greylord

Why does the sound of Farcry 2 (from what you guys stated in this thread) remind me of some actual Real locations in Africa (not places I'd want to be in...just so you know).

Flash drives were actually my first thought as well. D/L can be built in to be upgraded in the future, with Flash drives also leading the way. They don't have to start off being 32 GB drives, they can use multiple cartridges/drives...but later as the flash drive format gets cheaper and larger...they can easily use the larger flash sizes. 128 GB games...no problem!

Maybe in few years, but not right now. Sony already tried the D/L route for a console (or more precisely, a handheld which was even EASIER to d/l games with whereever you were) and it flopped MISERABLY!

This cracks me up... It's called they were so sold on DRM and in their arrogance once again, basically threw down a glove and challenged every hacker in the world against them with certain actions. At the time they may have felt the champions of anti-piracy. Now...I'm not certain how they feel about it. Probably still arrogant after handing everyone's personal information away they feel they can appease people by offering them a short period of ID checking if the customer fills out two hundred forms granting their life away...as well as the opportunity to have three worthless games that no one wanted anyways...for free. Of course if the hackers really wanted to send a message of the uselessness of DRM and how it only hurts paying customers, they'd hack all the authentication servers instead the world over...but then...without DRM to drive people to their sites to d/l their hacks for movies, games and whatever...the hackers may actually lose money from the advertisers and such...oh the fears...so I doubt they'd actually ever do that. Instead, they just hack Sony who was stupid enough to think they were so superior that they would make themselves a target for the hackers of the world to unite against and aggravise for a while. Believe it or not, I don't think it's because Sony was being so lax, I think with as much weighted pressure by hackers against them recently, it would have caused trouble to any company or group that was targeted by those they angered. Probably could have done the same to MS, or anyone else, but it was Sony's arrogance that brought it on. I just hope I never become the target of such. That would stink.

Hell no, online activation is one time only. With a disk check you can lose the disk and never play again. With online activation the server can be taken offline, or they decide not to support it, and if your harddrive dies/gets virused/fumox's/getnew computer you can NEVER play again, even if you have a hardcopy of the game (aka, a disk, which considering I still have game disks that are 15 years old, and have outlasted just about any server from that time, I'd say the chances of them cutting off support are higher then me losing a disk). If you lose a disk it's your choice, and your fault. If they cut server activation...you have NO choice. In answer to another question on how many companies are no longer around...even prior to activation some companies had codes and such that were in games during the 80's and 90s, found in books (yep, have those games too). Most are not only not around, but unable to answer any questions for those who may need to know how to run said games or what to do about the codes (if they were so foolish as to lose the books). The only way around that is the PIRATES...who have these things for d/l at various locations from what I understand. It's highly likely that some or many of the companies requiring onlne activation will go out of business before I lose the game disks and/or are unable to install it. In another note.... Still playing Space Rangers and Space Rangers 2. The latest version which had NO DRM, no copy protection, which I paid for and bought, and which run without a disk in the drive.

Is that Ming the Merciless I'm seeing in the lower right?

Saw Witcher 2 in the store, thought about getting it but remembered that the retail version has DRM, at least with authentication, so passed on it. I hope they do well with their GoG version. Finished up with Jade Empire. Now starting Space Rangers...but thinking of switching it up and playing Space Rangers 2 instead. Yes, I still play the old games occasionally...thinking about doing a good old IWD run next.

Oh, ok, hitting on a new guy two days after your husband is dead. Completely different thing. And that's where you are wrong. Sure, there's a bit of IMO here, but frankly the problems with DA2 had absolutely nothing to do with pandering to the masses or making the games idiot proof. Those parts, like the combat, were the ones that actually worked well. The real issues were in the borderline insane cost-cutting measures (meet the new dungeon, same as the old dungeon), the corridor structure and the severely limited pc camera (which still made the game play better than DAO on consoles). Both of these are either simply bad design, or a desperate attempt to make a good game without the budget required for it. The cognitive dissonance here is that due to their initial bias of "it's now popular, so it must suck" people call the game out for the wrong things, especially when they aren't going into the details. I think there's more than one trap to fall into, here, and a lot of old school rpg elitists have fallen into the pit of not being able to tell where the problems are. Bioware have pulled themselves out of slumps before (abovementioned NWN will be agreed by most, if not Volo), and the extra 3-6 months given to ME3 is certainly a sign that they've realised they need time to deliver the quality product for which they (still for the moment) are known. I would disagree that NWN was the slumps. In fact it's main draw was an overwhelming success. The idea of NWN was never that it was a new campaign like BG, it was that it was a game where you could design your own dungeons, host your own games, and be like the prior NWN where you designed your own games of D&D. In that aspect it was a success like no other game has ever been before or after. Since BG the closest I'd say they've been to developing a slump would perhaps be MDK, or more recently, Sonic...which ironically catered also to the console (hand helds being corralled into that console realm, I know...they are different)...but even those didn't have the mistakes they made (as you so aptly pointed out, I'd also point out the gay conversations continuing even when someone already stated they didn't swing that way...as well as the massive amount of junk that littered the areas for no apparant reason and the reasonings behind such junk in game, and more so, the three act city which they have done well in the past with other games involving cities, but in this one had it so limited as you would get bored with the actual city areas due to constant reuse and small numbers of places to explore in them that by act 2 you were bored of the city...even if you still liked the story) in DA2. DA2 overall was just not up to their standards of what had come previously. It holds well with other smaller game companies that put out less expensive games...but if BW is going to that standard instead...then I'll wait for reviews and be skeptical of whether the game is worth buying or not, just like I do with those lesser companies.

They may do the QA, but I assume they'll turn the repair work (fixing the dang bugs) back to the developer, along with contracting them out to create patches after the games release. If the developer puts out a game that is too buggy, the QA is going to ram it back down the developer's throats with so many bugs they'll drown the dev. to the ground in some case...wearing them all out. If the developer releases a pretty strong game to the publisher's QA, it won't be so terrible... It's true that some of the other Obs releases didn't have the QA too kick down the door and say fix it, but at the same time some of the bugs shouldn't have made it past the alpha stage IMO. It's a dual relationship between them, so yes, QA HAS to catch the bugs, but it's on the developer to give them something that works in the first place, and back to them after the QA finds it. AT least thats my understanding of how the relationship works. So I'm hoping QA does a great job finding the bugs, which in turn will make Obs probably work all that much harder. If Obs released a good candidate, then it shouldn't be too painful at all. If they didn't, then if SE QA is good, then the amount of kickback Obs gets perhaps would inspire them to release something that causes less pain on the hindend later on. I don't know if it's good OR bad, I'm just hoping that their is great testing on it so that it works great at release without really needing a patch to smooth things out! Don't worry however, I'm still buying it the day of release regardless, I'm just hopeful that with the slightly extended time (it's not much, so I imagine it was actually a good candidate that SE got for final QA...it just needed a tweak here or there...OR other difficulties with the publisher such as natural phenomenon, economic hinderances or other unexpeted events pushed it back).

They forgave them after Neverwinter Nights and Mass Effect 1. Which are both far worse games than DA2. In fact, some people praise them for those games. I don't think it'll change anything. How's ME1 worse than DA2? It's not. I've been a pretty hardcore Bio fan and gotten just about everything they've released. I figured out the cheat codes for NWN as was the one who opened that barrel, along with figuring out the cheats for KoToR (though tagged along another person who posted them about a few minutes prior to me). I would say Bio has NEVER released anything that was really all that bad up until DA2. DA2 simply flaunted some terrible design choices, and overall shoddy workmanship in my opinion. In addition, they are catering overly too much to a minority of gameplayers, which while may build them up in special interest groups, in the end I imagine could lose them the majority of their audience if they keep it up. For me, they'll probably lose me if they do a repeat of DA2 with ME3...or do something similarly as spectacularly terrible with ME3.

They forgave them after Neverwinter Nights and Mass Effect 1. Which are both far worse games than DA2. In fact, some people praise them for those games. I don't think it'll change anything. There are things I didn't like in ME1, but overall, it kicked ass. It was pretty good. I stopped playing it because I got bored, but it was still good (many good games I haven't even finished). ME1 was a good game. DA2...not so much...for multiple reasons.

I agree. I heard that and thought Square Enix hopefully are putting Obs through the Ringer (unlike Beths, or Sega) with any bugs they find to try to ensure that it's pretty much bug free...at least I hope so...after the FF XIV fiasco

I just hope it doesn't turn out like DA2 where everyone is Gay...errr...I mean bi... Truthfully, I loved ME2 and enjoyed ME1...but DA2 was such a disaster ME3 really is Bio's last chance. If they screw this one up...well they can cater to the gay guys all they want...hope they like that 10% of the population instead of the other 90% (actually probably will still appeal to many...but if they make as many screw ups as they did with DA2...I think a majority won't forgive them the second time around). Seriously, if they screw ME3 up, they go down as one of those publishers for me to stay away from until they actually prove they can make games again.

Perhaps more gamers are more aligned to MY tastes than previously thought...but still not on the Obs. boards....or the bio boards for that matter.

You aren't that one guy that finished the game 20-30 times according to the BioSpyWare, are you? Errr....uhhhhmmm... Did I mention I really like ME2? (PS: No I wasn't the guy who they mentioned, normally my PS3 is offline, so they probably aren't tracking my completions).

It could make some sense if it were unknown to Cerebus at large. Perhaps the Illusive man was changing, he knew he was changing, and knew eventually he'd fall under the Reaper's sway. Hence he needed someone that not only could fight the Reapers, but could give him the big FU if needed. Answer: Shephard.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art 2art noun \ˈ

I tried it long ago when it originally came out. The graphics made the game too bleh looking for me, and the action portion wasn't up to par with other action games of the time (read FPS games)...at least for me. I gave up long before any mods or anything came out for it.

Well, I think I'm going to give Starpoint Gemini a try. I also picked up another game that I just started up in between playing Jade Empire called Dark Horizon. Cut scenes are terrible, but it has a control scheme sort of like Freelancer/Dark Star One. I don't think it's going to be as good a game however.

I think you got it 180 degrees wrong in there somewhere... at least older crpg players tends to share a common ancestry with wargamers and appreciate good game mechanics more than the latest emotional sob story. The best story is the one you create for yourself through your experiences through the game universe and all that, not the prepackaged "junk food" that somebody else wants to serve you Non crpg players seems to favour the "entertain me" approach, where they crave more and more cinematic experiences that gives emotional involvement rather than cerebral involvement. Just my own, completely anecdotal impressions. Perhaps it's a difference of what is or isn't good gameplay. A mainstream gameplay game will be FPS or Third PS, with good integration of elements, weapons, and abilities. It will be fast moving and require a nice mix of reflexes, skill, and thought. Most of the time the focus is on the action, and not particuarly the story. This is why Multiplayer is so important, no story typically, but a lot of gameplay. Without good gameplay, the game doesn't exist. Racing and sports games are similar, it's all about how the gameplays. Story is typically very shallow or non-existent. RPG's typically require no reflexes or skill, perhaps a LOT of grinding...and many times a lot of thought if it has puzzles. Most RPG's are remembered because of story and epicness rather than gameplay. Not to say that RPG's don't have their aficiendos. Many go into quite the detail about turnbased and what type of turnbased RPG's are great, others about the action RPGs. Overall however, I'd say the RPG gamers are probably more into the story elements whilst the mainstream are more into the question...is this game fun...which is moreso a thing of whether the gameplay is well done, or at least appeals to them.

I will no longer be pre-ordering ME3. I now have lost all interest. WHY ARE YOU RUINING BIOWARE EA!!! STOP! For those like me, I think that's actually good news depending on what they are realigning. ME2 was better then ME1 as far as gameplay, and hence appeal. Hmm, perhaps I should start a thread...or let one of you do it. I think there is a difference in how we game. Those who are more mainstream prefer games that favor gameplay over story...while RPG gamers could care less about gameplay (at least to a point) and it's more about the story and how it flows rather than gameplay. Perhaps that's the rift between those who think ME2 is the next thing to sliced bread as far as they think an RPG should be (my stance) to those who think that ME1 was better than ME2 and there are many things that should be done to make ME3 closer to ME1 (RPG'ers?). I know of all the friends I introduced ME2 to, they think it's awesome...but not as many with ME1. On the otherhand I did enjoy DA:O...and didn't enjoy DA2 as much so maybe I don't qualify as a mainstream gamer all that much either. I have been playing JE recently due to one persons acclaim of it on these forums...and one would think that it would be more oriented to me with it's action gameplay. To tell the truth I think I may enjoy it more than DA2, but less then any other bio game, at least thus far. Things I feared about...that they'd make the skill table too complex...sure you can make it more complex then ME2, but let's not have one more complex than ME1 from the sounds of it...or at least harder to comprehend. I'm not a fan of vehicular travel in ME1...they improved it with ME2 DLC...but it was built on eggshells, at least in ME1 you didn't blow up with two enemy shots. Hopefully they can make it even better so I actually can enjoy it, that is if they even include it. ME2 was pretty much perfect though...so I'm curious what they are doing to improve it's appeal over ME2. Perhaps ME3 will become the perfect game! Hopefully they learn something about NOT reusing areas as they did in ME1 and DA2...and perhaps leaving Kaiden as someone who strictly prefers females...no hitting on my male Shepard! I'd also really like it if they shipped it W/O Securom or some stupid authentication type stuff that they used on ME1 and DA2 (though ME1 is somewhat acceptable since it was bypassable with the Paul/Old Paul). But that's not the gamebreaker for me...as long as the gameplay is awesome...I think I'll enjoy it. Now if they diminish the gameplay...that may be disappointing. For the record, despite some qualms I have about ME1's gameplay I DID ENJOY ME1 overall...so that quality would be acceptable. ME2 was better in my opinion. Something worse than those however...then I'll be upset.

One of the things is that they are planning on streamed content...perhaps from a cloud. Instead of having something on a hard disk, you play it real time over an internet connection with the game being streamed to you directly. It means you'd have to be connected the entire time, and only played via internet...but really no space taken over on the HD itself. Same would work for Demos. HD would be for saves, pictures you put on, and profile saves. In the future I suppose if game makers make it so that games actually install and need large files, Nintendo could sell a larger HD with a bigger price point to make a profit. Also means they can "upgrade" similar to PS3 and Xbox360 have done with larger HD's later on in the generations life cycle. PS: That means they sell you two consoles, one initially, and another when you upgrade...or even three or four depending on how many upgrades they can convince you to buy. What better thing to do then to profit from someone not just once, but two, three, four, or even more times on the same thing!

I hear the sequel "Marriage" is really good at the start, but goes down hill quickly. depends on how good a player you are, both during the game prior to wedding, and after marriage. If you did well enough, it only get's better as you get further along.

I hadn't until recently, It looks like it was released in hardcopy at the end of March and was available for d/l prior to that. It looks sort of like the games like Freelancer or Dark Star One, which has me interested...but cautious.

Just learned about it, curious about the game. Does it have DRM, is it any good?