Nonek

The old Evil Ascendant certainly seem to have a knack for alienating potential customers, then again they're not alone in that, seems most publishers want their customers to abide by their rules rather than pleasing them. Strange business practise.

That does look very nice, hopefully the narrative, plotting and characters can match the visual splendour.

I've only ever fielded one what I would consider truly evil antagonist, a little old man, a clerk and administrator for a strategically important border province. His perfect penmanship on imperial decrees led to truly evil consequences, and he knew it, he was racist, narrow minded and prejudiced and also a coward who disdained any of the dirty work that his edicts necessitated. That said he was also very clever and an extremely efficient governor for the imperial province he ruled. In statistical terms he was nothing, a low level pen pusher, but his words could and did bring devastation upon his enemies and those who happened to be in his way. When he was finally bearded in his lair by the pc's he simply continued writing in one of his innumerable ledgers, while reciting a list of the players family, friends, estates and holdings. They retreated and had to begin an entire new quest line to get away from his retribution, becoming Robin Hood like freedom fighters, bleeding the province of its wealth, garrisons and power, until they could strike back. I had given them the choice to work for the governor, as stooges of his reign and perhaps undo the evil of his reign from within, but they were pridefully dismissive of his offer and chose a glamorous life of freedom. They were not even particularly clever in their opposition to his reign and incurred numerous civilian casualties during their rebellion, which they shrugged off as necessary. I even gave numerous hints as to the barbarians scouting out the province which they failed to heed, and so I had no choice other than to continue with the most logical course of action. They struck back and found that he had commited suicide after being informed of his imminent replacement as imperial governor, they were implicated in his death when spotted fleeing the scene. Shortly thereafter the barbaric horde beyond the border invaded the weakened and leaderless province, and despite all of the previous governors harshness and draconian rule, the people accepted that his governorship was mana from heaven in comparison. Rape, slaughter, banditry and enslavement was the rule of thumb under the barbarians reign, with the "heroes" being judged as despised villains for killing the good old governor, and hunted by imperial decree for the massive price placed on their heads. The players absolutely hated me, but I had almost a dozen different endings written up for that campaign, and it was their actions that had formed their present predicament, so I don't know whether the governors evil or the players stupidity did the greater harm in that situation. In the next campaign however they began to think about what their actions entailed, and what options they actually had in regards to dealing with the antagonists presented to them, and they became very smart. Edit: I suppose that it was the failures to heed their own methods that led to the sub optimal ending, they became so obsessed with achieving their aim that they abandoned any notion of morality. One could argue that it is always the means and the journey that are important, and that the ending is decided by that rather than even the best of intentions.

The Jack in the Green. The Jacks are Druids who minister to the needs of city folk, an idea that appears strange to many at first, until the Jack looks at the grass sprouting through the cobblestones, taps those stones with the heel of his staff sparking fire, points to the weathervane spinning in the wind above his head, watches that wind blow the wooden shingle from a rooftop, shatter on the ground sending rats running and a cat into pursuit. Then he leans forward, taps you on the chest and says. "I minister to all life and animals, even ones so proud as man!" He walks away with his hand brushing the worked stone of a house, and you see it grow strong and firm under his brief ministration, remembering that it is granite, born from the heart of the earth. The crowds of the street part unconsciously as he passes, and the fruits of a peddlers cart ripen and shed their bruising, while a goodwife exclaims over the sweetness of the well water this morning.

Apparently the playing area is in and around Novigrad capital of Redania, The Skellige Islands a viking like archipelago famous for their hatred of Nilfgaard, and the No Mans land of the war with Nilfgaard. @Alanschu, i'm not sure the phrasing remains a little cryptic, no changing backstory only changing characters, then again I suppose you could represent an import through the characters and quests appearing to the protagonist, would be very immediate rather than expository.

Little alarmed over no changing backstory, our decisions were quite diverse in Assassins of Kings, still I suppose one could represent those choices through the appearance or exclusion of certain characters.

I am still a walking extinction event for endangered species. I am incapable of losing a tooth, messing up my hair or being scarred despite hundreds of melee's. I am stronger and more experienced at fighting than a seven foot tall pirate, who wasn't raised in english aristocratic luxury. I am incapable of gaining muscle, despite any exertion, and will remain a delicate malnourished underwear model. I am Lara Croft...and even i'd have preferred another Legacy of Kain game.

Would be interesting for different racial and cultural groups to favour a specific type of facial foliage, such as the Saxons with their long flowing mustaches, or Sikh's beards etcetera. Nice little cultural nod. Edit: The barnet as well I suppose.

I never thought the translation was either hamfisted or campy, though i've got to admit i'm shaky on the literal meaning of the second word, but then again every individual takes his own preconceptions into any activity that he indulges in, and none of them are invalid.

In essence i'd agree with you, I prefer clear role demarcation, but as a last resort at a high cost I wouldn't mind such a wizard ability.

Wonder if a fighter could have an evolution of this ability as a researched battle tactic, slamming back the opponent trying to slip past them, perhaps more easily with a shield, but if necessary with the haft of his weapon or even a free hand? I'm thinking of the classic anglo saxon shield wall. "Ut, ut, ut." Make for a nice little change of pace for the party to defend a narrow place with spell, sword and subterfuge, while a line of warriors hold a tide of foes at bay perhaps? Edit: I would assume you don't actually slam your grimoire into a target, but merely slam it shut releasing a force of magic to slam into them, perhaps at the cost of some memorised spells.

Got to agree with Alanschu that the writing of the second game does leap forward rather dramatically in terms of quality however, from in my opinion being one of the best written rpg's of recent times in the first game, to Obsidian levels of writing in the second, while maintaining a logical and reactive narrative, along with dazzling visuals. Unfortunately in Assassins of Kings I believe that some of the smaller details of the Witcher were overlooked, and i'm of a mind that the slavic folk tale ambience of the first game was lost in the desperate hunt for the Kingslayer. Something I hope to see remedied in the third game, and while i'm on the subject of probably never to be satiated wish fulfillment, i'm also hoping they make the combat turn based. My old hands aren't as quick as they used to be.

Sales of bricks and sacks goes up? We stop eating horseburgers and instead eat ****...cat burgers?

Ah it's a matter of a percieved anachronism then, I can understand that, there are some words that have a cultural bias built into them such as my aversion to OK being in any fantasy game. In point of fact I agree that there should have been an option to intimidate Zoltan's attackers, but I don't think that portion of the game was about racism at all, it was about Haren Brogg trying to cover his tracks, after playing both sides of the Order and Scoiatael against each other for profit. You get more clues to this from Vivaldi later on, don't know if it was an abandoned quest or just overly subtle plotting as Zoraptor suggests. For institutionalised racism being displayed i'd look at Vivaldi, the smith in the Outskirts, little Mahakam and Old Vizima. Siegfried I never thought of as particularly clever and certainly Alvin/Jacque seems to have possessed a certain charisma that may have inflamed his followers, it is good that you can talk him down from his madness however. I wonder if the Grandmaster was able to use his retarded source powers to effect such loyalty amongst his followers, certainly Siegfired slaughtering the innocent was utterly out of character considering his previous actions in the graveyard quest. Watching that clip i'd forgotten what a good looking game the first Witcher was, they really worked wonders with that engine (congrats to Bioware by the way,) Vizima's a very well designed, distinctive and bustling city.

I just felt bad for the humans because I recognised Mr Chivay from his spiked hair, but the issue of non humans being opressed by their conquerors is fairly endemic in Sapkowski's writings, but obviously that scene was tied up with the scoiatael sub plot unfurling in the outskirts, Zoltan wasn't there for no reason. I think they did the scoiatael some justice in the first game, I liked the proud and nihilistic Yaevinn as a character, though despising his agenda of martyrdom, one of the few settings where I can tolerate elves. I can't remember a lord saying etcetera, unless it was DeWett reading out Foltest's titles, the king of Temeria has rather a lot of them since his victory at Brenna, he was named protector and such of near a dozen states apparently (as well as his holdings within the country itself.)

Up to Nolaloth's valley in the original campaign of Neverwinter Nights 2, it's rather stunning and definitely one of the high points of the game so far, i'd forgotten about it entirely so it came as somewhat of a surprise.

I'm all for an ocassional fatty and nutritionally unwise treat now and again, not so fond of the extra miles I have to run the dogs to work it off, but what is life without base pleasures.

I was quite content with the writing in the first game, there were high points such as the conversation with Zoltan on the games main theme, and low points such as some of the rather mistranslated portions, in the main however I thought that it did an admirable job especially when it came to dropping allusions to the book series. Now the narratives and the plots writing were things of beauty, pleasingly subtle and underplayed, while at the same time maintaining an internal logic that was consistent with the world and characters. One piece of such writing that I really liked was the little conversations that you had with Alvin in Murky Waters, the real heart of the game, which are thrown back at you by Jacque DeAldersburg in his dream realm, and used as excuses for his schemes. Didn't click with me until after i'd slain the man and found the amulet i'd given him, I felt like a righteous avenger morally unassailable, only to find out that I had a hand in creating the monster that Alvin became. I guess it's a matter of taste.

Thought the Loredo fight was rather good myself.

Not too much of a hassle for me lately, then again i've had it in offline mode since November last year. Don't use it for any function other than the playing of games, so it's not so intrusive, still rage when it tells me I can't access my content at this time but that doesn't happen in offline mode. Prefer GOG and would rather support their business model, but with New Vegas and other must haves on Steam only, well they've got me by the short and curlies.

Be nice to turn on one of the more fragile or needy party members and tell them that they should shape up and not rely on your advice or support, because you're neither their nursemaid, their advisor or beholden to listen to any more whining. Tell them to toughen the hell up or ship out. What would be even more refreshing is if such dialogue prompted some recognisable and quantifiable improvement or at least change in the character. Of course in reverse it would be nice for the more independent characters to dismiss your questions with equal ridicule, and lose respect for a protagonist who appears too needy and feckless.

One thing i've always liked about Obsidian is the fact that we get to play effective and formidable characters, and that this is reflected in their dialogue, such as a ruthless Michael Thorntons final speech to Albatross, the terrifying presence perk in New Vegas or even the ocassional outburst in NWN2, for instance the park showdown with Neeshka's ex boss. Of course there's also the more "practical" aspects of the Nameless One. This is something i'd like to see more of in Eternity, a whole playthrough where you can play through as a rather psychotic character, thinking about it logically the path of the usual adventurer is one of horror and brutality, so a character who's evolved to deal with that in a very confrontational manner might be a logical option. I'd also like to see a character who can be played as rather close mouthed, with dialogue options such as "steady glare," "growling acknowldgement" or "brief nod" that makes the other conversationalist feel uncomfortable, and maybe even babble nervously. Straightforward characters might even be appreciative of a less verbally dextrous protagonist, and approve of a no nonsense attiyude. I wouldn't even mind a mute character who had to communicate through sign language, Christine's finger talking in Dead Money was suprisingly effective and immersive for me. I feel I must state that i'm not looking for a streamlined upper right, middle right and lower right conversation and personality icon like in DA2, but merely a few more exotic options in the dialogue tree.

Up in Leeds on business, found time to pop into the Royal Armouries and salivate over the displays.

Me and the missus watched "A spiffing day to die hard" last night, very good overblown action sequences but a little lacking in depth or jocularity.

Tiny head, reminds me of Thrud the Barbarian, from White Dwarf (when it was good.) Still nice tough looking armour.