I could see that happening. The demo was certainly less than I expected in some ways, but in others it's very reassuring. It's definitely not going to be another Dark Forces/Jedi Knight (which I would rather have), but it's not going to be as bad as the Episode 3 game. :lol:

I think the bottom line will be that the game is fun, but certainly not game of the year material. MGS4 already has my vote there anyway, unless Fable 2 or Fallout 3 manage to wrest away my affection.

--------
edit:

After re-reading this post, I realized that the top contenders for GotY this year will be mostly sequels, which is an interesting contrast to last year. Last year we had new IPs like Assasin's Creed, Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Overlord (and that's just what I'm seeing sitting on my game rack), and there's very little new this year.

Very little... so far ;)

Yeah, a lot of game mags are already calling this year the year of sequels. Most of the AAA and GoTY contenders are sequels.

I can't wait for Fallout 3. Been waiting 10 years for that game.

Agreed. I'm also looking forward to the new expansion for NWN2 because that's how big of an RPG geek I am.

Hehe. Just got into the GoG beta, already purchased Fallout 1 and 2 again (can't seem to find my CDs) and Shogo for kicks too.

Holy crap! Shogo! I remember that game. That is all.

Shogo? Was that the "mecha anime" style shooter that Monolith put out back around '99? I remember that being fairly boring. It had seemed to me that they equated "anime" to "lack of background detail or variety."

I don't know if I'd typify it with "anime" because it wasn't a cartoony style, it was like a more dynamic Mechwarrior FPS, but yeah, same game :D

I played a beta copy years ago, and absolutely loved it. I remember it being one of the few FPS single persons shooters I finished all the way through (at that point).

Wasn't that pretty much every FPS during that time period?

Not really. Shogo was sub-standard when you compared it to the likes of Quake 2, Unreal, and Half-Life. It was still fun for a while, but I didn't find it to be worth a re-play.

I still have my copy. . . I wonder if it would run on XP.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/40181.html

This trailer for C&C: Red Alert 3 makes me wish I liked RTS games.

Starcraft 2 will make you like them. I bet you haven't played one since the first Starcraft.

Not since Warcraft 2 actually.

Oh please. Maybe Dawn of War 2, but Starcraft 2 is going to be the same-ol' same-ol' again. Just look at Warcraft 3-- it made micromanaging a million times worse with their artificial unit selection cap, having to creep to level up your hero, and still holding on to resource harvesting as a game mechanic. No thanks! RTS games have evolved since then (thanks to companies like Relic and Big Huge) and Blizzard still hasn't gotten a clue (also Gas Powered for that matter).

As an aside, I should be getting my copy of Warhammer Online today (hopefully). Shipping from BestBuy.com is terribly slow. :(

You left out the part were Starcraft is awesome...:?:

And rightly so. I was already sick of Starcraft after my first few hours of playing. . .

and then my roommate played it incessantly for a month straight

and then it caught on in Korea and you couldn't find an empty seat in a PC cafe without getting wedged inbetween two highschool kids playing the damn game at top volume

Starcraft and I don't get along very well. My favorite Blizzard title remains Warcraft 2.

Geez, no point in trying to talk to a bunch of haters.

:lol:

I just don't have the time for strategy games. Plus, I'm more of a story and linear progression guy, and strategy games are more of a sandbox.

Yeah who likes choices!?:lol:

Choices are fine. Games that have no "end" and force me to make up my own fun, though, suck.

Entertain me damnit, don't make me entertain myself (I can do that just fine with the internet).

Theoretically, a sandbox style game or MMORPG seem like awesome games. They're unlimited in scope, have massive (even perpetual) replayability, etc. But in practice I have to agree w/ Nick... they're boring. Even if you go out of your way to create your own entertainment in a MMORPG it still is about gaining levels and "stuff" than it is about playing through the story.

I know Neverwinter Nights was supposed to do this and failed, but IMO a sandbox style game needs to be more of an engine/environment where the gamers can make up their own stories for each other. So the leveling and item gathering stuff isn't the point... all that's secondary to playing through the chapters of an epic story that's being created in real time. But I think the only way to have any shot at something like that is to drastically limit the number of people in each virtual world. Say 10-20 main characters that stick together for the life of the tale, with 1-3 people that are the storytellers/DMs that create the details of the story. But even then, the gameplay quality is directly related to the DMs' ability.

Ideally, you'd have an online game with professional and creative DMs running your guild's adventure custom tailored for you and your e-friends. (Only $150/mo!)

Sometimes. WoW has done the best job thus far with having entertaining quests with scripted sequences, but even then it doesn't compare at all to a single player RPG. I have to agree with Nick that Fallout 3 is going to be wtfawesome, just watch the videos from PAX and I'm sure you will be excited as well. You can tell that the developer has learned a lot from Oblivion and that they are still respecting the original games. I am considering buying a 360 right now because my wife prefers I play my games in the same room as her, and she is more comfortable on the couch. She can use her laptop while I play Mario Galaxy or such.

Yeah, the MP aspect of NWN maybe. I have heard there are some neat persistent-worlds made with it, but I always just think they are nothing more than very basic 3D MUDs. NWN2 had a pretty decent campaign, and the first expansion pack had a very cool storyline that was suitably epic (running into gods realms, planes, forgotten cities, academies of evil wizards, etc).

If I'm going to play D&D with a DM I think I would prefer to play the real thing. :)

Fallout 3 for 360 was already leaked onto the piracy scene. :huh:

We do live in the land of the free.

Another new free game for physics geeks...

http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/igf/

It legally came out yesterday. I'm going to pick it up on Friday. I got Farcry 2 last week, so I gotta wait for the next paycheck.

I updated my PC yesterday for Fallout 3 (which should show up today). In the meantime, to try out my new rig, I bought Bioshock off Steam (finally) for $20. Damn, that game is pretty fun too. My computer has been so outdated, I've missed out on all the good PC games for about a year or so.

Fallout is amazing. Bye.

Quite. I've been playing it as much as possible, and losing sleep over it.

Let's compare how much sleep we have lost shall we? What level are you? I'm at 9 and 12 hours in. I haven't been able to play as much as I want though. Stupid life and real world obligations.

I'm level 10 at about 12 hours of playtime also :lol:

But yeah, I'm mostly playing between 10pm - 1am after my girlfriend goes to sleep.

I've played Fallout, and its AWESOME. I have yet to be anything other than amazed with Bethesda's games. However, I have decided that I can't spend any more money.. on anything.. until I can afford to. (I will probably buy Diablo 3, even if i have to sell something valuable to purchase it :D )

I've been replaying Baldur's Gate II: Shadow of Amn with Throne of Bhaal installed, and a whole mess of Gibberlings 3 mods installed. Right now I'm getting my ass handed to me trying to kill the beholder lair under Athkatla.

I'm getting Resistance 2. I hope I like it, or I'll just get bored, leave it sitting on the shelf, and watch movies on my PS3 instead. No real big loss I guess, but still I hope it's at least fun.

:huh: :huh:

Is the game Eve online any fun? Opinions please, have some time to kill and looking for thoughts.

I started playing Fallout yesterday. I got angry and killed everyone.

Any of you hardcore gamers play little big planet yet? I need a good game for me and my son to play, he"s getting bored with gt4 and I won't let him play warhawk anymore.

I played it for about a day before Fallout 3 came out.

Its quite fun, in a cutesy kind of way. Depending on your kid, he may think its too "childish" and not like it, but I think its fun. It's bascially a physics engine driven platformer, and supposedly the level editor is the best part about the whole game. I'd recommend giving it a shot, its a ton of fun.

he's 3

If you have a 360 you should get the new viva pinata game. Its addicting as hell and kids love the animals. I borrowed it from my little sister and for some reason I am now hell bent on getting all the achievements.

Ah, if he was like 10ish, I was thinking he might say something like "I'm a growed up now dad, I don't want childish games"

I think he'll like Little Big Planet.

I'm the chris619 of seccs http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...15e9a401b2.jpg

I've got 20 years on that kid and I think LBP is awesome...

http://www.littlebigworkshop.com/en-us/

Little Big Workshop.

Its like sketchup for your Little Big Planet ideas.

I'm on break at work, but I feel compelled to summarize my view on the current releases - mostly because everyone's just talking about Fallout 3 and LBP, and nobody's said anything about a few of the other big titles.

Ok, Fallout 3. Great game, yadda yadda. Everyone's playing it, so everyone knows how good it is. Although I do think there's a teensy bit too much gore in VATS combat. Decapitations get old after the 100th time.

Little Big Planet. . . I actually haven't played it. I passed it up so I could buy a copy of Bioshock for PS3 instead. I love Bioshock, so I don't regret the choice. I may request LBP for xmas, though.

Fable II. The actual title of this game should be something like, "The Real Fable 1." It's a good game, but it's so similar to the original in every way that it comes off feeling sub-standard when compared to other current-gen titles, particularly in terms of visuals. It's odd. I like the game because it's Fable, but compared to other new titles it's best described as, "meh, this is what they said the first one would be." It feels old already.

Tomb Raider Underworld (demo). Prompted me to cancel my reservation. I really liked Legend, but this feels like an odd step backwards. I may still pick it up when the price drops.

Mirror's Edge (demo). Three words: O. M. G. If they can maintain the quality of gameplay, level design, and presentation all the way through, this may actually rival MGS4 for my choice of game of the year.

And this one's old news, but I also picked up Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on PS3. Wow, talk about production values. Great gameplay and cinematics, unlockable bonus videos and artwork, and extra gameplay tweaks for re-plays. Naughty Dog really knows how to give you the most for your $60.

Uncharted is awesome.

I kinda feel the need to replay it for trophies now :lol:

That's why I double-dipped on Bioshock. I was going to replay it anyway, and I figured I'd go for the trophies. :D

I'm still working on RockBand2. I've been play LBP in between until I get annoyed with some of the controls.