Amentep

Waiting doesn't do diddly, unfortunately. I'd already had problems with quests in this game - I wasn't able to finish quests in Camp Forlorn Hope and the Khan camp (in the former because the military guy just stopped recognzing he'd given me a quest; in the later because the person I'm supposed to talk to is nowhere to be found at the location given to find them at).

Haven't went to H&H; went through Vault 11, I think, but the fault seems to be the dead Victor (whether that's triggered by Vault 11 stuff, I dunno). I'm going to wait 3 days now; not confident it'll help. That would assume I'm playing the game on the PC...which I'm not.

AAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH! 1st game through - Ed-E disappears with my specialty laser equipment and I restart (I can't carry it all because I'm weak and all) 2nd game through - I discover what it means that lasers were nerfed facing high level things and I restart 3rd game through - unarmed works like a charm and I finally after wandering the wastes for many, many hours show up on the strip ready to talk to Mr. House for the first time ever... ...AND VICTOR IS FREAKING LYING DEAD IN THE ROAD AND ALL THE BOTS IN LUCKY 38 BOTS ARE HOSTILE MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO TALK TO MR. HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!111 JUST ONCE I'D LIKE TO ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS GAME THE WAY I WANT TO! GAH! Now I don't know if I want to restart or just put the thing away for now...

I'm laughing so hard I've started crying...oh gotta take a break from that. *whew*

Just going to go on record here and say that I'm not a fan of the death penalty for multiple reasons. That said, the question to ask/answer would be "is it better to force society to subsidize the life of person who can't live within the rules of society than to permanently remove the person from society?" While the questions about emotive content are all very interesting, its looking at things in the micro* level. The question shouldn't be about a single person's emotive reaction to the scale or scope of a crime but instead all judicial/jury actions should come from a standpoint of society - criminal offenses are between the accused and the state, after all. If you convict a guilty person and they are sentences to life with no chance of parole for a crime then you obligate the society to then provide a part of their livelihood (through taxes that support the state and federal prison systems) to maintain the life of a person who has rejected the society now forced to support him for the rest of his life. In the US, a person on death penalty may take 20 years to exhaust their appeals but that is still 30-40 years less than the average lifespan of an adult, obligating society to provide for one who rejects it for far less time. That said - as I understand it for the US - the costs of appeals tends to so far outweigh the cost of keeping the prisoner for life in prison that, from a benefits to society standpoint the cost society pays to deal with those who reject society ends up being less without the death penalty**. *individual vs the criminal **this of course doesn't take into account potential to escape or to commit crimes while incarcerated, which could be a mitigating factor on this cost

While I love turn based combat, IMO big fights in FO1 & 2 are a bit of a snoozer. And I hated the bit where a random hostile person off the map could trigger combat meaning you have to slog through 20 round just to find the guy. Add into that the annoyance in picking up multiple items from the ground and...well I like FO 1&2 but just like 3 and NV they do some things well and some things not so well.

I like some portable games...but honestly I haven't really been wowed by the portable games I've played. Enjoyed em, sure...but I don't think to the point I couldn't give it up.

I rarely have ever played online MP games. Offline MP games with friends, yeah. And a handful of direct MP online games with people I knew and nobody else. But I really don't have an interest in playing video game with other people by and large. I don't want to deal with cheaters, griefers, people who don't think I play good enough for their 1337 skills, people who play 100 hours a day and complain if I don't, etc, etc, etc. I've been thinking of leaving Video Games behind. Its an expensive hobby/entertainment. And frankly everything going to MP would be a good excuse to get out. Wasn't it EA (and THQ) who was wanting to nerf multiplayer content for used game buyers as well? I'm sure they'd love all the extra income if all they do is multiplayer games...

I don't see how a civil war would have been created by default. Send a new elder escorted by a dozen loyal paladins. 'sorry to inform you the bos leadership has decided because of your infractions against the codex you are being relieved'. Either the DC elder would have to abide by the rule of law (which I get the impression he prob would if push came to shove) or as you state start a fight with the west coast bos. I don't think he would risk killing any more bos members to start a civil war. In the end he was trying to save the BoS not annex his faction and just doing what he thought was best being so far away from the main group. I didn't get the impression he has a chip on his shoulder and a axe to grind against the main faction on the west coast. I don't think the west coast Brotherhood had the manpower to go to DC and risk a fight, even if the elder would probably have given in. IIRC didn't the west coast leaders cut off supplies to the DC group? Easier to do an embargo than risk a war.

I enjoyed the first Tomb Raider, didn't care for two or three and stopped at that point. Dunno if the reboot will regain the interest the first title had.

Even with the load screens I didn't mind it the quest since there's no need to finish the quest right then and there, I typically find the ranger stations first go around, fast travel at some later point when I feel like it. As to the fort; I did think it was weird the Mormon fort wasn't a fast travel location by itself, though (but even then its three loads to it from Kings Impersonation (one out of the building, one to the north Freeside section, one to the fort) and two back (one to fast travel to The Strip gate, one into the Kings building). To tell the truth for the most part if I don't feel like doing a quest, I wait and do it when I feel like it later.

Actually it makes a lot of sense. I think penalty is a charged word. There should be consequences with how you choose to play - it sounds to me like there is with the new system. It also sounds to me like there might be an attempt at a somewhat more complex party dynamic. The NPC might leave because they hate you leave because you hate them (and kicked them out of the party) be neutral because you don't talk to them and never bring them along on most quests (essentially making them a hired hand) Respect you but think you're an idiot (because your ideologies differ) Respect you because they think you're the bee's knees (because your ideologies coincide) The last two options would be the rival/friendship path

So he's the Gene Shalit of game reviewers? lol. No, Croshaw is a lot funnier ps. IS Gene Shalit still alive? You and I are probably the only ones old enough to remember him around here regardless. He retired November 11 this year from NBC, so he's still alive as far as I know. I wasn't really talking about funny content per se, but that most of Shalit's reviews take a specific approach so that he can do his verbal gags.

I gave Veronica a grenade launcher and she without fail always seemed to target Rex...

I can't think of any game that has a sex scene and then rolls the credits either. Both ME1 & ME2 have sex scenes that culminate the relationship around the 2/3rds mark; this isn't dissimilar to, oh, say Avatar which has a relationship culminate in a sex scene about 2/3rds of the way through.

Sex is always an easy target. It also seems to miss a huge whopping point that games aren't currently capable of reflecting (and arguably shouldn't reflect) real life. Real life isn't about running around and gunning everything that moves (or at least shows up as a red tic on the compass). Even adventure games abstract the experience of real life. A lot of real life is boring. I don't think we want boring in games. - movies are just as bad about including pointless sex scenes as any other media - television and video games closely behind.

You can't target limbs in VATS with Melee or Unarmed (you can still break bones if you hit a limb enough to do it though - I broke a giant ant's head).

You didn't play Nightmare did you? Nope. I don't recall the NPCs in Baldur's Gate really having robust AI's. Even still I mostly allowed them to do what they wanted based on their AI except in extreme situations.

So he's the Gene Shalit of game reviewers?

I dreamt that me and a co-worker I've worked with for 20+ years were once again working in the same office under one of our old bosses (who retired years ago). As we dealt with complaints from students and a large amount of work our boss came in an told us that another co-worker had just been killed in China for wearing our T-shirt with a school's logo on it. Probably shouldn't have read the thread on Korea right before bed...

I paused my main game because I realized I'd recreated my character from FO3 (what can I say, I lasers) and have been toying around with an unarmed character. There was something rather hilarious about running in and punching a giant ant soldier.

Wals isn't in to spooning.

I dunno, I tend to roll with what they give me. Didn't really mind (but also wasn't greatly into) the Father-Quest of FO3 so in that sense as long as I can accept it in the story, then I'll just go on and do my thing. Who knows, maybe it'll be fun to have the family around. It'll certainly be different from most other games.

I was lulled into a false sense of security about Deathclaws in FONV because Rex killed a Deathclaw. But I think that Deathclaw had to have been already injured because pretty much everyone (including my PC) died quickly against Deathclaws for about 12 more (of my) levels...even at level 29 I got killed once by 3 Deathclaws.

Meat shields have their place. But there needs to be some utility to their blocking abilities. Just running up and dying isn't terribly useful. Thankfully in DA:O I felt like - even when the NPCs would die get knocked unconscious - they had done some effective work against the opponent. That said I very rarely feel like micromanaging NPCs and generally let them do whatever. I think in DA:O the only time I took control of an NPC during a fight was to force Wynne to use her healing magic sensibly (or how I wanted her to).