Azure79

But the positives outweigh that, first reading a text, clicking it and then hearing your character spout that exact line would make the dialogue kind of stale. With ME's dialogue system, you actually do listen to what both charcters say Never played a Bioware game were I had to click a line, and then listen to it again. That's why the PC is voiceless. Geez Kafty! What I was gonna say. You just click it and the other NPC responds accordingly.

This is terrible and I hope they catch the those responsible. I mean, they even have to fear ice cream now. Who wants to live in a world where you fear ice cream? Besides it making you fat I mean.

I didn't like ME's conversation system. I like picking specific dialog options that my character will say, and sometimes my ME characater would say something I thought would come out very different.

I personally don't care if the setting is generic. As long as the underlying story is reasonably good and the gameplay is fun I'm pretty much sold. The guy talking says right at the beginning that the team considers the game as the spiritual successor to BG, so thats good. Like Tigranes said, the setting to BG isn't unique either, but that didn't make the game any less fun. I'm hoping that the Origin stories are varied enough for players to try a totally different kind of character. Maybe kind of like the options you get when you create a character in ME, but you can actually play those options.

I was in first or second grade on the bus going home. As young as we were, we started getting rowdy and an impromptu game of tag was started in the bus. Admist cries from the driver to sit the hell down, I chased a pretty blonde girl down the aisle. A sudden lurch in the bus made us both trip and fall and I found myself on top of her with her looking up at me. She gave a shy smile and giggled and I just stared in wonder. Too bad she had an identical twin sister who I mistakenly approached the next day with some candy. Ah well, that exact moment still lives on in my memory.

Reading the reviews, it sounds like the gameplay is on and off but the story and presentation is pretty good. Maybe I'll get it if it comes out on PC. Still don't have a Ps3 or 360.

I was using DRM as kind of a all-encompassing restrictive measures, but yeah, three installs is simply bad.

For anyone who has played the retail game, how is it compared to Jedi Knight 2? JK2 is still one of the most awesome gameplay experiences I remember. Of course that was after I input codes so that lightsaber combat was more deadly and 'realistic'. As in heads, torsos and limbs flying everywhere I slashed my lightsaber. I still remember that first encounter with a Reborn in Cloud City. He jumped in front of me and after some clashes with the lightsaber I managed to hit him causing him to be decapitated and fall off the platform screaming. Plus the slow-mo kicked in just as that was happening. I was hooked after that. I would have save games right before cool battles and just replay them over and over as it never worked out the same way. I was hoping this would be something similar, but maybe not.

I think the main gripe with most people is they paid for a product and they should be able to use it without restrictions and not be treated like potential pirates. Its obvious that DRM is pretty powerless against people hacking the game and putting up for download so why continue to include it and potentially cause problems for paying legit customers? It just doesn't make sense to me. Scenario one: Include DRM and the game will be cracked and be ready for DL pretty soon or even before the game releases. Some paying customers run into problems with DRM. DRM continues to get a bad rep as will publishers who use it excessively. Scenario two: Just accept that there are hackers out there that will crack your game and don't include DRM. Sure there will always be people who complain about technical difficulties, but at least it won't be because of tracking software or whatever programs in DRM. I think its a source of challenge and pride for a lot of the people out there who hack games. Why not try taking away the source of that pride? The current situation doesn't seem to be curbing piracy much. Try something different that doesn't involve ever more draconian control measures.

I don't see how any publisher could think Securom or DRM does any lick of good. 1: The whole point of this is to curb pirating. 2: In the case of Spore it was cracked and pirated a week before the game was officially released. 3: Most games are cracked and available for DL without DRM. 4: What was the point of spending money on #1 again? 5: Meanwhile some gamers who bought the game experience technical difficulties because of DRM. 6: In the age of the internet, this information spreads fast, even if the percentage of people experiencing problems is small. 7: People who would have otherwise bought the game now think twice. Who is deciding these policies up in EA? It doesn't work. Someone should slap a suit down in front of the computer and actually have them try to find and download a game off the net, instead of feeding them reports based on data that frankly is difficult to measure. Of course we might be overestimating the intelligence of some of the suits so everything they need to illegally download is already installed and running. Maybe then they would realize the futility and try to improve the game or come up with another system that doesn't punish the legitimate consumer.

Inconsistent game design is huge... I remember getting Lionheart, having a blast in Barcelona, then the game took an about face and turned into Diablo for the last half of the game. I eventually just quit because it was terrible. This is totally true. I loved the concept of an alternate history where you could interact with famous people in history. I really enjoyed the sequence of escaping from the inquisition jail, and making my way to Barcelona and then everything in Barcelona. Then it just seemed to go downhill from there. Plus I couldn't stand that when you stood still you looked like you were in mid-stride. Drove me crazy.

Exactly, I suggest to stay away from it as far as possible, even if you could get it for free. However, feel free to pick up the upcoming (standalone) expansion "Forsaken God", and write down some review here, will ya? If I hear that the combat has received a major overhaul then I will definitely be interested.

I thought about picking this game up now that I have a computer to run it and I find myself at a RPG drought. Then all the horror stories about being killed by one pig after killing a camp of orcs scared me away. I don't want to pay for a product that frustrates me.

Is Japan actually banning the game or is EA just not marketing it over there due to cost vs. revenue? A lot of ultra-gory stuff I've seen comes from Japan and it seems funny that Japan would ban it.

I recently played through FEAR and it wasn't that impressive. I'm not sure whether its because FPS games seem mostly the same to me or because it was over-hyped. The environments were bland, the enemies were the same 3-4 types of soldiers and the AI didn't seem that great. My tried and true tactics of approaching crouched and hidden and then shooting from cover seemed to work fine for this game. I didn't see enemies really reacting in a smart manner. Maybe its because the way I play. It was scary playing at night with the lights off though. I had a more fun time playing through Prey.

Ahh, that sounds a lot more interesting. Might pick it up.

I really enjoyed The Jedi Knight Series and hoped TFU would have been an evolution of that. Still don't have a 360 or PS3 so I'll see how this pans out.

Wait, how does the gameplay in Spore actually work? Is it mainly a single player game where you nudge the evolutionary process of your species in certain ways and eventually take over the galaxy? I was kinda under the impression that it would be on a persistent server of some sort where your creations would engage in some kind of survival of the fittest battle with other people's creation. I thought this was what got people so excited. I haven't really been keeping up though I have been looking forward to the game just for the hype alone. If its the former, I'm not really interested.

Starcraft 2 of course All the NWN2 expansion packs and modules Rise of the Argonauts. I've been watching a few videos and the game looks really fun. I'll probably check out a few reviews first before buying. Dragon Age Fallout 3. Please let it be good. Spore.

Would have to say that when someone mentions best game intros, I automatically think NES Ninja Gaiden. I was 10 or so and I popped that cartridge in and got something totally unexpected.

Its 3:56 am and I just finished A Feast for Crows. Thank god tomorrow is Labor Day. I can't wait for the next book. All the characters I've previously loathed I now feel sorry for or have a new respect for. My hat off to you again Mr. Martin. While I'm waiting, I'm going to read Shadows of the Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. I am somewhat fascinated by biology and evolution and the question on how we got here.

Dinosaur mounts please.

I'm entirely too lazy and self-centered to be in a long term relationship. On the other hand, if a lady does happen to like me for some reason, they can rest assured that I'm too lazy to go around cheating too. Yes, I am a catch.

Does anyone think that the proliferation of mass media(such as PCs and the internet, cell phones, PDAs, etc) devices might have anything to do with dwindling education levels? Since everyone has so much information, they try to reduce everything into small manageable pieces, or just sift through the bare essentials, trying to soak up as much as possible. As a result concentration, attention span, basically things needed for a good education, get thrown to the wayside. Just a thought.