Gaming Thread

[Det Som Engang Var]

I think Origins is over hyped, too.

But I really do think DA:2 was that bad. The characters were very annoying and two dimensional cliche's except Varek, the writing was abysmal (as expected of Jennifer Hepler), as said environments were reused way too much which would have been fine if Kirkwall felt like it was alive. Hawke was highly uninteresting, the quest were god awful. The story arc didn't really leave a feeling of anything ever getting resolved. In Origins you felt a rise of power as you became a mighty Warden and thwarted the Arch Demon, this one has you running around solving murders and things which is ok but it did not make me feel like a "champion". I thought combat was a lot better than Origins, of course, because I despise auto attack, but that was the only improvement.

And I realize Bioware games are not about free-roaming, but I can't help but feel like I'm being put on a railroad and my hand is held more and more since the Baldurs Gate days.

I'd give Origins an 8/10 and DA2 a 6/10.

Jade Empire, on the other hand was fantastic, aside from being too short.

 

[El Stormo]

this one has you running around solving murders and things which is ok but it did not make me feel like a "champion".

That's funny, because I, personally, am god damn tired of the perennial "Only you can save the world"-bullshit plots.

And Lord Foul, you're missing out on The Witcher, it's definitely worth a try.

 

[WhiteBeastofWotan]

Yeah I was okay with the more personal and local scope of DA2. Not every game needs to be about saving the world from some ancient returning evil.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

I would agree if there was interesting political or religious elements going on, other than the Chantry suppressing the mages for the sake of...wait, why were they even doing that again?

 

[Talking Backwards]

In Origins you felt a rise of power as you became a mighty Warden and thwarted the Arch Demon, this one has you running around solving murders and things which is ok but it did not make me feel like a "champion".

Didn't really feel like a "champion" in Origins either. Sure, the story may have made you some acclaimed hero later on, but while playing it was still a group effort. Unless you played (and ruined the experience) an Arcane Warrior for your first playthrough. Then again, Mages were the god class of that game no matter which specializations you chose.

If you're upset with the marketing hype about being the "champion of Kirkwall", then ok...but that was just hype. Despite questionable character choices, annoying "love interest" advances and some minor discrepancies (especially if you, or some of your party members were Mages), DA2 was a whole lot better at the storytelling than Origins was. The actual story in Origins was the same thing we've seen in literally every other LOTR worship material. The best thing about Origins was Morrigan and Alistair--probably two of the most memorable NPCs pretty much ever.

I thought combat was a lot better than Origins, of course, because I despise auto attack, but that was the only improvement.

This was already mentioned when talking about Skyrim, but combat actually being fun is fairly important, even in an RPG. The combat in DA2 was not groundbreaking at all, but it was a lot more interactive and tactile than the snore inducing pause fest that was Origins (same boring system that had been in every isometric CRPG game since Baldur's Gate, yet in 3D!).

I couldn't stand replaying Origins after my second playthrough, and I replayed DA2 probably six times--but it was more of a class "plowing" exercise more than anything else at that point, similar to how I would replay ME2. Maybe I've just been playing games for too long, but I found more reasons to replay DA2 than Origins, but with the game being around 15 hours shorter, it was easier to anyway. The worst thing about the game, from a gameplay perspective was the "ANOTHER WAVE" garbage.

No, I'm not saying DA2 was a "great" game at all. It's the kind of game I would play over a weekend of boredom, but only because I was tired of replaying other games, or nothing new had come out yet. It simply wasn't nearly as bad as what many claim--I'm sure many just had Bioware goggles on and were setup to be disappointed.

Then again, I'm not worried about ME3, so maybe I'm a hypocrite.

 

[El Stormo]

Talkingbackwards, I must say, from the posts I've seen from you, you're a good addition to the board. I like the cut 'o yer jib.

 

[WhiteBeastofWotan]

I can't wait for ME3. It needs to be on my dick right now.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

I like him too. We don't see eye to eye but he's clearly a smart man.

 

[El Stormo]

It needs to be on my dick

Like Lando on liquor.

 

[Lord Foul]

And Lord Foul, you're missing out on The Witcher, it's definitely worth a try.

I've been told this enough times that I bought it on Steam during the last big sale. Just have a huge backlog of shit to finish.

 

[El Stormo]

I've been told this enough times that I bought it on Steam during the last big sale. Just have a huge backlog of shit to finish.

Tell me about it. I have more games I haven't played than games I have

 

[E-bortion]

Sold my psp years ago, just purchased a newer 3000 model, along with the only games I've ever cared about on the thing: Wipeout Pulse/Pure and Dj Max. Both incredible and seriously competitive.

Also lcfw 6.39 ftw, wooo piracy and emulation

 

[Liverslapper]

Do want

 

[Karmic]

had a fat m33 for years now... all I need is my patapon and valkyrie chronicles... and yes wipeout every once in a while

 

[ShadowsWithin]

kickin it old school, been playing a LOT of Diablo 2

 

[Enemy242]

gone on yet another Bethesda kick; I just started Shivering Isles and I'm reallllyy liking it. Sadly my character is so good that the game is either extremely hard (if i adjust the slider) or just too easy (if i leave it at the normal spot) so I've been trying to find a good spot. The characters are hilarious though and the environments/enemies are reallyyy interesting, I'm really glad to see new enemies because one of the things that bored me was seeing the same enemy over and over once you get to a high level and they all level up (knowing that there were no more enemies for me to see in the main game was really saddening). I'm only up to maybe the 2nd quest for him (after the prison) so I've got a long way to go but I'm pumped. I've also been playing FO3 (just beat the last of the DLC) and still have sooo much left to go, but the 30 level cap is absolute bullshit in that I have soo much left to explore yet can't gain levels (I've been doing the console command to force a level up every once in a while when I feel i've really earned a lot of xp).

Can anyone recommend me things to do in shivering isles/fallout 3 that I absolutely SHOULD NOT miss? no spoilers please but just mention the location or a small thing about it; obviously shivering isles will be easier but in FO3 i'm just exploring towns I haven't seen before.

Also now that I moved in my new appt im considering getting a PS3. I had to sell my 360 to record the CD (which is a ridiculous situation, but no use going on a tangent) but I always regretted not being able to play all the ps3 exclusives. now that its 299$ with a free gamestop card and cod black ops i i figure i might as well. is the psn network good as well? i've never experimented with console online gaming but with my internet in the exact same room as my tv i figured i should try some multiplayer gaming and see all the ps3 stuff i missed out on.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

There's nothing too big you can miss in Shivering Isles as long as you do all the side-quest in New Sheoth. Nothing really comes to mind.

For Fallout 3 I recommend burning Harold with the flamethrower. The scream is priceless.

 

[Enemy242]

There's nothing too big you can miss in Shivering Isles as long as you do all the side-quest in New Sheoth. Nothing really comes to mind.

For Fallout 3 I recommend burning Harold with the flamethrower. The scream is priceless.

I already did the oasis thing, I think i did the nice ending for that haha. I know a bunch of people hate him but I really like three dog and hearing him on the radio and how the news sections tell me about things to go check out. the one thing that confused me is he talks about greyditch and how i killed the ants but didn't save some kid? where the fuck is that kid? in new vegas they have news too but it feels a bit more repeated to me honestly, fallout 3 to me has just a way better environment and everything and only lacks some gameplay elements which i really miss from new vegas. guess i'll just explore the entire map and see what comes up.

 

[Det Som Engang Var]

Same thing happened to me with Grey Ditch, I think it's a bug. I liked Three Dog, too. I don't understand why everyone hates him.

 

[Lord Foul]

You'd think it wouldn't take that much of a mod to change the Fallout 3 system to match the New Vegas one. I suppose adding in iron sights for the weapons could be an issue.