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I remember getting almost to the end last year and got sidetracked by something else. If I'd not already played it on PC I'd have finished for sure because it's a great game.

Dunno if I'll have the time or inclination to do it all again by next Friday, though. I put 5 hours in yesterday and just got to the bit where you deal with Matriarch Benezia.

On another Bioware tip, I got Dragon Age for PC in the sales and started exploring the growing mod community (from the same guys who do the TES and Fallout 3 Nexus sites). It's mainly graphic related right now (though there are a few good gameplay improvements) and the texture packs really liven up something which had its roots in consoles but its heart on computers.

Comparison image link

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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

Just finished last night the Star Wars the Force Unleashed,funny because you are a bad ass version of a jedi holding the sword differently killing everything in your way, although it kind of annoyed me the fact that I know how it was gonna end . Amazing graphics and the physics of the game is awesome



got Tekken 6 for 7 quid from work but I am only playing it in versus mode with my roommates



and last night I started Army of Two but I wont finish it probably because I have to return it tonight but still pretty cool gameplay

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I'm in movie heaven

Recently got the Platinum trophy on Modern Warfare 2. My first one.

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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

Alright, currently playing Mass Effect 2, as I'm sure many of you are.

For anyone who's curious, the Import Character function is incredibly simple. The game doesn't require you to sift through old saves; it automatically reads the status of your character the last time you finished Mass Effect (in the event that you played through multiple times). So my character was a Level 44 Soldier: exactly the way I left him.

You do get an opportunity to alter your character, though. Previously used a tech-hound, but you want him (or her) to be a biotic this time? You can do it. (Don't worry, it's all explained why this is possible.) You can even restructure Shepard's facial features if you'd like, but the default is your original.

I won't go into the circumstances of the sequel's beginning, but I will say that it simultaneously jumps right off from the first game and completely upends the storyline. Don't expect to be the Normandy's commander as you previously knew it: this is a fresh start.

Suffice it to say, I can see how generic it would be to start cold in ME2 without ever importing a ME1 character. There are just so many little details from the first game, fueled entirely by the decisions you made and the people you came to know. There's no doubt that this "direct sequel" experience is the next big evolution in RPGs, frankly, and I couldn't be happier.

It's not released until tomorrow here, and I've deliberately not seen any reviews, but saw a few people on my friends list already playing. Lucky buggers.

I managed to finish a Mass Effect 1 playthrough yesterday (18 hours or something, that's with not doing any side missions) just so I could have a save game.

Is the game still solo + 2 NPC squad members? In Dragon Age, Bioware managed to make the squad thing work really well on console and still let you take control of the other members when you needed to. I noticed the weakness in ME1 when I played it again this week.

Nice work, although you might wish you had a save game with the side missions complete just so you could get the full effect of ME2. I've already run into a less-than-reputable gentleman I had to "lecture" in the first game, and there are plenty of audible news reports focusing on prior events (even the hostage situation that was released as DLC for ME1). Little stuff to be sure, but still very cool.

Yeah, you can still only have two squad mates at any given time. There are a few squad controls that are somewhat new to me (maybe they were in ME1 and I just didn't use them), but I think the extra help in Dragon Age was made possible primarily by lesser graphics. It would be nice to have a third gun, though. Agreed.

Also, the leveling system is different. Instead of dropping single points into skills, you're required to fulfill increasingly expensive levels. So you'll drop one point in to get a skill started, but it will cost you two points to achieve the next level, then three points for the next, and so on.

I think each level tops out at four, so it's not too terrible. But I can see how you might have points sitting in purgatory for lengthy periods of time until you acquire enough to move a skill forward. We'll see.

There are plenty of other changes and additions in the game - some I like, some I don't - but I'll stay mum and let you discover them on your own.

The squad stuff in ME1 was pretty limited and I never used it in anger. It's basically 'halt', 'follow' or 'move 5 yds in front of me'.

To be honest, I never used anything more than the default tactics in Dragon Age apart from the endgame where I told everyone to heal themselves once their health got to 25%. It didn't make much difference, though, and was just me and a ballista for 25 minutes. It was nice to be able to select your rogue and do some sneaking while the rest of the party stood around smoking cigarettes, or whatever.

Well, I got ME2 today and put a few hours in. It's a marked improvement over the first game in a lot of areas, especially the lack of texture pop-up which was so annoying on the 360 version. Vehicles are also gone, hooray!

One of my bugbears from the original was the unwieldy inventory screen when you wanted to improve weapons and armour. It's a lot more streamlined now but probably a step sideways because it's now not complex enough. The levelling is also dumbed down and I'm not appreciating that.

Combat is much better but the game is now awfully close to being Gears of War with dialogue choices. It's still excellent, though, and probably exactly what Bioware wanted.

I've seen the odd hiccup here and there, but yeah, the game is far and away cleaner in the graphics department. I love the armor textures.

Aww, say it ain't so! I loved the Mako.

Completely agree. I appreciate that I don't have to micromanage thirty different types of assault rifle rounds, but now I'm having a hard time knowing what's in my inventory. I think the issue could have been resolved with less frequent item drops.

I can see what they were trying to do with armour and weapons - It's not very realistic to be able to change armour and upgrades etc in the middle of a firefight and now you can only do it on your ship or at a few strategic points.

It freaked me out in the beginning because I could find no way to bring up my inventory screen only to eventually figure out that there isn't one. The upgrade thing is a bit clunky in the beginning too because you need to go through the same dialogue tree every time you want to research a new one.

The armour customisation is great, I agree, and so are the new textures. Not tried the Dragon Armour DLC yet - it doesn't seem to fit with the lore very well and seems like an incentive to buy ME2 for those who got the armour in Dragon Age.

I'd imagine that both games would appeal to the same people anyway so dunno why they bothered.

Did you guys get the free Terminus Armor and Black Hole Cannon DLC with pre-orders over there? That armor is cool, too, but neither DLC armor can be altered or upgraded (that I know of).

Didn't pre-order it so dunno but I imagine it's universal. Haven't found a way to upgrade the armour either - you don't seem to be even able to take the helmet off.

Ok, AC2 is officially flawed but good but flawed.

Finished the story and side-missions the other day and been trying to get some longevity out of it by replaying without using any armour, weapon or health upgrades...but... it's just too easy. I gave up when I defeated an entire castle on my own with a spoon. (Well, i could have used a broom, woulda been similar). There's just no feeling of danger or threat. The timed missions add a certain frisson but the underlying mechanics of the fight side are ultimately tedious. You can amuse yourself a bit winning in different ways, but they still just queue up etc. I'd prefer it if it were like GTA where you could get overrun by sheer numbers/firepower, so ultimately you have to leg it - or be extra stealthy/quick in the first place. That's not really an option half the time - especially not when your just left with the sandbox.

It's a shame - coz opening up the world again was fun 2nd time round - the exploration of the world (& character) made fresh again. It is an amazing setting. And i'll still drop in and chase thieves/messengers I'd think. Just a shame it doesn't have more challenge to the sandboxery and set-pieces.

(PS the DLC was dire. Bita story advance and that, but that shouldn't come as a download. (Hilarious tho the final stages of the story are incidentally )

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

I kinda drifted away from AC2 a couple of weeks after I bought it, dunno why. I'll probably start things again once I've done with Mass Effect 2.

Thanks for the heads up on the DLC because things like that invoke a Pavlovian response in me - when I was downloading the free stuff for ME2 I noticed that the new Dragon Age DLC had been upped to Xbox Live. Like a complete eejit I bought it without thinking - I much prefer the PS3 edition of the game (yep I'm sad enough to have both though my excuse is that the 360 one was released a few weeks before the PS3's) and had deleted all my Xbox data in preparation for trading it once Gran Turismo 5 or Final Fantasy XIII comes out.

I had to start things again to get my money's worth.

Anyone play Braid? It's a puzzle game that is quite challenging. It mixes mario (side scrolling game in which you go to a castle to save the princess, but she ends up being in another castle) with actual puzzles. You collect puzzle pieces and at the end of the level you need to put them together.

You can manipulate time, so every time you die, you can go back in time and re-do that bit of the level differently. It's really engaging, and challenges your mind. I got it because it was a deal on the PSN, half off.

I'm starting to feel like there's a little too much micromanagement in Mass Effect 2. They've eliminated the over-abundance of items you pick up in the game, but they've also given you plenty of work to do in other areas. Scanning/probing planets is a chore, yet I can't bring myself to pass one up because I keep thinking I'll need the upgrades (some of which are exorbitantly expensive).

I'm also somewhat disappointed with the way you interact with other characters. You can't speak to them mid-mission (a la KOTOR and Dragon Age), which means less content and only a marginal feeling of relationship-building. And just as in ME1, you've got to go running all over the ship to get them talking. That wouldn't be so bad if the elevator load times weren't so intolerable.

Oh, and word to the wise: my buddy just told me that you've got to make sure you feed your fish. If you don't, they go belly up.

Heh, I just discovered the 'feed fish' button yesterday.

I agree totally with ME2 - It gives with one hand and takes away with the other. The shooter aspects are really improved but I wonder how many people will be buying this primarily as a shooter when there are other more action-orientated (or mindless, from my point of view ) on the market?

The scanning is getting to be a real chore for me too. That's one thing that ME1 did far better - you're captain of the flippin' ship, surely you've got minions to do the actual scanning?

That said, the story is continuing to be excellent and a lot easier to follow than ME1.

TUS - I got Braid on XBL and didn't think an awful lot of it, to be honest, and certainly not worthy of all those 'best indie game ever' shout outs it had.

Finished Resident Evil 5 really good bought Wet yesterday and now I gotta start FEAR 2 because I have to bring it back till Friday

(bioware trademark)

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