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Yep, Dawnguard's disappointing. I did the main quest from both perspectives just to see the endings but can't see myself coming back to it again. Also, no matter which side you pick, most of the quest plays out in the same way.

Dragonborn is a lot better, as you say. It's basically Morrowind's Greatest Hits.

Skywind can't come soon enough, and when that's done (hopefully) we'll have Skyblivion to play with. This one looks a lot earlier in development - They've just released a teaser trailer.



Heck, can't resist showing this Skywind vid. Not ashamed to say it gives me gaming goosebumps.

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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

I recently saw an early review of Watch Dogs that reviewed the game unfavorably to GTA5. Normally, I don't pay attention to reviews, but the wording of that particular one bothered me, and it made me think about this one argument that I will always bring up.

No open-world game is made equal.

Shall we compare every open-world game to GTA just because it's open-ended and has multiple methods of play? That doesn't make sense, because every open-world game has a different agenda. The Infamous series is about you carving your way through a city with superpowers. The Elder Scrolls series grants you freedom to explore vast wonderful fantasy worlds in any way you choose. GTA allows social commentary and vehicular violence on an unprecedented scale. Do we compare them to each other on the basis of them being an open-world sandbox?

Now, I realize Watch Dogs does share some similarities to the GTA series, in that it provides open-ended gameplay choices in terms of morality and familiar vehicular gameplay. But aside from that, I see little else connecting the two. GTA is a broad and active social satire on the lifestyle choices of the time era it's a part of. Watch Dogs seems to be something similar, but more focused on the whole surveillance issue that has come to light in recent months, while focusing on one protagonist who can manipulate the system at will. I certainly will not be playing it the same way I play GTA, as that's not what Ubisoft intends with it.

As to early impressions of the game being shown to be similar to GTA, I personally believe that Watch Dogs, while open-ended, is going to end up making you think more about your choices rather than giving you a slap on the wrist like GTA does. It's going to make people think, and the gameplay choices people make will reflect on that. This is just my two cents, but I just had to say something.

I've got a feeling that Microsoft have announced the Kinect-less Xbox (so now you can have a less powerful console for the same price as a PS4. Woo) too soon!



As usual with Jim Sterling - swears and sexual content may appear, so be warned.

Still sucked into Dark Souls 2.

I've tried a variety of playstyles and this is the build I'm most comfy with - Link

Should I keep putting points into DEX with the occasional level in STR and END? I'm a roller not a blocker but still feel most at ease with a shield.

Just got the key to the cartographer's house.

I got a nice extended session in this weekend on Saturday, and I managed to down 4 more bosses for my trouble. Earthen Peak was a bear, btw! Poison galore...

I've a few ways to go at this point, and I think I shall go down the pit in the center of town next!

Here's the thing with STR and DEX scaling in this game... the old DS1 40/40 builds don't work as well anymore, and the scaling on these two stats tend to leave something to be desired in general. Weapon and gear scaling trumps it in almost every config I have tried so far, and elemental scaling just seems overall better.

I run a Paladin style toon, with STR/FTH focus...Heirs of the Sun covenant for dat Sunlight Blade weapon buff...

My method:

Find a weapon moveset I like. This is THE most important thing when considering how I want to fight and gear up.

Run STR and DEX to the minimum for that weapon. For this character, I chose Claymore. I needed 22 STR and 13 Dex, so that is where my stats sit for now. I will come back and drop more points in, but only after fleshing out the rest of my toon to finish up my NEWGAME run (before flipping the game over to NG+).

Scale the weapon up as far as I can get it with the proper ores - in DS1 I used +15 Normal scaled weapons, because STR scaling was good in that game. Not so here, so as soon as i found the Dull Ember, I flipped my weapon over to Lightning (currently +7).

Then I dorked around with gear to find both a look and a weight ratio that gave me the best protection while coming in under the fat-roll limit, because I hate fat-rolling Dark Souls. Weight works differently in this game, and you just need to stay under 70% load. I am currently at 69.4%.

I can't post my build, as I am on Xbox, but it is something along the lines of:

VIG 20
END 20
VIT 18
ATN 16 (3 spell slots)
STR 22
Dex 13
ADP 12 (will run this more up soon)
INT 6
FTH 22 (Lightning Spear, Heal, Caressing Prayer)

I also have Pyro Glove scaled to +5 for Flash Sweat...I slot Claymore, Priest Chime and Glove as my 3 weapons.

For gear I think I am wearing Drangleic Chest +3 and Gloves +1, Black Leather Boots +3 and Manquin Mask +3, Drangleic Shield.

Rings: Cloranthy +1, Ring if BInding, Ring of Steel Protection +1, Sun Brothers Ring (boosts offensive miracles).

Right weapon AR is about 346 right now, if I recall...

I tend to keep my shield on my back, rolling around with Claymore two-handed for extra damage. In PVP, I keep my shield up and go for Claymore stunlocks until he staggers, at which point I finish with lightning or just do a jumping strike for the wake-up hit as he stands up. Dead angles work really well with Claymore as well, so I can get around shields if I run into a tank. I still have problems with them, though, especially hexers in full plate/Havels. I either get the dead angles off and lock them, or I lose.

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Sounds like homework.

Is that the place with the huge ogre things who fling boulders at you out of their backpacks?

Thanks man. The changes are subtle from DS1 but apparent in game. I've never been one to approach builds scientifically (even in stuff like Baldur's Gate) but I'm going to have to here.

You're not missing much with the pre-order weapons, by the way. They're pretty low level and I don't think any of them are even as good as the flaming longsword you find early on.

EDIT - Anyone getting Transistor? I picked up the pre-order from the maker's site and saved a few quid from the Steam price.

These are the guys behind Bastion so, as expected, they seem to have nailed the aesthetic and atmosphere. Despite that I never really took to Bastion...



Boy, she's got a deep voice.

Dark magic boulders that one-shot me? Yup! That's Harvest Valley, just before the Earthen Peak (aka giant windmill). Both places are a beating!

Same. Though I really appreciate it. I can see why people really love it, even if I don't. I'm just not a big fan of arcade-y button masher types. I'll probably still finish it at some point, though, to enjoy the narration and the environments.

Yeah, it's an action RPG (Bastion, anyway) and the examples of that genre I really like are the huge loot-fests like Diablo or Titan Quest. Bastion was just a bit slight in that regard.

Just beat the Last Giant in DS2 - I think I'd been grinding a bit too much though because the big fella was pretty easy to down. I got 10,000 souls and then fell foul of the 70% capacity thing seds was warning about - I used my new found wealth to buy some Elite Knight leggings (4000 souls worth) which promptly put me above 70%. They're now in my item box.

No opportunity to scumsave in DS2 either - The game autosaves after almost every kill or merchant transaction.

No homework for me! I just can't post stat screens from Xbox, so I typed some stuff out instead. I got a little verbose, I admit!

Nope - no scum saving and no quick saving just outside a boss door. I love that about these games - the Souls series makes you learn from your mistakes, because you can never take anything back You also have to play the rest of the zone really well, or you don't have the resources to fight the boss once you finally get to him.

Last Giant is super slow and I managed to get him down after a battle during which the battery in my controller went dead, and I had to quick-swap the battery mid-fight. I still won. I was at full HP when the battery went, and when i regained control, I was at 2% HP, and he was winding up for a big slam to finish me off, but I JUST managed to roll away in time to heal. I actually felt bad for dropping him after the fight, the poor sad sap...get it?

The bosses ramp up in difficulty pretty quickly, Head on over to boss number 2 in that same zone - That guy put a spank on me a few times before I got him down.

That's The Pursuer? I've run into him before and been one-hitted.

Slowly making my way past the Turtle Knights. I'm liking this build so far - Can block about 90% if I have to but am still really agile. Levelled up the Fire Longsword to +2 so it's cutting through the Middle-aged Mutant Ninja Turtles like butter. They must be weak against fire because my +1 Scimitar barely scratches them.

Have you been tempted to respec a character yet? Must read into it to see if it removes all your stats or just the ones you've levelled.

EDIT - I believe this is called a chapeau.

I wore that cap for a while, sort of looking all pirate-like for a while. I have it in my bag for when I feel like going all chapeau on people. Right now I have this on:



Yeah - the other boss in that zone is the Pursuer, and I had to go at him a few times before I got him down; he is very tough to deal with at first!

I see an empty spell slot on your dude! Grab a glove and a couple pyro spells! No minimum stat requirement, and fire is pretty and stuff.

You are also pretty close to a 100% block shield and nifty stamina ring. Not sure how I would have made it past a boss fight or two without that shield...

I'm seriously thinking of re-specing my character. Now that I've learned the game a bit I think I've put too much into VGR and END at the expense of DEX - I was too scared of battles without loads of health and endurance before but now I'm getting more used to the timing required and have a couple of handy buffs for health and endurance recovery.

Dragonrider's proving a problem though - I'm just not quick enough to feel confident going 100% dodge.

The only meaningful "morality choice" in GTA is whether to kill the hooker and get your money back or let her live another day.

Agreed on your gist though; using a kneejerk GTA comparison just because of their open-ended gameplay is kinda lame.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

There was an interesting test of morality in one of the police missions in GTA IV. You access the police computer's top criminals list and hunt them down in the city. Most of them are heavily armed and give you a pretty hard fight as they flee in big SUVs or crotch-rockets.

But one of them I found passed out in a crack house by his bed. No weapons, no movement... just laying there jittering with me standing over him. I don't know if it was a glitch or intentional, but I really had to stop and think for a few minutes about whether or not I should kill him. Ultimately I did, so I could progress those missions. But it still bothered me.

Did this happen to anyone else?

DEX and STR scaling need to be patched - don't raise these stats beyond weapon requirements. In my opinion, you can never have too much END, because you need it for everything. Rolling, Blocking, Attacking, running...

VGR I can see your point, especially with the bracketing after you die. I doubt I will raise mine much higher than i have it now for the entire NG run.

Weapon and gear scaling are paramount, giving you a WAY bigger increase in damage than dumping points into your main stat. When I put points into STR, I gained a measly ONE point of damage on my weapon per point (C scaling) which is just abysmal in a cost/gain equation when compared to boosting gear. Conversely, if you upgrade your weapon, you get a 10% damage increase... I'll buy that for a dollar!

Remember, DEX also doesn't affect agility/roll speed etc., Adaptability does.

Peep this!



Dudes a little off, but he makes good points. A comment refutes his data, but he backs it up with more tests in the second video. STR/DEX scaling are mostly a waste until higher levels when you are squeezing every last damage point in.

Oh God this rings bells, although it's mainly lost in a maelstrom of carnage and twirling RPG trails. I think I had that too, and seem to remember doing the same. Hesitating a lot, then shrugging and doing the cold-hard killer thing, just to get on with the mission.

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

Yeah, I'm coming round to this way of thinking now. Apart from VGR, stat increases become minimal very quickly. I did a respec but it didn't dramatically change a lot because it just bumps you back to the attributes your original character class had. I went with Swordsman when I probably should have gone with Deprived or Bandit.

I can't just farm for souls either because of the respawn limit. The Forest of Giants is pretty barren now, and I'm beginning to lose Old Knights. The Old Knight armour looks fantastic, but I can't wear it.

Got Transistor...

First impressions - Complex. Complex and beautiful.

The augment slots idea seems as central to the game as the VATS style combat and they explain it terribly poorly with an unintuitive (but stunning looking) menu system.

Once I get the hang of things, however, I suspect I'll like Transistor a lot. More than Bastion, anyway.