can be done in a similar fashion unless designers made any other game with the same circumstances suitably mythic. I felt it was done just right given the story that eventually unfolded.

I don't know for certain. Life has no purpose, it isn't a subject so it can't have a purpose like a person can have a purpose, or a tool can have a purpose. If you're asking what purpose human beings have, I'd say none other than what they choose for themselves. With least harm to another person. Golden Rule and all that. I don't know. You don't know. And no one knows. Lack of evidence either way. They are strange creatures, sometimes. As with all people wholly engaged in religious belief, I find it fascinating (in a non-insulting way) how people can give themselves over to the same. However, I know of Christians whose personal identities have been subsumed by their religion. I know Christians who have distinct and unique personalities. So I must say that Christians are like the rest of everybody. More evidence and age.

Yes, it is real-time and not turn based. Doesn't mean it will have to be a "clickfest" though. Personally, I am hoping it will be more along the lines of Gothic or perhaps Blade of Darkness. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> If it's anything like Gothic, then I might get it. Getting burned recently on cheap promises from devs have made me a little more prudent. I'll probably wait six months minimum before I decide to buy another "innovative breakthrough", D. W. Bradley or not.

The game looks to be turning into a real-time clickfest. I'm saving my money for something requiring less.. dexterity. I'm waiting to see if (potential) demos surprise me.

Soulbringer last, if at all. The only thing it was good for was atmosphere. That was done pretty well.