Is That What I Said?
As always Penny Arcade is spot on in their observations.
In SWTOR choosing how your character acts is a big deal. You choose between Light and Dark (capitals, yes!), how you interact with people and what your companions think of you. The choice you are faced with the most is dialogue options. Three ways to react in a conversation.
Evaluations
I am very pleased with choosing to cash in some vacation time between Christmas and New Years. As previously mentioned Lasse and Adrian shoved SWTOR down my throath. On top of that Steam had Skyrim on a special offer and after trying it out at Torill‘s place I was pretty anxious to give it a shot.
I am very pleased with both games. SWTOR is the newest and most ambitious MMO on the field. Sporting the powerful Star Wars brand and coming from Bioware it is a high powered, fast moving object. Skyrim is a single player game and despite the lukewarm reception Oblivion, the previous installment in The Elder Scrolls series, recieved it has been highly anticipated. Skyrim now sports all of the experience, good and bad, gained from Oblivion and I feel like some solid inspiration has been gathered from Dragon Age as well.
Mae-Lin, my virtous jedi, is now level 15 and Kean, an emotionally detatched and ruthless bounty hunter, is level 11. In Skyrim my Dunmer warrior-mage is level 16 and has three dragon kills under her belt. I’ve decided to share my experiences so far in the form of a simple pro/con list.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Pro:
- It’s Star Wars. It feels like being in the movies and the depiction of a grand universe is very convincing.
- Storytelling. Every class has it’s own unique story, for the first time I have felt like doing just one more quest because I want to know what happens next. The
- Relating to your character. Through the simple system of light/dark points and choices in conversation you get a feel for your character. Mae-Lin is strong willed and virtous but not understanding of the fact that others may not be. Kean is loyal only to the highest bidder but has a strict code of honor inhow he conducts himself once he is on the job.
- Character animation. Combat feels dynamic, powers have a very individual feel to them and when fighting another toon there’s is a distinct feeling that the two are actually engaged in combat.
- Everyone gets a pet. Your companions have opinions and influence how you play both in terms of the story and mechanics.
Con:
- Still some things copy-pasted from WoW (the benchmark of MMOs). Do we need a skill point based crafting system?
- A lot of effort put into making YOUR character seem like the center of the universe. It’s an MMO and there is a lot of other universal nexuses running around. My impulse is to ignore them.
Skyrim
Pro:
- Streamlined. The newest incarnation of the mechanics are a huge step up from the previous games. None of the skills feel awkward to use and, get this, theres a talent point system that works!
- Reaction/immersion. In Oblivion NPC’s would turn to face you and some times greet you with a standard phrase. in Skyrim these messages are highly individual. They relate to where you are in the story. In Whiterun your identity is known. In another city it is not (and this may depend on wether you choose to use your special powers within the city or not) and as such the responses will be different.
- Atmosphere/graphics. Skyrim is just beautiful. Mists and weather artistically blend with the landscape. Mountains tower above you in the distance and the ruins are, as always, creepy as fuck (as are their inhabitants).
- Freedom of choice. As always you have a choice to go where you want and do what you want to do. Pick sides in the great war, go study magic, make friends with the reclusive orcs… it’s all up to you (ps: the orcs are assholes).
Con:
- Sometimes it happens I get tired of being awesome. In Skyrim you cannot sneeze without everyone complimenting you and if you’re in luck a priest will show up just then and declare you the herald of the mucus god. You are so fucking special it hurts.
- There’s some balancing/power level issues that get to me.
- Someone should have bothered to name all the dragons. Killing “Dragon #16″ is anticlimatic (yes I’m nitpicking)
Puzzle Quest II
Since Lasse and Adrian are actually using their TV these days (for what we shall not speak of) I’ve had to take steps. Drastic steps. Thankfully Puzzle Quest II is also avaliable on Steam and I’ve just played through the storyline.
Conan – The Barbarian
Not Conan – The Pastry Chef (although I can see why you would confuse the two).
Lasse and Adrian are responsible for 46% of my trips out of the house. Trips that usually takes me straight to their place and some times to cinemas. This time we were in for Conan the Barbarian. The movie is not really a remake of the old classic from 1982 although they share a name. Rather the new movie tells yet another story about the lovable brute and this is in man y ways very much in keeping with the whole Conan “tradition”. Conan is a universe in itself (his pecs contain one universe each actually). There’s movies, comic books, games and now even an MMO set in the Conan mythology.
Details
Incarna makes your character more “real”. For the first time in the history of EVE you can see and move your character around (though lmited to your quarters on the space station you’re visiting). I’m actually kindof liking the new, more dynamic, backdrop. My character lounges on a couch while I have my windows open and play the game like I always have.
I’m not a fan of the idea behind Incarna. It seems to me that it mostly serves to streamline a game whose main feature is being different. I am a fan of the vast amount of small interface fixes and upgrades Incarna has brought with it though. Taking the time to improve my search options in the market tab is an investment of time and energy I appreciate. Claiming to make the game feel more real and then forgetting to give the avatar of my capsuleer the trademark socket at the base of her skull, is not.
MORDOR!!!
As I was stashing away some old CD’s (in this age of Steam, BattleNet and cheap Amazon downloads (that they really should start offering to Europe) those things are starting to seem obsolete) and behold what I found: my copy of MORDOR: Depths of Dejenol.
“Mordor – The Depths of Dejenol is a grand scale Fantasy Role Playing game that captivates all who play it. This first advanture will take you into the Mines of Marlith, now known as the Depts of Dejenol.
In the Depts of Dejenol you will create characters from a choice of races, oversee their training in skills taught by one or more of a dozen guilds and lead them into a mysterious dungeon on a nearly endless mission of exploration, mapping and looting.
Along the way you will encounter hundreds of exotic and terrifying creatures and when properly trained you will be able to charm or vanquish them as you see fit.
As you venture deeper into the mines you will discover rare and powerful artifacts. Artifacts that you can sell for considerable profit or use to cast magical spells.
The deeper you explore the more excitement and challenge you will find. But proceed with caution or you may discover why so few explorers return from… the Depts of Dejenol.
