The General Gaming Thread!

[Zevox]

At least so far I have not encountered any companions, hangers-on or other people who will be following me everywhere and whose personal life tragedy I'm expected to care about. I find this immensely relieving, and very much a deviation from the Bioware norm.

Not exactly what I was referring to, nor something that I'd count as an improvement honestly (the companions are often one of the best parts of Bioware's games in my opinion, and help make up for the no-personality main character). I was speaking more about the character creation, dialogue wheel, general storytelling style, etc.

Being Mr. Heropants the ExtraSpecial yet again is somewhat disappointing, but since I never get the impression I'm supposed to take the game altogether seriously, I don't really find this a sticking point.

I honestly don't see why you think the game isn't meant to be taken seriously. I haven't encountered anything that would signal that to me.

Also there are magic shields, called talismans. I just stumbled on one, sort of a blue forcefield dealy.

Ah, good to hear.

What on earth is coming out in March? The only things I'm paying any attention to are this and Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, which is in the wait and see category.

For me, there's Mass Effect 3, Tales of Graces F, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Dragon's Dogma. One week before March there's also Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, and one week after March there's Xenoblade Chronicles. That's gonna be an expensive month-and-a-half for me.

So, basically, Jade Empire without the wuxia?

I don't know what "wuxia" is, but no, I wouldn't compare the combat to Jade Empire's. It's better than that. Like I said, it's more Devil May Cry lite, plus magic. It even has something not altogether unlike Dante's Devil Trigger mode.

Zevox

[Triscuitable]

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is $7 on Amazon. If you've got a code to get $5, it works.

If you buy it, gimme a tap on the shoulder. I'm a Battlefield fanatic. I've got all the expansions to BC2 and 3.

[warty goblin]

Not exactly what I was referring to, nor something that I'd count as an improvement honestly (the companions are often one of the best parts of Bioware's games in my opinion, and help make up for the no-personality main character). I was speaking more about the character creation, dialogue wheel, general storytelling style, etc.

I've never been fond of the companion system, or at least the way Bioware tends to do them, because they resemble no human relationship I have ever been a part of, or even encountered. I very much prefer the Witcher model where there are a couple characters who are very important to the story and protagonist, but who nevertheless are independent people with their own lives, instead of weird sidekicks.

I honestly don't see why you think the game isn't meant to be taken seriously. I haven't encountered anything that would signal that to me.

Mostly because
1) I can pull a shield out of hyperspace and
2) If I did think it was taking itself seriously - or expecting me to take it totally straightfaced - it would be a painful rendition of the same old fantasy nonsense. I find the same old fantasy nonsense only really works when combined with either a lot of enthusiasm, sincerity and nostalgia (ala Drakensang: the River of Time) or with just a nudge and a wink to tell the audience "yes we know this is ridiculous, just go along and we'll all have fun." Played straight I find this sort of thing tends to be vile.

(For point of reference since I'm on the record as liking them, I find the Witcher games get away with taking themselves seriously. The writers stick in enough anachronism to let me know they are aware the fantasy part is nonsense there to look cool, and put all the serious focus on a small bunch of well written characters, and how the game's events impact them. Most everything resembling the vast flaccid volumes of tedious 'lore' that so often beset the modern RPG are, mercifully, not present.)

For me, there's Mass Effect 3, Tales of Graces F, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and Dragon's Dogma. One week before March there's also Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, and one week after March there's Xenoblade Chronicles. That's gonna be an expensive month-and-a-half for me.

Ouch, even if most of those are under full price that's pretty brutal. Sounds like my November/December last year, except more so.

[Zevox]

Mostly because
1) I can pull a shield out of hyperspace and

I would just assume that's part of the game's gameplay/story segregation. Same as why you only see one weapon at a time even though you can readily access two.

2) If I did think it was taking itself seriously - or expecting me to take it totally straightfaced - it would be a painful rendition of the same old fantasy nonsense.

And that differs from other fantasy games for you how, may I ask?

Ouch, even if most of those are under full price that's pretty brutal. Sounds like my November/December last year, except more so.

Two of them are handheld games and one is a Wii game, so those will be slightly less costly than the 360/PS3 titles. But yeah, it's quite daunting. I've never had this many games I want coming out within such a short time of each other before. And there's only one that I'd consider waiting on, Dragon's Dogma. The rest I either definitely want day 1 or want to make sure I buy immediately to support the creators, sometimes both.

Zevox

[warty goblin]

I would just assume that's part of the game's gameplay/story segregation. Same as why you only see one weapon at a time even though you can readily access two.

Probably true, yet nevertheless hilarious. And strangely enough right when I fired the demo back up, it restarted me right outside the Well of Souls without anything equipped. Upon equipping daggers and a bow however, both appeared. This reverted to the usual situation after making an attack.

On a separate note, sneaking up on people in this game is surprisingly hard, and appears - at least at low stealth level - to obey things like Line of Sight. I like that.

And that differs from other fantasy games for you how, may I ask?

I find fantasy nonsense fairly bad when I'm expected to take the fantastic parts of it particularly seriously. I am pretty much incapable of caring about lore, backstory or stuff like that. My interest in fantasy anymore is basically aesthetic, I'm interested in look, feel, mood and tone. Done right I absolutely love the mood and feel a fantasy game can evoke, but it doesn't need to tell me about a thousand years of fake history to do it.

Put differently I find the fantasy stuff pretty much all nonsense, albeit nonsense which can be used to do interesting things, but at the day just waffle. I rather like a game to be smart enough to be aware of this and let me know that, or at least minimize the wafflage to what is needed to create the mood and story they're going for.

Two of them are handheld games and one is a Wii game, so those will be slightly less costly than the 360/PS3 titles. But yeah, it's quite daunting. I've never had this many games I want coming out within such a short time of each other before. And there's only one that I'd consider waiting on, Dragon's Dogma. The rest I either definitely want day 1 or want to make sure I buy immediately to support the creators, sometimes both.

Zevox

The supporting developers I like thing gets me into trouble. It's seriously tempting me to pre-order Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, simply because I've liked past Kalipso/Haenimont titles.

[Zevox]

I find fantasy nonsense fairly bad when I'm expected to take the fantastic parts of it particularly seriously. I am pretty much incapable of caring about lore, backstory or stuff like that. My interest in fantasy anymore is basically aesthetic, I'm interested in look, feel, mood and tone. Done right I absolutely love the mood and feel a fantasy game can evoke, but it doesn't need to tell me about a thousand years of fake history to do it.

Put differently I find the fantasy stuff pretty much all nonsense, albeit nonsense which can be used to do interesting things, but at the day just waffle. I rather like a game to be smart enough to be aware of this and let me know that, or at least minimize the wafflage to what is needed to create the mood and story they're going for.

Okay, I don't agree at all myself, but that's your tastes. But I was asking why you listed that as a reason you felt the game wasn't to be taken seriously, since you seem to have gotten that impression from playing it, and you were making that remark in response to me saying that I didn't see where you'd gotten that impression.

The supporting developers I like thing gets me into trouble. It's seriously tempting me to pre-order Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, simply because I've liked past Kalipso/Haenimont titles.

I've never had to worry about it much before, but in this case I need to show my support to keep the kind of JRPG titles I like coming out internationally. The "Tales of" series in particular has had several years of releases that never left Japan now, and it's rather surprising that Tales of Graces is getting a release here now, years after its release in Japan and in the middle of the development of the next major entry in the series. Xenoblade Chronicles is in a similar situation - for a while it even looked like it would get released in Europe but not North America.

Anyway, last night I played the Kingdoms of Amalur demo up to the time limit they give you, partially because I was assuming that you need to do that to get the bonus items for ME3. A few further things I noticed:

- The magic shields/talismans that warty mentioned definitely exist. In fact, there are three varieties of shields, apparently corresponding to the three basic classes. Big metal ones for warriors, wooden bucklers for rogues, talismans for mages.
- My confusion over the difference between staves and scepters was cleared up when I acquired a scepter. They're the mage equivalent of bows: very long-range weapons, which can be charged up before firing or spammed quickly. They also use a bit of mp when fired, but it's pretty minimal even at low-levels, so I'm guessing it won't be an issue as the game goes on. Staves are the mage's short/mid-range weapon, or rather one of two of them since the previews in the skill trees seem to show that chakrams are are as well. Best guess on my part is that staves and chakrams differ mainly in attack speed and damage per hit.
- You can actually swim in this game, an extreme rarity for RPGs. I don't know if you can do much of anything during it - the only thing I saw was that I could get some gem items used in crafting from little whirlpools in the water - but it surprised the heck out of me, so kudos.
- The "destinies" that the game gives you can be changed at any time. When they first popped up I figured this would be another tree I'd advance down, selecting a new one to add to my stats every so many levels, but it looks like you select one destiny that you qualify for at any given time and can change it whenever you like from the pause menu. This is kind of interesting, though how much you can really use it will partially depend on whether there's a respec option anywhere in the game, since the destinies require you to have spent a minimum number of points in different skill trees before you can select them.
- Warty was wrong when he said earlier that the game doesn't have proper combos. I was able to juggle an enemy in the air after a launcher with a longsword when starting my second character, and the trailer scenes shown after running the time limit out showed a character doing a launcher with his sword and following up with air juggles with his bow, so that's definitely intentional. The daggers also attack more than fast enough that their attack string is undoubtedly a proper combo. I like this myself - like I've said, I'm a Devil May Cry fan, and in the past couple of years have become a fighting game player too, so combos are something I'm quite used to and enjoy.
- The game seems to be rather more sandbox-y than I would prefer. The time I spent with it mostly consisted of me tripping over odd, shallow side-quests every few minutes, and resolving a bunch of them before proceeding to the next area to advance the story (which I couldn't actually do due to the demo stopping the story quest from proceeding once I got there). Looking over the world map, it's also much larger than I expected. That puts a bit of a damper on my enthusiasm, though the combat is still good enough to retain my interest, and I do still like the main story's set-up. Still, leaves me even more unsure about whether to grab this when it comes out or not.

Zevox

[warty goblin]

Okay, I don't agree at all myself, but that's your tastes. But I was asking why you listed that as a reason you felt the game wasn't to be taken seriously, since you seem to have gotten that impression from playing it, and you were making that remark in response to me saying that I didn't see where you'd gotten that impression.

I've decided it isn't taking itself particularly seriously because it doesn't force me to believe the contrary. Given that I'll adopt the viewpoint that makes the game more enjoyable rather than less. This viewpoint probably wouldn't survive contact with the swaths of lore I can detect just under the surface, but fortunately the main dialog options tell me enough to be getting on with, and everything else is easily avoidable.

And I'm well aware that my views are in the minority; I've basically given up reading contemporary fantasy because of my distaste for extraneous and useless worldbuilding.

I've never had to worry about it much before, but in this case I need to show my support to keep the kind of JRPG titles I like coming out internationally. The "Tales of" series in particular has had several years of releases that never left Japan now, and it's rather surprising that Tales of Graces is getting a release here now, years after its release in Japan and in the middle of the development of the next major entry in the series. Xenoblade Chronicles is in a similar situation - for a while it even looked like it would get released in Europe but not North America.

As somebody who plays a lot of weird stuff from marginal developers, you have my sympathy. When in doubt, I suggest axing the major releases first. I generally don't think of gaming as a cause, but the small company will appreciate the money more.

Anyway, last night I played the Kingdoms of Amalur demo up to the time limit they give you, partially because I was assuming that you need to do that to get the bonus items for ME3. A few further things I noticed:

- Warty was wrong when he said earlier that the game doesn't have proper combos. I was able to juggle an enemy in the air after a launcher with a longsword when starting my second character, and the trailer scenes shown after running the time limit out showed a character doing a launcher with his sword and following up with air juggles with his bow, so that's definitely intentional. The daggers also attack more than fast enough that their attack string is undoubtedly a proper combo. I like this myself - like I've said, I'm a Devil May Cry fan, and in the past couple of years have become a fighting game player too, so combos are something I'm quite used to and enjoy.

Indeed there does appear to be more explicit combos than I anticipated. S I can actually execute most of them, which is decidedly unusual. Maybe it's because they only seem to involve one button, or the timing is more lenient or something.

[Zevox]

As somebody who plays a lot of weird stuff from marginal developers, you have my sympathy. When in doubt, I suggest axing the major releases first. I generally don't think of gaming as a cause, but the small company will appreciate the money more.

The problem being that the major releases are ones I'm really looking forward to. After Mass Effect 2 I'm anticipating ME3 as one of the two games most likely to be my personal pick for Game of the Year this year (the other being Tales of Graces F), and Kid Icarus: Uprising is the game that most caught my eye back when the 3DS was first announced. As I said, the only one I'd consider waiting on is Dragon's Dogma - Capcom doesn't need my money, and so far it hasn't established itself as a must-have title for me, just one I'm very interested in.

(The other game I haven't mentioned yet, Devil Survivor 2, is neither a major release nor one where I'm too worried about supporting the developer - Atlus always manages to get at least a limited international release for their titles - but it is the sequel to one of my favorite DS games, and is made by the developer that created my favorite two games ever, so it's still a must-have for me.)

Indeed there does appear to be more explicit combos than I anticipated. S I can actually execute most of them, which is decidedly unusual. Maybe it's because they only seem to involve one button, or the timing is more lenient or something.

Lenient timing probably, though that would depend on the other games you've been unable to do combos in before.

Zevox

[Triscuitable]

Deal of the day:

3 hours left to get Crysis: Maximum Edition for $7.

[warty goblin]

Deal of the day:

3 hours left to get Crysis: Maximum Edition for $7.

Which it is totally worth. I got more joy out of Crysis (the first half) than just about any other singleplayer shooter ever - Far Cry 2 is the only thing that comes close, and Warhead is a blast as well. I bet I played Assault and Onslaught close to a dozen times, and I don't generally replay stuff. If you are at all interested in the shooting of dudes with high powered weapons, get it.

(And yes, you can make the games boring by whoring out the cloak. Since it's boring, grow a backbone and don't do it.)

[Triscuitable]

Which it is totally worth. I got more joy out of Crysis (the first half) than just about any other singleplayer shooter ever - Far Cry 2 is the only thing that comes close, and Warhead is a blast as well. I bet I played Assault and Onslaught close to a dozen times, and I don't generally replay stuff. If you are at all interested in the shooting of dudes with high powered weapons, get it.

(And yes, you can make the games boring by whoring out the cloak. Since it's boring, grow a backbone and don't do it.)

Patches nuked the Cloak. Attacking disables cloak. Enemies can detect you within close range while cloaking. Moving drains cloak faster than you can say "moving drains cloak faster than you can say-".

I just use what I call "Maximum Awesome", which is equip fists, Maximum Speed, get in close, Maximum Strength, grab enemy/punch enemy/throw lethal object at enemy.

I hope Amazon will put Crysis 2 on sale. I really want it.

[factotum]

Anyway, last night I played the Kingdoms of Amalur demo up to the time limit they give you, partially because I was assuming that you need to do that to get the bonus items for ME3.

Didn't you imply earlier in the thread you didn't like ME2? That being the case, why are you buying ME3?

(Speaking personally, I liked ME2 and would love to get ME3, but I'm not going to until and unless it's available without having to use Origin).

[Triscuitable]

(Speaking personally, I liked ME2 and would love to get ME3, but I'm not going to until and unless it's available without having to use Origin).

Amazon Downloads may let you bypass Origin. I avoided required use with Battlefield 3 and Mass Effect 2 using their download service, which amounts to "download a .exe, files auto-extract, install, delete downloaded files (not the installed stuff), play game".

[Morty]

Recently, I've once more had a feeling that I'd like to play Baldur's Gate 2 again. This time it would be once more with a crapton of mods, including Baldur's Gate Trilogy. However, I'd probably play a Lawful Evil Fighter, and there are no figther kits I'd want. Kensai is a glass cannon, I'd rather not take Berserker because Korgan is already one and Mage Slayer is useless without mods. So, a question: has anyone played a Mage Slayer in Baldur's Gate with the mods that improve this kit? If so, do they make it worthwhile?

[warty goblin]

Didn't you imply earlier in the thread you didn't like ME2? That being the case, why are you buying ME3?

(Speaking personally, I liked ME2 and would love to get ME3, but I'm not going to until and unless it's available without having to use Origin).

It's a quote error, Zevox said that and I failed to delete it properly when quoting him.

And for what it's worth, Origin is pretty much no worse than Steam, and in some ways better. For most games it doesn't even have to be running to play for instance, and it doesn't pop up adds after every play session. In my current ranking of annoyances necessary to play games, it falls behind GoG and GamersGate, but a spot above Steam for these reasons.

[ex cathedra]

Some games with the Origin treatment are apparently extremely frustrating (BF3), and some don't have any pitfalls at all (ME2). On the other hand, Steam doesn't delete your account and all of your games if you don't log in for a year...

I would be willing to bet, however, that a triple-A title like ME3, considering how likely piracy is, would have more DRM than most Origin-associated games.

Some people like Steam's ads. Some people like buying games, and Steam generally only advertises new releases and games that are significantly discounted. Steam is a triumphant success in the land of digital distribution.

I think that Steam's major flaw, the inconsistency of offline mode, is mostly people not understanding how to use it, but that's just, like, my opinion, man.

[Zevox]

Well, I finished Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney today. I've gotta say, it's one of the most unique games I've ever played. There's almost nothing in it I could call "gameplay," really - the majority of it is just talking to people, and what little you actually do is simply looking around at mostly-obvious objects for clues to the case you're investigating, or point out mostly-obvious contradictions in witness testimonies. Still, it was a ton of fun, if only for the over-the-top hammy and often very funny characters, and the extreme, often ludicrous twists each case could take. And even with how silly it often was it actually managed to be emotional and touching at times, particularly at the end of the last two cases. That's some strong writing right there.

I'm actually strongly inclined to try and get ahold of the rest of the series right now, in spite of the amount of money I'll be spending on games starting in a little over a month. Unfortunately if Amazon is any indication all of the games are really marked up in price now, except for the most recent one, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Hm, guess I'll be checking my local Gamestops for used copies then, because there's no way I'm paying $90-115 for just one of these games.

Zevox

[Starsign]

Some games with the Origin treatment are apparently extremely frustrating (BF3), and some don't have any pitfalls at all (ME2). On the other hand, Steam doesn't delete your account and all of your games if you don't log in for a year...

I would be willing to bet, however, that a triple-A title like ME3, considering how likely piracy is, would have more DRM than most Origin-associated games.

Some people like Steam's ads. Some people like buying games, and Steam generally only advertises new releases and games that are significantly discounted. Steam is a triumphant success in the land of digital distribution.

I think that Steam's major flaw, the inconsistency of offline mode, is mostly people not understanding how to use it, but that's just, like, my opinion, man.

I have to agree. Kingdoms of Amular Demo runs perfectly fine for me, but I dunno about the others... And as for Steam, I also enjoy seeing the ads for games and buying them due to the prices and incredible variety. The difficulty for me in using Origin right now was no different when I tried Steam at first, so I think it's all a matter of practice.

...Now what I DON'T like about Steam is that you need to be logged in to play their games. Granted though Origin is no better there.

[memnarch]

I have to agree. Kingdoms of Amular Demo runs perfectly fine for me, but I dunno about the others... And as for Steam, I also enjoy seeing the ads for games and buying them due to the prices and incredible variety. The difficulty for me in using Origin right now was no different when I tried Steam at first, so I think it's all a matter of practice.

...Now what I DON'T like about Steam is that you need to be logged in to play their games. Granted though Origin is no better there.

Start steam in offline mode?

[Starsign]

Start steam in offline mode?

I said logged in, not online

[warty goblin]

Some games with the Origin treatment are apparently extremely frustrating (BF3), and some don't have any pitfalls at all (ME2). On the other hand, Steam doesn't delete your account and all of your games if you don't log in for a year...

My understanding is that the frustrating part of Battlefield 3 is the Battlelog system, which is separate from Origin. As for Origin deleting all your games if you don't log in for a year, I don't think this has ever happened to anybody. It's there, but really isn't any worse than the Steam subscriber agreements, which stipulates they can cancel your account at any time for any reason they feel like (see link: section 13).

I would be willing to bet, however, that a triple-A title like ME3, considering how likely piracy is, would have more DRM than most Origin-associated games.

You'd lose that bet, I'm afraid. Single online activation with unlimited installs, after that you don't need to be connected, and unlike Steam, Origin's offline actually works without any screwing around beforehand.

Some people like Steam's ads. Some people like buying games, and Steam generally only advertises new releases and games that are significantly discounted. Steam is a triumphant success in the land of digital distribution.

And it's great that they like them, I just don't think I should be required to see them. Insofar as I can tell there's no way to disable them.

I think that Steam's major flaw, the inconsistency of offline mode, is mostly people not understanding how to use it, but that's just, like, my opinion, man.

I didn't have internet for three months in late 2011, during which time I was unable to play any Steam games. Every time I turned on my computer it popped up a window telling me it couldn't connect, then another, different window telling me it couldn't connect when I tried to put it into offline mode, tried to exit the first window, or anything else. I couldn't tell Steam not to run on startup because in order to do that I would need to be able to actually start Steam, which I couldn't do without internet access.

This is pretty much the same story as when I didn't connect my desktop to the internet back in 2008.

Steam's offline mode isn't so much inconsistent in my experience as it is simply non-functional, while sucking massively.

...Now what I DON'T like about Steam is that you need to be logged in to play their games. Granted though Origin is no better there.

I've purchased quite a few games through Origin, and never needed to log in, or even have Origin running. OK, so the Sims had that log-in/launcher thingy, but that's part of the Sims, not Origin.

[ex cathedra]

I've never had an issue with Steam's offline mode (yeah, see? I can do anecdotal evidence, too). It simply requires a one-time activation via online mode and, for most people, it works flawlessly afterwards. How is that any worse than Origin?

The thing is, most people don't have their accounts cancelled for no reason. It's extremely unlikely that anyone who hasn't been using Steam nefariously will ever have their account canceled that way. Everyone who uses Origin and doesn't log in for a year will have their accounts and their possessions removed. It's not really the same at all; I have games on Origin, and I don't have Origin installed. It really is a hassle knowing that on some unknown date later this year, if I haven't had a need to use Origin before them, they'll simply take away my games for completely arbitrary reasons. There's no justification for deleting unused accounts; how much data could they really use, and how on earth can EA not afford it?

[warty goblin]

I've never had an issue with Steam's offline mode (yeah, see? I can do anecdotal evidence, too). It simply requires a one-time activation via online mode and, for most people, it works flawlessly afterwards. How is that any worse than Origin?

All I can say is my experience, which is 1) Origin works, 2) Steam doesn't.

The thing is, most people don't have their accounts cancelled for no reason. It's extremely unlikely that anyone who hasn't been using Steam nefariously will ever have their account canceled that way. Everyone who uses Origin and doesn't log in for a year will have their accounts and their possessions removed. It's not really the same at all; I have games on Origin, and I don't have Origin installed. It really is a hassle knowing that on some unknown date later this year, if I haven't had a need to use Origin before them, they'll simply take away my games for completely arbitrary reasons. There's no justification for deleting unused accounts; how much data could they really use, and how on earth can EA not afford it?

Firstly, as I said before, I've never seen any evidence that anybody's Origin account was cancelled for lack of use.

Secondly: That bit isn't in the Origin Terms of Service or EA Terms of Service anymore insofar as I can tell, and I've searched them pretty closely.

In fact as far as I can tell Origin's current ToS give you more protection than Steam's:

7. Termination. This License is effective until terminated. Your rights under this License will terminate immediately and automatically without any notice from EA if (i) you fail to comply with any of the terms and conditions of this License; or (ii) EA ceases to support the Application.

[Bayar]

All I can say is my experience, which is 1) Origin works, 2) Steam doesn't.


Firstly, as I said before, I've never seen any evidence that anybody's Origin account was cancelled for lack of use.

Secondly: That bit isn't in the Origin Terms of Service or EA Terms of Service anymore insofar as I can tell, and I've searched them pretty closely.

In fact as far as I can tell Origin's current ToS give you more protection than Steam's:

Has Origin even BEEN out for 1 year yet ?

[Triscuitable]

I've purchased quite a few games through Origin, and never needed to log in, or even have Origin running. OK, so the Sims had that log-in/launcher thingy, but that's part of the Sims, not Origin.

I can second that. Just go to C:/Origin Games, and you'll see the .exe files for each game you installed. Just running those is all you need to do. Even TOR operates like that. Origin is just a client for downloading. You don't even need it after you've installed a game.

[Cespenar]

Recently, I've once more had a feeling that I'd like to play Baldur's Gate 2 again. This time it would be once more with a crapton of mods, including Baldur's Gate Trilogy. However, I'd probably play a Lawful Evil Fighter, and there are no figther kits I'd want. Kensai is a glass cannon, I'd rather not take Berserker because Korgan is already one and Mage Slayer is useless without mods. So, a question: has anyone played a Mage Slayer in Baldur's Gate with the mods that improve this kit? If so, do they make it worthwhile?

I don't know of any mods, but I've heard once that by dual classing it with thief, you can bypass the wizard slayer's magic item ban with thief's "use any item" capstone, which equals in net awesome.

[ex cathedra]

.. that's what I meant by anecdotal evidence.

That's what I get for not following up and relying on my faulty memory; last year, when Origin was quite fresh, the tos stipulated that: 'If you have not used your Entitlements or Account for twenty four (24) months or more and your Account has associated Entitlements, your Entitlements will expire and your Account may be cancelled for non-use.'

This, of course, wasn't terribly popular and has since been removed. Also, I was off by one year. One and two are like the same numbers, anyways.

Steam has a fantastically large series of communities, an excellent selection of games, absurdly common and extensive sales, and several years of experience as the premier digital distribution platform.

EA's Origin has a few exclusive releases (saving grace? it's certainly the main advantage, isn't it) and notoriously poor customer service, combined with severely limited features compared to nearly everything else that Steam offers.

[Morty]

I don't know of any mods, but I've heard once that by dual classing it with thief, you can bypass the wizard slayer's magic item ban with thief's "use any item" capstone, which equals in net awesome.

I'd have to wait until hitting epic levels for that, though. And there are mods which basically beef up Mageslayer's magic resistance and spell interruption. While this is a great way of saying "**** you" to all those cheating enemy wizards, the lack of any magic items except weapons, armor and healing potions is a kick in the gut. Mageslayer would be at an advantage against spellcasters, but at a serious disadvantage against his fellow warriors... if only because he can't use all those juicy Strength-enchancing gauntlets and belts.

[warty goblin]

.. that's what I meant by anecdotal evidence.

That's what I get for not following up and relying on my faulty memory; last year, when Origin was quite fresh, the tos stipulated that: 'If you have not used your Entitlements or Account for twenty four (24) months or more and your Account has associated Entitlements, your Entitlements will expire and your Account may be cancelled for non-use.'

This, of course, wasn't terribly popular and has since been removed. Also, I was off by one year. One and two are like the same numbers, anyways.

Steam has a fantastically large series of communities, an excellent selection of games, absurdly common and extensive sales, and several years of experience as the premier digital distribution platform.

EA's Origin has a few exclusive releases (saving grace? it's certainly the main advantage, isn't it) and notoriously poor customer service, combined with severely limited features compared to nearly everything else that Steam offers.

To be fair, I thought that bit was still in the ToS as well, and was quite surprised to find it wasn't. There's nothing wrong with reasoning from past experience, the key is to update it when there's better data available.

And to be clear I've not got much against Steam, I just want to get the actual facts on the table. People seem to like to damn EA for doing exactly what the exalted Steam does, which irritates me as its a false position held in ignorance.

[Volatar]

And to be clear I've not got much against Steam, I just want to get the actual facts on the table. People seem to like to damn EA for doing exactly what the exalted Steam does, which irritates me as its a false position held in ignorance.

Oh, not everyone is blinded by the light on the EA issue. I for one do not trust them, and have not bought any of their games for a long time.

This is my opinion on EA:

Yeah, perfectly reasonable things like harvesting your personal information, overworking their employees and then not paying them for it, and then attempting to prevent their employees from working anywhere else. All while churning out game after game in established series, doing little more than incremental changes, rather than any innovation. And loading all these games down with SecuROM and limited installs. And only keeping the multiplayer servers up for a year.

Yeah, EA is a great company.