Dishonored - Very Excellent

Here I am back after a long hiatus of a month or so.  Been busy with various things, playing games and despairing being between two sets of neighbours who are, to put it mildly, trouble.  It's like a war zone with the language, boozing, mindbendingly loud and aggressive music, and general mayhem at all hours of the day and night.  I feel a police presence soon although that would almost be a last resort on my part because I'm scared of retaliation.   I really want to move somewhere else, but that's not going to happen unless I win the Lotto, or some long lost relative leaves me an inheritance.  Both solutions are extremely remote, unfortunately.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand:
I know I complained about the possibility that Dishonored would be possibly not play well on Windows XP, that I was pissed about it and that I was going to cancel my pre-order, (which I did), but things have changed a bit since then.  I've altered that complaint post a bit, but I still have no idea if it runs on XP and don't really care now, unless of course I have to go back to it....

Due to a stroke of luck I now have Windows 7 x64 which I'm finding to be very good, albeit the stifling security features which annoy me no end at times.   I could have used the money for something else like updating my motherboard or CPU, (or clothes and other stuff), but they still serve me well and all I really needed extra was a couple of GB of extra RAM.  So, I renewed my game order and have been extremely happy I did.

I've played through the game twice, once on high chaos which got me the worst ending, and once on low and I plan a few more playthroughs which says a lot for this game as it's not my usual style, except for RPG's.  I played through on the default difficulty, but I'm going to ramp it up and "try" to go full stealth on at least "hard."

I love pretty much everything about this game.  The watercolour washed style graphics, the lore, the stealth mechanics, the exploration, multiple endings and a very important factor, consequences for my actions.   I could just kill, kill, kill if I wanted to but that changes the world and can be seen and experienced, not just implied, so I have to reap what I sow, so to speak.  

The voice acting is excellent and not overly repetitive, the NPC's have real character, what I do matters and the game is stable as a rock.   I had one CTD, but I think that was due to Windows Updates trying to shut the PC down or Flash notifying me of an update which always causes problems.   I've since reconfigured things and it hasn't happened again.

Possibly the only thing I found to be odd was that guards and NPC's are vertically sight challenged, but maybe that changes on harder difficulties.   This is also a console port, but one done properly and taking the PC into consideration something the publisher could take heed of with their own most recent game.

I've seen people complain about the length of Dishonored, that's it's too short, but I explored every possible corner with a fine tooth comb, because I'm a bit of a completionist and I like the Lore, and I found it to be a good length.   More would be nice of course, but the coming DLC will fix that.

I could write more on how good Dishonored is but I'd rather play it.   Do yourself a favour if you like stealth games and try it out.   Or even if you want to just be a murderous in your face assassin.  It works both ways and more.

Dishonored - Will It Work On Windows XP?

 Update...November 13.   Things have changed so I've changed the title and the first paragraph of this post.  

I pre-ordered Dishonored and cancelled it, then renewed my order due to changing circumstances.  However, I'm not going to change the text of the rest of this complaint post or delete it.  I still have no idea if the game runs well or at all on XP so the question is still relevant, however it doesn't concern me now.

The system specs don't include Windows XP which a large number of people world wide, including myself still use.  This game is DX9 and not for XP.   Amazing.

Bethblog Info including system requirements -
http://www.bethblog.com/2012/08/14/pc-system-requirements-for-dishonored/

Support for Windows XP finishes sometime in 2014 so I just find that unbelievable.  As GStaff says in the above link it runs on XP but the drivers aren't supported.

So I ask, why would I pay $70 Australian for a game that may, or may not run on my computer and that I can't return if it doesn't?  I already have games that haven't lived up to their pre-release hype so there goes at least one sale.  I'll put my money towards Resident Evil 6 and other games that support an existing and still supported OS instead.

I'm not in a position to upgrade my OS as well as extra RAM and have no other reason to do so, especially for a game that's essentially another console port.  I can run The Witcher 2 at highest settings as well as other new games released over the past year.  Everything else checks out on my system according to the posted specs except my OS, which I'm otherwise very happy with.

I won't be buying Dishonored even if they add support for XP in the future considering Bethesda's track record for patches and rushed release dates even though the game is being developed by Arkane Studios.
The publisher (Bethesda in this case) has the final say after all.   I feel a bit sorry for Arkane Studios as they have produced quality games in the past and may lose out on this deal.

I still haven't gotten around to posting my views on Dark Souls: Prepare To Die, but suffice to say it's an awesome game out of the box even though it's a straight console port, and will keep me entertained for some time to come.  Dying has become an art form in this game and serves to teach you to learn from your mistakes and overcome them.

Learning Curve

I mentioned I bought The Witcher 2 last week and I finally got it installed and played for awhile after downloading nearly a GB in patches. 

Well it's been a bit of a learning curve I must say and I hate Quick Timed Events with a passion.  Didn't know about those beforehand and I detested them in the Resident Evil games.   I only put up with those because the RE series is one of my favourites and I think it's more than a little ridiculous, especially in an rpg like The Witcher 2.

I haven't even made it through the prologue yet, mainly because of Skyrim and other things, but I'm finding it needlessly frustrating in some places.   I have plenty of experience in combat orientated games but the system used in this game leaves something to be desired.   I guess I'll persevere though as the story sounds good, the graphics are stunning and it will probably get easier.

The weird thing is I chose to do the tutorial just to familiarize myself with the mechanics and because I died in the arena stage with one enemy still alive the game decided I should play in Easy mode according to  my performance...which is a laugh in itself because it is not easy by any means.  It's not so much the combat as the instructions on screen that flash on and off telling you to use this or that power which if I hadn't done the tutorial I would have no idea how to use and still don't effectively.  I have a good memory but the manual is no use in fast situations like that. 

Also some things aren't explained in the manual very well.  I had no idea what to do with the mutagens as the manual just says put it in an available slot.  Saying where would be nice.  I eventually worked it out but it was annoying.

Anyway, if I want to play the game I have to be sure to continue to access the game within a 2 month period or my code is revoked and I have to reinstall....and download those big patches again.  I assume if I just load the game now and then that will suffice if I don't get time to play it straight away.  Skyrim comes first.

RAGE and The Witcher 2

I bought RAGE and The Witcher 2 Premium Edition at EBGames today since they were having a big sale.

TW2 has a map, Premium Strategy Guide, making of DVD, soundtrack and a few other extras that I probably won't use, but it was one of two leftovers they had from the initial release and it was only $47.  

I haven't yet installed it because I'm tired from playing Skyrim half the night and because I had to do the shopping and bill paying thing today, but will get to it shortly, or maybe tomorrow.   I have a Skyrim itch at the moment even though I need to get the matchsticks out to keep my eyes open...lol. 

I'm working through the Thieves Guild missions in Skyrim which I think are way better than the Oblivion quests.   I got a severe tongue lashing from my quest giver for burning down too many bee hives in the first quest.   It apparently made him look bad since he recommended me, poor guy....lol.   The all knowing eye sees all...or the house owner with connections reported me.

It didn't help that a dragon arrived at the same time and was causing havoc just as I was about to torch the hives, which should have been a distraction for the mercenaries but they still managed to split their time between the dragon, which they actually killed, and me, even though I was being sneaky.  I still got the soul though as I was swimming away and I never actually found the corpse.    I suppose the skeleton will drop on me next time I'm near there.

Back to the Witcher....I have the first game but I didn't like it that much and spat the dummy when I couldn't get past a boss, but I may or may not get it out again and give it another go.  For one thing you can import saves to TW2 and apparently people will recognize things you've done in the previous game.  It's not necessary to play first though as far as the storyline etc.   

I watched a few Youtube videos so I could see the combat which is an important thing for me and it looks pretty good.  It also has massive bosses but since I've been playing Age of Conan and that is a frantic and skill orientated game, I think things will be different this time and I will persevere with them. 

I did install RAGE and after the long install process and patch download from Steam, I played for an hour or so and really enjoyed it.   It looks like a fun shooter that doesn't require a lot of thinking so it can be a diversion when I want a bit of a change.

The install is 3 DVD's at 20 Plus GB so it must have a lot of content.  Or maybe that's all the speech and graphics which are very, very good.  It's also multiplayer so I guess that adds to the size, but I'm not interested in MP.   I like the game play even though it's a console port like a lot of PC games these days and at least the interface is more PC centric.  I absolutely hate the music though or at least what I've heard so far so I've turned that way down.  It's not the style so much but more that it's grating and the combat music never stops even when there's a lull in fighting.

I see a lot of complaints on Bethesda's Official forums for RAGE, but so far I haven't had any issues.  As I said I only played for an hour, but hopefully nothing will go wrong.  One gets to expect problems with modern games these days, yet I might be pleasantly surprised.

Completionist Gaming - My Style

 Sunset over Stico Bay - Two Worlds

Click to enlarge view if desired

When I play PC games, particularly open world rpg's or other games that have secret areas or hidden content I can't help but be a little obsessive and have to find every one of them.  It's not for points or achievements or whatever, but since the developers went to the trouble of adding the extra stuff to add interest I try my hardest to find it.

Maybe it is a kind of achievement thing.  Who knows, but when I wander the wilderness and find a spot unmarked on the map and guarded by more than one massive troll, I know I've found something good.   Or when I comb the landscape and find that ultra rare herb I needed for a particular potion.  Woohoo!

I've even gone as far as making sure I cover every piece of the map and clear the Fog of War so I don't miss anything.....yes I am an ultra completionist. 

Taking it to extremes maybe, but I'm playing Two Worlds as I mentioned elsewhere, and it's a huge game.   I'm 80 hours in and level 76 with a long way to go.  I'm finding items I can't use until I hit level 102 but I doubt I'll get to that level.   The higher you go the longer it takes to level up as XP for common mods lessens and the best rewards are quest related.

The Grove - quest related which led me to having a village to myself with lots of storage since every container in the game is safe to use and doesn't recycle your hard won goods.   Note my two dual wielding Exotic Axes.

Anyway, in this game corpses don't disappear unless they have been fully looted and I read that leaving dead bodies everywhere can have an impact on game performance because it has to keep track of everything, including the dead, which is to be expected.  Although it doesn't seem to be a problem for me.  I'm doing clean up now though, but for a different reason.

So, a couple of nights ago every time I came across dead bandits and wolves, boars etc, etc, I made sure to loot them which I do anyway, but inventory space is sometimes at a premium and I have to leave stuff behind for another visit.  Plus, I don't need 500 pieces of wolf meat, a pile of boar tusks, a ton of Reaper meat, a haystack of herbs and many other things as I don't bother too much with alchemy except for Permanent Effect potions.  I started taking items from the corpses and dropping them on the ground, so when I leave the cell the game does the cleaning.

BUT,  I forgot something...  I'm at the highest level in all schools of magic and one of the great spells is the Resurrection spell.  It's supposed to be used to resurrect the dead, obviously, so they will fight for you, but this is virtually useless as they don't follow you from their original location.   However, mobs don't respawn in Two Worlds and there's really no need as there are more than enough to level up on, although if there are spawn points close to uncovered parts of the map some creatures will respawn....I think.

Last night I spent a few hours dragging my loot back to the cities to sell, and thank goodness I have a horse parked at the most used teleports, plus my personal teleport stones as running huge distances gets tiring.  Then I thought, why not resurrect  the dead...  so every time I came across a dead bandit, wolf or even skeletons in a cave that I hadn't totally looted, I resurrected them after taking anything I wanted from their bodies.  The resurrected don't remain hostile so I can repopulate the land with friendly wildlife, passive bandits and friendly monsters like Ogres and Cyclops, or at least the ones that still remain after looting.

Resurrected Orcs at the camp fire enjoying a drink.

Besides that, without too many spoilers if anyone cares, there's a large city that due to a quest becomes victim to the wrath of the god who they believe protects them and everyone dies by the hands of the Orcs.  There's nothing you can do to stop it and it's to do with the main quest.  Besides the inhabitants aren't the most welcoming I've ever met even before the destruction, and they really hate me now for taking their totem.  Their threats and insults wash over me now like water off a duck's back as they are powerless to carry them out.  I guess their souls came back passive and unable to act...that's resurrection for you...lol.

Anyway, I then go and kill the Orcs, loot everyone, liberate houses of their treasures, make a fortune (which doesn't last long) and then resurrect Orcs and citizens alike.  They all go about their business in peace thereafter and the city stays populated instead of empty.  AND, I get another massive storage area and my own city surrounded by attractive bamboo forests, but I don't really need it as such.

One thing to note...after resurrecting animals and humans keep their AI and script packages so you can still use vendors and talk to people normally.   In one case where I stuffed up a quest, I resurrected an NPC and he spawned an item in his inventory that I needed and couldn't get because I chose a different path and killed him too early.   Because of that he didn't have what I needed on his corpse.  I could complete the quest including dialogue this way. 

Also, once killed and resurrected animals or NPC's can't be killed again, so it's no use for power leveling which is boring anyway.   They are like ghosts if you try to "re-kill" them and weapons have no effect.  This is aside from the real ghosts of beasts that appear at night which can be sent on to their reward...after having previously given me my reward. 

My summoned scorpions.  The most useful summons in the game.

Another thing in the game are shoots of Taint, a corrupted substance or fungus that grows in graveyards.  The corruption of the Taint overshadows most of the theme of the game as far as the main quest goes.  There's also a minor quest related to them, but by the time I found them all, I already had the rewards from an alternate source.  The XP and gold was worth it though.

I have five Taint shoots left over at present after the quest.  There may be more to find, I don't know yet.  If one goes back to a graveyard and drops a shoot, around midnight undead will spawn and can be killed (again) for items and XP.   Ghoul brains are a good and very useful commodity. 

I read that you can use the Taint in towns and start mini wars, but I've tried it several times without result.   Maybe it's a random thing in towns or I didn't wait long enough.  I made the mistake of leaving one area with a Taint shoot on the ground.  Needless to say it was gone when I came back.  The shoots are reusable so it's worth a try.

The Taint raises the dead!  Midnight in the graveyard!

This is why I love games like this.  All the extra hidden stuff and entertaining things one can do to take a break from quests and the serious stuff.

I wish Oblivion had a fraction of this kind of thing.  The most I've found hidden in random areas are a few chests with a couple of gold coins and a rusty dagger and I've covered the map from one end to the other.  The same useless leveled loot as the rest of the game.  It would have been nice if some of the notes and letters actually led somewhere and well as the size of the world and potential was there but underused.

Anyway, back to it and another all night session.  I have a city of undead to conquer!

Two Worlds Vs Oblivion

I'm currently replaying Two Worlds since I never got to the end the first time and taking note of what I would have liked to see in vanilla Oblivion, and by extension, hope to see (and even more) in Skyrim.

Two Worlds 2 was a drama to get hold of here as the distributor went bankrupt and though I was finally able to get hold of a DVD copy purchased online, it doesn't hold the same appeal as the first game. In another post on this blog I speak about how I pre-ordered it and how it was delayed many times and finally became unavailable so I won't expand on it.  I have no idea if that's changed as it annoyed me so much I cancelled my order and haven't checked again since.

Yes, I know, I KNOW, Two Worlds and Oblivion are two different games, but my enjoyment of Oblivion unmodded would be better and more lasting if it had more actual role playing features that didn't have to be added by mods.  This will probably seem like Oblivion bashing to many, but it's not meant to be and I don't really care.  It's just comparisons between what I call real role playing and "lite" role playing casual style.

I'm going to use a word a few times here that seems to get some people unusually annoyed and uptight. "Realism."  There I've said it. Awful word isn't it?  One might ask how there can be realism in fantasy games with magic and monsters that have no basis, as far as we are aware, in our world?  Perhaps I should say plausibility or likelihood of particular things being possible, even within this fantasy world, especially in medieval style role playing games which are my preferred style.

Besides the fact this is a fantasy game, many things are based on realistic values....for example, I've seen a few people complain on Two Worlds own forums and probably elsewhere that they can't run fast or swim in certain armour. How far could anyone run or swim in full plate armour or run faster than the fastest horse?  In Oblivion and other games maybe, but not here.  Quest characters can die...also realistic, so don't go on killing sprees until you know who is who... you may need that peasant or rude city dweller at some point.  Even if you only do the main quest there are many characters that are tied to it and you would never level enough to complete the main story anyway without doing other things.

I don't need to explain further.  People who feel the same in small or larger ways, and have read anything I've written before on the subject of certain aspects of realistic features will probably know what I mean.

In case one wonders, and I can almost hear people scoff as I've seen, since this subject is brought up when "realism" is ever mentioned.  It's not about things like steel or chainmail bikini armour being impractical, since there is magic and the "armour" can be enchanted for protection in battle.  I do wonder if those enchantments would include rash relief and protection from the elements though and not just sword strikes...ie the cold and or heat and desert sand in delicate places.

Speaking about bikini armour mods...why is it that the legs and arms and often the head are fully covered, yet the most vulnerable parts of the body expose the wearer to being violently gutted at their first battle.  Those enchantments had better be good!  That was a rhetorical question really. It's mainly eye candy without the practicality. I quite like some skimpy armour if it's to enhance, looks good and isn't meant to ridicule or objectify as many of them are.  Light armour that doesn't impede movement, especially for agile characters which I generally play is pretty sensible really.  I never did like heavy gear, hoods or helms for that matter where the option is available, because I like to see my character's face and be able to move quickly when I need to.

Some of the things I do like to see in role playing games which Two Worlds doesn't have either, but the Gothic series does, are things like crafting and cooking, having to use an actual alchemy bench instead of mixing potions on the fly from the inventory, better and sensible interaction between species...ie not everything should want to rip you to pieces unless you get in it's face or it's an insane monster or bandits!!

I laugh every time I hear a guard in Oblivion say..."For your own safety, stay on the roads."  Or something close to that.  Right, so I stick to the roads and I'm chewed to pieces by a wolf or gored to death by a boar that was just wandering by and detected me from a kilometer away.  Not to mention the bandits conveniently camping out in the forts near the roads.

I'm a huge fan of the entire Gothic series and Risen (awaiting Risen 2), but NOT Arcania Gothic 4 which was just a tragic, sad mistake which I hope will never be repeated under the Gothic name.  As a basic adventure game Arcania possibly works, and I know many people liked it for that reason, but I'm sad that I purchased it only to be let down when it was supposed to be a true Gothic game.  It's my own fault as I did read the scathing reviews of the Demo before the actual game was released, but I was still hoping....
One of the most glaring things (among a long list of other things) is being able to kill NPC's in front of others, steal from them or commit any crime without anyone batting an eyelid and it has restricting invisible walls so there's no real free roaming.  If that was fixed at least I might have been able to force myself to play it further than the tutorial.  It is supposed to an RPG after all.

I love the open world, no barriers, discover by exploration type of game play with NO or very, very minor level scaling.  Like in real life, there are places you just don't go unprepared and many places one should never go. Fortunately, in games we can eventually breach those barriers and survive intact and victorious.  In my opinion the best thing that ever happened to Oblivion was Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, but I'm mainly using Waalx Animals and Creatures now, but I do have it Bashed together and working well with at least one character with OOO.  I'm well past caring about balance issues and a few little inconsistencies as I've been playing the game on and off since the day it was released.

I also know there are many people who embrace the trend of what seems to be casual gaming where thinking and puzzle solving isn't required and quests almost solve themselves.  That's fine and a choice, but it's not and will never be for me which is one reason I replay games like Gothic and Two Worlds that have replay value with branching quests and different endings and I never get sick of them.  Replaying Oblivion on it's own unmodded after one play through has no appeal at all for me and it's only that it can be modded so well I still have it installed. Even when I had much less free time than I do now, I always enjoyed the challenge of using my brain to solve puzzles or track down quest items. As frustrating as that can be sometimes, it's a different kind of thinking than the daily grind of real life, job stress and other things, is fun and rewarding and takes my mind off it.  At least it works for me.
 
But..moving on to what this was supposed to be about which is a comparison of sorts between two games, but mainly about Two worlds which I feel is a very underrated game.  Two Worlds is a bit of a mix of Gothic and Oblivion in a way, but for playability reasons Two Worlds wins over Oblivion for me and Gothic II: NOTR (Night of the Raven) and Gothic 3 over both of them.  People can call vanilla Oblivion role playing as much as they like, but it's not a true rpg.  Now Morrowind...that's another story and I played that game to death.  It was actually my first foray into role playing games and got me hooked so much so that even new games I've bought of different genres are still waiting for me to get back and actually play them after an initial look.

One other point about Two Worlds:
I suppose you could call this something of a personal review, so here are the reasons I like Two Worlds and am currently replaying it.  The game needs to be patched to version 1.6 at least for the best experience, and 1.7 for other multi player fixes and extra MP quests as just mentioned above.

This is a hard game starting out, but after playing Gothic 2 (Night of the Raven) and Gothic 3 I had some idea of what to expect and I'm enjoying it immensely. I've chosen to play as a melee/archer and magic user which works very well. An all rounder basically, but character development is very versatile. A player could choose to be an assassin, thief, strictly melee or a mix of all of them, although melee only is harder especially at higher levels and some kind of projectile weaponry, either spells and or bows, is essential at times, whether it be magic or bows. Keeping some mobs at a distance is the only way to survive in some cases until you're seasoned and able to take them on. Even then, one good whack from a golem or cyclops can still be a death blow.

The screen shots don't do the game justice and it's hard to take an action shot and not die, but I managed to get some with careful use of summoned creatures to distract the bad guys. Some of the HUD elements can be removed via a key press, but I often forget to do it so some have them and others don't.



Click to enlarge if desired.

By the camp fire.  There are several different coloured horses besides this one.

 Two Worlds Pros in no particular order:

1.  Beautiful graphics.  I would go as far as to say much, much better than vanilla Oblivion.  They are quite detailed and varied and yet NOT dragging the computer to it's knees despite being released after Oblivion.  Looking closely at armour or even the horses or a summoned monster (since others will kill you) the details are very good, where in Oblivion they become a blur of low res textures. For me, Two Worlds loads and exits instantly and never crashes, EVER, even in the middle of huge fights and lots of hectic action.

2.  A huge number and variation of monsters, NPC's and general wildlife.  Many NPC's occupy the cities without affecting frame rates, and while they are mostly there to bring life to the cities they at least make it appear like a bustling alive place to be rather than a partly empty world.  When speaking with NPC's the world action continues in the background instead of stopping time.

OK, so the body and face models may not be up to some expectations, but at least there is a population.

Random Desert Dweller.

3.  Vendors.  Like a real city of the type of era, there are market places with many vendors selling their wares.  There are vendors for the magic user, stealth characters and warriors with all the relevant gear needed.  Alchemy ingedients aren't sold though, but there are multitudes freely available everywhere, so it's really not necessary.  Almost everything from body parts, gems and metals, plants and more can be found in abundance.  In fact, probably too easily in some cases although some are very rare like the ingredients to make Permanent Effect potions, traps and weapon upgrades.

4.  Horses are a pleasure in this game.  Walk, trot and gallop.  And also varying speeds for all gaits depending on how much your press the foward key. Horse combat works, albeit not perfectly, but it works.  However, unfortunately you are the only one to ride or fight from horseback.  A feature that sadly was never finished.

Horses in this game behave like real ones and I used to have real ones so I know how they behave.  The more training you have the better rider you become which helps more with combat situations.

Horses are NOT suicidal in this game. They won't just leap over cliffs and down mountain sides and will balk if you try. They have a wider turning circle which is something many people fail to realize when trying to control them, so a little practice is required to ride those winding trails through the mountains, but it gets to be very easy and actually pleasant.  Also, another big plus...unless you are actually riding the horse, mobs won't attack it if you dismount to fight.  You can cast spells, fight with swords, halberds and spears or use a bow from horseback.  If the horse takes damage while riding you can cast a healing spell which will heal him and you get that spell at the start of the game.

 Archery on horseback.  Attacking Wooden Golems with a bow...big mistake!   By the way the horse will move his head aside when using bows!

Horses have inventories like saddle bags so you can store gear and loot.  Every type of horse, and even between single types, has a different encumbrance limit, speed and behaviour, or at least it feels that way.

Nearly forgot to mention.  There are three different types of horses...normal, skeletal and Orc.  You can also whistle to your horse to call him as long as it's within hearing distance.  He will run away a short distance if there's fighting so it comes in handy if you don't feel like running back or he's hidden by trees or bushes.

Skeletal necromancer's horse.

Orc Horse

5.  Dead NPC's and creatures etc don't disappear from the game unless they have been completely looted and have no items left in their inventory and ALL containers, (chests, cupboards and even bodies) are safe, so can be used to store stuff indefinitely. There are no buyable houses as such, but there are several empty houses (abandoned or liberated) to set up in. You can even take over a whole town or village if you're careful about crime....fines are expensive and your reputation precedes you.

In earlier versions of the game it suffered from the "psychic guard syndrome" but this has been fixed.  I've looted whole villages and most cities without being caught, as long as an NPC isn't in a house with me or very close by, and having only one point in the sneak skill.

6.  Actual faction relationships.  If you upset the members of a particluar guild or clan you risk their vendors not dealing with you or depending on the "slight" charging much more for their goods.  You can also cut yourself out of questlines by being a smart ass via dialogue, and also don't go indiscriminantly thieving and killing until the NPC's etc have no more use.

You can however, play one faction  off against another to your advantage until a certain point though.

7.  Real consequences for your actions.  If you go on a killing spree, for example and kill a needed quest NPC don't blame the game.  If you steal or murder and are detected, expect to pay for it either with a LOT of gold, your life or permanent ban from a town or city.  Be careful with dialogue options as well, although often you can speak to the NPC again and choose another option, but not always.

Quest givers can die in this game by your hand or by mobs as I said.  There's that word realism popping up now.  Think before acting or at least keep a lot of saves.

8.  Very little hand holding with quests although there are markers on the map with notes.  If you listen to the quest givers, read your journal and explore your map, it's not that hard to find your objectives.  It also has the Fog of War so locations aren't uncovered until you venture there.  Certain locations are visible but not available until you've been there on foot or on horseback.

Overlooking Four Stones village.

9.  A very good Alchemy system with the ability to make Permanent Effect potions, weapon power ups and traps.  To make it really worthwhile though, one needs to put the skill points into it, but I don't bother too much with higher levels as potions are plentiful except for the permanent ones and probably a few others.

10.  I like the magic system, but I do feel the spells are underpowered in many cases and I'm mainly using the Necromancy spells as my main line of offence.  There are Booster and other enhancement cards like mana savers to find in loot, as quest rewards or to buy so it does actually work well with a bit of thought.

11. The music is OK but not the best I've heard in a game.  I like the theme song, and the other in game music is unobtrusive and suits the game. It can be turned off in the Game Options though unlike Oblivion where you need to make an ini change.   I turn the music off in Oblivion for a more immersive experience and a frame rate boost, but in Two Worlds I have it playing quietly in the background.  The other Ambient sounds are very good for the most part except for one thing I found that stands out.  Around villages and camps you can hear dogs barking and there are no dogs in the game.  However, there are chickens, ducks, snakes, rabbits and other small animals that give ingredients for alchemy if killed, but I can't bring myself to kill them and I haven't found a need for their parts except for Dodo feathers for a quest.  Some ingredients from the small animals are for permanent effect potions though, but I'm finding enough without them.  Besides alchemy isn't of great enough value to me to spend skill points to get it to the highest levels.

12.  Varied environmental regions from deserts, grassy forests much like Oblivion actually as it also uses SpeedTree, a bamboo forest near an Oriental city, seaside villages (one anyway) to dead lands inhabited only by the undead.  There are also volcanic regions blasted by lava and ash inhabited by dragons and various kinds of Orcs and monsters. There is even a glacier, but is unused for the most part except for a few camps and critters.  This world is huge, unlike Oblivion which is deceptive in size and is really quite small.

There are portals which need to be activated as part of an early quest and then you get your own personal droppable and reusable portals as well which is good considering the size of the world.

Varns attack in the desert.  My summoned scorpion attacks them from behind.

13.  Dual wielding that actually works well IMO.  I love my two Exotic Axes loaded with poison and spirit (soul and magic) damage which are the best enhancements.  The second weapon is in the shield slot, but does a lot of damage especially when skill points are put into it.  The animations for all weapons are excellent in fact.  I forgot to mention combat in all of the above now I look back, but although it seems to be point and click action there are combos and skills that enhance combat in all areas.  Even "dirty tricks" like kicking dirt in enemies faces to blind them and jabbing a torch in their faces to burn them.  And more.


Possible Cons or things I think could be better:
1.  A fairly generic rpg storyline, but then so are most rpg's.  However, the rest of the game makes up for it, and in it's way is woven together well.

2.  Dubious point IMO...There is only one gender to play...male. That's because the Main Quest is based around a bounty hunter/mercenary whose twin sister has been kidnapped and due to the story would make no sense the other way round.

However, there is a mod that allows playing as a female for the people who I've read feel put out about the choice, but the story is the same. The option to play as a female is also available in multi player as well as other quests added with the 1.7 patch for MP only.

It was wrongly pointed out to me elsewhere awhile ago that it's "politically incorrect" to only have one choice. What rubbish! That means all books, movies and other media are also not PC because of the hero or heroine they choose to portray. I'm female and have no issues playing a game as a male if that's how the story is written.

People should really get over the PC stuff. It's really getting out of hand in all aspects of life, not just games.  The "gender" challenged who feel they must at all costs be able to customize ad lib despite the storyline and type of game are out of luck.  I'm female and it doesn't bother me in the least that I'm playing as a male hero.  This isn't a SIMS game, which I think Oblivion has turned into, but that's another story.  Thankfully, because of the type of game Oblivion is and the moddability of it, one can play it to suit themselves.


3.  Another dubious one IMO depending on your outlook.  The spoken dialogue has been criticized for it's archaic style, but in it's way I think it's very fitting and actually reflects the medieval setting of the game.  After all, people did speak this way once upon a time in the 16th and 17th centuries.  The protagonist also has a sense of irony and at times humour.  Sometimes I feel the dialogue suffers in translation to English, but it's pretty minor.

At least there are varied voice actors and they don't have inane rumours and meaningless repetitive conversations that make me want to cringe and avoid populated areas as much as possible as I do more and more in Oblivion.

4.  Something I hate with a passion in all role playing games, not just this one.  Wolves and other wildlife that run to attack from kilometers away just because you've appeared on their radar.  Monsters, yes, but not wolves especially, as they are in reality (that concept many people seem to love to hate) wolves are shy creatures that will leave humans alone unless provoked. This is at least one thing, (among many others), that the Gothic series got absolutely correct.  As long as you stay out of a beasts "personal" space it will leave you alone, give a warning if you do get too close and of course attack if you ignore the warning or just want to fight them.  There are also faction relationships between different animals in Gothic games, so you will see them attack each other or peacefully co-existing.  Boars are exempt.  They just hate everyone.

5.  Summoned creatures, except for perhaps the giant scorpions and wyverns which have poison, are virtually useless much to my dismay since I play as a battlemage type character.  They are too slow, have bad AI and don't attack enemies unless you yourself are unseen by all enemies and you let them loose, and they don't seem to do much damage.  Even the high level ones don't help me much unless I get creative with other spells so the summons can actually do something.  It does help though when you get the high level multi summons spell so many creatures of different types can be summoned at once and believe me at times you need them.

Trachidis which are insect like and Barkogs which are tree creatures.  My summoned Scorpion is in there on the left back amongst the melee.

Unfriendly Steel and Adamantium Golems with my summoned Demon in hot pursuit....albeit it slowly.   Letting these things get close is a recipe for disaster.

6.  Unfortunately one can't sleep or advance time in this game which at times can be annoying, but you get used to it and day and night cycles pass quite quickly.
 
7.  Probably a few very small things that I can't think of at the moment, but are of little consequence.  Nearly all games have some small niggles anyway.

Minor dragons under a blood red sky.  The big and bad dragons are elsewhere.   I forgot to get screens of them and they are already dead.

Fighting a Sand Dragon.  These and the other big ones breathe fire!!!  They don't fly though which is a bit odd.

Of course I realize that the points I've made here may seem like Oblivion bashing in some cases, but I believe most are really valid points when it comes to the type of game I prefer to play.   I still like (not love) Oblivion even though I'm taking another needed break from it and it's frustrations at the moment.  Just when I get everything sorted and mods working great together, it starts crashing for no apparent reason.  It just pisses me off so much sometimes that I don't want to even play it and I get sick of the troubleshooting and micro management.  After a break I'll go back as I always do, and maybe the fairies will have solved the random CTD's the game loves to throw around at times despite all the fixes and solutions.

I most definitely think Oblivion would have been a much better game with the addition of at least some of the points I've made about Two Worlds and by extension the Gothic series.  In fact I've replayed Two Worlds several times so far but never finished due to to one reason or the other, BUT I would never replay vanilla Oblivion after one (and a half) play throughs.  Boring main quest that can be done at level one, little to no choices or consequences, no diverging storyline and quest branches, and THE worst of all is level scaling. And I absolutely HATE Oblivion Gates. I could go on but I won't as the list would be too long.


Random last thought:
Why is it horses in both of these games never have reins?  They have bits and bridles but no visual control method.  In Oblivion Alienslof was able to do it well so why the devs left something so obvious out...I wonder.  I can understand no stirrups as that would be pretty hard if not impossible I imagine, but reins at least look realistic.   There's that dreaded word again.....

Alice:Madness Returns

Well today I purchased Alice: Madness Returns after having pre-ordered it a few weeks ago.  I played the original game from 10 years ago and was really looking forward to this one.  I'm not disappointed as it's stunningly beautiful, has excellent music and runs much better than I expected as I didn't have to lower any settings on my two year old system. 

My BIG gripe is the ridiculous protection and the hoops I had to go through just to install and play it.  I haven't bought a game from EA for years, but now I know why people hate the company so much.  Talk about punishing PAYING customers. 

I want to make it clear that I'm not promoting piracy at all, but I can see why people do it especially with EA games.  First I had to input a serial code which is normal and expected anyway, but then before I could even install it I had to give an email address and password for access to the website, then there was the actual online activation.  It all took much longer than it should have to just install a game let alone play it.
Thankfully, there were no issues with activation otherwise I would have been fuming to say the least.

Then there's no game manual.  All I got was a thin two page pamphlet with basic instructions on installing and how to contact them for support.  Oh, and a little note about how they are saving on paper products and that's why there's no manual.  That wouldn't be so bad except you can only access the manual online IN GAME only, so I can't just browse through it at my leisure without the game running.  Cheap bastards couldn't even come up with an offline PDF version.

At least the game is worth the $89 Aust, which I can't say for some I've bought in recent times. 

The graphics are excellent and crisp and the voice acting is also top notch.  The camera takes some getting used to after playing rpg's for so long and I started playing with the keyboard which works pretty well, but I think I'll continue with a controller for a better experience.  I bought an XBOX 360 controller for the PC last year for another game that I haven't played again except to try it out when I got it home.  It's still in it's package so it's time to break it out I think.

I'll add a couple of screen shots here later.

Meanwhile here's number five of six game play videos that I found very amusing and entertaining to watch. The narrator is hilarious and I've watched the videos a couple of times and I'm waiting now for number seven.
Sad isn't it...lol.

Beware teapots with retinas...as the level is called.

Dues Ex: Human Revolution

I am so looking forward to this game which will be out before Skyrim and looking at the system requirements means I can play it without a computer overhaul.  

The first installment was a triumph in game play and story telling and I absolutely love the music.  It was and is a very long game, but doesn't suffer from it by losing focus or filling in content to make it last longer which can be an issue with some games.  Even though it was released in 2001 (I think) it is still being modded and is very popular.   I even dragged out my old CD's and installed it again not so long ago and played a few of the larger mods which are very, very good.   A couple I could mention are Redsun 2020 and The Nameless mod.

Now, I want to get it out again and have a play...Ah!  nostalgia for real games.

The second game wasn't so great being aimed more at console players, was around 1/2 the size and didn't have the same depth, but was worth one play through.

Here's hoping the 3rd installment is as good as the first and from what I've read it will be.
http://www.deusex.com/

Gothic 3 - Forsaken Gods Enhanced

If you have Gothic 3 - Forsaken Gods mouldering away in your PC games collection the much awaited Enhancement Patch has finally arrived.  

For anyone who plays and loves the Gothic series of games like I do, this is a very nice surprise.  I've been following the progress of the patch and was very delighted to find it's now done.

I have the DVD which is fortunate for me, but the full game including the patch is now also available on STEAM for a small price.

I installed the game and then the patch tonight, played for around three hours, (until I couldn't find an item I needed and it's early hours of the morning) and I have to say what the community have done for this game is nothing short of a miracle.

Previously, it was virtually unplayable, massively buggy and just tragic.  Another JoWood disaster.   The changelog alone reads like a short story, so much that they more or less rewrote the entire game.

If anyone thought Gothic 3 itself was buggy and problematic, Forsaken Gods was aptly named.  Now, it runs smoothly, is optimized and bug fixed as much as humanly possible.  So far, about the only thing I can't get used to is that Nameless has a different voice actor, or seems to.  But, sometimes there have been a few phrases where he speaks and sounds like the hero of old.  It's certainly not awful, in fact he doesn't speak in the stilted way he used to, but I used to like his narratives as it gave him character. 

The game continues on from two years after the ending of Gothic 3.   It's familiar territory in Myrtana for the most part, except for some of the cities which have been altered a bit to reflect the changes after the last war with the Orcs.

This is the World of Gothic page announcing the Enhancement Patch.   Go to page 10 for download links at the moment since they haven't updated the first post as yet.    Page 9 has the Changelogs in various languages.
http://forum.worldofplayers.de/forum/showthread.php?t=902795

Kudos and thanks to the Community Patch team who made the Gothic 3 Enhancement Pack and now this one for Forsaken Gods.