Nonek

Rather a brave decision on the makers part, to dissuade certain players from partaking of the third game. Thinking about it I actually approve, still shame i'll not get to finish the trilogy, but these things are sent to try us. At least i'll avoid Chobot's nasal whining, silver lining and that.

Oh, well that's rather a waste of twenty hours, seems a wee bit rum but thank you anyway Nepenthe much appreciated.

So this Vincent Vega chap, is he going to be the protagonist for those of us who lost Mr Shepard at the Collector base? Or will they be using the old lazarus elastoplasts again.

Really? They've hired Jessica Chobot, the woman with the most god awful accent in christendom as a voice actress! Have the worlds talented and professional thespians suffered a Permian mass extinction while I wasn't looking? Fore God and saint George, shame on you Bioware, the calibre of your voice acting is usually unimpeachable. One has half a mind to tread the boards again in protest and decry such blaggardry to the masses.

Ah that would explain it then, thank you C2B.

Wouldn't the fact that the project is secret imply that the game in development is not an original IP? If I were Obsidian and pioneering a new property i'd be touting around every morsel of information I could possibly provide to drum up interest from fans and publishers. Then again i'm no expert on marketing, so maybe I have overlooked something and the game is not under wraps due to publisher stipulation.

I decided to get NWN2 after seeing the scene with the ghost dragon (Nolaloth?) in a let's play, absolutely despised the first games campaign so I was a little wary of commiting so many hours of leisure time to another neverwinter game. Fortunately I found the whole experience utterly enthralling, if a little rough around the edges and found the purchase of the two brilliant and innovative expansions to be a foregone conclusion. For a little glimpse into style and mechanics they're utterly priceless for me, reviews are rarely accurate and the story and atmosphere are almost never featured in pr material.

Well there goes my weekend.

Would I have to shave me chin whiskers, if so I emphatically disagree with this genderless business. As for opening doors; I find a playful pat on the rump serves to defuse any tension in such a moment (or result in a good healthy slap across the jowls which has its own attractions).

Liked the character creation, very simple and intuitive (and you could craft an Ahnolt the barbarian). Overall i'd give a hefty shrug however, there are too many niggling little irritations to convince me to endure the game. It doesn't seem lacking in any significant way, just rather mediocre; i'd rather be walking the Mojave in the hopes of finally finishing new vegas.

Oddly enough the combat is a negative point for myself, with the oversized weapons and exaggerated animations it seems a little silly; for wont of a better word. That said the actual implementation of the mechanics seems sharp and responsive. The drawing and use of the weapons and shields seems a little too responsive however, the shield seems to magically appear from nowhere when blocking is implemented and weapons appear in hand without being drawn or visibly equipped. Small, anal details that will most likely wear upon me the more I play, they violate my personal (and I must admit rather petty) code of verisimilitude. As for the setting, it seems to be the usual mish mash of celtic (Sidhe, Tuatha) and norse (Dokkalfar, Liosalfar) elements that are becoming a way bit overused and conversely; not explored in enough detail to draw my interest. The colourful palette is refreshing however, as is the distinctive character design. I'm beginning to detest the very notion of other species in games however, be they Elf, Gnome or Dwarf; yes they evoke certain easily recognisable qualities but these could be represented by different races of humanity with very little effort and thus allow a more cosmopolitan racial mix (as an added bonus.) How I ramble; proof of the pudding will be in the eating, or playing of the demo in this case.

Looked it up, apparently it was called simply enough "Space Marine" and is no longer considered canon. Gave a very different vibe to the modern interpretation of the Astartes but a much more realistic one.

Ian Watson wrote some good books back when I was still involved in the hobby, as i recall there was a very good book on aspiring space marines of the imperial fists chapter.

Who doesn't like getting stuck in with the boys? That said the games never represent just how intelligent Warbosses can become, it would be nice to see a major Ork antagonist portrayed with as much cunning as brutality. The blessings of both Gork and Mork so to speak.

Personally i've always had a certain affinity for the proud and slightly nihilistic Eldar, the romanticism of their millenia averted extinction has always appealed to me. Of course portraying such an inhuman and enigmatic species would be a serious undertaking, and doubtless most players would prefer to experience such a game from a human perspective. However with their psychic symbiosis with the warp, the enmity of the chaos god they birthed and commitment to a chosen path to stave off their exuberant passions, they offer a somewhat more original experience than another superhuman Astartes. That said I don't think that the Space Marines presented to us by Relic have taken advantage of the more interesting aspects of being such a creature, for that you need the detail and time afforded by an rpg rather than a strategy game. Gabriel Angelos' war diaries from the original Dawn of War were a simple and effective way of conveying his story and perspective, but they were wasted by the usual Daemonic Ascendance plotline. I'd like to see Obsidians take on this universe, they strike me as one of the few developers who could do it justice.

I have known many gods. He who denies them is as blind as he who trusts them too deeply. I seek not beyond death. It may be the blackness averred by the Nemedian skeptics, or Crom's realm of ice and cloud, or the snowy plains and vaulted halls of the Nordheimer's Valhalla. I know not, nor do I care. Let me live deep while I live; let me know the rich juices of red meat and stinging wine on my palate, the hot embrace of white arms, the mad exultation of battle when the blue blades flame and crimson, and I am content. Let teachers and priests and philosophers brood over questions of reality and illusion. I know this: if life is illusion, then I am no less an illusion, and being thus, the illusion is real to me. I live, I burn with life, I love, I slay, and am content. I'm with Conan on this matter.

Personally i'd just make your own ruleset, rely on the playing and players to refine it and use the old dm's 50/50 rule when in doubt. There's always something egregious in any ruleset that doesn't gel with your campaign or personal preferences, so just do a little bit of extra paperwork and make something which you won't end up hating. Cool kennings.

I always wondered whether video games killed the tabletop star, to paraphrase the Buggles. No rules lawyers, no latecomers, no lost character sheets and no need to gather your party before venturing forth with the session.

I believe Ray Charles is often credited with introducing "soul" to the world at large.

At last he will no longer be so terribly lonely.

Can't disagree, Raziel was the tragic hero.

Legacy of Kain? The first bitter taste of that terrible illusion: Hope. Kain fighting an endless battle with the fates decreed by tyrannous stars, an unusual theme in a genre replete with prophecy and "but thou must" commandments.

Apart from Aerondight and Ravens armour I agree with you Blodhemn, the witchers swords and armour though well modelled were just tools to be used in his job. However I was advocating the games limit on what Geralt can carry, most games we're carrying around a few hundred pounds of bulky gear without any visible pack, mule or overburdened manservant like patsy. It's a trifle disconcerting, I always wondered where Morte in Torment kept his inventory items. Point of fact I think obsidian handles side quests a lot more responsibly than most, Kreia's admonishment of the exiles thoughtless charity on Nar Shadaa was both surprising and satisfying. The fate of the dapper old gent in Dungeon Siege still tasks me, and the maze of repercussions that can be navigated in Alpha Protocol is obviously an excellent example.

A lot of those problems could be diminished by making the acquisition of wealth much more realistic, how many times in rpgs are we richer than Croesus fairly early on into the story. Dragon age 2 was supposedly the story of a refugee struggling to survive in a foreign and hostile city but i'd amassed enough of a fortune to render the end quest of chapter one pointless after a dozen hours of questing. Of course what breaks most of these systems is simply the tyranny of loot, our obsessive compulsive natures and competitive drive task us with exploiting the system to recieve maximum reward and we thus spoil the game for ourselves. I'm not saying loot should be entirely dropped, just that it be much harder to acquire, carry and maintain than the usual quick trip out to the bandits lair to pick up a few dozen suits of chainmail for the player. An easy way to achieve this is to limit what the player can carry, the original witcher game did this remarkably well with the ability to only wear one suit of armour and carry two weapons on the back, one at the hip and a dagger strapped to the thigh. The rarity of new armour or weapons that are lovingly described, uniquely useful and fully upgradeable would be a real reward for the player, rather than the endless procession of undescribed loot that we'll most likely dump on a merchant after a quick trawl for the optimum pieces. Cash would then be rarer, much harder to acquire and more satisfying to use or recieve. Quality armours would need to be fitted to the wearer and maintained by the smith as most enemies would be marred in combat, weapons could be picked up and used but would also require honing, oiling and occasionally replacing if not of enchanted or exemplary craftsmanship. This verisimilitude would fix a problem in most modern rpgs that sacrifice sense for accesibility and makes those side quests choices all the more meaningful and crucial. I think i've been wanting to get that off my chest for awhile, thank you for the opportunity OP.

I would buy that for a predetermined amount of sterling converted dollars. The possibilities inherent in the vast universe of the 40k lore does seem to be crying out for a decent rpg, relic almost always rely on the tired "foil the risen deamon prince" plot and i'd much rather explore the nature of the warp, the terrifying emptiness of the necron tainted pariahs and the casual horror that is life on the front lines of the emperors hammer.