I'm about to delve into one of the most influential CRPG series of all time, namely Wizardry. Currently I'm creating a party for Wizardry 6: Bane of the Cosmic Forge, though there are so many classes & races that I have a hard time deciding what my party should look like.

Originally Posted By Traveller (6 FEB 2013 3:00am)

Thanks guys. Yes, i started both the campaign and a mission, and started feeling a bit lost at certain points with both of them- especially in the mission when people didn't like me, apparently, and started leaving my settlement.  It reminded me so much of those castlebuilding games!

 

Will watch the video, thanks, Stiler!  By Dawn of Discovery, do you mean the Wii version?  Or is it the same as the PC version Anno 1701?   I do have the latter, and it has a nice thick manual. I can't remember if it was it or Anno 1404 that i had played before.  I own them both, so maybe i should try them again first.

 

I really like the setting of Anno 2070 though, so maybe the vid will just get me there. 

I never did see this post until today, but Dawn of Discovery is Anno 1404.

It's not the same as Dawn of Discovery on the Wii, which is also known as Dawn of Discovery: Create a new world (the game is a bit different then anno 1404 (the one I'm talking about) and both are developed by different developers.

The dawn of discovery (anno 1404) I'm referring to was the previous anno game prior to anno 2070.

I intended to play Wizardry 6, but the new Xcom was on sale for $16 (101sek), and I ended up buying it. Enemy turns are not quite as nerve wracking as those in the original, but it still is a rather tense game (perma-death really adds a lot to the game). I'm only ~2h into the game, and thus far it has not been very hard, but from what I've heard it does get a lot harder later on. 

I'm kind of between games now that I'm done with Spec Ops: The Line (I tried the maximum FUBAR difficulty setting that only unlocks once you have finished the game on Suicidal, and it proved to be aptly named).

It is hard to start a new game anyway, when I play co-op Borderlands 2 with friends nearly every evening. We already have 100 hours in it, and I doubt we'll be done with it before we reach 150. Great game.

I'm tackling Temple of Elemental Evil playing as a lawful party of do-gooders

My mission? Eradicate the evil dwelling within the foul temple and restore peace & love to the world once again

My party:

Percival, the commanding and disciplined Lawful good Human Paladin

Darius, the righteous but kind-hearted Lawful good Half-elf Fighter/Cleric

Ragnar, the stoic but powerful Neutral good Half-orc Monk

Erasmus, the studious and ruthless Neutral good Human Wizard

Lethron, the nature and animal-loving Lawful neutral Elf Ranger

I have also hired 2 NPCs, the rather thick but very excellent fighter Elmo and Wicked, a rogue to help me with any locks and traps I come across.

Some snapshots of my journey:

Getting some much needed R&R in the sleepy town of Hommlet

A little historical tourism never goes astray! Is this where the tour starts?

Exploring some ruins in a swamp after nightfall

About to enter the Temple after killing the guard. What could be inside? ...

Trolls! Luckily my wizard Erasmus has them under control with a few well-placed magic missiles

Launching an assault on some... uh... yellow mold?

(and flatfooted mold at that! Does mold have feet now?)

Deeper into the temple. Onwards...

Oh, that is a really good game! And I see that you've reached the midway point of the game. Be prepared to spend a lot of time in that temple. 

I managed to beat Xcom, and it was a really good game actually. It had a few bugs too many (some rather serious), but the core game was solid and I found it surprisingly addictive, to the point where I ended up skimping on cooking good food in order to play more Xcom. 

Finished Dragonborn.

Those are some great shots, Quester... makes me want to play

I just finished Skyrim: Dragonborn... it was great to see Solstheim!  There was a fair amount of questing for the price... had a great time and enjoyed the side quests.  Now back to Skyrim to kill some nagging vampires for the Dawnguard!

I've been going back and forth on whether I want to buy/play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning... it's still $60 on Steam, but GMG has it for less... but I'm a Steam-er, so would really like to get it on there...

But I really need to buckled down and play NWN2 and finished Torchlight 2.  Boy, isn't it great that what video game to play is the most stressful decision in your life at the moment?  

Hey Trav - hope you're doing well... did you officially end your playing of Risen 2?  Have you played Dragonborn or Dawnguard?   Do you have any interest in TES Online?  While I'm skeptical on how it'll turn out, I'm excited to explore ALL of Tamriel!

Anyone getting the new SimCity or Tomb Raider?  My buddy preordered BioShock: Infinite for me, and it comes out on my birthday - March 26th - so I'll be playing that before too long...

Hope everyone is great and gaming happily

Started Tomb Raider Underworld and I love it, beautiful game world and wonderful classic Lara Croft Adventuring. Highly reccomended. Very nice indeed. There is a mod that restores Lara to real Classic Lara features and character, lately there have been efforts by the wacko ultra liberal activists to denature her into a sexless frump looking like a used car saleswoman...ie an effort to sabotage her classic character type. This can be prevented with artful modding.

I also am going to try Assasins Creed III hope it will run on my system

Originally Posted By XerNosam (3 MAR 2013 6:56pm)

 

I've been going back and forth on whether I want to buy/play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning... it's still $60 on Steam, but GMG has it for less... but I'm a Steam-er, so would really like to get it on there...

 

Anyone getting the new SimCity or Tomb Raider?  My buddy preordered BioShock: Infinite for me, and it comes out on my birthday - March 26th - so I'll be playing that before too long...

 

Hope everyone is great and gaming happily

Kingdoms of Amalur is a fun game, the combat is enjoyable and the way you can mix/match skills to bascially create your own character, you aren't "locked" into anything really, you can be a warrior, mage, go hybrid and be part of each, and the skills you pick are enhanced through it's "fate" system (bascially it gives you bonuses and things forbuilding your character how you want).

However the drawback to the game is that it's easy, combat is fun, but the game doesn't provide you with a huge challenge.

Story is so so, world looks nice and it has a good art style to it, lots of roaming/exploring to do and things.

If you like TES, Risen, Gothic, etc you'll most likely enjoy it, if the "easY" gameplay isn't a huge negative for you.

Also of note , you can get the game on greenmangaming for $24 using coupon code: GMG20-P4DLK-FKYRS , Also on Amazon you might be able to get it cheaper using coupon: CAGROCKS (if it's still working) or if you want to get the "complete collection" I actually can get it for $32 at gamersgate, if you want it all (the two dlc's that go with it), I have a 20% discount on my account there (Because of the whole bethseda collection fisaco they had over the holidays). If you'd want that just pm me about it, if not then amazon followed by gmg is probably the cheapest route for you.

I am geting the new Tomb Raider, hopefully it's good. sim City I'm waiting for reviews about, a bit disappointing that the max city size is smaller now (about the medium size in Sim City 4).

Trying to play 

Originally Posted By CrisGer (3 MAR 2013 10:33pm)

Started Tomb Raider Underworld and I love it, beautiful game world and wonderful classic Lara Croft Adventuring. Highly reccomended. Very nice indeed. There is a mod that restores Lara to real Classic Lara features and character, lately there have been efforts by the wacko ultra liberal activists to denature her into a sexless frump looking like a used car saleswoman...ie an effort to sabotage her classic character type. This can be prevented with artful modding.

 

The sword falls both ways, the way I see it is the developers wanted Lara to appeal to both males and females, and making Lara overly stylized (especially her breasts) ends up making her look more like your usual "Female designed as a young male's dream woman" So naturally they made her more believable and releatable to a wider range of women. 

There'll likely be a mod to make her look more like the older Lara for people that want it (and there are people that do), but i don't find the new one to be a huge change, she just doesn't look quite like the playboy centerfold that the older games did. Her face and everything is still nice, and very much in line with Lara's general looks imo. She just looks more believable now in terms of a woman you might see out and about.

I'm only speaking for myself here, but I actually think the current Lara looks a lot better than the older ones. Making her breasts & lips smaller has made her far mote attractive. 

Originally Posted By Fnord (5 MAR 2013 5:33am)

I'm only speaking for myself here, but I actually think the current Lara looks a lot better than the older ones. Making her breasts & lips smaller has made her far mote attractive. 

QFT

http://kotaku.com/5988784/hope-you-werent-planning-on-playing-simcity-tonight?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow

I probably won't be playing Simcity tonight.

Shame on me for trusting those EA devils, ofcourse their servers can't handle their always-on DRM  

I caved in on Sim city as well, man is this game not a PRIME EXAMPLE of why always online DRM sucks.

It should be the players CHOICE when they want to play a game like this, if you wnat to play it online with friends that's one thing, but to force it upon everyone sucks.

I had fun iwth it earlier today, building a city in a region with some friends, but the DRM has screwed me twice and tonight it was really bad with queues, etc.

You shoulnd't have to wait 20+ minute in a login queue to play a multiplayer game, even if it does use online DRM.

What a disaster EA!!! 

After many attempts i finally got into the game, but i already lost connection again so i probably won't be able to 'save' my city.

The game is actually very good once it works. It's a big improvement over previous installments, they finally removed nuisances like piping and power lines. The glassbox engine really brings the city to life. 

Ok cities are much smaller, but that makes it more challenging and refreshing. I'm glad they made that decision, it makes this installment really stand out.

I got "The Republic" DLC for Crusader Kings 2. The DLC might seem rather minor if you just read what it contains, but it really changes the dynamic of the entire game. This is in fact probably the best DLC for Crusader Kings 2 to date (Sword of Islam looked more interesting, but I still prefer this one).

With Simcity's servers being so terrible right now I've been playing Tomb Raider, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it.

It's probably the best this series has been since the first couple of games back on the ps days.

I don't know what Crisger is talking about in his thread, but this isn't a vacation or a "departure" for Lara. This is "THE" origin story of her, and it's a damn good one so far.This game changes Lara, but for the best imo. They made her more down to earth and releatable, she's still Lara, but she isn't the over sexualized playboy caricature style character, she's a more realistic designed character this time.

Tomb Raider games have ALWAYS had action elements in them (hell she akimbo pistol shot people like out of a John Woo film in the old games, and flipped/jumped around a la matrix style) and in this game they have made it more believable/gritty.

The attention to detail in this game is astounding. Graphically it's very nice, lighting, shadows, reflections, etc. The PC version uses DX11, tesselation, higher res textures, etc. They also have a new technology called "Tressfx" which makes her hair behave more realistically , detailing each strand of her and allowing each individual one to move/have a shadow. It can look great, but it also can look a bit strange at times, as for some reason it "hovers" over her shoulder a few inches above it and to me looks a bit weird, it also eats up a TON of fps, I was getitng 30-40 fps with it on, and with it off I pull 60 fps solid (vsync on) on my GTX 580, so I leave it off.

Lara's character constantly changes, depending on what's happened to her, from being hurt, to becoming dirty (you can see dirt/grime on her and everything). However for me the stand out has to be the animations. Lara has to be so far one of the most believable characters designed in a video game. She moves more like a real human that any other video game character I've played. From the way she looks around the enviornment (simply walking/running around she looks around, not just in  a straight line like usual) and reacts to the environment, such as shivering when it's cold and shielding her face when near a fire or other hot object. Down to small details like tripping over things in the enviornment and other elements that help root her in a more beleivable fashion.  They spent so much detail on making her look so realistic, even moreso then Assassins Creed, which imo have some of the best animations.

The game starts out kind of in a closed space, it feels a bit on "Rails" at first, leading you down tight corridors and cramped spaces, bascially teaching you the ropes. However after playing a bit it opens up more and more, to where you can explore area's, find tombs to explore, etc.

The way the game is structured it builds upon the story, you start out very unskilled, trying to survive on the island. As you explore and find things you gain exp, which you can use to learn new skills in the game and also by finding "Salvage" you can then upgrade your weapons and gear.  By the end of the game the character of Lara will change more and more into the "Lara Croft" we know, and they have did a fine job so far imo.

The story is nice, voice work is great, combat is fun, the overall game is great, best Tomb Raider game I've played since the first few as I said.

My only complaint about the game is, QTE's, WHY do developers put these in games? They add nothing to the game and imo are just annoying.  This is really the only drawback to the game for me, everything else is pretty damn good.

IF you are a Tomb Raider fan, I suggest checking the game out, it's the origin tale of Lara that imo is very fitting for her character.

Here are a few screens showing off the detail, running it on the highest settings mainly, just no Tressfx.

links to others:

http://imageshack.us/a/img706/8178/tombraiders3.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img812/9995/tombraiders4.jpg

My game of CK2 is going downhill

Me and a friend decided that it was actually time for us to beat Saints Row 2, so we have been playing it during the last couple of days. 

The PC port is terrible. One of the worst I've ever seen in my entire life actually. For an example, the games speed is based on your processor speed, and it does not sync this properly between the host & the client in multiplayer, so we got two different mission timers (of course if one person fail, both fail). It did take us a while to figure out what the problem was, because I constantly reported having more time left than he did on missions. Movement speed and such things were also based on processor speed, and if we were both sitting in the same vehicle, then it would just bug out for the person who was not driving, as the host & client could not agree on the speed/position of the vehicle. 

There is luckily a fan patch that fixes this (to an extent), and which also does something about the horrible vehicle controls. So the game is at least playable. Crash prone though. And incredibly poorly optimized. My rig is ancient, but my friend has a rather good rig, and it still runs poorly for him. 

The game is really nothing special in terms of its gameplay, but it is so "stupid" that it quite often becomes funny. The fact that I was able to steal a train and drive around with it on the highway entertained me far more than it probably should have

And you get to customize your character to a great deal. Me and my friend could not quite agree on if we should take the serious or silly route

It does feel like the main draws of this game are the cutscenes, which are stupid, "somewhat" immature but funny, and all the silly things you can do in the city. 

Overall, I would still not recommend this game due to all of the issues with the port (I guess the console version is far better though). 

Have you played Saints Row 3? Takes it even to another level will it's comedy/non-serious gameplay.

Originally Posted By Stiler (13 MAR 2013 9:03pm)

Have you played Saints Row 3? Takes it even to another level will it's comedy/non-serious gameplay.

The action scenes are much more suspenseful as well, SRIII is loads of fun.

I love it that this series is much more of a sandbox game than the GTA series, which is why the latter gets boring after a while.

Originally Posted By Stiler (13 MAR 2013 9:03pm)

Have you played Saints Row 3? Takes it even to another level will it's comedy/non-serious gameplay.

 

No, but we are play through SR2 with the intention of playing SR3 in co-op after it.