Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, your awesome World Series 2009 champions, this super expensive Beatles digital set, or your awesome World Series 2009 champions (again), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Sorry for the lateness. You see, yesterday I picked up Dragon Age: Origins
It all goes back to Baldur’s Gate for me. I played through the game 18 times. Even though I only played through Baldur’s Gate 2 11 times, I was (clearly) hooked by BioWare’s RPG mastery. I love how the company handles role-playing, storytelling, character development, music, and more.
When it comes down to it, I don’t remember the last time I was this excited to get a game. How about you? When was the last time a new game made you go all fanboy?
@Ray: I'm really liking Dragon Age a lot, but I must say the game's difficulty curve is pretty high. I've been playing Bioware RPG's a long time and I don't remember ever seeing this many "you just died" screens.
Oh, and to answer your actual question, I will totally mark out when I walk out of the store with my copy of Mass Effect 2.
@Rpad – this game was probably it. I feel the same way about Mass Effect 2 coming out next year. I always look forward to RPGs the most because they have the most replay value and bang for your buck out of any genre.
The last game I physically couldn't wait for was Oblivion. I bought a 360 just for that game and I was bummed it got delayed until the following year. Well worth the wait though as I put well over 200 hours in to that game easy
god, between making my girlfriend's parents dinner last night and getting out of work late I was able to get through character creation and I've started my first quest. I think I'm going to go nuts if I don't get to put 10 hours in this game at least this weekend
@Shockwave: My wife and I both put well over 200hrs into Oblivion as well. Only game we both have 100% achievements on.
@Nightshade386 What platform are you playing on, btw?
@Shockwave562 You know, I never loved the Oblivion series and I'm not sure why. It's a great series, but for some reason it felt almost too Western to me. You'd think I'd be all over that, hey?
@Ray: 360. My PC barely plays solitaire without crashing.
@RPad – I'm definitely a western gamer myself. I never liked JRPGs much and I have only seen Final Fantasy in parts.
I hated Kotor when I bought it. I didn't truly understand it was an RPG at the time. I kept thinking, why are my guys doing all the fighting for me this is stupid.
Well a few months later I came back to it and it is one of my favorite games of all time. probably is my favorite game. I definitely prefer more action than strategy though I'll give you that. it's probably why I'm not a big fan of turn based combat.
I grew up on Final Fantasy & Ultima, so I still like a good turn-based game too. But as I've gotten older I've definitely come to prefer more action oriented RPG's.
Last month, Uncharted 2. I'm sorry to keep harping on this game guys but Uncharted 2 has raised the bar so high that I don't think other developers can jump that high. Uncharted 2 is in a league of it's own with no equal in sight. OK, I'll shut up now.
@Nightshade – I think Bioware has always had a good mix of the 2. I used to get bored when I'd watch my roommate play Command and Conquer and stuff but I think if you can mix action with strategy you can really create an exciting combo.
Although Mass Effect is definitely geared more for action then anything. Still an amazing game though.
@Nightshade386 I actually have both the 360 and PC versions. I really don't think my laptop is going to hack it with an Nvidia 8400M, but I'm going to try. I think I'll prefer the additional camera angles.
@Shockwave562 That's a pretty cool story about Kotor and you. That gives me an idea.
@Shockwave
I'm not that big on RPGs. I love playing online so shooters and sports games get a lot of replay value for me. Of course, I play single player campaigns multiple time too if it's good enough. I played Uncharted 1 6 times and Uncharted 2 twice already.
@Shockwave
I wouldn't mind trying the Mass Effect series. I'm sure it will be on the PS3 soon and then I'll definitely buy it. I don't like gaming on my PC.
@RRODisHere A-ha! You're a "balls and guns" gamer.
@RROD – I hope when ME comes to the PS3 they do a 1 & 2 combo pack or something. you'll really get the most out of the game if you get to start it from the beginning. especially with how decision making can affect the whole way the games play out.
another game I just couldn't wait for was GTA3 on the PS2. as a sandbox fan I was practically creaming my pants in anticipation for it when it arrived. I remember I would watch the same gameplay videos on IGN and other sites for hours on end. It was one of those moments where I was thinking "wow, can they really do all this in one game? lol
Also Ocarina of Time – I was a Nintendo Power subscriber at the time and I ate up every article about that game before its release. I still vividly remember going to Best Buy with my Mom to pick up the limited edition gold controller. I ended up playing it for a little while in the store that day too
@19 limited edition gold game**
I've mellowed out in recent years. They last time I couldn't wait for a game was Halo 2. I was young back then though.
@Shockwave
You brought up a good point, but why don't MW2 get criticized for not doing anything new and doing the same thing as the old ones? Other games don't get that pass.
@Shockwave562
Do like I do and only play the IW games.
@RROD
You're talking about a game you haven't played yet.
@RROD – you have a point. COD MW may have been the break out title and I liked it, but it was the same old COD gameplay in a shiny new packing of modern characters.
I liked MW enough to finish the game, but 8-10 hours for 60 bucks is something you really have to think about. Especially if you're not much of an avid death match guy
Uncharted 2 makes me go all "fanboy". Everytime someone comes over to my house I fire up the PS3 and load up the level where I have to get to the top of the hotel and then run from the chopper, then the train sequence, and when you first walk back out of the monastery and its raining. Its just a great looking game and its a blast to play and I have never had some many people say "no keep playing I am enjoying watching it"
Is Dragon Age Origins like something else besides Baldur's Gate, because I don't know anything about Baldur's Gate. I haven't heard even one bit of info about Dragon Age, just seen ads, and heard people say they have to have it, becuase it reminds them of Baldur's Gate.
@Slicky – gameplay style is like Kotor. I never played BG myself
Never played KOTOR, can't stand Star Wars. I never have seen why Star Wars appeals to people. I just watched all of the for the first time a few years back and I didn't like them.
Baldur's Gate was such a massive step forward from the "Gold Box" era RPGs that it really set the standard for years. To see a return to form to that fantasy style and yet have BioWare put their own spin on it rather then having to work from licensed material is cool to see.
To any one who is playing it, does it use the same conversation system as Mass Effect/SW:TOR?
well then…. outside of Star Wars Kotor is a fantastic game
but I guess a lot of it comes from my childhood. I'm surprised you made it so far in life without at least watching the originals. I could see how they aren't as spectacular now as they were back then or as they were when I was a kid but I dig the cannon. Especially the lightsaber. I'm not a huge Star Wars fanboy. I think I like the story in Kotor better than any of the movies or other games, lol
Yeah it wasn't until my wife found out I had never seen the originals that she went out and bought them all and made me watch them. We were watching the first new one and she kept making comments about stuff and from my lack of interest in people she was pointing out she realized I was a Star Wars virgin (not like the Star Wars virgins, that really are virgins though).
I just didn't care for them, and I hate that I don't like them because I know so many people do like them.
My little brother is always talking about The Big Lebowski, and man I hated that movie. He also thinks I should like Fear and Loathing, but again I just can't.
I do stick to my belief though, in the whole star wars universe Kotor really is my favorite story told thus far.
@Star Wars – While the movies themselves are entertaining to some, the real appeal of Star Wars to most lies in the mix of fantasy/space opera setting. The galaxy that has been built around Lucas's ideas is really turned out to be a lot deeper and ultimately better then the small shallow world that is displayed in the movies. Once you get past the story that Lucas wanted to tell (the horrid acting aside) there is just so much depth.
well said larcenous
I LOVE BIOWARE. period.
@Shockwave – KOTOR was fantastic. I actually played it for the first time last year, and I wa sreally amazed at everything they did with it. It makes me really look forward to TOR, that depth on such a massive scale is going to be mind bottling (did you just say mind bottling?)
@Slicky – It's a shame you don't like the Big Lebowski either, that movie is a gem (or a marmet?) Are you not big on weird, culty films or are their other odd ones that you like that most people don't get?
@Cool Movies under the radar – With Netflix coming to the PS3 this weekend (woot email said I should get my disk Friday) anyone with an account should take an hour and half and check out District B13. It's a french movie that has some awesome parkour/martial arts action. Neat story as well. Sequel should be coming out soon.
@LarcenousLaugh Thing is, I like the Forgotten Realms setting and loved the Drizzt cameos in both Baldur's Gate games.
@Rpad – definitely the old Sci-Fi/Fantasy debate when it comes to Bioware games. I like that they dabble in both.
I'd like to go back and Play Baldur's Gate though, I'm sure if I like DA as much as I think I will I'll be all about playing them
@Shockwave562 I loved BG. The Infinity Engine was brilliant for RPGs. If you wanted story, Baldur's Gate was gold. If you wanted grinding/mashing/looting then Icewind Dale was the way to go. I loved them all!!!
@LarcenousLaugh Check out the latest Miyamoto story, that was inspired by you.
@rpad
isn't drizzt that king of orcs guy? and was given birth by R.A Salvatore?
@Rpad, holy crap I did own Icewind Dale… that was a cool game I almost forgot about
Icewind Dale was a great game, no doubt.
if memory serves me I believe I owned Icewind Dale 2. not sure how it compares but I liked it. it was a tough game though I don't think i finished it
I should finally be able to sit down and play Uncharted 2 this weekend. I have been so busy with school, work, and more school…that I have only put about 2 hours into UC2. It just sits there in my ps3.
What has kept me from going insane is that I stream Southpark in the background while preparing tax returns, and doing tax research.
@Ray – Never been featured in a story before :)
I loved Baldur's Gate. While I didn't complete it 18 times lol, I really liked the Drizzt cameos, and I think I appreciated the whole thing even more because I was a part of the world from the books already. I was invested in it, and I liked seeing it expand beyond just what Ed Greenwood and RA had to offer.
@rbee – if you haven't yet, and this kind of goes for everyone, and you enjoy quick reads, go to the book store and start with Homeland. It's not the first book published in the series, but it's the beginning of Drizzt's story. They are good reads and well worth the time.
@rbee90 He's a dark elf created by Salvatore and yes, he did star in The Orc King.
@Shockwave562 How could you forget?!?
@LarcenousLaugh Agreed. That trilogy was better than the original Icewind Dale trilogy.
@Ray – yeah The Crystal Shard trilogy was actually the weakest of all the books. Even though it introduced a number of big characters (Artemis Eneteri and the Harpers lol), the rest of the books were far superior. I nearly cried with what happened in The Legacy.
The origins trilogy of Dirzzt was the best in the lot. I do like the Artemis Entreri character in the other books though. I stopped reading Salvatore years ago. He turned into Grisham with his formula fiction.
Cleric Quintet might be his best work though. It was done really well. The War of the Spider Queen series that he outlined for other authors was pretty good too. Check it out.
If nobody here has read The Kingdom of Thorn and Bone trilogy…..check it out. Starts with the "Briar King". Great series. GET IT.
@Smartguy Yeah, he's gotten really formulaic, but I can't stop. The exceptions are the Jarlaxle/Entreri books. Those were much fresher.
@Ray – it's the interplay between Eneteri and Jarlaxle that keep those fresh and entertaining. I think of it like Batman and the Joker teaming up. Eneteri (strong, stoic, resourceful, generally humorless and very down to business) vs. Jarlaxle (rarely serious, exoticly dressed, and yet always in control through schemes on top of schemes inside of schemes dressed in schemes.)
@LarcenousLaugh I think Jarlaxle + anyone would be pretty entertaining. The few pages he has when teamed with Athrogate are funny. He's just a fantastic, complex character.
Today is Sesame Street's 40th birthday… where's the love?
@RROD – I can definitely understand that. I know I’ll probably play through Uncharted 2 a good 5 times or so. I’ve always been real attached to sandbox based games though simply for the hours you can put in. I’ll be lucky if I get 40 hours out of Uncharted 2 at 4-5 Plays. but again I’m not much of an online gamer.
Dragon Age is going to take me a minimum of 60 hours for 1 play through. I’m not taking anything away from Uncharted though. I think it’s my vote for game of the year. even if it was 10 hours once through it was some of the best experience I had in a game for that time
Then next game that I’m excited about is God of War 3, especially after playing the demo. I’m also excited for Heavy Rain and The Last Gaurdian and also there are rumors of a new Twisted Metal. I love Twisted Metal so I’ll get excited as soon as it’s confirmed. I know those are all PS3 exclusives guys but honestly, there are no multi plat games announced that excites me. I’m looking forward to Bioshock 2 but I’m not excited about it.
ok so sorry I’m spamming this hangover but I just saw the newest trailer for CODMW2 featuring eminem and I gotta admit that game looks f’n cool.
I know the gameplay hasn’t changed much since COD 2 when the Xbox released and 5 games later I’m a little bored of it but they sure do know how to sell me on a trailer. I must resist. I’m trying to remember how I only played 2 levels of WaW
@RROD – I would love to see a new Twisted Metal game. 2 was probably one of my favorite PS games
Ya Slicky I understand how you feel. I mean, if you were sitting in a theatre in the 70s I doubt you could be unimpressed with the movie but movies are way different now.
I could see how if I didn’t watch them over and over as a kid I might think they are pretty lame as an adult
I’m big on Star Wars, but I am definitely of the belief that Lucas should not be allowed to do anything that involves directing. He is a genius with ideas, but his direction/movie vision is just so poor that alot of his choices are tough to get around. Excellent developer, fantastic producer, and enough can not be said of the advancements his team has made to the special effects industry (ILM, Skywalker Sound, THX, all Lucas started).
I'm going ape shit for DA, but I have to wait until I get my PS3 repaired. And I know my husband and I have spent countless nights on Morrowind and Oblvion, NWN, Diablo2 and Temple of Elemental Evil. He stopped playing FF games after VII and Tactics but I pummeled on. Basically if it says RPG I'm interested, but more westerized ones is what I go for. That and anything with the title 'Castlevania' will make me flip out.
Nom nom I want this game!