Mask of the betrayer to the rescue

[circ]

JUST CAUSE 2 IS MADE IN SWEEDEN.

Ok, I kinda liked it after getting used to the wanky controls. It looks great and it's all seamless and the island is HUEG and you can do a lot of shit. But then again there's alot of shit you can't do, and even though there are a few interesting side missions like the insane jap veterans from outer space on lost island, it gets repetitive.

JC1 sucked? I dunno, never played it.

Do you do anything Denmark? Except hate foreigners and make shitty movies by pretentious guys.

 

[Ulminati]

Do you do anything Denmark? Except hate foreigners and make shitty movies by pretentious guys.

Bacon.

 

[Deleted Member 10432]

Saralch's Invoction Pack beefs up the warlock.

 

[Elwro]

@Konjad: no, Soldat is a Polish game. At least it was in Polish hands for about 9 years, I think. I'm not sure who owns it now.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Actually he's right. Danish bacon is pretty cool.

The Danish used to be alright during the war, you know. Saved a lot of Jews from the extermination camps. I wish they could be cool now.

 

[Radisshu]

Actually he's right. Danish bacon is pretty cool.

The Danish used to be alright during the war, you know. Saved a lot of Jews from the extermination camps. I wish they could be cool now.

I don't think that will get them any kodex kool kredits, though!

 

[1eyedking]

MotB was bad. Art direction was completely horrible, and don't get me started on its combat, interface, camera, and overall gameplay. It also had a completely generic "ZOMG crazy" setting. No interesting cultures, language slang; no interesting moral dilemmas, conspiracies or economical factors, nor did it have magic affecting the way characters behaved or lived (LOLOLOL it's fucking full of magic fucking everywhere but characters go about as if 'hey this is all p. normal' - a very deep observation about human nature). A completely unbelievable world in every regard, suspension of disbelief broken every minute; utterly tasteless.

It had C&C, but having C&C in an otherwise completely abysmal game means nothing. Get over it Codexia, MotB was complete shit. But Obsidian fanboys gonna fanboy, of course.

Also, 20-level gnolls
How bland can you get?

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Actually he's right. Danish bacon is pretty cool.

The Danish used to be alright during the war, you know. Saved a lot of Jews from the extermination camps. I wish they could be cool now.

I don't think that will get them any kodex kool kredits, though!

Sadly not.

I remember when racism was a tongue-in-cheek thing on this forum. Now it is like every newfag wants to prove how much of an ignorant fuck they are by spewing prejudiced shit everywhere.

 

[sser]

Yea, Act III was short. They went with "you have no time! The kings decide the future of the Northen kingdoms!" and by that I think it works. They could put more effort in it (for example trying to influence one of the sides, but it's debatable if that would be a good thing to add).

Seriously the game ended before I even realized it was over. I just don't think they planned the game out as so much content was to be had in the first acts and then it just fumbles and rapidly comes to a close.

As for MotB, is it really a step up over NWN2? I got about halfway through NWN2 before I could no longer overcome the numbing combat. I also feel strange starting the expansion without finishing NWN2, but that will never happen.

 

[Excidium]

Well it's still NWN2, with all related issues. Just with a better story.

I tried to enjoy MOTB really hard, but starting at level 18 (that's the level D&D adventures should end, not begin) and the crappy engine made me quit. I'll pick it up someday when I have more patience.

 

[Esquilax]

Don't listen to 1eyedking, he is trying to gain KKK's by bitching about art direction* (which is actually awesome in places like this Temple you visit) and a lack of language slang (??? Who gives a fuck?). The writing is really the best in an RPG since Planescape, and although the characters are not quite as good with the exception of a few great standouts, the game is a superb RPG with plenty of C & C.

Unfortunately, you've still got the same poor combat, but the game is much better about challenge and encounter design. Yes, you do encounter dumb shit like level 20 gnolls in this one area, but overall, there are few instances trash mobs and filler combat. So don't expect a situation like those awful Orc caves, you are going to spend much more time talking and investigating than you did in NWN2. Btw, I am purposely being light on details such as locations because it will be more fun to come into the game blind.

While it's the same game at it's core with it's gameplay mechanics and poor engine, it is on another league in terms of writing, quest design, characters (I hated the immature, bickering cunts forced on you in NWN2, but MotB's characters were great), C&C, and atmosphere. Those things really put it over the top and make the game special and far better than the OC.

I know a lot of people feel weird about skipping the OC to head straight to the expansion, but once you get into it, you'll forget about the OC completely. I am not bothered by heading straight into a different campaign if what I'm currently playing isn't fun, so I had no problem with that. Seriously, just skip the OC.

* Ever notice how the first thing that 1eyedking bitches about is always art direction?

EDIT: Excidium does raise some good points though. Epic level D&D isn't particularly interesting and the engine is indeed quite bad. However, that stuff didn't irritate me too much to take me out of the experience, though they certainly are legitimate grievances.

 

[DriacKin]

Art direction was completely horrible,

No.

No interesting cultures;

Now you're just being dumb.
The group of souls in the haunted furnace (the place where you get One of Manny) is as good as any culture in Torment.

no interesting moral dilemmas

No.
The conflict between Kaeylen and Kelemvor was as interesting as any moral dilemma in any video game.

nor did it have magic affecting the way characters behaved or lived

No more or less than a game like Planescape

 

[Excidium]

nor did it have magic affecting the way characters behaved or lived

No more or less than a game like Planescape

The game is set in the Forgotten Realms, anyway. Magic is a mundane thing in this setting, it doesn't affect people's life and behavior anymore than technology affects ours. I don't know what 1eyedking expects from a game set in a generic fantasy setting.

 

[King Crispy]

The only thing any of the NWN2 games is good for is basically as a Combat Effectiveness Tester©.

Yes, there are plot moments in the MotB campaign and others that are memorable, but they're far interspersed between hordes and hordes of angry monstars and that frustrates storyfags.

I recently picked up Moonshadows again, a decent little module done by one of the writers of the excellent Mysteries of Westgate (Alex "Hugie" Hugon) and it's fun. Very small maps and very simplistic design, but if you like FR lore, and you completely ignore the ridiculously overpowered Rod of High Summoning that you can find, it's enjoyable for a non-power-gaming and reasonably self-restrained playthrough.

 

[mediocrepoet]

The only thing any of the NWN2 games is good for is basically as a Combat Effectiveness Tester©.

You think? The combat, outside of a few places where there're some save or die mechanics and your saves aren't quite there yet, is seriously seriously easy.

I think my favourite battle is the OC siege where all the undead are coming through the gate. Set your party to fire at range, fill the gate entrance with grease, acid fog, incendiary cloud and other stuff as you see fit. Go for coffee. You might have to renew it once before things stop spawning.

If you don't want that much management over spells and stuff, just take Khelgar and let him beat the crap out of everything while you surf porn or do your taxes.

I didn't find MotB that much more difficult and even SoZ's difficulty is overrated - though I imagine the final battle is probably tough if you don't have holy weapons...

 

[Surf Solar]

During a 5-6hours session of NWN2 (where 4 1/2 hours were swallowed by the patching system of the game - seriously, am I the only one who is pissed off by this shit?), I really tried to "like" NWN2, but it simply didn't work. The camera is one of the worst I have ever witnessed in my "gaming"life, the whole interface was clunky at best and looked like out of some Apple product with all the glass-y style and dull windows.

One thing that I liked was the character creation and all the options it gave me. But after seeing how it was implemented in the actual gameplay, the fights, the dialogues, I had to uninstall it. I know that there is a good story hiding beneath this horrible engine, especially in MotB, but I simply couldn't swallow it.

 

[Sceptic]

seriously, am I the only one who is pissed off by this shit?

Start patcher, go out for a drink, come back to find it done. Easy

One of these days I'll download all the patch files so I can just update without having to redownload it all though.

The camera is one of the worst I have ever witnessed in my "gaming"life

You really need to play more games then.

On second thought no, don't. I really wish NWN2's camera was the worst I have ever witnessed.

 

[King Crispy]

You think?

Yes. Let me clarify.

If you choose to play any of the original campaigns or MoW or any of the many modules available with a "less than optimum" character, say, maybe as something rather quirky like an Arcane Trickster or what have you, there can be a fair amount of difficulty there, especially if you play on Hardcore rules and don't cheat. IOW, no cheese tactics, self-imposed rest rules, etc.

That's how I've chosen to play every one of those. Sure, many of the fights are autowin, and that's nice sometimes because you're getting the payoff for good character planning, good strategizing beforehand, etc. But it's not always the case.

Example for you. I mentioned before that I'm playing through Moonshadows right now, and I have a favorite character who is an Arcane Trickster. I like this guy because it took some smart choices to get him to be effective in the areas I wanted: specifically, using Bluff in combat (to score face-to-face Sneak Attacks), eventually dual-wielding kukris, etc. So he's self-efficient (helpful in a solo module like Moonshadows) but he's got weaknesses. He fails 10% of his spells just from wearing leather armor, for example. But when the dice rolls are favorable, I use all his options just right, he's deadly and that's pleasing because I consider him to be quite quirky and very sub-optimal. One of the boss fights in Moonshadows is against a very tough Blackguard, and it's just you and another NPC against him and the very tough undead he summons. Meigg (my guy) barely survived, same with the NPC, but we took him. I had to use every trick in the book, but without cheating (I had to flee from him and his undead several times, making excellent use of the Tumble skill) and eventually survived. It actually took two tries on this battle to make it through.

So my point is that I enjoy that challenge because it's, to me, what made D&D 3.5 and its predecessors fun; the combat is the best part for me when it's not autowin, and I think a lot of people here can understand that.

Is it worth putting up with all of Aurora's annoyances, the camera issues (which I don't mind), the bugs (Pilfer Magic still doesn't work right), the comparitively ugly graphics, and so on, to enjoy some good ol' D&D fightan'? I think so. I'm still playing it.

 

[King Crispy]

I should be honest, however, and admit that I played MotB with a Frenzied Berzerker, going for all-out gore. Still not always guaranteed to win every fight, though.