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True that about conversations being more rewarding now, especially if you've not pumped loads of points into Speech. My current playthrough sees me with a Charisma of 10 and the Good Natured starting perk.

It's of no earthly use but I just kinda fancied the idea of playing as a cult leader.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Hehe. Yeah, that's one thing I might explore more; replays with different attributes. It feels like New Vegas would reward that a lot more.

I'm also allowing myself only very, very little in the way of "what would happen if" this time, whereas before I decided I was okay knowing the consequences of lots of decisions ahead of time. Not doing much of that now; really just experiencing the ramifications of choices. Feels weird, though I guess this is how you're "supposed" to play.

Yep, and it also opens up the possibility of successive playthroughs. Just don't tell your wife of this post.

I've not modded NV to any great degree:

New Vegas Redesigned - Changes the features of most of the prominent NPCs so that they're a lot more lifelike.

Fellout - Takes away the marmalade glow from the atmosphere.

Nevada Skies - Excellent, realistic weather.

Light-Step ED-E - If you get ED-E as a companion you'll find this essential. Without it he's an Eyebot who can set off mines while flying over them...

I've encountered just one massive bug so far but I'll not go into detail for the sake of spoilers. Just be careful if doing the Oh My Papa quest - It's optional anyway.

You should save often while playing any Bethesda game anyways. What's the bug though?

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The Freedom Roads

Apparently Portal is free on Steam until Sep 20th. Just a quick heads up if you're one of the few who've not played it.

Link

Played a couple of hours of Dead Island this afternoon, I'd not picked it up since last posting about it.

Finding it really hard to get into and that's not helped by extremely clunky controls, as seems to be the case with a lot of the European game developers.

Still, the Ico/Shadow of The Colossus double pack is out next week.

My fear was that Dead Island would be a clunky game.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Sadly it is. Movement, menus, everything - It just feels a bit low rent.

I noticed yesterday that there was a patch for the Xbox version. Because they've still got to cater for people with no HD, it was only 3MB so maybe the PS3 patch (if one exists) is more extensive.

This seems to be the modern way - Release something then patch it until either the complaints end or the next game is ready to come out. Today I'm looking at you Mr Code 'so called' Masters.

I remember when you were spotty teenagers called Darling.



You wouldn't have thought about not fixing game-breaking bugs in your flagship Formula 1 title back then, would you boys?

Sooooo PSN is down again.

If I was a cynic I'd be making all sorts of connections with the firmware update which brought a new ToC (something about agreeing not to join a class action lawsuit if things go mammaries-up in future) a few days ago and this week's store content going live. Hacked again? The time it happened would be the perfect opportunity for maximum exposure - Resident Evil 4 was just released as a PS3 HD-ified download.

If PSN has been hacked again and it's not just some poor sap spilling coffee over a big red button then I'm done with Sony.

They did change their ToA and I did have to do an update. Other than that, it's been fine for me with no problems.

It came back on after about 6 or 7 hours (pretty sure it was off worldwide) and Sony are saying routine upgrades. Routine unannounced upgrades? Don't care whether it's hackers or stray cups of beverage, this is the last Sony console I'm buying.

Unless the PS4 is £100 at launch. Or something. *cough*

Bought RE4 on XBL and, boy, has it dated.

I replayed it last year, and I had a blast. However, I was definitely ready for it to be over by the time I got to the end... I doubt I will revisit that one again.

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I'm sorry I bought it now, to be honest. The HD-ifying is nowt more than the PC version upscaled, same as with the recent Splinter Cell releases. I can vaguely remember the PC edition getting fan patches to add the superior Gamecube textures, which shows how average it looked even back then.

Another mistake which will soon be rectified is Dead Island - While in the shopping mall this morning I noticed that GAME are offering F1 2011 for £4.99 if you trade in Dead Island. I've already thrown the disc in my glovebox in preparation.

Damn, I hope the remixing of Ico and Shadow of The Colossus turns out ok, otherwise I'll have bought 3 lemons in a row.

InFamous and InFamous 2 are a couple of my favorite games for PS3. InFamous 2 was too easy and I'm not that fond of the user generated levels. It would be great if they counted towards the main missions because it would have taken me longer to complete. InFamous on the other hand took awhile and the guy at the end was hard to beat.

Right now I'm working on completing Grand Theft Auto IV. Loads of fun!!

Man, New Vegas is huge. Not in map size, but in the sheer number of locations and quests and options. Seems way denser (and the quests far more intricate and involved) than Fallout 3 so far.

It's also strange how much I've gotten done in just a handful of hours this time, having a better idea of what to expect.

Very different in terms of tone and feel. Not sure how I feel about the faction stuff, but it's an interesting wrinkle.

I can't play ps3, xbox or any game system game (unless it's animal crossing on nintendo) because the controlers are complicated. So videogame wise I stick with pokemon on my old school gameboy or SIMS 3 and AGES OF EMPIRES 3 on my lovely laptop!

Glad you're enjoying it. Have you picked up any companions yet?

Rex > Dogmeat. There, I said it! Maybe it's because we had a dog called Rex when I was a kid?

The poor bugger was stolen - Neighbour saw him padding up to a strange car and hopping inside when the door opened.

I'd say it's because he's a cyber-dog, not just a regular dog. Plus, I don't think Dogmeat had an inventory.

He's cooler, I think. I mean, what's all that about hats?

I've got the same mistrust about men who wear them... Apart from, y'know, coal miners and cowboys.