Slowtrain

Well System SHock 2 is totally fab as well. ANd to my mind, the better game. But that isn't meant to put down DX. The best part of DX is in the level design and character building and the exploration and the freedom to achieve objectives in how you see fit to do so.. EVery level in the game, and they are huge, is an entire game experience in itself. ANd the linear narrative, while set in stone for the most part, is still pretty good. AT least by computer game standards. The only games I've ever played that competes with DX in terms of this fre-form approach to objectives and brilliant level design are Thief 1 and Thief 2. WHich are also fab.

he said it was a very simplistic game with no meaningful C&C whatsoever, but with an elaborate skill/aug system (that got dumped in the sequel). Yup, DX is often credited with an overabundance of C&C. For some reason. But it's really just the opposite. The story is pretty much on rails amd the choices that you do make through 95% of the game have extremely minor consequences. Its also got extra bad AI, poor FPS combat, and bizarre little gameplay mechanics like being able to walk up to somebody's computer and hack into it while they are standing RIGHT THERE and they don't react with more than a "Knock it off" or some such. Despite that, I still think its one of the best games ever made. It's a perfect example of something where the whole is far far greater than the sum of its parts.

I think Deus Ex is totally fab. n ALthough after 962 playthroughs, I'm a little tired of it now.

I think it also shows than any western developer that wants to spend the development money to make a run at WOW's dominance is taking a pretty big risk. It's only a big risk if you expect WoW numbers. There are plenty of successful Western MMO studios not named Blizzard. I don't think you need to break $100 million in revenue to be successful. Yep. I was thinking more though about trying to shoot for WOW type numbers, since that is probably every major publishers dream. The fact that there isn't a single western developer on that list other than Blizzard is pretty telling. Unless people get bored of WOW, it's hard to see anyone else making a run at the big money.

I think it also shows than any western developer that wants to spend the development money to make a run at WOW's dominance is taking a pretty big risk.

If Obsidian made DNF, it would be buggy as **** and missing the ending. But the writing and characters would be good.

I don't know. WHat generation are we talking about it? I'm not sure what it's contemporaries are. I'm trying to remember what other games I played around the same time, but those years are all rather hazy at this point. IIRC, Thief: Deadly Shadows was released right around that time and was much, much better. I thought DS was actually very similar in quality, but yes, that one even tops IW. The environments were far more beautiful, the setting and story more interesting, and the stealth mechanics much better. But it was more linear, not an RPG, pretty much had only one solution to each level, and stealth was the only really viable mechanic. The generation for me would be the time of the original Xbox, so 2001-2005. I guess if one considers IW a console game first and a pc game second then maybe it has more to recommend it in comparison to similar games. Back in those days, I don't think consoles hadn't seen many games like IW, whereas the pc had them, well at least as far back as System Shock 1 which was what, 1994? SImilar to how maybe Halo wasn't really all that special from a pc point of view but was pretty important to the development of gaming on the console.

I don't know. WHat generation are we talking about it? I'm not sure what it's contemporaries are. I'm trying to remember what other games I played around the same time, but those years are all rather hazy at this point. IIRC, Thief: Deadly Shadows was released right around that time and was much, much better. edit: wikipedia says IW was released dec 2003 and thief:DS may of 2004 so that's pretty close. What else was released around that time?

*shrug* It wasn't terrible; I finished it twice. AS long as you played it without comparing it to DX1, it was enjoyable enough. a best game of the last generation though? eh, can't see it.

Accrding to him, no. The whole thing was handed off to Harvey Smith while Spector worked as the studio director or whatever.

was that the developers had pushed hard the idea that you'd be dealing with different factions and would be able to double-cross them on missions and it would all shape up how the game went... In practice, you could double-cross them to your hearts content and they'd be right back offering you another mission and there were no real consequences... Yup. Almost the entire game was simplified and we were told the focus was going to be put into creating a numberless world where choices mattered. But what we discovered was that Harvey Smith's numberless world was boring as **** and that choices mattered less than in the first game. As far as being a generic fps game it wasn't bad, but it failed miserably at building on or even living up to the legacy of DX1.

Thanks for that link. It does seem pretty good. Reminds me of Far Cry2, without the stupid.

Thanks. That plan and go tactical stuff looks interesting enough. My guess though is it's a linear mission-based game rather than the free-form dynamic campaign of Jag 2. Which would eliminate most of the strategic aspects from the gameplay. For me it was the blend of tactical and strategic elements that made Jagged Alliance 2 (and XCOM) such winners. Mission-based games kind of leave me cold. Still, I enjoyed FO Tactics well enough, so I'll keep an eye on this. If it does come out, it'll probably be a half-price b-level title anyway, so it might be worth buying even if its not great. edit: My grotesque spelling

I thought all those had been cancelled. WHo is making this one?

lol. Yep, would have to agree there.

wasn't Lynda Carter the female nord voice in both MW and Oblivion? I woder if she'll be back.

He's been in the ES world for a long time, since MW. Though I think some of the other MW veterans are still going, at least some were stil around in Oblivion, and I think a couple others in FO3.

If Wes Johnson isn't back, I will cry. I'm a grotesque Wes Johnson fanboy.

14 voice actors TOTAL in Oblivion. 70 in Skyrim. Even Bethesda learns eventually.

That did more to sell me on the game than anything I've seen so far.

I think a nice mix of hand-placed items, characters, locations combined with some random dynamic elements is generally the best course.

I tend to agree. My guess is its one of those PR things that sounds more interesting to talk about than it actually is in gameplay. ANy gameplay variations will most likely be extradorinarily minimal: maybe if your best skills are sword and armor you'll get sent to fight goblins in a mine, but if your best skills are marksman and sneak you'll be sent to a cavern filled with bandits or something.

*shrug* I think Beth is at its worse when it tries to force linear story lines and plots and character interactions. They don't do these things well. The more random and dynamic Beth games are the better. Fo3 worked pretty well like that, although it was marred by a hideous man quest. Oblivion failed miserably because the dynamic world was boring as ****, not because the writing sucked. The writing in Oblivion as probably better than FO3, but it was still god-awful and completely uncompelling. The best thing about an open, dynamic, random world is that I can pretty much deal with as I want and not to jump through narrative hoops designed by inept writers. WHich is a lot more fun.

I'm going to go out on a limb and give credit to Bethesda for not being so dumb as to have dragons raining from the sky every time you turn a corner. And probably I will regret doing so. Weren't they supposed to only show up during main story events or something? Listening to TH on the E3 video, I got the impression that while some dragon encounters will be part of the main quest line, dragons in general are unscripted events that fly about the world doing what they want and the player could encounter them roughly anywhere at any time. *shrug* Bethesda has made some questionable claims about its "unscripted" gameplay/AI stuff in the past so who knows really. I'm just going with the general rule of thumb that not matter how cool or spectacular something is, endless repittion turns it boring, then annoying, then aggravating. So I'm assuming Bethie isn't going to go overboard on dragon encounters.

I'm going to go out on a limb and give credit to Bethesda for not being so dumb as to have dragons raining from the sky every time you turn a corner. And probably I will regret doing so.