Skyrim

[thepug]

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Comments?

I feel this is relevant to this thread because it is going to be a serious liability to my performance come this November.

 

[FadedC]

For a moment I thought that I had accidentally logged on to the wrong forum.

 

[thepug]

For a moment I thought that I had accidentally logged on to the wrong forum.

I just want to see how many people catch the reference...

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I had to google it.

 

[Neuropsych2be]

Comments?

I feel this is relevant to this thread because it is going to be a serious liability to my performance come this November.

Forget performance. This is research or even dissertation material. How about looking at the archetypal imagery and the psychological valence of the various characters?? How about using the quests as a metaphor for the therapeutic journey and having the game function as a sandtray type therapeutic intervention!! 🙂🙂🙂 I bet there could even be a grant to study that! I am fully convinced that fantasy role playing games can be used as therapy if only because of the major coolness factors involved.

OK so I can't go to Dragon Con this wekeend and I am in geek withdrawal.

 

[thepug]

Forget performance. This is research or even dissertation material. How about looking at the archetypal imagery and the psychological valence of the various characters?? How about using the quests as a metaphor for the therapeutic journey and having the game function as a sandtray type therapeutic intervention!! 🙂🙂🙂 I bet there could even be a grant to study that! I am fully convinced that fantasy role playing games can be used as therapy if only because of the major coolness factors involved.

OK so I can't go to Dragon Con this wekeend and I am in geek withdrawal.

We are the same you and I...

I hate their preview schedule its all west coast..one is in Seattle...Seattle! Not a single one in the two major cities...

Ha I bet you could get a grant if you incorporated that new Sony VR headset.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/632389...-reality-gaming-headgear-report?tag=mncol;txt

I might only get one Christmas present this year, but this will be it.

 

[Indecisive14]

Why does Skyrim have to come out a month after I start grad school!? Its just not fair. I've been waiting for this game for years now, but I don't think I should embark on this mammoth time sucker of a game while I try to adjust to life as a first year doctoral student....

 

[Neuropsych2be]

Why does Skyrim have to come out a month after I start grad school!? Its just not fair. I've been waiting for this game for years now, but I don't think I should embark on this mammoth time sucker of a game while I try to adjust to life as a first year doctoral student....

Video games in the fantasy genre are never a waste of time. Ever. They are an archetypal exploration into your psyche and will make you a vastly better psychologist than anything else. 🙂 They will push your individuation process ahead at warp speed! 🙂 Ditch learning ANOVA's, Hierarchical Multiple Regression and Factor Analysis. Instead, learn spell casting, interacting with dark elves, rune reading, dragon riding and those all important weapons skills. You will need all of these abilities in dealing with the journal peer review process or your dissertation committee. And no I am not joking! My beloved Carl Jung would approve.

 

[roubs]

Video games in the fantasy genre are never a waste of time. Ever. They are an archetypal exploration into your psyche and will make you a vastly better psychologist than anything else. 🙂 They will push your individuation process ahead at warp speed! 🙂 Ditch learning ANOVA's, Hierarchical Multiple Regression and Factor Analysis. Instead, learn spell casting, interacting with dark elves, rune reading, dragon riding and those all important weapons skills. You will need all of these abilities in dealing with the journal peer review process or your dissertation committee. And no I am not joking! My beloved Carl Jung would approve.

👍👍

 

[KillerDiller]

Despite my avatar, I'm actually not a huge gamer. I just started playing my first RPG this month. However, I felt the need to post in this thread to say that I am now thoroughly addicted to Dragon Age and it is ruining my life--well, my productivity at least. Curse you, Bioware!

 

[bvail]

Video games in the fantasy genre are never a waste of time. Ever. They are an archetypal exploration into your psyche and will make you a vastly better psychologist than anything else. 🙂 They will push your individuation process ahead at warp speed! 🙂 Ditch learning ANOVA's, Hierarchical Multiple Regression and Factor Analysis. Instead, learn spell casting, interacting with dark elves, rune reading, dragon riding and those all important weapons skills. You will need all of these abilities in dealing with the journal peer review process or your dissertation committee. And no I am not joking! My beloved Carl Jung would approve.

I like the way you think.

And I will resist buying skyrim until Dec. 1st when my winter break starts...I will have one month to get through this thing before the fall term starts so I plan on having some late nights.

 

[Neuropsych2be]

I like the way you think.

And I will resist buying skyrim until Dec. 1st when my winter break starts...I will have one month to get through this thing before the fall term starts so I plan on having some late nights.

I say buy and play to your heart's content. The field of clinical psychology is one where nerd and geek skills are actually an asset! And in academe those skills are priceless. Your faculty and fellow doctoral students will typically have poor social skills, a high IQ, and obsessive ritualistic ruminations over obscure and meaningless things like post hoc tests. I mean anyone who can ramble on in all enthused on the differences between a Tukey versus a Duncan has to be obsessive right?? The high functioning Asperger's that so many academic psychologists and grad students exhibit means one thing. Any geek and nerd behavior you can muster will be an asset when it comes time for you annual review.

 

[roubs]

Despite my avatar, I'm actually not a huge gamer. I just started playing my first RPG this month. However, I felt the need to post in this thread to say that I am now thoroughly addicted to Dragon Age and it is ruining my life--well, my productivity at least. Curse you, Bioware!

Origins or II? My last winter break I plowed through 80% of Origins in one gaming binge.

 

[thepug]

Very Important Skyrim Update...

There will be decapitations!

It's a one handed perk apparently that allows random head decap.

There is a theory out there that 2 handed weapons may automatically allow dismemberment/decap

This is a very important addition to the TES series for all you Fallout 3 fans!!!

Also, it may be possible to actually summon NPCs (though conjuration) of which you have captured in soul gems to fight by your side. Finally, some true necromancy.

This comes from reports of necromancers summoning "Khajit warriors" to fight against the player. In the TES series, it's extremely rare for an NPC, especially a mundane NPC (non-boss), to use magic that the player cannot use.

 

[KillerDiller]

Origins or II? My last winter break I plowed through 80% of Origins in one gaming binge.

Origins. I've already finished the game once and am now on my second play-through using a character with a different origin story. DA II and Awakenings are both on order, though I've been warned not to expect them to be as good. I'm pretty sad to hear the warden is barely mentioned in DA II.

 

[thepug]

Origins. I've already finished the game once and am now on my second play-through using a character with a different origin story. DA II and Awakenings are both on order, though I've been warned not to expect them to be as good. I'm pretty sad to hear the warden is barely mentioned in DA II.

Dragon Age sucks.

No really though, it totally blows.

I think it appeals more to the younger demographic because they can get pulled in (immersion) a little easier. That's not saying your immature to like the game, I'm just saying it takes a hyperactive...something to like these games. Proof of its absolute suckiness is the fact that the game has put out like 4 titles plus expansions in just two years, its popcorn. And the main antigonist in the first game, the Archdemon, wow total crap story telling. Why not just call him the Big Boss.

Also I hate the conversation system. It's like my companions do not say anything unless I talk to them. What are they like agoraphobics or something? And then if I don't talk to them they get pissed, who would want to hang out with someone like that? I am forced to become a people pleasure. And when they talk it just feels so god damn forced. I NEVER flash through dialog when playing an RPG. But dialog needs to be on a track (story telling hello) and not this ridiculous convo system. The only way to make a deep character is if that character is created by the developer, not superficially forged through boring dialog that can end in me f***ing another dude. To that regard, this game is for virgins.

I haven't played beyond Dragon Age I...but when people went nuts about it I wanted to get on a spaceship and abandon humanity because it had certainly lost all touch with me.

Also on my list of crap is Killzone 2 through infinity and Fable II through infinity. I say infinity because these games will never improve. Again popcorn. They put out Killzone 2 and 3 and Fable II and III ridiculously close together respective to their genres (FPS and RPG).

Oh yeah and FF is dead ever since the previous director left. I loved playing a 10 year old shirtless boy with a pocket knife for 30 hrs in FF12 and then realizing at the end of the game I knew nothing about him nor any of the other characters in the game.

 

[roubs]

Origins. I've already finished the game once and am now on my second play-through using a character with a different origin story. DA II and Awakenings are both on order, though I've been warned not to expect them to be as good. I'm pretty sad to hear the warden is barely mentioned in DA II.

I was kinda around for my roommate's recent playthrough of DA II and it didn't seem as bad as I was thinking it would be. I think it benefits from low expectations after most reviewers called it a let down because it originally had high expectations :/

 

[FadedC]

I was kinda around for my roommate's recent playthrough of DA II and it didn't seem as bad as I was thinking it would be. I think it benefits from low expectations after most reviewers called it a let down because it originally had high expectations :/

It's a perfectly good game, just as not as great as the original. Most of the professional reviews were actually pretty positive, but there was a lot of fan backlash against it. It has some good ideas and does manage to significantly improve on some things, but it also falls short in some other areas and in the end is more of a B+ then a A.

 

[KillerDiller]

Dragon Age sucks.

No really though, it totally blows.

I haven't played beyond Dragon Age I...but when people went nuts about it I wanted to get on a spaceship and abandon humanity because it had certainly lost all touch with me.

Haha. I'm going to go out on a limb here. You don't exactly make ample use of the more...diplomatic conversation choices in these types of games, do you? Perhaps that is why your party's approval rating was low 😉.

Also I hate the conversation system. It's like my companions do not say anything unless I talk to them. What are they like agoraphobics or something? And then if I don't talk to them they get pissed, who would want to hang out with someone like that? I am forced to become a people pleasure. And when they talk it just feels so god damn forced. I NEVER flash through dialog when playing an RPG. But dialog needs to be on a track (story telling hello) and not this ridiculous convo system. The only way to make a deep character is if that character is created by the developer, not superficially forged through boring dialog that can end in me f***ing another dude. To that regard, this game is for virgins.

Lol, agoraphobics? What does not talking to the leader have to do with being an agoraphobic?

Of course, I don't have any experience with other conversational systems, so I'm not sure exactly what you mean here. The characters do voice their opinions on the ethical decisions you face in cut-aways, so you don't have to initiate conversations with them to them to hear it. You certainly don't have to engage them in their other conversational options if you don't want to. To me, though, it felt like having these other dialogues wasn't "creating" or affecting the characters the developers formed in any way, but was merely familiarizing the PC with his/her NPCs. If anything, it was for the character development of the PC. To the best of my knowledge, not talking to them doesn't make them "pissed", but your plot decisions will garner disapproval without having to have a conversation about it. I think that's actually the thing I find most psychologically enthralling about the game. No matter what ethical decisions you make, you will win approval with some members and disapproval with others. These effects can sometimes be mitigated by conversational choices, but it provides pretty clear character development to see what they approve and disapprove of. It also makes you closer to some party members over others.

Again, this is my first RPG, but I read a review that suggested that Dragon Age (or maybe Bioware in General?) was the first to make use of this character-specific approval system. If this is true, I honestly can't imagine I'll go back to play earlier games. I mean, what's the point of having individuals in your party if they only respond to things as a group? As a psych student, I like working on the level of each individual.

 

[KillerDiller]

It's a perfectly good game, just as not as great as the original. Most of the professional reviews were actually pretty positive, but there was a lot of fan backlash against it. It has some good ideas and does manage to significantly improve on some things, but it also falls short in some other areas and in the end is more of a B+ then a A.

Good to know. Thank you (and Roubs).

 

[thepug]

You have not played many RPGs have you? Play xenogears or ff tactics and then have an opinion.

I get what bioware tries to do and it was fine in kotor, but the chars in dragon age are stick figures blatantly pitted against one another. It has about as much enigma as a disney movie, it's just lame and I don't want to learn about the chars. And btw, they do get pissed if you don't talk to them. Why would I want to talk to some orange haired douche bag with a two minute cut scene of generic backstory. It's like analyzing a house cat; I get it your a cat.

Regardless the extremely linear, half-ass nature of dragon age and the pause potion pause potion style of combat in dragon age is what makes it such a pos.

This is not really debatable. The art style rocks, but the setting and theme is childish and petty.

 

[KillerDiller]

You have not played many RPGs have you?

No, I haven't, as I have stated in this thread twice already.

Play xenogears or ff tactics and then have an opinion.

This is not really debatable. The art style rocks, but the setting and theme is childish and petty.

Ah, I was unaware that liking/disliking a game was not a matter of opinion or debate. Clearly, having a respectful conversation with you about it is not going to work. Carry on, then.

 

[thepug]

No, I haven't, as I have stated in this thread twice already.



Ah, I unaware that liking/disliking a game was not a matter of opinion or debate. Clearly, having a respectful conversation with you about it is not going to work. Carry on, then.

You see the problem with forums is there is no prosody to the conversation. Just pretend I'm being friendly and fatuous.

I get what people like about the game its just that I see the game breaking down as follows...

Take the skeleton of KOTOR, make it into a flashgame on some website, throw a bunch of money at it, and then push it out in a half-assed, rushed sort of fashion.

The battles would be more fun if the game actually had the controls it needs to mediate such things.

One thing I really hated was it did not use frequent random encounters. Yes, this is old school, but it would have made the Forest zone in DA I (with the werewolves) a little more immersive. I could be like "Ok it's supposed to be a big deep forest, the map is just kind of a layout." However, instead it's just like "Oh it's the worlds smallest forest with a bunch of werewolves hanging out."

Do you understand what I'm saying?

 

[Rivi]

I am excited about this! I loved IV, the graphics were amazing.

 

[FadedC]

Do you understand what I'm saying?

Honestly no I don't. I thought the controls were fine, the themes were interesting and engaging and the combat was the most balanced and challenging I have seen in a Bioware title. Individual maps were long and combat filled enough that I had absolutely no desire to see random encounters draw them out even more.

There will always be something other people like which you don't, whether it's a game, movie or book. Just because it doesn't follow your personal tastes doesn't necesarily mean that it sucks or that the people who enjoy it must be hyperactive or immature. Personally I didn't like Witcher 2 anywhere nearly as much as the rest of the world, but that doesn't mean that I think the game sucks or that people must be crazy or stupid for liking it. It just means it wasn't to my taste.

 

[thepug]

Honestly no I don't. I thought the controls were fine, the themes were interesting and engaging and the combat was the most balanced and challenging I have seen in a Bioware title. Individual maps were long and combat filled enough that I had absolutely no desire to see random encounters draw them out even more.

There will always be something other people like which you don't, whether it's a game, movie or book. Just because it doesn't follow your personal tastes doesn't necesarily mean that it sucks or that the people who enjoy it must be hyperactive or immature. Personally I didn't like Witcher 2 anywhere nearly as much as the rest of the world, but that doesn't mean that I think the game sucks or that people must be crazy or stupid for liking it. It just means it wasn't to my taste.

Wo Wo Wo "The maps were long" Girl you gotta be ****ten me right now.

The whole reason I said it needed random encounter, that is, swooshy screen and then fight, is because the maps were so micro sized which killed any chance at immersion. A guy would ask me to go in a forest and retrieve something for him and it would be like 35 seconds into the map. I wanted to just keep the damn thing because the dude was so lazy for asking me to go in there and get it.

Please address my "pause potion pause potion" remark. The battles are only challenging on hard mode and when this happens your forced to just constantly pause to gurgle down 5 potions and then reset your dumb ass party members. And don't say you can program them because that is ridiculous. Any game that has a few set algorithms to beat enemies is not challenging enough.

Now, let me say I don't really care for Diablo style games. However I liked KOTOR. This game is just some ****ty hybrid with weebo graphics.

 

[thepug]

I liked Dragon Age I. I didn't play Dragon Age II because I tried the demo and it was bad. I thought Dragon Age I was more similar to the old Baldur's Gate games in feel than more recent RPG genre efforts. The genre I feel that has been most abused recently is the FPS games. I don't like the new cover based games (too easy) and prefer twitch/skill shooters (i.e., Quake).


RPGs of merit in my opinion:

The Witcher
The Witcher 2
Baldur's Gate series
Planescape Torment
Fallout 1 and 2. . . didn't like 3
Neverwinter nights was ok

I don't really like the Morrowind/Oblivion engine/platform based games. The monster scaling is annoying. I'd rather be able to walk into an area and die or obliterate everything than have the battles scale up with my level.

Hybrid's:
System Shock 2
Bioshock 1 and 2
Deus Ex (original) Deus Ex 3 (skip 2)


Classic RPGs of note:

The Bard's Tale series
Sentinel Worlds I
Pools of Radiance (gold box, not that mess they released later)
Ultima
Wizardry
Hero's Quest (or Quest for Glory. . . whatever)

Oh yeah, I'm old.

I like Bard's Tale. Deus Ex 3 was disappointing.

Ever try Arc the Lad? I love those games, VERY challenging (especially 2)...except that last one...it was horrible. Surprisingly though "Twilight of the Spirits" was really quite good.

 

[KillerDiller]

You see the problem with forums is there is no prosody to the conversation. Just pretend I'm being friendly and fatuous.

Ah, my apologies, I wasn't picking up on the intended tone.

One thing I really hated was it did not use frequent random encounters. Yes, this is old school, but it would have made the Forest zone in DA I (with the werewolves) a little more immersive. I could be like "Ok it's supposed to be a big deep forest, the map is just kind of a layout." However, instead it's just like "Oh it's the worlds smallest forest with a bunch of werewolves hanging out."
Do you understand what I'm saying?

I think I understand what you're getting at. I had that kind of feeling both in the forest and also in the fade at the beginning of the game (with a Circle Mage origin). However, I thought other game locations were much more immersive and impressive. Entering the fade a second time as part of the quest at the Circle Tower was one of my favorite parts, and I really enjoyed that particular brand of "map."

 

[FadedC]

Wo Wo Wo "The maps were long" Girl you gotta be ****ten me right now.

The whole reason I said it needed random encounter, that is, swooshy screen and then fight, is because the maps were so micro sized which killed any chance at immersion. A guy would ask me to go in a forest and retrieve something for him and it would be like 35 seconds into the map. I wanted to just keep the damn thing because the dude was so lazy for asking me to go in there and get it.

Please address my "pause potion pause potion" remark. The battles are only challenging on hard mode and when this happens your forced to just constantly pause to gurgle down 5 potions and then reset your dumb ass party members. And don't say you can program them because that is ridiculous. Any game that has a few set algorithms to beat enemies is not challenging enough.

Now, let me say I don't really care for Diablo style games. However I liked KOTOR. This game is just some ****ty hybrid with weebo graphics.

Yes I thought the maps were a little on the long side. The forest on it's own was not long, but there was a lot more to that map then just the forest. But of course I was more into the story, if you hated the story (like you clearly did) and just wanted lots of mindless combat and loot then I can understand how you'd want it to be longer.

And yes it was primarily only challenging on hard mode, but most games are like that so that's why you play them on hard mode. I have no interest in how hard it was on a setting meant for people who don't want a challenge. The difficulty was far better then say KoTOR where most of the combat was so easy that you could just go get a beer while your party wiped the floor with the enemy on autopilot. In DA I actually needed to pay attention in every battle and there was almost always some risk. The potion thing was absolutely a flaw in the combat design, how difficult a fight was could largely be determined by your potion supply. This was one thing that was fixed nicely by DA2. But it didn't keep the game from being challenging, it just meant that deciding when to dip into your extremely important potion supply was part of the challenge.

It's kind of odd that you would consider KoTOR and DA "Diablo Style games" I think your the only person I've ever heard make that claim. Most people would consider Skyrim to be far closer to Diablo because Diablo and Skyrim are both action RPGs, while KoTOR and DA are not.

 

[roubs]

Wo Wo Wo "The maps were long" Girl you gotta be ****ten me right now.

The whole reason I said it needed random encounter, that is, swooshy screen and then fight, is because the maps were so micro sized which killed any chance at immersion. A guy would ask me to go in a forest and retrieve something for him and it would be like 35 seconds into the map. I wanted to just keep the damn thing because the dude was so lazy for asking me to go in there and get it.

Please address my "pause potion pause potion" remark. The battles are only challenging on hard mode and when this happens your forced to just constantly pause to gurgle down 5 potions and then reset your dumb ass party members. And don't say you can program them because that is ridiculous. Any game that has a few set algorithms to beat enemies is not challenging enough.

Now, let me say I don't really care for Diablo style games. However I liked KOTOR. This game is just some ****ty hybrid with weebo graphics.

I'd like to let you know that I disagree with nearly everything you say about DA:O. But I'm not going to go into why because I am right and I know it.

 

[thepug]

I'd like to let you know that I disagree with nearly everything you say about DA:O. But I'm not going to go into why because I am right and I know it.

Never played origins. Got too turned off after I blew $50 on DA 1

And you are right and you do know it.

Xenogears FTW

 

[thepug]

[/QUOTE]It's kind of odd that you would consider KoTOR and DA "Diablo Style games" I think your the only person I've ever heard make that claim. Most people would consider Skyrim to be far closer to Diablo because Diablo and Skyrim are both action RPGs, while KoTOR and DA are not.[/QUOTE]

I compared DA to Diablo style not TES V

Diablo is a dungeon crawler. Now old TESs sure, but ever since Morrowind TES has been (action) RPG.

Personally I'm not in to dungeon crawlers that much. I find the Diablo style brings out an OCP tendency in me.

 

[KillerDiller]

Never played origins. Got too turned off after I blew $50 on DA 1

And you are right and you do know it.

Xenogears FTW

DA 1 is Origins.

 

[KillerDiller]

Yes I thought the maps were a little on the long side. The forest on it's own was not long, but there was a lot more to that map then just the forest. But of course I was more into the story, if you hated the story (like you clearly did) and just wanted lots of mindless combat and loot then I can understand how you'd want it to be longer.

The whole Orzammar realm was really long. I didn't really mind that about it, but there were definitely times that I wanted to quit fighting, go back to camp, and see my dog.

 

[thepug]

DA 1 is Origins.

Oh well in that case it totally sucks 😀

I only played up to the part where you fight that dragon (maybe 5 hours in) and then I quit.

I'm sure it gets better, but I saw where it was going. I doubt DA will ever turn into a respectable name. Maybe 2 or 3 more titles, like Killzone.

Will anyone remark on the "pause potion pause potion" dynamic of the battle system? That is not strategy, it is maintenance. There is a difference. Maintenance is like what you find in crappy flashgames.

 

[FadedC]

[/QUOTE]

I compared DA to Diablo style not TES V

Diablo is a dungeon crawler. Now old TESs sure, but ever since Morrowind TES has been (action) RPG.

Personally I'm not in to dungeon crawlers that much. I find the Diablo style brings out an OCP tendency in me.[/QUOTE]

Right, my point was the Diablo is pretty universally considered to be the very definition of an action RPG. In fact it's the game that created the action RPG genre. As a result, people usually consider it to have more in common with another action RPG like Morrowind, then with a game like DA, which is in a completely different genre.

 

[roubs]

I agree Orzammar was too long, but I'm not sure if thats exactly what tripped me up because spring semester started while I was in the deep roads. Then I took a 6 month break.


p.s. when I typed in 'Xenogears' I just knew some big-eyed, pointy-haired anime crap was going to be staring back at me. I wasn't disappointed.

 

[thepug]

I agree Orzammar was too long, but I'm not sure if thats exactly what tripped me up because spring semester started while I was in the deep roads. Then I took a 6 month break.


p.s. when I typed in 'Xenogears' I just knew some big-eyed, pointy-haired anime crap was going to be staring back at me. I wasn't disappointed.

Hahah you bet.

It feels pretty American though when you play it.

It has a "giant robot" element though...so yes it's Japanese. The story is stellar though, very gritty and probably the most complex of any RPG Iv'e ever played. And this extends to the Xenosaga games as well, very deep storyline. If your looking for a fun, but tough battle system in an RPG, Xenosaga delivers.

 

[FadedC]

Clearly anyone who wants to play a high fantasy game involving sex, war, politics and betrayal must be immature or hyperactive but someone who wants to play a big eyed teenager blowing things up with a giant robot must be mature and down to earth 🙂.

In all seriousness though some of the Japanese RPGs really are quite good ever if they are generally filled with overly cute spikey haired adolescents.

 

[thepug]

Clearly anyone who wants to play a high fantasy game involving sex, war, politics and betrayal must be immature or hyperactive but someone who wants to play a big eyed teenager blowing things up with a giant robot must be mature and down to earth 🙂.

In all seriousness though some of the Japanese RPGs really are quite good ever if they are generally filled with overly cute spikey haired adolescents.

Play the game first. BTW, I'm pretty sure Xenogears did not have sex SCENES or chicks with huge breasts and ridiculous midriff...petty.

The sexual element in DA is marketed to sexually repressed adolescents. I stated that liking the game did not make you immature, but if this bit gave you a hard on well...you probably missed out on a few things in your teen years.

As for Xenogears, it has all of what you mentioned including a very controversial religious element and huge moral questions about poverty and *spolier* genetic testing and cannibalism. It's a pretty sweet, very gritty title.

It is a classic and is coming to Playstation Network.

I think you can buy DA for like $6.89 on amazon. Even the download for Xeno is more than that. What does it cost new? $100...Classic

 

[roubs]

Play the game first.

Sex? No. DA is marketed to sexually repressed adolescents. I stated that liking the game did not make you immature.

As for Xenogears, it has all of what you mentioned including a very controversial religious element and huge moral questions about poverty and *spolier* genetic testing and cannibalism. It's a pretty sweet title.

It is a classic and is coming to Playstation Network.

I think by "involving sex" FadedC meant that the plot...involves sex. Not as a comment on the degenerate invertebrates that would dare lower themselves to play the game.

 

[thepug]

Play the game first. BTW, I'm pretty sure Xenogears did not have sex SCENES or chicks with huge breasts and ridiculous midriff...petty.

The sexual element in DA is marketed to sexually repressed adolescents. I stated that liking the game did not make you immature, but if this bit gave you a hard on well...you probably missed out on a few things in your teen years.

As for Xenogears, it has all of what you mentioned including a very controversial religious element and huge moral questions about poverty and *spolier* genetic testing and cannibalism. It's a pretty sweet, very gritty title.

It is a classic and is coming to Playstation Network.

I think you can buy DA for like $6.89 on amazon. Even the download for Xeno is more than that. What does it cost new? $100...Classic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd-0uhVZ60o

This. Sex scenes in video games tend to be marketed toward the younger crowd. In DA, the sex was irrelevant to the plot and just a cheap excuse to show some 10 yr olds some cartoon boobs. If I want hentai, I'll go through other channels.

 

[FadedC]

As anyone who didn't stop playing after five hours can tell you, sex was definitely not irrelevent to the plot of DA, it played a major part in the overall story.

And note that I didn't say that Xenogears was a bad game, it was pretty well rated. In fact on metacritic it has the exact same user and reviewer scores as dragon age. So we know it must be great 🙂.

I was just pointing out that it features wide eyed pointy haired teens in giant robots. Which you can't exactly deny.

But I do note how quickly you got defensive when you thought someone was saying something even slightly bad about YOUR game, as you continue to find insulting things to say about anyone who would dare to like a game that you don't.

 

[thepug]

As anyone who didn't stop playing after five hours can tell you, sex was definitely not irrelevent to the plot of DA, it played a major part in the overall story.

And note that I didn't say that Xenogears was a bad game, it was pretty well rated. In fact on metacritic it has the exact same user and reviewer scores as dragon age. So we know it must be great 🙂.

I was just pointing out that it features wide eyed pointy haired teens in giant robots. Which you can't exactly deny.

But I do note how quickly you got defensive when you thought someone was saying something even slightly bad about YOUR game, as you continue to find insulting things to say about anyone who would dare to like a game that you don't.

The fact that you can f a dude or some goth chick, each which with no real background, and that this was totally optional, makes it irrelevant.

It's not MY game. And the fact that you feel it necessary to defend the pre-pubescent sexual cut-scenes of DA is kind of ridiculous. Actually it's downright hilarious.

I wasn't being defensive. DA is, IMO, a pos.

 

[FadedC]

The fact that you can f a dude or some goth chick, each which with no real background, and that this was totally optional, makes it irrelevant.

.

Right and the random sex between characters it not the part I was talking about as being plot relevent. As I said if you'd actually played the game through instead of watching random sex videos form it then you'd know what I was talking about.

Anyway I've spent enough time on this extremely important task of arguing with a random person on the internet about whether or not a computer game is good. I think I'm happy to agree to disagree at this point about whether or not everyone who likes the game is a hyperactive sexual deviant.

 

[KillerDiller]

The fact that you can f a dude or some goth chick, each which with no real background, and that this was totally optional, makes it irrelevant.

Like FadedC, I'm ready to agree to disagree about liking the game, but I'm still curious about your disapproval of the sex scenes. They are so tame they wouldn't even garner an R rating on film. There's no nudity involved unless you count shirtless males. I mean, if sexually-repressed teens can't find anything more stimulating than that on the internet, then I truly do feel sorry for them. If it was simply a marketing ploy (but, as mentioned, it does become very relevant in the ending of the game), then I'm not sure it was a very successful one.

You've brought up a couple times the fact that, yes, you can romance someone of the same sex as your character. Is that so offensive? Really? I call it progressive. You make it sound as if players accidentally wind up having sex with someone. Was your character just so irresistible that the male NPCs were ignoring their dialogue programming and throwing themselves at him? If so, why wasn't your approval rating higher? 🙂

 

[thepug]

Like FadedC, I'm ready to agree to disagree about liking the game, but I'm still curious about your disapproval of the sex scenes. They are so tame they wouldn't even garner an R rating on film. There's no nudity involved unless you count shirtless males. I mean, if sexually-repressed teens can't find anything more stimulating than that on the internet, then I truly do feel sorry for them. If it was simply a marketing ploy (but, as mentioned, it does become very relevant in the ending of the game), then I'm not sure it was a very successful one.

You've brought up a couple times the fact that, yes, you can romance someone of the same sex as your character. Is that so offensive? Really? I call it progressive. You make it sound as if players accidentally wind up having sex with someone. Was your character just so irresistible that the male NPCs were ignoring their dialogue programming and throwing themselves at him? If so, why wasn't your approval rating higher? 🙂

OK...sure the scenes are are tame, but the themes are not. The game is not filled with sexual themes...its completely soaked in them. The game is practically hentai.

I remember a scene where you try to convince on of your companions to engage with you in a threeway with a women you just met...seriously.

I think there is also an orgy in the very beginning of the game if you play as a dwarf.

Oh and let's not forget the "progressive" scenes of picking multiple ****** from a lineup, 40 silver each. Yes, indeed, dwarf orgies and lesbian inter-species (demon on human) sex needs to be addressed and not just swept under the rug (yeah there is that too).

Your totally full of it to defend the sexual themes in this game. It's absolutely over the top and ridiculous. I think the game is trying to be cheeky sometimes, but it's just immature, it's downright hyperactive.

The only replay value of this game is to make some old-looking dwarf and have gay sex with the orange haired guy. Or of course make a female character and just "lez out". No, I have no problem with the gay themes in the game, but I think most people use this flexibility for a cheap laugh. This my friend, does not create a progressive atmosphere.

P.S. I like how no one will address my "pause potion pause potion" remark. There is no strategy to this game. Oh wait, there is. Have like 100 health poultices at all times. DUMB. Oh yeah and the camera sucks and the point and click movement is mind numbing...its called a keypad Bioware.

 

[KillerDiller]

OK...sure the scenes are are tame, but the themes are not. The game is not filled with sexual themes...its completely soaked in them. The game is practically hentai.

Hahaha. Completely soaked? Out of 80-some hours of game play there are, I think, at most, 3 sexual cut-scenes that can play. This includes the plot-relevant one. This results in...what? Maybe a minute and a half of tame sexual visuals. With that kind of ratio, it would have to be the worst porn or hentai ever made You make it sound as if you can hop into the sack with anyone you meet and that you can spend more time in bed than in combat. In fact, there are very limited options and, sorry, your favored red-haired dwarf is not one of them.

Yes, you can have a threesome if you go out of your way (no cut-scene) and one of the minor locations in the game is a *****-house, which you can patronize if you are particularly libidinous for some reason. Big deal. People sometimes choose to have casual sex. I am neither shocked nor appalled. It's so minor that, if anything, I'd be more inclined to entertain the criticism that the game is too focused on romance, a comparatively much larger theme.

Sigh, DA is already too much of a time-suck for me right now, part of me regrets bringing it up here too

.

 

[gbvan]

If you're able to import (or willing to use pirate-y means), I HIGHLY recommend picking up Xenoblade. I've sunk 50+ hours into it already, and from what I've read, I'm only halfway through the plot.

Everything about it is amazing, and there are so many features that I've seen that make me realize that these are things I wished other games did differently. Especially the fact that the characters aren't the usual, grating JRPG archetypes. (I'm playing Tales of Vesperia co-op with my husband as well, and that's enough JRPG archetypes for me for a lifetime)

It's absolutely amazing, and one of my new favorite games of all time. If the plot remains as interesting the entire way through, it has a very real chance of taking the top spot as my favorite game of all time.

And, for the person who mentioned it earlier, it's by the same people who did Xenogears. I've never played Xenogears, but according to people who have, it's the same high-quality game.


Side note - the soundtrack is astounding.

 

[Jegg]

Comments?

I feel this is relevant to this thread because it is going to be a serious liability to my performance come this November.

I'll wait until Winter break. I'm already way behind on my gaming. I have Mass Effect II stashed away for some future date that likely doesn't exist. I have Diablo 3 on order. I'm waiting on the SWTOR beta as well. I've beta and/or alpha tested pretty much every MMORPGs since after EQ (I played UO and EQ profusely! GM Tamer here among several other GM skills!), though I've slowed down over the last few years as the number of MMORPGs has increased exponentially...

I started gaming on the first home game system with Pong and have owned almost every one released since. I played the text based tape drive games on a Tandy TRS-80, all of the Sierra games, Bard's Tale games, Origin games, Wizardry, Might and Magic, et al. on an Apple IIc. I even build my own high-end gaming PCs nowadays with gratuitous amounts of overclocking and heavy duty chip cooling. Gaming has moved down my priority list though at this point until I finish my doctoral work.