Hurlshort

I think the whole idea is silly, but I don't know what you mean by this. Canada isn't actually all that different than the different states of the US. Culturally there just isn't much to distinguish the two from one another. I mean, I guess hockey is bigger than football. But really, each state in the US is already fairly unique, so adding Canada to that (or 13 new states) would hardly move the needle. Health care was probably the big advantage Canada had on a federal level, but that has apparently changed in the last decade+.

I'm oin the 3rd zone in Avowed and I think I rushed it a bit. I might go back to an earlier save and slow down. There are some ways to skip over steps in the main story, but I don't think I want to end it too fast. The game has some super hard decisions though.

The internet trolls have won. What a time to be alive.

I haven't played Veilgaurd, but I didn't know it had parkour. Avowed feels pretty solid for me as a ranger. I read someone compare it to Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, and I can see that, minus the kicking. I'm also playing in first person. I imagine it is less satisfying in 3rd person, as that seems like an afterthought. Other than that, I don't get what anyone else is talking about. The world is beautiful and lively, and the different hubs have a ton of history, engaging characters and personalities. But hey, I always thought Skyrim was pretty boring. I mean, sure, people wander around and go to bed. But they all come across as generic NPC's. I guess I prefer the Obsidian style of storytelling and character development.

Top Ten Obsidian Games: 1. Avowed 2. Fallout:NV 3. KOTOR II 4. Alpha Protocol 5. PoE 2 6. PoE 1 7. Outer Worlds 8. NWN 2 9. South Park 10. Pentiment

I think I am entering the final zone in Avowed and it has been a great ride. Eora has really come alive for me. I enjoyed the PoE games, but this is very different.

That's awesome. I'll have to keep an eye out for that axe.

Man, that's terribly young.

Didn't you used to say that about TB games in general?

Does the frost axe create the handy frozen platforms over water? I've got an electro pistol and a fire dagger. I use grenades for everything else.

Guns are crazy rewarding in Avowed for me. Both the musket and the pistol are just a blast. Plus my pistol/dagger combos are pretty great. I'm squishy, so I don't use it often, but it helps in a pinch.

Avowed has a much better inventory system than previous Obsidian games. The crafting is also pretty decent. I don't know who handled that, but they deserve accolades.

Oh, I also saw a massive ad for Avowed in Times Square. It was one of the corner ones that stretches around. Here are a few more good photos of our trip: The Bone Museum in Brooklyn One really good family photo. I don't know how we got the angsty teenager to smile.

I went and saw the Broadway production of The Great Gatsby this week. I was a blubbering mess for the majority of the show. I was the only one in my family who had read the book. First off, I never really understood how much of a difference a strong actor can make in a performance. I've seen a few shows over the years in San Francisco; Wicked, The Book of Mormon, Beetlejuice. But watching Sarah Hyland play Daisy was incredibly different from any other movie or show. I fell in love with her almost immediately. I'm going to put the rest of my Great Gatsby Musical stuff in spoilers so I don't ruin the story. So I sat in the audience and wept from nearly start to finish. My family looked at me like I had lost it, and I had. For better or worse. So go read the book and then watch the show. @Volourn would love this one.

Trip Report! I took the family to NYC this last week. It was the first time for all of us. My wife just turned 50, and my daughter is going off to college in the fall, so I figured this was a good reason to celebrate with a pretty big trip. It was a stretch financially, but I did my best to make it a special trip. Here are some highlights: Skating in Central Park: We actually packed our ice skates for this trip. An entire suitcase was dedicated to bringing our hockey skates across the country. It was worth it. We got out on the Central Park rink and it was beautiful. The hole park is amazing and I ran through it every day, despite the temperature feeling like it was in the low single digits. Skating with my wife and kids was my favorite moment. Dungeons and Dragons 20-sided Tavern: This was a fun improv show a bit off broadway. It was interactive. You chose whether you were a warrior, rogue, or wizard, and then you used your phone to vote on decisions for the party. My son really enjoyed this one. They were amazing at improv. The Great Gatsby: I'm actually going to talk about the show on a separate thread, since it affected me more dramatically than anything else I've ever watched. But needless to say, the whole family enjoyed it and it was a perfect Broadway show. We stepped out of the matinee show and it was snowing in Manhattan, so it was a pretty magical moment. I still feel like I barely scratched the surface of what Manhattan has to offer. We went to the Bone Museum in Brooklyn, we took the Subway, we visited the 9/11 Memorial. I ate bagels every day. But there was a lot I didn't get to. Hopefully someday we will take another shot at it. Maybe when the weather is better too.

Do we deserve it? PoE 2 sold less than the original. We did this to ourselves.

The combat in Avowed seems greatly improved from Outer Worlds.

It's not like WoW, although I wouldn't say it is as developed as Dishonored. You can sneak around, and you have a silent ability takedown.

I disagree. K:CD2 and Avowed are tremendously different types of games. Sure, they are both RPG's, but that's about it. One goes for historical accuracy and tries to recreate a living breathing medieval world. You aren't a super soldier, your just the son of a blacksmith who can't hold his liquor and has lucked into some nobility. It relies on minigames and precise combat controls. Avowed is high fantasy set in a fairly alien world. It's weird and otherworldly. The combat revolves around fantastical powers. I don't know how that runs counter to the first 2 games. You were literally tangling with gods in the games. Avowed compares more to Skyrim in that regard, even though I dislike those comparisons as well. I can see what you are saying if you feel Avowed lacks the complexity of K:CD. On its surface, it does seem to be a simpler game when it comes to mechanics and extra stuff. I feel like Obsidian has made a concentrated effort to not overextend itself. I haven't played enough to see if there is more to it. It has cooking and crafting, but it isn't as crazy as other games. Anyways, I love that we have both of those games on the market. They are both great and play very differently.

I made my character pretty light on the shroominess. You can also choose to hide it, but for purposes of the story, people need to be able to tell you are godlike. I'm sure a few people will be turned off by it. But there's also dumb people turned off by a pronoun option, so you can't please everyone.

Avowed - It's fantastic. It looks great. The intro area is really well done. I just reached the first city.

The fact the forum is still running and hasn't crashed means it is doing better than previous releases.

I haven't played a ton, but there is a super easy combat mode that you can set separate of the puzzles. So you can set the puzzles to regular or hard, but breeze through the stealth and combat stuff. So it might be worth a try.

Nice. I'm taking the family to NYC next week for the first time ever. We are staying in the theater district and catching some shows. Glad to hear you are doing well.