Hurlshort

Thornton was getting his job done in other ways, but the fact is he take attention away from guys like Marleau. Marleau has had an awesome two games so far. He's been physical, and he's moving the puck well. I'm pretty happy with the officiating right now. Things are not slipping by. The Oilers are also looking solid. Roloson has been fantastic. I'm smelling a few upsets already. Colorado and Edmonton are both looking good.

That's a horrible way of looking at things. It's like saying it's ok for developers to be lazy and take your money because other people will mod the game (to make it playable) for free. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Except it's not easy to release a game engine with a kick butt toolset. I'm saying I'd rather the developers spend time on the toolset than fluffing an OC. There are plenty of single player RPG's out there, but NWN is way more than that. The OC in NWN was weak, and yet we are all infatuated with it. Why?

I thought WC: Prophecy was a good return to the roots. 3 & 4 were a bit hard to watch, albeit mostly due to the cut scenes. Ultima Underworld was first person, and that ws some good stuff.

Actually, some of my most satisfying NWN moments came from hour long mods. Particularly the episodic ones, they can be directly compared to a TV show because not only are they free, but they rarely go over a couple hours in length. I would love to see more of these shorter games, but of course the financial model would need to change. This might actually open games up to more people. Let's face it, many folks don't play games because of the time commitment. The majority of human beings on our planet don't have 100 hours to put into a medium they are unfamiliar with. Short games are a great way to hook new audiences. Of course you aren't going to spend $50 on a few hour long episodes, but NWN is offering unlimited access to these episodes for $50. That's a great deal to me.

Doesn't anyone here remember that the OC of NWN is only one aspect of the game? It's not like other RPG's. I spent maybe 15 hours on the NWN OC, but I played NWN for at least 300 hours total. The mod community makes this game special. NWN2 just needs a kick butt toolset and I'll be happy.

Sweet, I hate long games. 20 hours is perfect for me. Heck, I just want a solid original campaign. I don't care if it's only 10 hours, if it's entertaining then I am happy. I don't measure quality based on minuted played, I measure solely on the experience. Besides, NWN2 is not just another single player RPG. They could nix the entire OC and I'd still buy the game, because the mod community is outstanding. The OC is just a warm up for the real good stuff.

Silent Storm is just a series of awesome TB combat missions in a very destructible environment. The link between each mission is streneous at best. Once the panzerkleins enter the scene, the game enters an odd dimensional rift where greatness goes to die. I bought Hammer & Sickle hoping that plot and character development would be introduced to this remarkable engine. I was mistaken. The missions were once again a pleasure dome for tactical fans, but the story was like a leviathan, swallowing whole any joy that might be had.

Indeed, I even had trouble trying to play BG II a few months back. It's not that the graphics are horrible, it's just that I can't help thinking I could be playing a better looking game. It's sad, really, because there is a lot of magic in those older games. The exception so far has been JA2, but even that is starting to look dated. It helps that there is no real substitute for it though.

But the graphics are literally ancient. I can't go backwards when it comes to technology.

This question has a ton of variables in it. Both me and my wife are teachers. We'd like to have kids soon. That is a pretty serious crimp on the cash flow, but it's also extremely important to us. If we didn't, I'm guessing we could live much larger and retire earlier, but again, priorities. I'd like to retire at 57. That will give me 30 years as a teacher and hopefully a very solid retirement fund to pull from. I also imagine that I can sell my house in the Bay Area (I haven't bought it yet, but that's beside the point) and use the money to buy a much cheaper house elsewhere in the country. Even with that in mind, there are just too many variables to know how much money I'll need. The government takes some, health issues seriously drain money, and I don't want to leave nothing to my children. My wife probably won't let me move out of the Bay Area either Anyways, if I hit it big in the lottery, I'd still teach, since I love the job. I would probably invest in some real estate and use the interest like Astro. I'd teach 60% and travel extensively.

Ok, my upset predictions: San Jose over Nashville - Ok, not much of a stretch. Philly over Buffalo - Philly is built for the tough defensive playoffs. The Sabres are an awesome story, but they lack experience. Colorado over Dallas - This is a stretch. I think Dallas is very capable of losing. Without the shootout, they aren't nearly as good. But the Av's are weak as well. I'm going with them because I think Thibault has recovered from injury and is ready to steal a series. Montreal over Carolina - Another stretch, but it wouldn't surprise me. Carolina is weak defensively and Montreal is strong. Both are inexperienced. Anahiem over Calgary - My biggest stretch, but it will be a tough series. The Ducks probably don't have the goaltending, but Giguerre has gotten hot before. One I'd love to be an upset, but won't happen: New York over New Jersey - Sorry Volourn! I wish the Rangers had a chance here, but the Devils are too hot and too deep. Good news is Brodeur is getting old. Sure Thing: Detroit over Edmonton - Detroit could put me in goal and still dominate most teams. The Oilers just aren't ready. Ottawa over Tampa - there is a slight chance of an upset. Tampa still has winners and the Senators know how to blow it, but Tampa just doesn't look that good.

I say we stay with the other thread

The Witcher doesn't look impressive enough to need a 4 year development cycle. It's only being released on one platform, whereas Oblivion had to spend time getting prepped for the 360. It's not like they are building a new engine. I don't really get the hold up. It's a single player RPG. 2-3 years should be an easy timeline to meet. PS:T, BG2, and Icewind Dale games never took 4-5 years to make. They churned them out rather quickly because the engine was done.

Waa waa... Publishing games is no longer a mom and pop affair. When I buy a book, I look at the author. The publisher means diddly squat, even if they've published numerous pieces of crap.

Well, I don't walk down the street in all black with red bandana's on... I think they handled this perfectly. The kid didn't get shot, and it shows that law enforcement agencies are present and willing to act. I'd much rather have this then no police presence at all. These cops are doing the best that they can...and their job is to protect us, so I will always give them the benefit of the doubt.

Well, it seems as if all current adventure games are French in origin. I know Syberia is, and I think both The Longest Journey and Indogo Prophecy are as well. I heard good things about Syberia, so I'll keep an eye on this. Adventure games seem to be coming into a rebirth cycle. Indigo Prophecy was very popular, and I would be surprised if it didn't blow it's sales expectations out of the water. The latest Longest Journey game is shipping, and the spiritual successor to Kings Quest is back on track with actual licensing. Good stuff

I bought Metalheart for that exact reason...but it's really not an RPG. It's just an exercise in horrible dialogue.

It sounds like Jagr played a solid game, but his teammates didn't help him much. Ah well, rest assured he's a lock for the MVP. He deserves it.

Is that the psychologist from Law and Order: SVU?

This game is waaaaaay overcooked.

Darque, if you read the original topic, you'd notice the person was clearly looking for a space sim. You threw out some strategy suggestions. That doesn't really make any sense. They are incredibly different genres. It's like if my wife told me to pick out a comedy at the movie store and I come back with a war movie... Actually, I do that all the time. Eh, carry on then.

The Olympics were awesome. I watched like 9 hours of hockey for a week straight, and there were some great upsets. If the players are willing to do it for their country, I say that's great for hockey fans.

I was at the Sharks game, and Lucky Luc's wife was about 6 rows in front of me. It was pretty clear who she was, they showed her on the big screen, and his son looks exactly like him. She was hot. It was a very nice display for his final game. It was a bit of a non-game for the Sharks, but clearly they were saving their energy.

A space sim and a space strategy game are extremely different.

Alan, sometimes it's like you are in my head...creepy.