Nonek

Birthright.

The gem control mechanic reminds one of Dorian Hawkmoon and the black jewel which the sorceror scientists of Londra placed in his skull, from which they could spy on those he conversed with and eat his mind and soul at the first hint of treachery. I was wondering how they'd go about limiting and controlling her after reading the short story.

I'd cite Kirkwall as exactly how not to do a city, no interactivity, no break from combat, no interesting characters that spring to life but also demonstrate how the world and mechanics work, it was just a painted background. Now I would regard a good city as one where you can sit in a tavern at night and muse on how exactly you can rob the Royal Mint, and then hoist a plan that involves murder, ressurection, the thieving of keys and finally selling the Mint back their own gold in a heist worthy of the Rat Pack. Or stopping a frantic woman and listening to the tragic tale of how she has spent thirty years of her life running from the portals that swept her up and have never released her, gaining an understanding of both their danger and use in the setting, and how fragile life is when faced by the uncaring multiverse. Kirkwall insulted the Orcadian town in terms of vitality and depth. Edit: Though i'll admit that I haven't visited Kirkwall in almost four decades now, as my Orcadian kin moved on from the islands while I was a teenager.

Hardly a problem, presumably it'll still have Pathfinder emblazoned upon it prominently. Besides alternate art styles have been abandoned or embraced before, look at BG2 using the horrible 3rd ed art style, while still utilising 2nd ed rules, though that was such a downgrade from BG it was not even funny.

I found Harm to be almost useless against some of the more dangerous enemies, for instance the Ore Golems of the Black Mountain Clan, there one was far more well served by spells from the school of Force, as well as repeated applications of Worthless Mutt. Harm being a very useful and powerful spell did however fit narratively with "Arronax'" return, as did so many other discoveries one could stumble across.

The survey is much better now, with explanations spaces granted for when you choose other. Still forced to choose between two Pathfinder art styles that are horrendous however, there really ought to be a choice of artists to draw upon there such as Clyde Caldwell and Jeff Easley AD&D styles, Frazetta as represented in paperback Conans, or something far more historically grounded such as Mr Karranthian provided in his delightful thread where many historical illustrations were used. I'd far prefer to thunder into battle sabre slashing as a Winged Hussar. Lower my spear, heft my shield and dig in my heels as a Hoplite of the Ancient Greek phalanx, trusting to layered linen and bronze. Or sweat under heavy gambeson, mail and Sutton Hoo helm as I swing a Dane Axe. Being a half naked breechclout clad brute such as in Torment has its own charm however, just not the modern semi stylised art please.

I have to WARnder what games GOG will HAMMER out for Halloween, perhaps a game about battling the undead, something DARK and OMENous to match the season. Hint, hint.

Reminds me, has Mr Black Tooth released any new mods or patches lately, I know he swore off continuing to patch the game a few years ago but...

I got Stick up rectum - English.

Sorry fell asleep ten minutes in (i'm getting a bit worried about doing this every time) but Mrs Nonek wasn't impressed, said it seemed a mess in terms of scriptwriting, and that the fantastic elements didn't really make any impact on anything. Oh and said Mr Mikkelson was wasted.

You are aware that they are on the same engine, right? Yes, but you know what I mean.

Go into business with Tim Schafer? I'd rather put my John Thomas in the hands of a madman with a pair of scissors! I did have a couple of Fig Rolls with my third cup of tea this morning though, scrumptious.

I doubt that Activision (I think?) will let go of the license, and to be honest I doubt that any wise manager would let such an ambitious game be made now. The amount one can miss in a single playthrough is astounding, for instance in my second playthrough my Human technologist tried to kill Nasrudin in the hopes of removing an impediment to his ascension in the Panari, and was promptly banished to the Void. Thus I missed a massive amount of content from the end of the game, a brave implementation of real reactivity, and one most other firms would shudder at even the thought of implementing. Both of my first two playthroughs completely missed the Thieves Guild quests, and all of the content spread out over Caladon and Tarant, they also failed to invoke the full blessings of the Old Gods, and find all of the deities altars. Of course I am not deluded enough to not see any faults, the game was fundamentally broken on many levels including the combat, but there was so much to do and see outside combat for once, and i'd rather see such an ambitious project brought to fruition than grind through another "safe bet" by a studio. The revelations and realisations that litter the narrative are absolutely superb, my jaw almost hit the ground several times during my first playthrough. One thing that I do not see praised often enough were the lesser companions: Gar the worlds smartest Orc, Torian Kel, Zan Alurin, Geoffrey etcetera, they were all very interesting characters and it is only a pity that they were not mechanically of more use. Indeed it is one of the few games where an "evil" playthrough is just as satisfying as a "good" one. If somebody were to remake Arcanum in the ToEE engine however, well to quote the gentleman in Robocop, i'd buy that for a dollar.

One nice addition that i've always admired is slang, obviously the Cant of Sigil stands out in this respect but there is an awful lot of such patois in Athkatla as well: A pearl to you, ach it's red ink to even discuss it. Thiefs taffing this and that also stands out, such a little thing but adding so much character and charm. Edit: Tarant is absolutely chock full of content, masses of it even in the late game where several interesting events occur that can shape the political situation. A fantastic example of both quality and quantity rather than lazily skimping on one or the other.

Fixed that for you.

Lately i've been playing a bit of Torment and enjoying some of the finer details of Sigil: The Skeletons of the Dead Nations going to church and listening to Hargrim's sermons on Undead Existentialism at 6pm prompt, the young ladies of the Brothel chatting with their customers and each other, Collectors searching high and low for deaders, all the little details and routines of the characters who populate this strange metropolis. This has to be one of my favourite cityscapes of fairly modern games, it has the edge on Athkatla because of art design, the weird setting and the citizenry. There are only a few that I can place above it: Britain in the Ultimas of course, still unmatched. Vizima in the Witcher, though I wish the Trade quarter had been expanded upon. Tarant of Arcanum, a metropolis of amazing reactivity and character, though unfortunately burdened with that graphics engine. Daggerfalls cities have to be mentioned of course, massive, bustling and lively rather than the little hamlets modern Elder Scrolls game have degenerated into, with fans cheering them on all the way downhill. One has to obviously include Novigrad from the Witcher 3, and all the other cities of that game, holding the bar high unlike other developers and making a stand for citybuilding in modern games. What are your favourite cities and towns in CRPGs, and why?

Autumn has always been my favourite season, that last burst of colour before the coming of the dark, go not quietly into that goodnight as Thomas would say.

Yes the media are useless so I can't see what is lost here, and in my opinion waiting a week after release (if not much longer) is only sensible anyway, i'll wait for in depth reviews that games media does not provide and is released maybe months later.

I'm afraid i've never used a company for import, relying instead on friends abroad, so I can't help unfortunately.

Worth noting that review copies of the game Skyrim Enhanced Edition have been sent out for a week or so, just not to traditional media. Game journalists don't need to be your audience, game journalists are dead! I shall hereby indulge in an emoticon, just this once.

Ooh.

I agree, but I remember Chronotrigger fondly. Consistency is key to making time travel work, IMHO. Almost any medium that dabbles with it does it from the "rule of cool" standpoint instead of focusing on an interesting, coherent story. Totally agree, the irony being that the coolness of the masterful unfolding of a well crafted narrative is far superior to the short term thrills of the rule of cool crowd. As Raziel took up the Soul Reaver and slew his brethren in Soul Reaver 2 it felt like the crescendo of a fantastic symphony that had been building all game long, with a tumultuous roar it climaxed with his denial of himself, and then fell away into an eery overture for the next act as history was revealed to abhor a paradox. Obviously such intricate plotting takes time and effort, but how much more satisfying the finished product?

See.

If you're in one of the above three countries, or don't mind ordering from abroad.

This applies to almost every company doesn't it? Logical criticism and buyer awareness are frowned upon and scorned in general as "hating" and "entitlement" rather than signs of a canny self interested consumer. It does, but not to the extent blizzard gets away with it. Activision for example is creatively bankrupt too.... but it isn't doesn't take them 5+ years to release the new call of duty. I agree they do seem to engender fanatical loyalty that bears no relation to the product they produce, but then again just look at Bethesda, a company that has been producing less and less for years, while gaining more and more acclaim and fevered adulation from their "fans." One just has to look at a city or dungeon in Daggerfall, and then compare and contrast to the dumbed down and streamlined Skyrim to see how much their larping aids have degenerated, but their obsessed fans will squeal and whine if you so much as mention their mediocrity and laziness.