Drowsy Emperor

!!! Them fighting words, don't you dare say one of my all time favorite games is a joke compared to game which main character would lead the gay pride parade of game characters! Says the man who did Zevran. Seriously the game mechanics of Zelda are extremely good.

Zelda Ocarina of Time, for the first time. Quite impressed with the game. Practically every game that came out afterwards took something or other from it. I'm struck by how far ahead of its time this game was. I remember in 1998 PC gamers were playing Tomb Raider and the like and thinking it was the ****, but its a joke compared to Zelda.

"There are graphical bugs such as flickering status icons and doors which have apparently have their graphics reversed, so they appear open when closed and vice-versa." Well, that's funny. Its shameful ****, amateur modders didn't mess up the game as much over so many mods as Overhaul did in these last few months.

Gamebanshee slams BGEE in every possible way: http://gamebanshee.com/reviews/110209-baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition-review.html Incredible how they broke a game that was almost bug free and stable.

Games have gone beyond the rigid rules of DnD. The whole point of turns is to make the game work for people sitting around a table, not because the gods decreed it must be so. Bioware rightly realized at the time that it was a stupid limitation to impose on a computer game. And subsequent games, theirs and others have cut what little was left of that system. RPG's today are action adventures. This is logical, because role playing itself is nothing more than a rules based simulation of an action adventure. If you can make the rules disappear behind the curtain you should end up with a better, more immersive adventure. In theory. The problem today is not that RPG's rules and implementation suck, its that their actual adventures suck, and that's not something that can be fixed by imposing a strict rule set or any other nostalgia infused solution. The adventures suck because they're made according to the tastes of teenage boys. Any self respecting adult can only be embarrassed by their content. However, what makes them even worse, truly bad in fact, is that they're made according to a marketing persons view of what the majority wants to see and experience.

The beginning intro for BG was fine. The small location videos were okay at the time, but nothing special. Why they had to bother changing them instead of doing something actually worthwhile is anyone's guess.

In other words a gradual increase as per usual. Its because so much time has passed between this generation and the next that people are expecting a quantum leap. The other part is marketing strategy, no one is going to shell out a ton of cash for next gen consoles if you tell them they're pretty much going to be playing the same stuff they are now in the beginning.

I think he's right, the prevalent mentality today is that any game should be "jump in and play" straight away. Its precisely those genres which are irreconcilable with this philosophy that have already died (flight simulators) or dying/transforming (RPG). So called hardcore gamers as a public are shrinking as opposed to every other type of customer and the industry is changing to follow suit. I don't care much either way - games are in such a state of hyper-production that something good (something that I want to play) will, even by chance, always show up.

Nice. Although after years of that Halo crap I'm not expecting anything from Bungie.

Well if you can put up with Kojima's usual hijinks (ridiculously convoluted plot, twists and turns seemingly simply for the sake of twists and turns, or to get him out of a corner he painted himself into, having the gameplay constantly interrupted by communications) Those are precisely the two things that are putting me off. The first much more then the second.

I think this tells us that the new generation of consoles are not going to blow anyone's mind. They can make the graphics as powerful as they want but the development costs can only skyrocket. If the major players are playing it safe with every AAA title they sure as hell aren't going to double their investment for much better graphics and sell games at the same price as before. And I don't see a price hike solving the issue.

PES 2012. I gave up on God of War 2. Its a great looking game but I've done all that before and even better graphics aren't enough motivation. I have Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater but I can't bring myself to play it. The second one was such a bitter experience.

That depends on the presence of an auto aim/lock on system. Without it maneuvering the reticule with an analog stick is not a pleasant experience.

If you have a powerful enough PC (Core i5 3+Ghz upwards), you could also emulate Wii and Gamecube games. That's what I'm currently doing. A bit wonky sometimes, but at least you get high resolutions out there. Either way, excellent choice. Metroid Prime trilogy, Donkey Kong Returns, Metroid Other M, The Last Story and Zelda feel very refreshing to me. However you should think about getting the Premium Pack with 32 GB instead, unless you intend to plug in an external HDD. I have an external HDD that sits around collecting dust and some SD cards and flash drives I don't use so I don't feel the increased storage is enough motivation to get the deluxe edition. If money wasn't an issue I'd take the deluxe, but since it was either 50 euros more for deluxe or 50 euros for the ability to play Wii games - it really wasn't much of a choice (doubt my PC can handle Wii emulation). I need the Wiimote regardless (damn its expensive!), for two player gameplay with subsequent WiiU games. Yeah, I'm hoping for a new experience. I got what XBOX360 players had with my PC (most of us did anyway, considering most multiplatform titles conformed to XB's limitations), I got the Sony experience with the PS2 (and the PSX with emulation) so Nintendo here I come.

Since I'm not getting any of the WiiU games straight away my impression will be somewhat limited, but I'll do as thorough a review as possible.

I've decided I'm going to get a Wii U. Stores here will have them in stock probably next week at the price of 320 euros for the basic edition - the sad story of buying electronics in Europe. Incidentally that's also the price in the UK. However, I'm also pressed to invest in a WiiU accessories pack, since its the most cost effective way of getting the Wiimote+, Nunchuk and Sensor bar. That will set me back an additional 55e. 375e, it was nice knowing you. I'm planning to play original Wii games first due to their reduced price: the 2 Zelda Games, 3-4 Mario games, Metroid Trilogy and a couple of others. Of the Wii U games I really want to play the new Super Mario Bros and I'd like to give Nintendoland a spin in a party atmosphere. Pikmin 3 is in the works but that's coming out next year.

TL;DR Sony and MS are gona boast with better graphics for the next gen consoles again, but Nintendo is gonna win anyway. Read it, its the best piece on gaming I've read in a while. Trust me, its worth your time.

Old but extremely interesting article, really illuminates gaming seen as a business: http://www.lostgarde...n-strategy.html

That's a good point, not really limited to RPGs. In fact, I'm trying really hard to think of a game where the ending wasn't mostly "tons of the same old enemies", maybe with a big boss thrown in there or some side missions to complete in the gauntlet... That's what's keeping me from finishing FFXII.I'm at the end of the game and its turned into a grind fest with map after map chock full of enemies and bosses inbetween. Really disappointing. So many games destroy the good impression they went to such lengths to build towards the end. I end up feeling bad for wasting time on them.

I don't know what sort of gratification one gets at changing skimpy outfits because ten year olds today have access to hardcore pornography.

Oh yeah, I never installed my Logitech software. Its garbage. The MX518 has DPI pre sets that can be changed with two + and - buttons - hence there is no need to install the drivers.

If you're right handed and have large hands the new MX518 version, I think its called G500 is a no brainer. Don't buy anything Razer. That's coming from somebody with 2 razer mice.

Funny you should say that, SteelSeries mice previous to the Sensei were considered garbage by sellers in these parts. They had bags of returned ones due to various issues users had with them. I don't know about the sensei though. I have their mechanical keyboard 6GV2 and the key caps keep on falling out due to loose they are, and the letters partially wore off after a few months use. Pretty pathetic for a 80 euro keyboard. Otherwise it works fine. Logitech on the other hand gives a 3 year warranty on the MX518 (or used to until the new model came out). That thing is practically unbreakable. The rest of their stuff leaves much to be desired. My Razer Diamondback is still going strong after around 7 years.

Seriously? You're right! WTF?!

I've been poring over every available article and I'm likely going to get the WiiU, basic edition. When I do I'll post a full review. Major game sites don't recommend ZombiU. I'll likely be getting the new Super Mario as my first game. If you really want the ZombiU I'd invest in the limited edition WiiU that it comes bundled with (along with the new Pro controller and the rest of the deluxe edition stuff). My reasoning for getting the basic edition is that for 50 euros more, the deluxe edition just gives you a party game (Nintendoland) a few plastic stands and slightly more storage space that is not going to be enough anyway in the long run and that will have to be expanded within a few months. Nintendoland will be flooding the secondhand market in a few months at bargain bin prices. Its just not worth it, as a package.