I finally started my character in
Dragon Age: Origins
and I have to say I haven't played a game whose story has so quickly sucked me in for a long while...perhaps even since the original Sierra's
Homeworld.
Within an hour of playing, I had to make a crucial decision between loyalty to a friend in need, or my duty toward my Elf Mage's 'Headmaster'... twists and turns are already abound, and I truly feel like I am changing the script of the game on the fly, with every decision [one of 5 if I remember] that I choose during conversations in the well-done cinematic moments. While all this is great, and the game itself is very polished and beautiful, (and I am picky) I am missing the elements of deciding strategy in the combat portion of the game. Being not an expert at all of the D&D affiliated
Neverwinter Nights/
Baldur’s Gate vein, I am guessing that the 'rule book' that seems to be equally a part of this style of play/franchise is the reason.
Yes, you can select when to use that heal, when to use that type of magic, when to use your sacred whatchamacallit at the crucial time…it is still formulaic and ultimately, the odds are still based on mathematical calculations. Up until the recent excellent (and personal fav) Left4dead series by Valve, I’ve seen little evolvement or incorporation of any meaningful A.I. into a PC game as of late. For those that haven’t played those games, the A.I., [Valve call’s the “
Director”] constantly monitors many aspects of the in-game human players actions, skill and whereabouts to adjust the gameplay on the fly. This creates a more dynamic, unpredictable, and engaging solution to the game that might otherwise bore players after multiple play-through’s of the same levels.
Nothing whatsoever against Dragon Age in of itself -I'm just going to rant about the 'random-stat' result in games in general. Nothing is worse than when I feel like any strategy that I am learning, or have gained in all my warmongering years on the pc, is completely undermined by a simple, mathematical formula of odds. It changes from an actual strategic decision, to something akin to a digital slot machine.
Quick thought- remember
Black & White (1&2)? I couldn’t WAIT to play that game, and found it mostly to my expectations. Randomness worked in that one, in the form of an elegantly complex A.I. that would allow your creature some truly surprising, interesting and sometimes hilarious results. I remember the devs stating how their creature A.I. behavior had actually surprised them with actions they never expected! That was totally groundbreaking territory, and I wish we got more of that in pc games.
All too often, games are released with simple paper-rock-scissor type logic. While some are still extremely fun to play (another favorite-
Company of Heroes 
comes to mind), these are among hundreds I have learned ‘
how’ to play. Usually this is against real logic, which is fine when in a fantasy environment, but I feel even these style of games could benefit from allowing the player to use real strategy and logic to out-smart the enemy, not merely play by a very finite limit of game ‘A.I.’
Doesn't matter that I outflanked those troops with the appropriate weapons, setup defenses that prevented that spy from taking out that town [
EMPIRE I’m lookin’ at you], ESPECIALLY with most games ‘diplomacy’ options…once you press the conflict button, it’s still a crap-shoot. This is why I am in endless search for a game that allows true freedom to discover, and use your own brain's strategy. Those lend the best reward and enjoyment I have found…
I'm not saying EVERY game needs to have a mandatory awesome A.I. code injected -Despite these wants, I will play Dragon Age feverishly, to simply see the story unfold, for despite any [or lack thereof] dynamic A.I. incorporated, it is still a fun-as-hell and intriguing game in its own right.
That's right kiddies, Santa Tracker is up and running now that Santa is out delivering his presents. You can download the Santa Tracker file for Google Earth while at NORAD’s Santa Tracker website and track him on your own. As of 2:45 pm Pacific it looks like he is currently over Berlin, Germany, but he moves fast!
bundle there, the RED Super Mario Bros. one! YEAH!, with a nice discount off with a sale coupon to boot! My wife and I couldn't wait to dig into that game, we tried the Wii sports and Mario the other night, and WOW, what a quality piece of Hardware, and fun fun game! Instantly brought back all kinds of nostalgia.
, which had a couple games that will be great for gifts for the kids, and a credit for me to get....hmm, either Gran Turismo 5
, or a couple cool games...haven't decided yet!
/Mario Kart bundle! yeah...that's right, 3 gaming systems in 2 weeks..!! Like my wife said, I think we just opened up a whole can of worms...for in spite of my every growing library of epic PC games, now there are HUNDREDS other new games I/we/kids will want! It's gonna be a gamer-tastic Christmas around my house this year, to be sure!
Here it is folks! I've decided it IS now THE time to stop holding off on purchasing that Wii for those kiddos, If you are as nostalgic as I about playing the good ol’ Mario games of yore, you might wanna check this new Bundle out.
. game, in addition to the standard Wii Sports 
package! All for the same price as the standard package! Not to shabby!
games, up until Nintendo 64, which I never ended up getting. Around this time, I was becoming a…er..adult, and had responsibilities I had to tend to.
, and sequel (2
), and they both look really amazing.
What do you you all think?? Does anyone have any ideas?
nd bright morning.
album, with the song 'Evil' impossible to keep out of my head.
. He saw into the future, and was dead-on accurate about what he wished to warn Americans of, and we have fulfilled tenfold despite his warning. But as any wise man or woman will tell you...Americans have short memories. 
Aircraft Mechanic for the Oregon Air National Guard here in Portland, Oregon. This was a local news spot for our Oregonian paper and website.
. I highly recommend it, as it's brought to you by the same people who created the amazing DCS: BlackShark 
KA-50 helicopter simulator, with a equally comprehensive A-10 simulation in the works as we speak. Ooooh baby, I can't wait to fire off those virtual rounds in that jets horrendous AN/GAU-8a 30mm Avenger seven-barrel gatling gun!
, only on the consoles. Yes, I realize that the first in the series '..Revolver' was also a console-only game- that game was mostly a fun 2 player shoot-em up without a major story or single player story campaign. The sequel looks vastly superior, complete with hollywood quality writing, graphics, story and cut-scenes [a la GTA series], and therefore...I really want a chance to place this bad boy. Will I get the chance? Only time will tell. 
edition in the meantime.
