ShadowPaladin V1.0

What does that have to do with anything ? I already said that it would require a change in design and using the same method as Morrowind would be a change of design. If KOTOR continues to use the characters are storytelling vehicles then they will be protected until they are no longer required (like they were in KOTOR).

So whats wrong with Star Ocean ?

Thanks my scores Your answers were split as follows: Explorer 86% Socializer 60% Achiever 40% Killer 13%

Subjectively speaking for you maybe. Objectively speaking not a chance. See despite all your protests about Bioware your pretty much stuck with them as they are the only game in town right now

Have a link to this thing?

Bioware only released two Xbox games, both of which you could hardly call their best work. They are also supposed to be making a handheld game, which means either Nintendo or Sony.

Probably not, but since you will only have a single blu ray disk as opposed to multiple DVDs rubbing on each other with nothing in between (anyone familiar with PC games will understand what I mean) it should mean they are less prone to scratching. Storing them shiny side up is pretty handy to avoid twist scratches in some packaging. But dosnt help if there is more than one disk.

It's a bit similiar to Ultima Underworld. Controls are a little fiddly, interested spell system where you draw a symbol on screen with the mouse. But you can also store upto 3 for quick release. Sort of a survivalish vibe, at least to start with. It's not bad if your looking for something to play.The plot is kind of typical and easy to see through, but the game itself isnt too bad. Should keep you occupied for a weekend to week at least.

I think MS is making two mistakes. First is being so desperate to beat the PS3 out of the door that they have put in a DVD which is going to be worthless in a couple of years rather than wait for HDDVD which would at least be comparable to Blu Ray. Second , in order to appear more of a bargain to have the core system without a HD when Xbox users are already used to having one and also since Allard reckons 50% of all 360 users will be on live (It's around 5% right now) and live requires a HD. I just read that Biowares new game plans to have downloaded episodes which again is going to need a HD. Going to have a lot of disgruntled people out there in a year or two.

I'm not making any judgements till I see it in action. It's interesting that they plan on dowloaded enhancements when you will have a large number of 360's without a harddrive. Seems you could could put your focus elsewhere. Or maybe they are just aiming to release a really short game again.

What is ? Actually it's the need to explore that motivates me to "suffer" the leveling. Rather than leveling just to level which is boring since once you level you have to do it again. It's leveling for a higher purpose. The carrot if you like is being able to explore a new zone. Think of it like preparing for an expedition to climb everest, it may be your ultimate goal but if you could do it right away then it would lose all meaning. There is something seriously wrong with a game where you can kill a Solar at level 4 though. It also gives you nothing to aim for especially once you realise that there are no real key locations. By key locations I mean for example the base where you found Bahumet in FFVIII. Not the easiest place in the world to find, but the reward was something that you could be justly proud of, rather than a few more bits of stuff which you already had a ton of from other ruins.

I'd have to say Baldurs Gate since although the area was smaller the rewards for exploration were more varied and worthwhile. However Final Fantasy VIII also had a superb vehicle and some amazing hidden bits scattered across the map, as do the others X had the hidden temple where you found Anima etc. These sort of things are much more rewarding to find than yet another generic Deadric ruin. And you dont have to wander aimlessly for hours on end which is plus. If you had to pick one to copy, then you could do a lot worse than Baldurs Gate so I'll add my vote to yours.

Pretty much, the 360 launches in 2 months so it's stuck with DVD. It seems likely that if the 360 wants to keep pace once the PS3 is released and they start to use more than 10 GB per game, then your going to need multiple disks. Two disks dosnt seem too far fetched but if ever it gets to the point of someone actually filling a Blu Ray disk then your game box is going to be thicker than the old style game boxes.

Like any new tech the price will drop as it becomes more wide spread. Blu Ray is no more expensive now than DVD was 6 years ago. You wont get far downloading on a 20 MB HD when it comes to games. Thats assuming you even have one, since developers have been told not to expect to work with a HD as standard. Same may be true of the PS3 but it's launch is about 6 months off so nothing is set in stone yet. The expense of everything pales besides that of bying a Hi Def TV anyway

It's pretty funny that the 360 wont ship with a HDDVD , blame Toshiba for that. MS were just desperate to steal a jump on Sony that they stuck in the obsolete DVD. Easy to see why Sony call it the Xbox 1.5 isnt it. Whether or not they intend to stick a HDDVD in a later date throws up all sorts of problems. Quite what MS are doing endorsing HDDVD is anyones guess since they are not a movie studio and their only applicable application dosnt have one.

What do you mean ? They dont change quickly enough or they change too quickly ? I played EQ for 2 years and still didnt explore every zone and I quit before they added the last two expansions. The TES games dont change at all, since downloading content you are aware of seems to defeat the purpose of exploration in the first place. That dosnt really make sense, you say that eventually you will run out of new things to see. Yet MMPORGs are always adding new content... Which would make them idealy suited to explorers too. I'd hardly say I'm in need of them, but I have played them pretty extensively and the TES series come across like offline MMPORGs where you are the only real person along with the paper thin characters that pass for NPCs in MMPORGs.

Only when the story allowed you to do so, which was when the characters were no longer needed for storytelling duties.

Allowing people to kill off NPCs in KOTOR would require reworking the design. KOTOR has always told the story through the NPCS, so they are required to be there to do their bit.

Lets see.. 360's backwards combatibility relies on a HD. MS is shipping units on the cheap without a HD. Ps3 is backwards compatible over 2 generations, clear win for the PS3. The DVD which was forced into the 360 because Toshiba couldnt get its act together in time is obsolete. Developers are already complaining about lack of space and the thing isnt even released yet. And this console is supposed to have a 5 year life span. Blu Ray is new tech and 5-10 times the capacity of a DVD , again win for the PS3 it's far more future proof. The only place where the PS3 falls down is in the price, but when figure in that your getting a Blu Ray which will retail at around $199 anyway it's a bargain. BTW the 360 is about as popular as clamidia in Japan and everyone was in fits of laughter when those developers reported running out of DVD space.

Does infocom even exist anymore ? Tetris might have decent gameplay for a puzzle game, but not for an RPG. Where do you see the TES series going anyway ? Since I've given my glimse into the future I'd be interested to hear yours.

Actually they pay a lot of attention to the stories. Even Diablo has an intricate background story to go along with it. I dont think I've played a Blizzard game without a story. Ghost is dated for 23/12

It is for Blockbusters and places like that yes.

I think the series peaked with Daggerfall , if not for the bugs that would have been one awsome game at the time. Even with the bugs it was great. But that was before the MMPORG era too. Actually I wouldnt be suprised to see the next TES as an online game of some sort since they are 90% of the way there.

That depends entirely on the human factor. I've seen some great narratives in MMPORGs but not in the standard package. However the leap required for TES to get to what an MMPORG can offer right now is huge. Actually I expect Oblivion to sell less this time around because the type of people who it appeals to will likely be playing MMPORGs with WoW etc. Of course Bethesda's genius as far as the 360 is concered is being the only game in town right now. Personally I wont praise their intent unless there is some solid gameplay on offer and thats somewhere that the whole TES series has really fallen down on , becoming either a case of generic spells or mouse flailing. As I understand they trimmed the skill list even further this time around so your getting even less options.Gameplay is critical to non story games, since it's the only thing that motivates you to play. There is no playing to see the end, even if your not particularly enjoying the game at the time. That would be FFX-2 which was the last one before FFXII.

That would make sense.