Evening Reading: Zombies Seven Years in the Making
Someone asked in one of the recent threads about what happened to the reading part of Evening Reading. Uh...well, in the wake of Nick's departure I just dropped the ball. So without further ado it returns:
And now off to enjoy the rest of Wednesday evening!-
smax
replyDragon Age is one of the best RPGs I've ever played.
Bravo Bioware.-
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that one was actually kinda boring I remember it. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/C64_The_Bards_Tale.png
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That was more like a BPG.
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I just died for the first time and quit the game :(
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was such a mistake buying this game :(
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If you're dying a lot then you're making some tactical mistakes. This isn't some dumbed down shooter rpg. Don't rush into combat, lure them towards you instead.
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This was my first death in the game.
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I get frustrated because I couldn't turn off combat and my AI guys chased a dude right into an ambush that I knew was there. We got fucked in the ass.
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I did do that. I moved them all back, switched back to my character, unpaused. They ran back to my character, stopped, and then continued running towards enemy. I repeated it again thinking I did something wrong, same results.
I let them run into the traps and watched them burn and get arrows jacked into their faces. I then ran in to die.-
Set their AI to passive.
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but what if I just want to leave the combat and not fight those dudes right now?
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Thanks for fucking us PC owners BioWare. These skills aren't in the PC version :(
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double sarcasm whammy
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gotta change their stance or whatever from "default" to defensive or something that you like.
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Yes.
They ran in because the Emissary attacked me. He ran away to setup the ambush, and then the carnage proceeded.-
i know the EXACT part you're talking about. I stood way back out of the aggro of the other units, turned on Hold Positions for all the units, and then took out my longbow and picked the Emissary off from afar. he didn't even retaliate! (broken?)
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I'm diggin' it. I'm surprised how nice it looks on my PC and how well it runs. I don't have FSAA on, but everything else is cranked to 11 and I've never seen any framerate dips.
It's also nice seeing in reviews that it's a 50+ hour game (probably way longer if you do sidequests like I do), means I've barely scratched the surface and that feeling is wonderful. It's also nice knowing that I can play through multiple times and get a different experience, with the different origins for each race and all of the different dialogue choices you can make. The origins thing is especially awesome. -
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if only you could repair them Fallout 3 style by combining surplus henchmen with duct tape
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I have mine set to <=10% health for health pots mgmt. my board and sword templar is always getting owned up though in battles. I think I need to examine him tonight real good.
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What difficulty are you playing on?
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Yeah, you can bump it down to Easy at any time.
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Yeah I'm playing on normal and getting fucking stomped, lolz. I even made a pure warrior type guy because in all of the Bioware games using D&D ruleset, fighter is like playing easymode (as long as you have some way of healing). I get the urge to bump it down to easy, but at the same time I kind of think I'm doing it wrong.
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I'm playing on Nightmare. It's perfect.
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I am playing as a mage specced into healing now (after failing at the other 2 classes) and it is much easier on normal now. A potion + heal will prevent any party member from dying.
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yeah, I've never even needed potions, pretty easy to spam heal as necessary
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i was thinking about doing this, but it seems weird to be healing a bunch of AI henchman...is it still fun?
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Wait wait wait.
Claudia Black is a voice actor in this?-
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Maaaaaan. I might actually buy this now.
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I dislike turn based combat and think Oblivion is awesome. Would I like it?
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If it's anything like KOTOR I don't want anything to do with it, just not my style of gameplay at all. I really tried to like it, but meh :(
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at least on PC it's a lot faster paced than the KOTOR combat that I remember. Really easy to quickly switch a few orders then go realtime and pause as necessary
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If you like games with bland repetitive gameplay, no story, no sense of pacing, whose only selling point is graphics then no you won't like Dragon Age.
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I am running a P4 3.4 GHz with 3GB RAM and a 8600gt. I have been trying to decide to buy PC or 360 version but I think my PC specs make my decision easy. I am pretty sure I have no chance in hell running this game.
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LOL, I would love your system compared to mine. The reason I didn't go for the PS3 version is the interface. I hate RPG games on console and the interface, which in this case is one of those radial dial things.
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Did you buy the PC version, and does it run well on your PC?
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I have a 7800GTX, Athlon 64 3700+, 2 GB RAM and it is well...okay.
It looks alright with everything turned to medium and v-sync off. The only annoyance are brief lockups that occur that last like 3 seconds and then the sound will overlap itself for the video to catch up. This generally only happens on cut scene dialogue, not walking around or combat.
Definitely playable.
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I had Bards Tale 3 on the Commodore 64. When you loaded characters it would ask you to insert your character floppy disk. Instead of using that you could put in a disk with binary data on it, like Batman, it would try and parse character information off that and create these super characters with hit points that registered as 9999 because there wasn't enough room to display the full digit.
My first cheat!-
Shit, supposed to be a reply to the first post. Boo.
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haha, that's awesome
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is it a party based rpg? I can't stand those
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oh yeah, thats fine, as long as i don't have to juggle inventories, spells, health, and all manner of other shit for multiple characters. But back to my question, is a party-based rpg?
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You do have a shared inventory though, and can have the same item on multiple character's hotbars.
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Playing on hard and loving it. I love how you can customize the AI behavior. Bioware, you did not disappoint.
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I need a "FUCKING STAY THE FUCK HERE" option, is that available? the tactics don't seem to work. maybe I have to remove all of them for every fight or something.
I can't fucking manage a pull of 8 v 3 very well when people are running around like retards, and no they aren't on aggressive-
there is a little toggle on the player column that has a hotkey of 'H' which toggles between having them stand perfectly still until you tell them to do something, or have them act on their own
or you can set their behavior to passive or better yet flesh out their tactics more to automatically do what you want-
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this guys knows about stupid mages
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hahah seriously. fucking mages. just make some fucking food asswipe!!!
it's really funny he will walk right through fire to get "LOS" to use his longest range spell, even though he already can do it if I can control him... meaning he can cast fine if I do it but automated he has to get closer or something? what.
as well as incinerate his team. just like old times.
fucking stupid dumb mages.
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I always customize it by turning it off entirely.
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I set them to ONLY attack enemies I'm attacking (IF "character name" is attacking enemy, THEN attack that enemy). I also have them use their skills whenever they're available on the current target so I don't have to switch back to them all the time. I always control the mage manually.
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I'm 8 hours in and i realized I can't make them all happy. If you're a dick in a quest someone will get pissed, same with being nice. You can't win. So if you're gonna butter one of the ladies up, concentrate on one that matches your play style.
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I thought it was the dick from uncharted 2.
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It sure is bloody
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Is anyone else playing on Nightmare? It's a lot of fun!
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Oh god. I'm playing on Medium, and was absolutely raped by the Sloth demon fade world in the Magi circle tower. I died so many times and cannot imagine that level on nightmare, ugh.
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It's going to take me significantly more than 50 hours to finish this game!
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HL2 ruined voice acting for me because no other games have lip synching and facial expressions anywhere near as good
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I appreciate they don't just stand around talking all the time like in the past games. They go for a walk now and then hahaha
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lol yeah, that was awesome.
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i think you need a sad face :(
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really, somebody running this under Boot Camp? my friggin' iMac struggled with Mass Effect :(
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also, i just ordered the ps3 version...gamespot claims better textures/colour on the ps3, and there's a comparison vid on youtube that seems to back that up
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and boo hoo to all the nay sayers because of their poor choices in promoting the game... Bioware has always delivered where it matters..
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Poor choices? Doubt it. They probably successfully marketed the game to swarms of 12-14 year old retards. They knew that the hardcore fans would by it anyway based on their reputation and reviews.
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It's interesting to see quite a few comments on other forums where folks are complaining that the game isn't at all what they thought it was going to be. "WTF? This is like Baldur's Gate? Crap."
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Man the (Elf area spoilers) Werewolf ruins are killing me. As if the dragon wasn't difficult enough I'm getting reamed by packs of angry skellies. I opened the secret door down here and got raped in the face by 3 elite shades. :(
I'm going to have to safe this for tomorrow.. and leave the shades in that room alone for now. -
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I know, I was like "No fucking way..."
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I don't think I can describe in words how fucking excited I am for this game. For a bit I was worried, due to those craptastic trailers, but after hearing all the praise, it's on.
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Bioware. RPG. Spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate 3. 91 metacritic. This is no shackhype abberation.
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The banter between the characters is just plain *awesome*. It's a joy to listen to it, I stop in my tracks and make sure I don't miss anything.
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yeah, I've been impressed by all the little side banter (lots of lessons in the mage's tower, prayers and combat lessons in the first town)
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Keep her? I'm going to screw her!
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haha, I've already set the tone by giving her gifts and talking with her...any small dialog with a flirty tone in it I choose she shuts me down. Maybe it's because I only have 5 gold and I'm not a specialized Warrior yet. I bet that will get her panties wet...
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Mages: what spells do you like? So far I've got 3 ice spells and a heal, not sure where to go next.
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I have all the healing spells. I have the first 3 fire spells. I'm gonna get the last fire spell then work on the Hex line. I have the first hex spell and the rest look amazing for taking down big dudes. Basically fire covers my need to nuke lots of small dudes, and hex covers my need to take down single big guys. and healing. not sure what i'm gonna spec at level 7. Probably spirit healer. I'm not sure which of the 4 classes offered was the one based on offensive fire spells or just destructive spells in general. maybe there isn't one. blood mage sounded dumb, shape shifter was meh, and i think the last one was too combat focused or it didn't sound like i got any cool spells. not sure at this point.
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you went fire? shocker :p
I'm pretty happy with the freezing effect rather than the DOT. In any case, I still only have the first heal, the 2nd and 3rd didn't seem as enticing yet. I was looking at the hex line though, it seemed like a good idea (or one of the spirit ones that was anti-caster stuff). I'm really unsure of my specialization too. None of them jumped out at me and I'm not sure what kind of reaction blood mage might cause anyway.
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This game is \o/ through and through, but is anyone having problems with their Dragon Age Updater Windows Service just shutting off and not coming back up?
Every so often I have to quit the game to reload the service to even load my game, since it's trying to bring the DLC into the game and without the service it just shits on my face :(
Oh, and Medium isn't bad, and I love how I'm playing both over the shoulder and top-down almost seamlessly without even really thinking about it. -
Where can I find the quest to start Wardens Keep?
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I have a camp? I just got to my first town after the Tower of Isblablabla or whatever.
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I have no idea, but, it gives you a home base after you finish it.
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No, it doesn't.
It gives you a small location with no interiors whatsoever that has two merchants and chest you can use to store loot. You have to travel to it normally (unlike the camp), and it's not at all a "base". -
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just got ambushed by like 15 dudes, cone of cold saves the day
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It's like NVN with a better pacing and awesome UI.
The engine is great too, supposedly the same dating from the KOTOR engine, amazing how improved it's gotten. No shortfalls that the UE3 engine of Mass Effect like texture pop in.-
comparing it to NWN is an absolute diservice to the greatness of this game
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Blood Dragon Armor
Powered myself up to 38 strength, here's what it looks like: http://majuju.com/dragonarmor1.jpg-
you look like a Cylon!
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lol goddamn at the top of the Tower in Osgard I just fought the Ogre and he absolutely annihilated me.
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I'm a mage too, I actually got it on my second try but the first one he just annihilated the whole party so fast. Heal isn't very useful when he's got someone in his grasp and pummels them, plus a single boulder took out like 80% of my health
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how does the pause-n-play compare to Mass Effect? i know, i know, everyone should tactical view on the PC, but I actually really liked the over-the-shoulder pause-n-play in Mass Effect. i got pretty handy at issuing orders on the fly and it was highly satisfying to un-pause and watch my companions unleash their firepower. it sounds like Dragon Age is more cerebral, which is fine too...all the stuff about combining your companions spells and skills sounds really good, like using shield bash to shatter a frozen enemy.
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well in the first few hours of Dragon Age I've already had far more fights that required me to micro things intelligently than I did in all of Mass Effect. I felt the combat in ME played out pretty much exactly the same every time and I never had to pay attention to the enemy types really (on normal). I can't speak to the 360 controls.
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that sounds really good...you're right, the fights in ME quickly became routine, it was like settling into a familiar rhythym, which was fine for a sci-fi quasi-shooter...but the micro approach sounds just right for this game
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I just got Shale tonight. He's fucking hilarious.
I never expected to recruit a foppish golem with an amusingly dismissive attitude towards my entire party -
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I don't think there's any royalties. Their work is less comprehensive compared to say film contract rates and rules or whatever. Like the dude who did the voice for Niko in GTA4 didn't get paid much.
Also it was recently in the news too:
http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/29/screen-actors-guild-rejects-video-game-voice-deal/ -
no kidding!
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Raking in the flat rate payments for voice acting.
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Steam oddness?
Why do I have two options for "Buy Dragon Age: Origins" and "Pre-Purchase Dragon Age: Origins"?
http://store.steampowered.com/app/17450/
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They must be related to Mace.
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So has anyone played it long enough to discuss what the world, environments, and game progression are like?
Is the game more open, or still fairly linear like past Bioware RPGs? Are the environments empty and static, serving as pretty backdrops while you kill stuff with only a few random NPCs and loot chests to interact with? Lots of loads with small areas, or massive ones with fewer loads? Does non-linear exploration in any given area result in simply path or two that branches out and circles back eventually? Any backtracking or are you constantly going forward and visiting new places? Stuff like that, things I've never seen anyone discuss yet.-
From what I've seen the game is more linear than open, however its a good balance as it keeps the main storyline in focus but there is plenty of optional stuff to do in explorable areas. The main quest is also a branch and it looks like you can do them in an order you choose.
The physical layout of areas is similar to past Bioware RPGs and yeah environments are static, however there are all kinds of triggers which cause various activities such as comments from party members or storyline related events in most of the areas I've been in so far. That's one thing I've never liked about Bioware RPGs is that explorable areas were just voids from point a to point b except for plenty of monsters to fight. In DA:O exploring areas is far more interesting and rewarding. Treasure is also usually worthwhile since the game is pretty linear which allowed them to plan out the loot progression a lot better than open RPGs tend to allow.
Can't really comment on the backtracking, probably haven't played enough to know if this is an issue or not. -
Pretty standard as far as loading goes. You load when you enter/leave a town/building.
As for the backdrops, they're full of life. Tons of NPCs with idle animations and chatter, giving lessons, praying, etc. And the environment affects combat in terms of line of sight and stuff, plus you've got AOE spells to worry about, along with combos/traps that affect things (ex. a grease trap knocking my whole party down, followed up promptly by an enemy fireball that had the ground burning us up for quite awhile).
I haven't gotten far enough to say much about the branching but it feels like I'm about to get to choose which of 3-4 places I go and in what order.
What do you want out of non-linear exploration? There're always stuff in different areas, side stuff to find if you explore that wasn't in your quest log at the outset or simply things that add codex entries/lore.-
Thanks for the info you two. It's getting harder and harder to resist this one.
As for what I want out of non-linear exploration, it could be anything. From simply exploring the areas and seeing what they have to offer visually outside of whatever everyone plowing through the game will see, to finding and item or quest or NPC or sign or tough monster or whatever that's off the beaten path. Stumbling upon something interesting because you were poking around where others may not, not because you could see everything there is to see while moving from point a to point b.
Some Bioware games it feels like the only exploring you do is choosing the path you take at a fork in an area. It might be a dead end or circle back around to where you were going anyway, but you can walk a line through the center of the zone and pretty much see everything there is to see because they are all fairly restricted and guided. Multiple playthroughs or everyone's experience through the same areas ends up being more or less the same because you are basically walking through glorified hallways, even outdoors.
I don't really mind that sort of thing if it's done well, but I was curious to know if this game is more or less like that as far as exploring the world goes or if some areas were more open and had some freedom to them.
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I was really expecting this to be a disappointment given the marketing clusterfuck but the hype wore me down so I preordered it on amazon, because it's released tomorrow here. I couldn't miss it when it's being compared to baldur's gate so much, I loved baldur's gate.
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This game is so damn hard! I also hit a bug in Redcliffe with infinite spawning zombies. I must have killed 50 of them before I realized they were never going to stop coming. I tried like 5 times and it happened each time. I finally beat it by not advancing and staying back and protecting the one archer who comes and tells you they're attacking the river and just killing everything until they stopped spawning, then going down and cleaning up.
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Amen brother.
Fucking stellar job Bioware. Thanks for taking the time and doing the PC version right. (no console hud, funky controls, shitty huge Mass Effect inventory etc). Worth every penny for the Digital Deluxe Edition. Would buy again.
Speaking of Mass Effect tho.. it's kind of strange, dunno if anyone here noticed, but the characters all seem to have that same "look" in their eyes like characters in Mass Effect did, especially noticable in the way some NPC's turn and walk away after a conversation with the player. Amusing, but strange. -
I can't decide which chick in my party is gonna "get it" first...and by "get it" I mean crawl into my bearskin hut one night and play with my mace. Will it be Morrigan the hottie Shapshifter or The red headed ex Chantry Rouge who has the hottest Euro accent. Any ideas on where her accent is from?
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Agree 100%, I said the same thing couple days ago, you can not go wrong with this game.
If anyone is on the fence on weather they should buy this game here is a review along with screens if intrested:
http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=21320469#itemanchor_21320469
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