Cantousent

I agree with you completely, Kaftan. It's not really open ended. There are many many places where you make one choice and, afterwards, you have no choice. Well, you can completely stop doing things, but you can't make an impact from within a story arc.

It doesn't end there, my friend. Just wait until you see all the nonsense that rises from the end of this arc.

Oh, I could spend a hundred hours on the game. Not in the same amount of days as mkreku, but I could do it. What I probably wouldn't do is keep with the same character up to level 46. Yikes. Still, they don't call it a sandbox for nothin'.

mkreku, you swine! :D Where did you find it? TEETH, F.E.A.R. was a bit tougher on my system with everything running. You should be okay with it if you don't want all the bells and whistles running. Hell, even I don't have all the bells and whistles running.

Your turn to taunt me. Anyone know where I can find master alchemical apperatus? It's driving me nuts. I haven't found a single one.

baley sounds like he both wants the job and fits the bill.

I'm not trying to taunt you (much) but I was just playing and in the mages' guild quest where you must I fought a Draemora Valkynaz who dropped a Daedric mace, cuirass, boots, and greaves. :D

I had long, thoughtful post about this very subject a long time ago. Alas, the interplay fora are gone and I don't feel like a rant right now. ...And there was much rejoicing. I guess you guys are just plain lucky today.

Wow, Deirdre gets Daedric stuff all the time now. Swords, Cuirasses, daggers, hammers, blah blah blah. Heavy stuff, though. I prefer expensive items to be light. :Eldar's grinning at Lonewolf icon:

I think you guys would like one of my campaigns. I've been DMing a long time. Anyhow, I might join the fun.

Now, before this thread gets locked, which I see coming up in the near future, I'll say that I was quite unhappy about the end of the Arena quest. It's simply wrong that I was then visited by and had the most annoying celebrity stalker trying to follow me everywhere. Nuts. It's especially unfair to be considered since I shot two spells at my opponent before I even had the chance to talk to him. He dropped like a rock, and I had every reason to think he'd

Feargus has also said that the big name licenses and sequels will help fund original ideas and settings. Unfortunately, I don't think Torment is what he had in mind. I mean, Torment, no matter how much some of us love it, is still a sequel. It's not like it's an original idea. If they want to do a n Obsidian home-brewed setting for some sort of "artistic/prestige film" idea, then why not take out some of the better ideas from Torment and apply them to their own setting. EDIT: Sorry, cold and nyquil are giving me the beat down. Torment is not a setting, but it's still licensed. Torment 2 would not only be licensed, it would also be a sequel.

The old MREs didn't taste very good, but you could eat them. For an active guy like you, Hurlshot, these would be a good choice. Just don't expect them to taste like mother's own cooking. On the other hand, if you're used to energy bars, I think an MRE would stack up well.

I find Daedric armor, but that's mostly when I do stuff on the other side of the gate. Glass armor is everywhere. Here's a good tip if you're a mage, carry a light shield and enchant it with something good. As long as you're not reliant on torches, you can use a sheild as a kind of large amulet. currently, my shield fortifies my magic by 50 points. That's no small amount, even in the mid to late game.

I dunno, I can think of two other NPCs who gave some depth to the necromancers. On the other hand, NPC depth just plain isn't an Oblivion strong point. I would agree with the NPC interaction thing except that I see that as an overall failing. On the other hand, I have mixed feelings about forcing the player to roleplay the entire interaction in his mind. Every RPG, and a damn good many other games, rely on the player's imagination. Still, there is a limit beyond which we shouldn't have to provide both sides of the imagination game. I enjoyed a lot of the quests precisely because I was playing a weird sort of dual role, and I think that's rather unreasonable to expect most players to do. ...Unless either I represent the average gamer or Bethesda is in the business for making games for folks with my tastes. Even so, I would have enjoyed the game even more if I didn't have to completely forget about the stupid interface and try to infuse some character into the characters.

Turn the Page Bob Seger

I'll write a review of you, baley. Do you want a trial or a regular review? Heh heh. I think I'll make Calax the prosecutor.

*shrug* To each his own, Tigranes. I'd like better NPC interaction all the way around. It doesn't change the fact that the Mage quest line in Oblivion is much better than Borringwind. In fact, it's one of my favorite story arcs for any RPG. Sure, I had to use my imagination to supplement the bare bones, but those bare bones were good. As to my Child friend, you have bad taste. You think virtually everything is funny. We've decided to think it's quaint. :Eldar's shaking his head with a rueful smile icon:

The Trooper Iron Maiden

I'm not saying this to flame anyone. Hell, the attitude is so pervasive on boards like these that I wouldn't bother trying to single out individuals. At any rate, it's quie clear when I want to flame someone. All that said, I've just never understood why folks like randomly killing townspeople and other such nonsense. Dammit, Llyranor's little story about stalking and murdering some poor women is downright disturbing. I worry over the kid. At any rate, why does it provide such a kick to act like a maniac in these games? Is it a release from the frustrations of life or what?

Oh, be nice to Deadly Nightshade. She's not the only one with a big sig, and I think she ought to raise holy hell if she's singled out for one.

I'm not entirely on-board with the scaling, leveling, or skills. In fact, I think the dialogue is second rate a lot of the time, tedious most of the time, and hideous the rest of the time. The combat is unexciting. The NPC interaction ranges from irritating to laughable and I often find myself clicking past responses just to get to the point. ...And yet, there it is: the great gaming experience I was trying to find. It's a wonderful game. The quests are insteresting. Some of them have minor puzzles to complete. Some of them give me a good feeling of accomplishment. I love looking at the castle from the distant hills. The colors and textures are always good and sometimes breathtaking. The sense of exploration is balanced by a quick travel scheme that gives us the best of both worlds. There's a lot to dislike, and some nasty little bugs, but I can only judge a game by my overall satisfaction. The fact is, however, you're much better off if you're used to the wasd movement scheme.

I really hate to give a numeric value to a game. I just don't know how to assign the numbers. I would unreservedly suggest this game to anyone, however. I've spent hours playing and it's still fun. The game isn't flawless, but it's damned good. I'll edit in a repost of some earlier comments.

The Dark Brotherhood is a scourge upon the earth. They strike terror in the hearts of all good people. Except, perhaps, for those good people who have no fear of them. When the Dark Brotherhood has a nightmare, it dreams of me.

Okay, Deirdre is much better than Catherine. She's leveled faster, but fast leveling doesn't hurt a mage nearly so much. As long as she has her spells, she can take on the bad guys. Also, the only gate Catherine closed was Kvatch. Deirdre has closed a total of four now. Deirdre is well on her way to running the Mages' Guild. This time, however, she will also join the fighter's guild, but I think that will have to wait until the danger from Oblivion is gone. On the main quest, I'm getting ready to finish up some business with spies. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until I have a new home in the Imperial City, at the top of the Mages' tower.