Drowsy Emperor

Volourn rides in on a brontosaurus each time, a mere horse can't hold that much arrogance.

There's that but this is really just a case of hurt professional pride - the game succeeded at doing his thing while he did not, at least not as much as he feels he's entitled to.

Why is it always that when you can finally have all the toys playing isn't so much fun anymore.

And I call BS on his attitude. I have read two of his books, and nothing elevates him from the cesspool of epic fantasy literature. In fact, the game was the best thing that happened to him and to his books. In some ways the games are even superior, like the characteristic atmosphere of the first Witcher (that is nowhere to be found in the books). The reason his books never got a worldwide breakthrough in the genre is because they aren't good enough (and they wouldn't be even if he was American). The reason the game succeeded is because it was (and still is) a great achievement in the world of computer games.

Its you hedonistic master race people who sit in a recliner while playing games that turned me away and now I retire to the poverty of couch based console gaming. The PS3 on the whole has fewer exclusives than the PS2 and its a trend that may well continue, especially as its inevitable that some long running exclusive series will hit a brick wall at some point - like Final Fantasy did. Investing in PS4 in the first year of its release would be a huge gamble.

True dat. I always feel their games are playing themselves and that my participation is there so the game can show off, like that annoying friend who invites you over to his house to play games only to play them by himself while you watch.

Some articles have asked the question of how long will next gen consoles cycle's be. Due to high costs its very likely that they will last as long as the current generation or even longer for a total of 7-8 years of gaming. This is about the same as a PC, maybe a little less. There are a lot of cheap games for the PC amongst new releases that don't require much hardware power so this extends to total use you can get out of it. During that time, barring bad luck with the warranty and hardware failure the only real expense is replacing controllers. On that note my original PS2 dual shock joystick (almost a decade old) is still fully funcional even if the analog seems to send input in a certain direction on its own, rarely (fixed by rotating it). (While my expensive logitech turd of a gamepad died after barely a year of use). In terms of manufacturing quality Nintendo is the unquestionable leader, followed by Sony (which has dropped in quality somewhat) and MS in last place (with lowest quality components, in regards to both hardware and controllers).

I already get back pain pretty quick even in good chairs. A lifetime of bad sitting habits probably combined with the fact that I'm 191cm and 90kg's. Its not like I'm going to fall apart or anything but the couch still wins hands down. And if you spent the whole day sitting in office, sitting is the last thing you want to do when you get back home...

Good point. Btw The Last Guardian's eventual release will have a large influence on whether I might actually get a PS3 or not, if (as is likely) the PS4 ends up lacking backward compatibility. Specifically I'm hoping that we'll see some great games for the PS3 at the end of its life - like the PS2 had. It would make the whole package a steal at its current prices, considering it also includes (a still relatively expensive) blue ray player. @Nepenthe: I like to play coop games with my gf, fighting games with other friends etc. Its just not feasible without at least 2 PC's (that I don't have money for or space to put them in). Besides, its so much more enjoyable to chat and pig out on a sofa with gamepads, playing half the time, talking crap the other half. Huddling around the PC is impractical and I don't like the impersonality of online gaming - I prefer my company to be in the same room.

If it has to be one, then it's clearly PS4. MS has sucky exclusives and sucky policies. Its very likely you're right. However I'm not impressed by the PS3, I feel they screwed it up. Too few exclusives, too few landmark games, practically no RPG's - certainly no exceptional ones and a small game library. This makes me feel nervous about PS4. I don't want to invest in something that's going to have all the same multiplatform games (that the PC can do better). Obviously the XboX360 is even worse in this regard. I'm still playing all of its (worthwhile) games on my wreck of a PC and they look better too. But what if the next xbox is significantly cheaper (like half the price) of the next PS? That's something to consider.

There you have it my little piglets. Sadly, it doesn't matter. Hardware was never the PC's problem, as a platform. Now that my PC has aged beyond what a reasonable upgrade would fix I'm seriously considering switching to consoles more or less permanently because: a) I don't have time for long stretches in front of the monitor anymore and my future job will likely consist of starting at the computer screen for 8 hours per day anyway b) comfort, no back pain on the sofa eh c) the social side - with consoles I can spend time with my gf/friends and engage in my hobby at the same time. You can't do that (in general) with one PC d) money. A top of the line PC costs almost twice as much as a console. Its a far better tool but I don't really use it for anything other than games and internet, and a console can do that almost as well now I'm sure that plenty of people feel the same way, and if they do, the PC is going to stay the red headed stepchild for the forseeable future. The only question I'm asking myself is - which next gen console to invest in. Wii U is out of the question.

I only played ZoE 2 and while it has fantastic action the story is typical Kojima. Meaning muddled nonsense. I so wish they would let him do the action in someone else's script.

Is the game any good?

I don't think I've ever played a FPS single player twice, not even HL. And only UT, CS1.6 and TF2 for an extended period of time anyway.

Would that be the original Zone of the Enders for the PS2 polished up for ps3 or something else?

I was tempted to point that out, but decided not to since there were some pretty neat things there, in any case. Bioshock's one of a very small group of games that I've liked on the first playthrough, but have been completely unable to replay ever after. I hit a similar point with DAO after a couple of playthroughs, most games I own I could just pick up and play again... That's true, I tried to replay Bioshock at some point but gave up at the very beginning. Its a very fire and forget experience. Probably because there is no real depth to it, no emotional pull of any sort - once you're over the nice atmosphere and pretty visuals everything else is hollow, all style no substance. But the FPS genre is not exactly one to set standards for unforgettable storylines and memorable characters anyway.

On second thought, that doesn't say much - Bioshock's storyline could fit on a business card.

You know in regards to Ubisoft games, everyone was going nuts over Prince of Persia back in the day and having only played the game recently I see the same traits games are accused of today. PoP's gameplay is so simple, combat in particular, I believe an idiot could play it and play it well. Its one thing to have a good control scheme and fancy animation but quite another to marry that with stupidly simple gameplay. I gave up a few hours in, it was just too boring. (The same could be said about God of War but at least that game has the visual thrills and inventiveness to keep you going through the whole "clash of the titans" butchering of greek mythology)

Sometimes good games lack "that certain something" to make them truly memorable,or simply the premise/setting/mechanics raise the expectations above what the narrative can support. And also, many innovative games suck you in at the beginning only to drop the ball later in some way. So many good RPG's were ruined by devolving into the standard "ancient evil is back" routine, its not even funny.

Well, it will hit the bargain bin at some point. Besides, a game has no business being that short if it isn't made by Team Ico.

Sounds like Bioshock, only with better gameplay and worse story.

What was the verdict on Dishonored? The reviewers, as expected went ballistic but I'd like to hear an unbiased opinion.

I'm sticking with XP for as long as it makes sense to do so. In my case that means, I'll switch to 7 when I get a new graphics card and that's not going to happen any time soon. Good thing most games that are going to be worth playing are about 2 years away.

I got through Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 FES (76 hours without 100% completion) and IT HAS A 250 FLOOR RANDOMLY GENERATED DUNGEON FFS. Only a japanese could still consider that appropriate for an RPG. So I think I'll survive DQ8. Still I have to add Persona 4, Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 to that list. DDS1 has a really intriguing premise but is really boring so far gameplay wise but since people are saying the second one is much better, so I'm suffering through the first for story purposes. I gave up on Odin's Sphere. Its very pretty but way too repetitive with the parallel storylines all taking place in the same locations over and over again. I really like FFXII's gambit system. When set up properly its the most tolerable RPG combat system I can think of, though the game, like every japanese RPG and most western ones could do with less combat to start with. After experiencing games like Shadow of the Colossus and Planescape Torment, I'm convinced that its time to move beyond outdated gameplay mechanics like incessant repetitive combat geared only to improving irrelevant and abstract statistics.

I got back to playing my PS2 and once again I'm floored by how many good games there are for the platform. Also, my jaw hit the floor when I finally got around to playing God of War 2 for the first time. Considering the hardware its running on the graphics are flat out awesome. It looks better than some current generation games too. Other games on the waiting list: Final Fantasy XII Metal Gear Solid 3 Dragon Quest VIII Rogue Galaxy The Warriors co-op and quite a few others. I won't be returning to PC gaming for quite a while.