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.

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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.