Humodour

In my opinion, and across the majority of reviews one can find published on the net, both NWN2 and KotOR2 were better written and structured then the originals they were based on (bugs notwithstanding). This especially holds true for KotOR2 which has some of the most mature dialog (philosophically speaking) to ever grace the Star Wars canon. Since the general structure of those games were created by Bioware you shouldn't have expected them to reinvent the wheel. You can't say that. You can't say "bugs not withstanding" - because they do stand. Bugs severely impact on my game experience. So does cut and unfinished content. For that reason, KOTOR2 was an OK RPG rather than a brilliant one, same for NWN2 to a slightly smaller degree. And in general, both NWN2 and KOTOR2 tried too hard to be the 'dark and philosophical beauties' you claim. I say this as someone who can recognise an epic game for what it is, in terms of deep, thought provoking storyline (e.g. Planescape, Deus Ex). I quite enjoyed KOTOR2 until 2/3rds through, and I do enjoy dark and philosophical storylines... to an extent. Obsidian hasn't got the balance right so far. Bioware errs on the side of shallow and comical (and always has) but at least that's fun and enjoyable. BIS has always been darker but still tended to get the balance right, while Obsidian just seems to be trying too hard to be dark and intellectual with their games. Maybe AP will be better since I've heard them mention a comical/superrealistic vibe. Thanks for your opinion. But funnily enough, Mass Effect is doing two things really well: atmosphere/immersion, and gameplay. And as somebody who dislikes the consolisation of PC gaming I'm not minding the way they did it for Mass Effect - maybe Obsidian can learn a thing or two from Bioware if they plan to succumb to consolisation. It has weapon heat, which is essentially recharging ammo. A bit different. It also fits slightly into the futuristic atmosphere. I don't think Obsidian could rationalise infinite ammo in a modern spy game, and I saw no plans to introduce something like weapon heat to make up for the strategic deficit of removing ammo. But I'll admit infinite ammo was something I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt about. Actually, Fable was ****. I never mentioned Fable.

Oh really Enoch? "Seriously, people, they are just games" is a valid reason to violate consumer rights? Because he had a good point.

Warren Bills, you are really annoying. Where's my ignore list...

Come to Australia. The beer is better here, and the women have tans and teeth. The beer is NOT better there. British ale is the best in the world. full stop. Bull****. Irish beer is the best you'll ever find. But fine, the beer is cheaper here. And better.

Of course it's art.

How is that more believable than them wanting the IP to make money from it? They may want to make money from it, but they may also want to make sure no one else makes money off of it (or creates what could be a competing product with the IP) The point is they don't just "want the IP". They wouldn't get into a lawsuit with Interplay over this (which costs money - millions probably) unless they wanted to make an MMO or felt IPLY would destroy the brand image (which is laughable since Bethesda do that well enough on their own). Recall Bethesda already owns most of the IP and is essentially renting it to IPLY (for royalties IIRC).

How is that more believable than them wanting the IP to make money from it?

Anyway, smells like Bethesda wants to make a Fallout MMO.

Yeah, I'm just laughing. Interplay ****ed Fallout over, Bethesda is ****ing Fallout over... let 'em at it.

I'm sick of hiding this, so I'll confirm it with this account: Yes, LoF is my account.

Damn ****ing straight. The unlockable content via achievements bullcrap in Mass Effect is ****ting me to tears.

Come to Australia. The beer is better here, and the women have tans and teeth.

Yeah, he's on my suspect list as well. And considering you suggest this as a mod who can check IPs...

Why is a post-scarcity society not possible? Because you don't want it to be?

You have to give them credit - they know how to play American politicians. They contribute their millions to Republicans and Democrats equally, so whoever gets in is on their side.

No. And yes, I agree. There's a lot of things about this game I don't like, gameplay-wise. But some of them have them have been changed or removed, such as infinite ammo, so I don't know where I'm at. But in general it doesn't seem like the type of game I want. I'll buy it because it's Obsidian (so they probably don't give a **** about my opinions as long as I buy it), but I'm not psyched/hyped. Edit: On the upside, it seems like it'll still be a full, vibrant RPG, and there's been a paucity of those for a long time, so I'm probably being a little harsh. I guess I've just lost a bit of faith in Obsid. At the end of the day, they are not BIS, and the only works to judge them on have been NWN2 and KOTOR2, both of which weren't bad games but lacked a certain spirit. I was beginning to think it was just me not enjoying computer games anymore, but I just started playing Mass Effect and am really enjoying it. So, yeah.

Except this economy will last maybe two years while he's been doing this for 10 years and has no plans to stop.

I sometimes wonder if it's because I was a kid when I played games like Torment, and now I'm 21. But then I hear people who were 21 when the first played games like Torment say the same thing. Seems the Gaming industry really has lost its spark. The only game that has really grabbed me since the days of HL1, Deus Ex 1, and Torment, is Portal. And I guess I played Diablo 2 until well into 2005. So I'm looking to Valve and Blizzard for hope.

To be honest, it's not the laws. It's the people. We really need to deal with this cultural self-loathing bull**** that's so trendy nowadays in the West. When even the French are measured in their chauvinism, you know there's definitely something wrong. Yes. Everyone equates tolerance with shoveling sh!t on ones own head these days. Political correctness is a sort of censorship that outdoes the Nazis at their best. So irritating. Maybe you should've been there when the Nazis were exterminating and justifying the extermination of people they thought were impure - so that you could understand the naive stupidity of your statement.

And why exactly should Obsidian care about Mac and Linux? Because he's an Apple fan and by definition believes that the world should revolve around him? That's odd. You seem to have assumed a lot in that post. First of all, I'm an Ubuntu (Linux) fan, not a Mac/Apple fan. Second of all, isn't it the Windows fans who believe that the world should revolve around them when they say "Who cares about Mac or Linux"?

It's OK if the publisher made it free 2 years after they released it. You guys should try Savage 1 and 2 (by the guys making Heroes of Newerth). They're free now, so why not? Plus, they scored well. :D

King Arthur congratulates me for destroying Dr. Robotnik

Tell us how that last 1% goes. We're all dying to hear.

Well if you bother to read this thread, you'd see that's exactly what we're trying to figure out: is Mass Effect's DRM so intrusive that it's not worth buying the game?

I hope there's no DLC. I hate that ****. Make a proper expansion pack you lazy sods.