Slowtrain

Maybe, maybe not. Its up to them. Some games are harder than others. I don't see the problem.

So this is the type of emotional attachment that was being talked about. So you're puzzled about why people have emtional attachments to games they've played and enjoyed?

I'm sure the God mode cheat codes will all be available within minutes of the game's release. As will the All weapons, all potions, Max stats etc and so forth.

Er, continuing to fail and getting stuck? Unlikely to happen since people are finishing it.

There is no death in game so who cares if the game is hard? It's not like there is any penalty for failing.

The latest is always the greatest. Regardless I have no doubts DA will be a much better game than Oblivion

Hmmm. Wasn't Oblivion the best crpg ever? Same decade, last time I checked.

That's the way Bethesda believes a crpg should be: choices don't matter. Ooh, are we making a Bethesda hate pile? It was Fallout in name only! Nothing to do with Fallout specifically since Oblivion suffered from the same problems. It's Bethesda's way all the way, regardless of what IP they choose to work on. Hey, they make a wad of cash so who can argue.

Yeah, I haven't noticed any clear pattern to when they happen at least. Guessing there's a set minimum timer between them (like one in-game day for example), and then a random percentage after that. It's pretty cool how STALKERs will scramble for shelter once it happens, and then once it's over you can walk around outside and see the dead bodies of the poor guys who didn't make it to a shelter. It's great news to hear you say good things about it. Is the faction war concept completely gone from CoP?

OK. That was pretty much the way it worked in CS as well. I thought they were going to make the blowout thing more dynamic. In CS blowouts (non-story ones that is) only happened when you transitioned maps though. That would appear to be changed at least since you've only played on one map so far.

I thought this episode was pretty weak myself. Not much actually happened, and the acting is pretty flat so a lot of the supposedly emotional drama feels pretty fake. The gratuitous shower scene was disappointing. If that is all the writers can find to fill the running time, it doesn't bode well for the show.

That's the way Bethesda believes a crpg should be: choices don't matter.

That sounds great. From what I understand blowouts are now truly random, rather than scripted, and any shelter will do rather than the "assigned" shelter zones of Clear Sky. That's a big improvement. Are the weapon/armor repair and upgrade mechanics from Clear Sky still in use? Are there new weapons, armors, enemies? Clear Sky was a bit too recycled in that sense.

It's three maps from what I've read. Your probably right. So I'm definitely curious about how it feels lengthwise. It's more of an stand alone xpack than a full new game (Have to wait for STALKER 2 for that), so I wouldn't expect something as long as the original SOC, but I am wondering if it is even shorter than Clear Sky.

Good news. I'm hoping this will be the best of the STALKER games, combining the best elements of SOC with the best elements of Clear Sky. How does it feel length wise? Based on the development I have followed it is only 4 main maps (is that right?), but the map areas are supposed to be more complex than the other games.

This is apparently how Bethesda Game Studios now does business in crpgs. Its utter crap, imo, and completely counter to the point of an rpg. It's just an exercise in fantasy wanking.

We seem to have fairly similar tastes in regards to games. What do you know about Borderlands that I don't know?

Thanks, Matthew. My preorder is still in from last May, and I am still anticipating a fun game. Just curious, and you probably can't answer, but I'll ask anyway: Will new content be going into the game during this time or will you be refining and polishing what is already in place?

There you go. A bit of Oblivion praise that I can't deny. Never thought I would see the day. *shakes head*

*hurts*

Interesting point. I had never really considered that.

Which wil always be a limitation of AI's. But again, the scenario is preetty unrealsitic anyway. If 6 mercs tried to take on a small army that acted the way it was supposed to, the 6 mercs wouldn't last very long. Ultimately it IS a game, so at times it will fill gamey. but Jag 2 has more tactics to it then other games. Additonally, calling XCOM and Jag 2 tactical games is undervaluing them. They are both tactical ganes with a strong degree of strategic planning and control. For both games, a great deal of the gameplay ocurs outside of the tactical map. XCOM even more so then Jag 2. Remove that combo of strategy and tactics and both games lose a lot of what I like about them.

It is pretty funny that it comes across that way. You'd think it was top sekret government files or something. lol. The only thing I can think of is that the news might affect stock prices or something so there's legal stuff going on. Or something. But yeah, the cloak and dagger stuff is really really silly.

I wouldn't reject a RT Jag 2 out of hand, A RT with pause would probably work OK, but there is a lot more to making a JAg 2 game than TB vs RTwP. Start cutting out sectors, militia, mines, dynamic campaigns etc and so forth and I'm not interested. Not becuase the game isn't not like Jag 2, butr becuase its not a game I am interested in anymore. Linear, mission based squad level games are pretty boring. What makes Jag 2 and XCOM so awesome is that they are not that.

I need info on how the single player game shapes up. Story, dialogue, towns, shops, characters etc and so forth. If its 99% running around shooting things, it will need to do that really well before I'm willing to pay full price.