Tel Aviv

Pre-ordered Dragon Age II and Deus Ex special editions yesterday. Bit risky, who knows how they'll turn out, but at least there's some nifty soundtracks to sweeten the deal. I'm a sucker for that sort of guff.

Having just read Hurlshot's laptop thread I figured I'd make my own instead of derailing his. Frankly, I'm a little out of my depth. Alls I'm interested in is a laptop that can handle the GOGs catalogue. Yesteryears games, The Witcher at a push. I have a pretty modest budget,

I dunno, I think Mark Meer's voicing in ME2 is a VAST improvement, especially were humor is concerned. I actually think he's a little bit awesome.

Hmm. Giant Bomb's quick look made it seem kinda dull. The lightcycle sections look pretty cool though

I'm bummed Joshua Graham only got a mention. We'll see him in future DLC, I hope.

Has anyone played Costume Quest yet?

Hey buddy, wanna go to Deathclaw heaven? EDIT: Oh snap! Just reread what you said...

Knobjockey? Who thought THAT was a good idea?

Planescape: Torment?? All is forgiven, GOGs!

Well, I'm pleased as punch Stephen Russell is voicing Booker DeWitt. It's silly, but that alone makes me excited for the game.

Guys, I need help. I'm thinking about buying either a PSP or a NDS, only I'm a little out of my depth. I haven't handheld since the Game Gear ...fifty years ago! So, does anyone have any recommendations? Any specific thoughts on which console you prefer? Which has the better show of RPGs? Any advice is welcome.

I agree. However you play him, Mike defaults to sarcastic prick mode. All the stances do is vary his degree of arsehole-...ishness. I'm surprised how much I disliked him really.

It looks like a transvestite convention.

Hmm. Well, hopefully 360 and PS3 users won't receive as bastardized a port as the original. Still, I'm interested so long as they tone down the "maturity".

It's interesting replaying Mass Effect. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed the Normandy's intimate lighting. Cerberus' colour scheme sucks.

Gateway. Lots of fun ...except where it counts!

Yes, you're incredibly deep and nothing comes close to the standard your massively intelligent brain demands. We get it. *shrug* If that's the way you want to look at it, it's cool. I've played a lot of games that I like, most of those, such as Jag 2, XCOM, Wizardy 8, don't really have stories, just rules and objectives and gameplay. Computer games don't need stories to be fun. They need gameplay that holds interest in some way. And when games do get a heavy-handed story treatment, the result is almost always quite painful. Not universally so, true, but it's the exception that proves the rule. Doesn't that largely depend on genre? Your examples are, first and foremost, strategy games. And while you might be right in regards to them, the same can't be said for, I dunno ...point and click adventure games wherein the gameplay is arguably the weakest point of the experience.

Will I still get O2 coverage?

I don't know why, I'm often fascinated by antagonists. Specifically their relationship with the protagonist and the space between them ...if that makes sense. Alpha Protocol amazes me in this respect. I find Leland and Marburg such effective villains because their interactions with Mike are so compelling. They're like ...the Palpatine and Vader of the espionage world.

I'm almost done with Saudi and I'm beginning to really enjoy the game. There's a steep learning curve due to the initial lack of specializations. Once you invest a little, it's awesome. EDIT: Also, I've relied almost exclusively on stealth and hand-to-hand. Guns are for suckers!

Wow, I can't believe some of these reviews. I know most of us are willing to overlook AP's flaws but even when taking them into consideration I'd never award it a 2.0. That's crazy!

This always bugged me. I mean, I'm no expert but if they do VO for multiple characters, and use the exact same voice (their "default" voice, if you will) for all of them, can we still call them voice actors (i.e. are they really earning their pay)? I'll just point out that there's a quest in Oblivion where Wes Johnson plays all three npcs involved in the quest. There's a point near the end, where al three npcs will be talking with you and to each other at the same time. So basically, that's Wes Johnson having a three way convo with himself. He's a bit of a ham, but I like the guy. By and large, Fallout 3's VO wasn't half bad. ...a massive improvement on Oblivion at least.

Meaning that you don't like the mag, or that you haven't read it? Oh, I haven't read enough to judge. But if they gave AP an 80+ they must be good!

I'd have thought the same thing. It's a pretty fruity list, to be honest. Eurogamer makes a little more sense of it. ...and page 3 is a love letter to MCA!

I can't vouch for GamesMaster's integrity but another 80+ is always welcome!