Torchlight is over last night but there still some more additional content to explore. This post gonna be quite a spoiler so just click away is you don’t want to spoil your game.

Torchlight ends at level 35 where you fight the last boss which is Odrak. Quite tough boss. Bummer though, it is not much challenging. Odrak is a huge monster, a dragon, and he summoning bunch of dragonkins. The dragonkin is the only part where it get hard cause I could died is they spray fire in group. Other than that, Odrak is nothing. Just click and slash him and keep your health and mana steady, than it is just a matter of time when he’s dead.

Compared to Diablo act boss, Andariel, Duriel, Mephisto, Diablo and Baal. All of them are quite tough to remember. Worst if you don’t have resistance to their attack type like poison for Andariel, cold for Duriel, lightning for Mephisto, fire for Diablo and.. I can’t remember Baal attack type;p

Well Odrak should thank me. At least I remember his name.

After killing Odrak, that means completing the main quest. Sylr comes to the dungeon telling about our killing and victory. She tell Odrak soul still dwell in the mine vein. So we can still explore level beneath the mountain. That mean to continue the play grinding for item and exp.

There is still other end option other than to keep playing. At the shared stash a new NPC appear. She said that we can keep playing or we can choose one item to give to a new character and play again. At the moment, I still not trying this.

There is also some more side quests like The Quest for Glory and Through the Portal quests. I’m not sure though whether this quest will be infinite or not.

Other than quest at the town, there are new two quest at the graveyard. Two NPC appear that are not there before. Both of them give a quest in a new dungeon of the crypt there. I’m not trying this yet.

So, thats Torchlight. Quite refreshing and not much of bummer. Overall it is quite good. Character is powerful and that’s make the game too easy. Maybe should try at least hard difficulty. Level area size is not much big. All is ok for me since I only want to finish it quickly.

If I should compare Torchlight to Diablo, it is Diablo 1 that’s the closest. Torchlight is not anywhere near Diablo 2, forget Diablo 3. Torchlight is just too small of ARPG. For the small price, it is not too bad. Diablo 1 have 16 levels and Torchlight have 35 level. But the fast gameplay make it just smaller than Diablo 1. In Diablo 1, I need to play it slower because, in Diablo 1, I usually cannot just face a lot of monsters at a time. That’s could mean instant. Usually most of us use the door tactic to make monster come one by one.

In Torchlight, my destroyer could just slash through the monster using ultimate skill in Might tree, the Devastate. With crit almost 5k, each monster only need 1 hit. That’s why it is so easy. I can even count the total time I died. And that not even because of monster strengh, but because I was careless.

Diablo 1 seems longer than Torchlight. That’s some memories.

Although I knew it is Matt Uelman that composing all the Torchlight sound and music, it’s bg music is too much like Diablo 1 or 2. You could say there’s Tristram living there. Well, at least that’s could, if not cure, lessen our diablo 3’s craving.

All is good. Good job and much gratitude to Runic for Torchlight. I hope Crate could make a decent game since they use the Titan Quest engine. And what’s the deal about Dungeon Siege 3 under development? Hey Chris, it has been over a year already and there’s still no news or hype about DS3? That’s killing your fans hope. At least release some screenshot

See ya later!

ps: Some Torchlight cook recipe here: Torchlight Transmutation Recipies

In between studying we relax playing Titan Quest.  It’s an action RPG much like Diablo but with better visuals.  It’s good fun.

Εβδομάδα προσφορών της THQ στο Steam – Gameover.gr
Ξεκινώντας χθες, ρίχνοντας τα δύο μέρη της σειράς Titan Quest στη μισή τιμή, κάθε μέρα θα αποκαλύπτεται και μια διαφορετική προσφορά. Καθώς οι τίτλοι της εταιρίας που είναι διαθέσιμοι στο Steam περιλαμβάνουν τόσο πρόσφατες κυκλοφορίες όπως τα Red Faction: Guerilla και Saints Row 2, όσο και παλιότερους τίτλους όπως τα S.T.A.L.K.E.R. και Dawn of War, είναι πιθανό να δούμε ορισμένες άκρως ενδιαφέρουσες ευκαιρίες.[next]

Popular digital download service Steam has launched THQ Week by cutting 50% off the prices of Titan Quest and its expansion, Immortal Throne. The Titan Quest Gold bundle includes both for $9.99. (Alternatively, you could buy one or the other for $9.99 each. Hm.) The week will see a discount on something new each day, wrapping off the event with a new weekend deal.

For those less inclined to wait a whole week, the THQ Collector Pack (a set of 13 of the publisher’s 20 Steam-released titles) is 10% off all week.

[via Steam News]

I want to start discussing about the aspect of ARPG I’d told you in the previous post before. Right now, these are all the main aspect of good ARPG (in other word Diablo) that I like; Storyline and Lore, Gameplay, Video and Audio. Right now I can think of only these three but I’ll add later when it’s comes to my mind.

It’s not like I sort this all things, but it just when I play crappy ARPG, thought just pop up and says ‘Yeah, that’s what this game don’t have, this is why it is crappy, this doesn’t feel right here, what a b.s. story, why doesn’t this work, why I cannot do this and that?’. It is just that kind of thought.

Storyline and Lore

Firstly, to me since after Diablo 2 and especially after Diablo 3 announcement, Diablo lore have became more and more diverse and exciting. Story needs at least a bit relevence and sense. If not, I’ll think it is just a crappy story. Of course most game story is made up, but it’s need to be acceptable in manner of sense.

Take a look at game with great storyline, Diablo, Titan Quest and Dungeon Siege.

Titan Quest Immortal Throne

In Titan Quest, the game took placed in world of mix of mythology of Greek, Egypt, Babylon and other (correct me if I mistaken) and most of it are Greek. Within the world, there are related mystical creature such as centaur, medusas, imp, lich and many others. And when you travel to different continent and places, you will faces different kind of monster relevant to the myth like jackal in Egypt and plant-monster in Babylon.

This kind of setting if important to the storyline and lore. It all blend together so well until player will feel that the world if alive. It is real and they will be sucked into the story. That’s Titan Quest world.

Dungeon Siege II Quest

Different setting we felt in Dungeon Siege 2. That’s Aranna world. The world so immerse with it many kind of lore and beast that never exists in real world like the shamanistic imp in the jungle and skath at the desert. The guy at Gas Powered Games really done their work in creating the DS universe. DS2 is one of the game the best lore I’d ever played.

And for Diablo, when we start playing Diablo 1, the world start with a small town, with dark and gothic feel. The world is town and dungeon in the monastery that change it feel every 5 levels downstairs. The world is not much bigger that any other, but where is the lore you think? Yes, the lore comes in the town when you talk to NPC, mostly from Cairn, and some from other like Pepin. That’s where the depth storyline of Diablo 1 comes. It’s not an immerse world but a universe shrouded with mystery.

When Diablo 2 comes around, that where Diablo universe emerge from the previous Diablo 1. Tristram become just a tiny part of the world. With more settings like Rogue Encampment, Lut Gholein, Kurast Dock, and Hell, and then Barbarian Highland, all the shrouded mystery before became clearer. Although some left unknown. Rescuing Cairn start the lore here. After that Cairn will explain all about the Diablo World. In Diablo 3, after the world map and timeline came, all the mystery became more clearer.

Next, we will discuss about other aspect, but I still not decide what to write yet. So soon! Please leave comment!

I might be don’t have much time to write long blog post but I still want to try write some about the good aspect of action-rpg. In other words, what kind of criteria they have in Diablo that we love so much. And for me good action-rpg is not just Diablo, there are excellent ARPG other than Diablo such as Titan Quest (strong graphic, audio, story and gameplay), Dungeon Siege I and II (although DSII is definitely better) and some others. Older linear one like Nox is quite good. Unfortunately, I’d never try Sacred 1 and 2. Never had the chance.

So, I hope to discuss this some aspects and then later we will talk about each ARPG I mention before. Keep hang out here.

Most people I know have come down with some type of cold or flu in the past month or so. I decided to take my turn last week and over the weekend. As a result I haven’t had a whole lot of game time. But what I did get in I will share you.

I hit up Direct2drive’s sale and purchased Mount & Blade, Titan Quest, and Company of Heroes. I have only played the first one so far. I have found it to be highly addictive and will get a post up dedicated to it before the week is done.

I’m still plugging through Arkham Asylum and The Secret of Monkey Island. eventually I will get to the end of these 2 fine games.

I pre-ordered Dragon Age:Origins and have arranged to get the day off from work. It’s gonna be a happy day.

Keep gaming people!

Sometimes all I want to do is click on things and level up.

It’s hard to say why exactly the slow progress of battering things and becoming gradually stronger is so compelling. It’s hard to know what evolutionary impulse it’s really appealing to. Perhaps it’s just the sense of victory that comes from each experience point earned. Instead of delivering the ‘you’ve won!’ screen at the end of the game it gives it to you in small and addictive amounts throughout the experience.

I’ve been pouring my hours into Titan Quest recently, which, like it’s spiritual predecessor Diablo, embodies the joy of levelling up in a skeletal distilled form. It’s completely transparent that you’re just clicking  on millions of enemies until they fall over and you hear the ‘level up!’ dong. Somehow, knowing this doesn’t stop it from being immenseley entertaining and terribly, terribly addictive.

In fairness there’s a bit more to it than the endless clicking. There’s skill trees to consider, character builds to weigh up and loot to flog. Then there’s the endless stats, weapon loadouts, item enchantments, minions to summon, damage figures and probabilities to calculate. Generally there’s a lot for the mind to obsess over as you click away.

My character is a warrior who can channel the power of nature to summon wolves and nymphs to eat and shoot my enemies. He can dual wield which means that with each strike of the primary weapon there’s a percentage chance that he’ll throw in a blow from his secondary mace. Harpies drop Essences of Achilles when slaughtered, collecting three of these allows me to enchant my character’s primary blade and increase attack speed, getting the more poweful flame enchanted secondary weapon into the fray faster. I want the secondary weapon to deal the killing blow after a period because my fast primary blade steals enemy life, keeping my warrior fighting for longer.

But while Harpy hunting, a gnarled boar the size of a small caravan somehow drops a superb suit of armour which I can’t quite wear yet. Solution? level up some more, of course. And so it goes.

Pretty though it is, I don’t feel especially inspired by the sunny and fantastical climes of the mythical ancient Greece portrayed in Titan Quest, the monsters are generic and the loot design isn’t variable enough to really make my character feel unique. The structure itself is solid, though, it’s a formula well proven by the Diablo series. Copying the pacing of Blizzard’s efforts gives Titan Quest that addictive quality that keeps me booting it up every evening when I get home from work.

There’s no doubt that I’m enjoying it, but it’s hard to say how successful this formula will remain as larger open world and story driven RPG’s improve their combat. Nevertheless, Diablo 3 remains a monolith on the distant horizon. As a co-op experience at least it promises great things.

Ludo out.

Revisions:

7-30-09: Initial release.  Added another section for Underground Gamer requests.
7-31-09: Added World in Conflict and Warcraft 3 gamer request.
8-01-09: Added No One Lives Forever 2 gamer request, Far Cry 2, and Gears of War.
8-02-09: Changed the game request section slightly.  Now it has a “Known to work Straight Up” part of it.
8-3-09: Added notes to the games section for quake 3 and call of duty 1.
8-7-09: Added Worms Armaggedon and Worms World Party to games section.
8-8-09: Added hamachi channel. I hope I am not going to regret this.
8-11-09: Added Call of Duty 2 and Gears of War to verified games list.
8-13-09: Added install Tunngle demonstration video.
10-31-09: Added a long list of games: Battlefield Vietnam, Borderlands, Demigod, Duke Nukem, GTA IV, Killing Floor, Left 4 Dead, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Shift, and Underground 2; Red Faction Guerilla, Resident Evil 5, Section 8, Serious Sam – The SEcond Encounter, Splinter Cell – Pandora Tomorrow, Starcraft, Street Fighter IV, Titan Quest, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3

Foreword:  I am very excited.  This is definitely one of my favorite posts for 2009, and as you read further, you will understand why.  This guide is clearly not illegal.  It is simply another method to enable users to play their LAN enabled games over the Internet with friends.  No longer are you bound to be in the basement with your PCs to play LAN games! There is a reason why I spent two long nights working on this guide and the excellent video!  ~ Versatile

If you follow this blog, or know anything about VPN programs, Hamachi is a great program that people can use to play LAN games with each other.  In short, Hamachi was the king for implementing LAN games to play over the Internet.  How it worked is people would join these networks, and Hamachi gives each user a unique IP address.  When you launch a game, the game is tricked into thinking that everyone in the network is on the same LAN, and hence, you can see each other to play the game.

Of course, Hamachi has other useful purposes such as being a great secure chat medium, as well as being an alternative as a safe VPN to tunnel into your PCs and transfer files or encrypt remote transfers or remote administration.

See you are praising Hamachi?

Just like any program in life, everything has its downfall unfortunately. Hamachi is a great program, but when you try to play LAN enabled games over the Internet, it is not an exact science.  I harp a lot about the importance of VPN alias, and I thought that was the holy grail to make games work, but that is not true unfortunately.

Although you do the VPN alias for the user, it turns out that sometimes it doesn’t make the server show up in the game.  You may have to disable encryption, and instead of having the the first 3 octets of the IP address same as host and the last octet the same as the client’s last octet, you may have to change the method where the last octet of the VPN alias is one number higher than the client’s last octet.

For example:

Host IP: 5.156.23.333

Client IP: 5.142.69.449

The traditional VPN alias for host would be:  5.156.23.449.  Sometimes not all games will work properly, and through error and trial, you find out the VPN alias should really be 5.156.23.334.  Get my drift?  It is not an exact science.

Plus, there are claims that in Vista and Windows 7 that the UDP traffic that Hamahi used is not being routed properly in the OS so that is why you may not see a game in the LAN menu.

Well frick man.  How about Garena?

I’m glad you reminded me about Garena.  Don’t get me wrong, Garena is a great program to. Hamachi is limited in the sense that in order to play your favorite game, you need other people online at the same time in your network.  Since the network is limited to 16 players, you constantly have to kick people to get new people inside.

When using Garena, this is not the case anymore.  Garena is almost like Valve’s Steam in the sense that it has a game browser.  It has multiple network rooms, where the max limit of each room is 225 players.  Garena takes care of the VPN alias in the background.  All you need to do is make sure your game is the latest version as the other players, host a game, and then people can instantly join you through the multiplayer aspect of the game in question.

The problem? Garena has a small list of games. The hottest games they got going on right now is Left 4 Dead, Killing Floor, Starcraft, and the Warcraft 3 series.  It is funny that they have COD4 and COD5.  Although its nearly empty for USA rooms, its vastly popular in Brazil and Europe networks?  What gives? >_>

If you have a LAN game like Diablo II, there is no way you can make that work in Garena.  You can try to make it work in Hamachi though, but you will have to mess with the VPN alias, and making Hamachi the primary adapter in Windows, which I have guides on already.

This is why I am so glad to find a new program called Tunngle.

All right, you got me.  What is Tunngle?

Tunngle (pronounced as “tung-gle” – I hope that is right pronunciation) is another VPN client program like Hamachi or Garena.  However, it is vastly compared to Hamachi because of its feature set.

Take a look at the chart below, thanks to the source, and major props to Brioche.

As you can see, Tunngle blows Hamachi out of the water.  It has an interface that is a cross between Steam and Garena.  It has a list of game networks that you can join and its very easy to play a game.  Zero configuration which I will talk about later in this guide.  It truly is the holy grail that all the hardcore PC gamers have been waiting for.  Oh yea, and if a game is not on the Tunngle network, you can go to a misc network and play your game there!  It has sexy written all over it.

You are killing me with anticipation.  How do I get started with Tunngle?!

Haha, keep your pants on. Here is the guide you have been waiting for in easy to follow steps:

Note: The program is made by German programmers, and it is still in beta.  They are working on an English translation, which I hope is released soon!

1) Go to www.tunngle.net.  Download the program and install it.  Make an account at the website and fill out the required information.  Make sure to confirm the email message.

2) Launch the tunngle.net program.  It will look like the screenshot when you first load it.

3)  After awhile a message will pop up below.  Say “Ja”.

4) Type in your account and software password.

It will take about a minute to connect and it looks like the screen below.

5)  Here you are at the main screen.  Click on community, then network, then go to browser.

6)  On the left hand side, is all the categories. If you select any particular category, you can break it down to the specific games.

7)  Enter into any game room.  Now minimize Tunngle, and launch your game.  When you go to the LAN portion, you should see servers if anyone is hosting.  Likewise, you can host and others will see it.  No configuration.  No need to mess with VPN alias or other settings.

Pretty cool right?  Let’s say that your favorite game is not in the Tunngle game browser.  No worries!  Just go to any game room, although you can go to one of the rooms under “misc”.  Host your game there with your friend, and Tunngle takes care of the rest.

OMG, this really is the holy grail!

Of course it is. If you do not realize the beauty of this program, then I ask you leave or reconsider why this program is a breakthrough. Easy to use, easy to setup, and best of all, it works with all games with LAN functionality.  Screw you Garena.  Hamachi can rot in hell when your favorite game is not working, but yet it works great in Tunngle!

The only problem is right now like 98% of the user base in Tunngle are Europe/Asia game players.  There are hardly any USA players, maybe 0.05% are USA/Canada players.  My goal is that this article, coupled with my Youtube video, will open up other peoples eyes to get onto the Tunngle network.

I will definitely be visiting the Tunngle network to share my story as well as this article and see if I can help with promotion of such a fine program. Thank you Tunngle.  You are a blessing.

Timeless Video Tutorial – Learn how to use Tunngle.

After recording this video at least 10 times, I finally have a version that I am satisfied with.  (Well, being that it was like 12:30 AM in the morning may have played a factor in it too.  Haha).  Enjoy!

Tunngle Install Video – Start to Finish

Underground Gamer Requests

Tunngle is still in its infancy stage.  With that said, as more and more people read about this article, I want you to let us know what games you have that you want to play on Tunngle.  As more and more people comment, we will have a special list for everyone to contribute to!

Games we want you to have to play with us.  Games with an * means modification may be needed.  Just go to the tunngle server, host a LAN game, and people can join without special instructions!  All games below are verified to work unless noted below:

• Battlefield Vietnam
• Borderlands
• Call of Duty*[best if you use the windows 1.5 private server crack to defeat "awaiting cd key authorization" method]
• Call of Duty 2* [Use the 1.3 private server crack to defeat "awaiting cd key authorization" method]
• Call of Duty 4* [Use the 1.6 private server crack to defeat "awaiting cd key authorization" method]
• Call of Duty 5* [Use the 1.7 private server crack to defeat "awaiting cd key authorization" method]
• Call of Juarez
• Demigod
• Duke Nukem 3D
• Far Cry 2
• Gears of War* [See special tutorial here]
• Grand Theft Auto 4
• Half-Life
• Halo 2* [requires special steps. See tutorial here]
• Killing Floor
• Left 4 Dead
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• Need for Speed: Shift
• Need for Speed: Underground 2
• No One Lives Forever 2
• Quake 3: Arena  [better if you turn on dedicated server, then join it to fight lag]
• Quake Wars: Enemy Territory  [needs verification]
• Rainbow Six Las Vegas 2
• Red Faction Guerlla
• Resident Evil 5
• Section 8
• Serious Sam – The Second Encounter
• Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
• Starcraft
• Street Fighter IV
• Titan Quest
• Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3
• Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
• Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne
• World In Conflict
• Worms Armaggedon
• Worms World Party
• UT 3
• UT 2k4

Hamachi Channel

Want to play with us and know when we play? Join the hamachi channel. We clean it out almost every single day to play halo 2, quake 3, worms, call of duty, whatever we want!

• Network name:    Jewbacon’s Kosher Kastle
• Password:  333

If you got more, leave a comment!

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Esta semana instalei Titan Quest para ver como é o jogo,  e venho aqui dar minha primiera vista ao jogo.

Ele é um bom jogo, bacana mesmo, para quem é uma pessoa (como eu) que sempre esperou um Diblo 3, ele é um jogo neste estilo, é claro que nunca vai ser superior a saldosa série Diablo, mais é bacna da para se divertir.

Graficamete é um jogo bonito até, mais nada fora do comum, quem gosta deste estilo de jogo (Action RPG com visão Isometrica (Diablo)) é um boa pedida até a chegada o D3.(Este sera destruidor)

Achei ele um pouco bugado tambem, acho que poderiam ter ajustado varias coisas, mais mesmo com os bugs da para jogar.

Como não joguei muito não tem como falar sobre Skills, ou o andar da história, mais não deve ser ruim.

O bom que a Gamevicio lançou tb uma tradução para o jogo

E isso é ótimo heheheeheh

GameVicio Link
Bom fica a dica

Imagens:

Dopo circa svariate ore di accesa discussione è nato il seguente quesito:

“Se uso il Defiler rimango legit o passo ai cheater?”

Questa è la classica domanda da un milione di euro.

L’uso di tale programma è indice di cheaters in quando va ad alterare la realtà del gioco e le sue rigide regole.

ma potrebbe essere fatta eccezione per alcune sue funzioni:

1. hai un pg di livello 60 e ti accorgi che ha scelto una maestria che non trovi adatta ad esso. Il defiler permette di annullare tale azione restituendo i punti originali utilizzati per l’evoluzione della stessa. Secondo me (questo è e rimarrà solo il mio parere) se viene utilizzato il defiler per cambiare maestria senza però aggiungere punti extra (altra funzione del defiler), allora non si può considerare cheater il giocatore che ne fa uso; in quanto non godi di nessun vantaggio. Si cambia la maestria e poi si fa evolvere la nuova maestria selezionata.
2. hai un pg che adori e non vuoi separartene ma ti accorgi che il nome non gli rende giustizia?. Con defiler si può cambiare nome; anche in questo caso non credo sia poi cosi cheater; cambiando nome nei fatti non acquisisco nuovi super poteri! Il pg rimane lo stesso ha solo un altro nome.

La cosa importante è che non diventi una abitudine utilizzare queste 2 funzioni altrimenti si che oltrepassi il limite tra legit e cheaters; si devono considerare come un aiuto in caso di vera necessità.

Non cambio maestria ad un pg di livello 10 o 16 ( in tal caso può essere più divertente e coinvolgente ricominciare il gioco); lo utilizzo per rimediare ad un errore che si nota solo a livelli alti e con pg a cui ci si tiene molto.

Lo stesso discorso  ha validità per il nome, non che canbiamo nome al nostro pg ogni volta che aquisisce un livello. Lo cambiamo una volta stabilito il profilo del pg  e senza mettere colori alle lettere (altra possibilità concessa dal programma).

Tirando le somme con la giusta moderazione si può avere un certo grado di giocabilità senza perdere il gusto del gioco originale.

Aspetto la vostra opinione

Following up on a comment from Spinks over in the Dual Wield Healing comments, I’ve wondered for a while why “players LOVE classes”.  I suspect there are a handful of reasons, and I’d love to hear what some of you think.  I’m not really disputing that assertion, since I’ve seen plenty of evidence thereof, but I am always questioning why that might be, and if there’s an alternate way (or three) to scratch the underlying psychological itches.  While thinking a bit about those itches, I’ve been thinking of other ways to approach the scratching.

One game that I’ve looked to for good ideas is Final Fantasy Tactics.  FFT has character “Jobs” that function much like classes:  The characters have a core Job that defines their gear permissions (weapons and armor, anyway) and their primary combat abilities.  Soldiers are melee fighters, Black Mages are ranged magic cannons, etc.  Characters can learn abilities from their active “main” Job, eventually Mastering the Job.  They can also use skills they have learned from other Jobs to customize their approach.

Overall, I like FFT’s system, as it allows you to build up a character with a wide variety of abilities that cross-pollinate and synergize, but filters them through the ability to only use a handful at a time.  It’s a nice compromise between learning everything and making tactically relevant limited choices.  Players can make characters specialists or generalists, and anything in between.  This works largely because you tend to field a handful of units in any given skirmish, rather than just a single character.  You can build a team that works well as a whole, rather than just try to do everything yourself.

Battletech works in a similar fashion.  There are several different ‘Mech chassis designs, and several weapons to put in those ‘Mechs.  Players are encouraged to customize their machines by swapping weapons, armor, heat sinks and such, trying to optimize their machine (or team of ‘Mechs in some iterations of the IP) for how they play.  Certainly, there are “stock” configurations of the machines, but half of the fun of the Battletech universe is tinkering with the delicate balance of heat, ballistics, energy weapons, range, mobility, size, and half a dozen other aspects, trying to build the most powerful ‘Mech for its weight.  The stock designs are not usually optimized for greatest potential, which I suspect was intentionally done to give an impetus to tinker, and a reward for those who master the tuning system.

The rough analogue to MMO class design is the Battletech ‘Mech chassis, and the “spec” for a class (minor tweaks to how the class plays) are the loadout of the ‘Mech.  Of course, a MechWarrior need not be tied to a single Mech for his career, which is where the Battletech variability wins out over a class design; it’s like the ability to change your class (chassis) at a whim (or limited by experience/story permissions/bankroll, whatever), allowing for a much greater gameplay variety over the course of a single character’s “life”.  This is also where FFT shines; it allows a single character to change their class/spec/loadout often and completely.

I really like this sort of customizability, as I love the freedom it offers, and I can get more invested in my characters since they really are mine.  Their progress is dictated by my choice, and ultimately, those choices affect how I approach the game as a whole.

Still, that depth does put off some people.  I suspect that it would similarly put off people in MMOs who LOVE their class and can’t imagine playing anything different.  It’s a lot to keep track of, and some people don’t want to bother with learning that much.  There’s nothing wrong with that.

*Quick tangent… I also see class distinctions as yet another way to artificially extend playtime, since you can’t take an existing character and just change their class like you would a Job in FFT.  You must start a whole new character and grind through the levels.  The ability to change your class completely in an MMO doesn’t rob you of identity any more than the ability to change your spec or gear.  It’s your character, and you can always just stick with one class, even if there are options to change.  When there are no options, though, the player interested in exploration of game mechanics is unduly forced to jump through altitis and grind hoops.*

One of the game designs that I’ve toyed with in the last few years is a Tactics-esque game that has a FFT/BT level of depth for character customization, but has what I’m calling Autopilot Character Development.  For those who don’t want to make those choices of how to build a character, there would be “templates” that could be assigned to a unit, automating that progress, allowing the player to just focus on the tactics and strategy inherent in a larger campaign/storyline.

For example, a unit might be given the Scout Template, which would automatically assign them to the Scout class for a while, as it learns some Scouting abilities, then later, assign it to a Ninja class where it can learn some greater evasion and attack abilities.  At any point, the player can turn off the Template and take control of the progression, but if they just can’t be bothered with the minutae inherent in the system, the Autopilot lets them get on with playing the upper-level game.  (Here “upper-level” meaning higher concepts, like tactics and strategy, not high unit level.)

Put another way, this sort of Template system could be overlaid on an open skill system to create a loose sort of “streamlined” class-based system.  UO could become Diablo, as it were.  The key here is that you would always have the option to go back and take the reins, mixing and matching to make your Scout dabble in magic or your Barbarian toy with bows.  This, of course, means that you would also be able to change pretty much everything about the character, from the most basic stats (the prototypical SRT, DEX, whatever) to skill levels to combat skillset (a limited set of usable abilities, like the FFT system).

Is it a lot to keep track of?  Of course it is.  Is it a lot to dig into and potentially have fun with?  If done well, definitely.  Is it good design?  I think so, largely because of the experience I’ve had with games.  (Of course, this mostly applies to those games that require a huge investment of time and character building.  Team Fortress 2 and Smash Bros. work because each round of playing with a class only takes a few minutes.  When that play session extends to hours, weeks and months, it’s onerous to think of “replay” as “rolling another class”.)

I played Titan Quest through as a Sage, a Hunter/Storm ranged DPS machine.  I used Hunter as my “main” class because arrows are infinite, and I could attack at range without burning through mana reserves.  I used Storm to augment that plan, buffing my offense with elemental punch, making my basic ranged attacks sufficiently powerful to kill all but the hardiest enemies long before they got to melee range to bother me.  Ranged enemies went down even quicker since I had great range and high damage… and they were typically slow casters with little defense.  I had a blast, but once I finished the game, I wanted to try another class build.

I didn’t want to spend the time grinding through the lower levels of the game building up a new character, though, playing old content just to see how another class would approach it.  So I found a little program called the TQ Defiler.  It let me edit my character, changing his class to anything I felt like.  I would not have played the game as much as I did without that freedom.  In my younger, stupider days I might have jumped back in with another character from the very start, but with life constantly intruding on my gaming time, I don’t have that luxury any more.  Of course, the TQ Defiler also allows for other sorts of hacks which make the game much easier or harder, but the part that interested me was the class swapper.  There is a “respec” option in the game, but it only allows you to change the way you’ve allocated your skill points, not change your class or secondary, and the cost in game currency increases with each use of the service.

Why?  What does that add to the game?  “Replay value”?  In my time-constrained world, playing through the same content with a different approach is pretty low on the replay value scale.  Yes, it’s technically “replay”, but the bulk of that sort of replay is just repetition, which never sits well with me.  (Mostly because DIKU design is very repetitious to start with; repeating the repetition just gets too stupid too fast.)

“Class identity”?  Thing is, if you have the option to change, you don’t lose that identity; those classes and builds are still there, you just gain the ability to make more choices in the game.  Remember, I like choices.  Purist players in a freeform system will always have the choice to stick with their initial choice, but it doesn’t work the other way; those who want freedom can’t drag it out of a class system without a hex editor.  (Which is effectively making the game behave in ways it wasn’t built for, but arguably should have been.  That sort of hacking doesn’t work in MMOs, since the admins tend to frown on it, banhammer in hand… understandably so, if disappointingly so.)

In a freeform system with Autopilot, you could let the Templates handle the minutae of maintaining a “class identity”, and just go ahead and play your class.  Those who want to do something more freeform could use the Autopilot a bit, or just go all in and do their own thing.

Guild Wars already has something somewhat like this with their Build Templates that you can save and load when you do your “free respec” thing in any town.  They are shorthand precooked “builds” that can be used at any time you would respec, so you can quickly change from a “farming” build to a “questing” or PvP build.  You can also change around your “attribute” numbers willy nilly, to accent your particular build of the moment.

I’m just extending the concept to push that freedom into more aspects of the game, all the way down to the most basic of character customization, the “class” choice.  I’ll reiterate, though, I’m talking about adding choices, and adding an Autopilot for those who want the more constrained experience.  This system wouldn’t destroy the ability to make a killer Rogue or buffalicious Tank, it would augment the game as a whole to allow for more variety and player ownership of one of the few things they truly can control; their character or team.  And yes, this design ethos would apply equally well to a Tactics team-based game as to an MMO.  Any game that uses classes or jobs could benefit from this sort of freedom.

I know, some people wouldn’t like that sort of freedom.  Some want strict predictability and/or relatively simple decision making.  That’s the point of the Autopilot, to let those players just get on with playing the game.  For those who want to dig deeper, though, why not let them do so?

Bien acabe de provar este juego,que dicen es la competencia del diablo y la verdad si que me inpreciono,realmente vale la pena jugarlo.No es aburrido la personalisasion de los pj´s es muy buena (Hablando de builds),ademas graficos buenos,jugabilidad buena: Buen juego .

Unos screens y los requerimentos:

REQUISITOS:

Minimos:
Windows 2000 o XP
Procesador Intel Pentium 4 a 1,8 GHz o equivalente, o AMD Athlon XP o equivalente
512 MB de RAM
5 GB de espacio libre en el disco duro
Tarjeta gráfica NVIDIA GeForce 3 de 64 MB o equivalente, o de la serie ATI Radeon 8500 compatible con Pixel Shader 1.1 o equivalente
Tarjeta de sonido de 16-bit compatible con DirectX 9.0c

Recomendados:
Sistema: Windows XP
Procesador: 3.0 GHz Intel Pentium IV o equivalente
Memoria: 1 GB RAM
Espacio en disco duro: 5.0 GB
Tarjeta gráfica: 128 MB NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series o ATI Radeon X800 series o equivalente
DirectX 9.0c

TITAN QUEST:

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Pass:serginho_bcn

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Pass:elgrande2008

Instalacion Metodo 1: Solo Titan Quest.

Instalar el Juego y pegar el crack (biene dentro del iso…)

Instalacion Metodo 2: Titan Quest + Immortal Throne.

Instalar primero el titan quest (obio U.u),luego instalar la expancion,dejarla que se actialize y listo!,no necesita de Crack,solo el seria que pondre mas abajo…

Utilidades:

Aqui alguna cosillas utiles para los juegos:

Serial Titan Quest:

99E9-AA2C-7140-F029-D009

Serial Immortal Throne:

46da-eefb-996b-2da1-a551

Que los disfruten ;D.

I just don’t get it.  This game is so popular, has great critic ratings, commercial success and is STILL doing great on Xfire.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the game and played it a good bit when it came out.  I even played it so much I finished the first difficulty in 2 or 3 days if I remember correctly.  But it definitely did not hold me.  After a week or two I was done.  Multiplayer didn’t even interest me that much…it was fun for 30 minutes or so but then I was done.Diablo 2 is over 8 years old and really hasn’t aged well in my eyes.   The resolution is froze at 800×600 and it looks very soupy and blocky.  That being said, I am not one to shun a game for just graphic reasons.  If my obsession with Nethack does not make this obvious then I am not sure what will.  That is the thing though, Diablo 2 really has no surprises after you have played it through once.  You will have the same quests and the same monsters with the same abilities every time you play it through.  The numbers will be bigger, and the game will be a bit harder, but in the end it is all…exactly…the same.  Compare that to Nethack and after playing it casually for a few years and I still have not “beat the game.” (Not to mention finding a new way to die at least once a week…)

Maybe I am just missing something.  I gave it another go though.  I was in the mood for some slick – hack & slash and the hot pursuit of loot.  Diablo 3 got me on this track and I needed a fix.  I just couldn’t get hooked on Diablo 2 again though.  I tried making a druid to try and spark something “new” and while the class seems interesting I am just so “Meh” with the game.  My quest for some hack and slash did bring me to pick up Titan Quest and its expansion Immortal Throne though.

Now Titan Quest uses the same exact formula as Diablo 2 did.  It is pure hack and slash with some quests that you can take or leave.  The big differnces are Titan Quest is quite pretty and the levels are not random.  Other than that they are pretty similar, but the story, foes, and scenery are all new to me so it has provided me my fix.  The great thing is you can pick it up on for $19.95.  To get Diablo 2 and the expansion from Blizzard store you are looking at $40.  With that being said according to Xfire Diablo 2 much more desirable than Titan Quest.  Titan quest is currently ranked 103 to Diablo 2’s 26.

So tell me, what am I missing about Diablo 2?  I know there are a ton of fans out there, what do you enjoy about it so much?

Nachdem Matraxx nun seit etwas längerer Zeit schon keine neuen Beiträge mehr verfasst hat konnte ich ihn überzeugen zusammen mit mir den Blog wiederzubeleben. Ich freue mich auf die nächste Zeit, die bestimmt nicht einfach für mich wird, weil vieles neu ist,aber ich bin sehr optimistisch, dass ich das hinbekomme.

Bevor ich jedoch richtig loslege möchte ich mich erstmal vorstellen. Keine Angst ich werde euch nicht mit meiner ganzen Lebensgeschichte nerven, weil die viel zu uninteressant für euch ist.
Ich will aber versuchen, dass wichtigste zu erwähnen, damit ihr einen kleinen Überblick über mich bekommt.

Mein Name ist Sutiiwen…Kurzform Sutii. Ich spiele zur Zeit Titan Quest Immortal Throne, Sacred 2 Fallen Angel und die Warcraft 3 Custom Map DotA. Die Idee zusammen mit Matraxx den Blog wiederzubeleben kam eigentlich relativ spontan. Ich schrieb nach dem letzten Artikel am 9. Mai 2008 einige Kommentare während des Informatikunterrichts, weil ich dort viel Zeit hatte und einen Computer der mehr oder weniger funktionierte. Ich glaube dadurch fingen meine Überlegungen an. Ein weiterer Grund für meine Mitarbeit ist außerdem meine Lust am Schreiben, die ich entdeckte als ich anfing Gedichte zu schreiben. Natürlich ist mein Ausdrucksvermögen noch lange nicht so ausgeprägt wie das von Matraxx, das wird jeder merken, aber mit ein bisschen Übung schaffe ich das schon:).Schließlich ist noch kein Meister vom Himmel gefallen.

Was wird in naher Zukunft von mir berichtet?! Auf diese Frage gibt es klare Anworten. Wie gesagt bin ich zur Zeit fleißig am Zocken, deshalb werde ich einige Beiträge zum Beispiel dem Thema Titan Quest widmen. Zudem plane ich eine Vorstellung des Spieleportals Garena, bei dem schon über 10.000.000 Menschen aus aller Welt registriert sind und das sind ja bekanntlich fast die Ausmaße von WoW. Natürlich berichte ich auch über die “faszienierenden Dinge” des Alltags.

Also freut euch auf das was kommen wird und geht sicher, dass ihr wieder regelmäßig Matraxx Blog besucht, denn es geht wieder los!

Books

• Jo Beverley – Christmas Angel
• Suzanne Brockmann – Body Language
• Kristin Hardy – Bad Behaviour
• Kristin Hardy – Hot Moves
• Julie James – Just the Sexiest Man Alive

Jo Beverley – Christmas Angel

A marriage of convenience
This is book # 3 in the “Company of Rogues” series and while some of the characters from the previous novels appear 1) they are actually integral to the story and 2) Christmas Angel is well able to stand on its own. It’s the story of Leander, Earl of Charrington, who “wants a home, a wife and a good old-fashioned English Christmas.” Thanks to the marriage of his parents, he’s afraid to fall in love – he honestly believes he just can’t – and so he looks for a sensible wife who isn’t likely to fall in love with him either. Enter Judith Rossiter, a impoverished widow with two young children. She has a reputation for having loved her late husband a lot and after his death, she is known as the “Weeping Widow.” Judith can’t turn down Leander’s proposal for the sake of her children, and they enter into a marriage of convenience.
I enjoyed reading how the characters adjusted to each other. Leander is a few years younger than Judith for example (not much of an issue but I liked it), and Judith worries about doing the right thing. After all, marriage means giving someone a lot of power over herself and her children. I liked this part of the story the most. Later, the focus shifts to the mystery surrounding Leander’s inheritance, and there are more revelations about Judith’s poet husband. But despite the title, it’s only at the end that the “Christmas spirit” invades the story a bit much.

Grade: 4 / 5

~ * ~

Suzanne Brockmann – Body Language

Friends-turned-lovers
I bought this one because I liked Kiss and Tell. It’s a friends-turned-lovers story and it’s quite sweet. If there is one drawback, it’s that both characters are actually in love before the story starts. One of them for years, while the other realized it only recently. So the realization part is actually over before the story starts. But there are still quite a few awh!-moments to be had because before Clint can say anything, Sandy tells him she’s in love with someone (figuring she would always just be seen as a good friend by Clint). He agrees to help her get that man, wanting the best for her, and so he teaches her about body language. There are quite a few fun scenes and despite Clint being and expert on body language, the mis-communications continue. At the end, they got a bit much and I wondered why they didn’t talk about what was happening. I mean, they ruined their friendship with pretending to be lovers and I don’t think they once voiced concerns about the potential for that when they got into it. But all in all, a good and nice read.

Grade: 4 / 5

~ * ~

Kristin Hardy – Bad Behaviour

Second chance at love
This is the sixth and the last book in the mini-series “Sex and the Supper Club” by Kristin Hardy about six girlfriends making their way in life and finding love. Delaney Phillips held out the longest of the women, always on the lookout for fun and leaving the men before it could get ugly or hurtful. On a vacation, she meets her first boyfriend, Dom Gordon, by accident (and you could make the case that her way to deal with men comes in part from that time). They spent a few wonderful days full of fun and sex, and for Delaney, that’s all that it is supposed to be. But Dom, even though he has a lot on his plate with his expanding business, doesn’t want it to end just like that, so after some time, they resume their affair again back home.
This was a fun read. I probably liked it a bit less than Hot Moves but this could easily have to do with the fact that I read them both on the same day and Hot Moves was the first that I read. Incidentally, the heroines are nearly opposites in the way they deal with men. Delaney, always the one to leave, and Thea, the heroine from Hot Moves, always the one unable to leave.

Grade: 4 / 5

~ * ~

Kristin Hardy – Hot Moves

A one-night stand turned into something more
This is the fifth entry in Kristin Hardy’s “Sex and the Supper Club.” As always, the other women of the “Sex and Supper Club” are part of the story, but it’s not like you need to have read the previous novels to read this one. Thea just turned thirty and her one wish is for her to get her life back on track. She worked as a model in her past but something happened in New York, and she turned her back on that life and now works “Mcjobs” to keep her occupied even though she doesn’t need the money. A call from a friend leads her to Portland to help that friend with her dance studio. Dancing was the first and is now the only passion of Thea’s life. There she meets Brady and – totally blown away by the instant attraction between them – she has a one-night stand. Only, Brady doesn’t see it that way, for that it was way too good. But there is something in Thea’s past that made her swear off men – she has a clean record of always picking the wrong man and Brady shows all the signs to be one of those controlling assholes.
I really liked this story. Their first meeting and their instant attraction – very good. And despite the short page count, there was enough room to deal with Thea’s issues with men in an satisfying way.

Grade: 4 / 5

~ * ~

Julie James – Just The Sexiest Man Alive

Lawyer meets movie star
Overall, I liked this story. I had a few problems with Taylor. Her sarcasm seemed too forced at times and in general, I felt there was a bit too much “nudge-nudge, look-look” going on with Taylor’s character (especially for the first half). I also wondered a bit about her willingness (and having the time) to be seen repeatedly with several celebrities when she’s in trail.
That said, I loved the beginning of the novel. The cross-examination scene of Jason is great. Taylor’s reluctance to be impressed by Jason was understandable – she had already done the womanizing-man thing, so no. I thought the middle part a bit sagging and off. But the last few chapters, reminiscent of Notting Hill IMO, made up for that. Jason’s line, “Not this time, Taylor. No sarcasm.” Awwh.

Grade: 3,5 / 5 (for the sagging middle part)

~ * ~

Comments planned*:
- Ann Aguirre – Grimspace
- Lisa Kleypas – Devil in Winter
- Sherry Thomas – Private Arrangements
- and look at this:

Stephanie Laurens – A Secret Love – draft written on December, 4!

If A Secret Love wouldn’t be a re-read, I probably would need to read it again to finish writing that draft.

* We’ll see how that turns out!

Games

Shadow Hearts: From the New World (PS2)

see: Currently Playing: “Shadow Hearts – From the New World”

~ * ~

Civilization 3

Yes, I’m trying for a Deity game in Civ 3. So far, no chance because I don’t even manage to get a decent starting location. I have started over 10 games now and I always – always – end up with the worst starting location for my civilization compared to the AI’s starting locations. No water, no iron, no luxury in my immediate surroundings. I play til the Middle Ages come around and then I’m so ticked off that I quit and start new. I mean, is it too much to ask for at least a decent starting location and not the worst when I’m already heavily handicapped on this difficulty level? Bah!

~ * ~

Titan Quest

Finished this game on the first difficulty level. I don’t think I’ll play the other two. I liked it but (at the moment) I don’t want to take the time to really get into it like I did with the similar Diablo 2. Titan Quest is more comfortable in the gameplay than Diablo 2 (it’s also not as “old”) but something is missing. I don’t know. My Grade would probably be 4/5 or 4+/5.

Also:

For all my troubles I just get this measly info window informing me I made the next difficulty level?
Meh!

Akhir-akhir ini aku sedang kecanduan mainin satu game yg berjudul Titan Quest – Immortal Throne. Well mungkin aku agak ketinggalan soalnya aku baru upgrade kompi-ku, kompiku yg dulu spec-nya kurang jadi nggak bisa maen padahal kepingin banget waktu itu mau maen.

Aku seneng banget sama game ini krn platformnya mirip banget sama serial Diablo & Dungeon Siege yg pernah aku mainkan seblmnya. Especially Diablo, my favourite game ever. Dan skr lgi nunggu release sekuelnya yg ketiga, kayaknya seru juga liat preview-nya. Moga2 spec kompiku yg sekarang cukup kuat buat mainin Diablo 3. Paling2 butuh VGA Card, soalnya yg skr msh onboard.

Titan Quest ini menceritakan petualangan seorang prajurit biasa menumpas kejahatan, yah yg mirip2 spt itulah klise, cman yg membuatnya menarik adalah setting Yunani-nya, dewa2, makhluk2 mitos, sihir dll. Trs leveling up-nya spt weapon, skill, armor, sihir dan masih banyak lagi. Elemen2 inilah yg selalu membuat para gamers penasaran & nggak pingin berhenti maen alias KECANDUAN!!! he..he..

OK, that’s my story bout my game recently, see you on my next story !

Dieser Artikel handelt, wie der Titel schon unschwer erkennen lässt, um meine Top10 der Rollenspiele. Nein, es geht hier nicht um Doktorspielchen mit eurer Freundin oder Videos mit namen “I fucked my Secretary” sondern um Rollenspiel-GAMES! Es gab halt so viele Spiele die ich gerne in der Top Ten drin hätte, aber am Ende muss man sich dann eben für zehn entscheiden. So gibt’s auch noch kein Fallout 3, ganz einfach weil es die wenigsten nachvollziehen können. Ansonsten gibt’s halt viel älteres in meiner Liste aber auch n paar neuere Titel. Ich lasse dieses mal das taggen weg und werde es erst später hinzufügen, damit ihr nicht gleich gespoilert werdet! Also dann, viel Spaß beim lesen.

10. Oblivion

Oblivion war ein nettes Spiel mit actionlastigem Kampfsystem und einer riesigen Welt. Meiner Meinung nach das Spiel, was die Rollenspiele revolutionierte, aber dennoch nicht ganz gut da stand. So fand ich es sehr schade, dass die Gegner das selbe Level wie man selbst hat. Dadurch ist man einfach unbesiegbar… Es war möglich mit level 1 das Ende zu spielen, es war aber auch möglich das erst mit einem höheren Level zu tun, ganz einfach weil eh jede Figur im Spiel das selbe konnte. War ziemlich langweilig und ein großer Fehler von Bethesda. Die riesige Welt stoß mir auch sehr auf. Große Welt ist ja gut und schön, aber in Oblivion sah einfach alles gleich aus. So auch in den Dungeons – Es gab für alle Dungeons eine Textur…
Auch die Patchpolitik sah hierzulande nicht wirklich toll aus. Es gab einen Patch der so gut wie gar nichts behoben hat. Dafür musste die Community ran. Mit der Möglichkeit Plugins zu erstellen, konnte man Oblivion zwar an seine eigenen Bedürfnisse anpassen, dennoch war es immer eine futzelarbeit vom feinsten. Dennoch ist Oblivion eines der besten Rollenspiele!

09. Gothic 3

Gothic 3 war ein sehr umstrittenes Spiel und ist auch der Grund warum Piranha Bytes nun Risen und Spellbound jetzt Gothic 4 entwickelt. Ara hatte das mal ganz gut beschrieben: Wenn man sich mit den Bugs abfinden kann, ist es ne 1+, wenn man das nicht kann isses ne glatte 6. Es war trotz seiner riesen Bugs und verkrüppelten Engine ein sehr Atmosphärisches Spiel, das merkt man jetzt vorallem, wenn man mit dem Community Patch spielt. Es kommt in einigen Orten einfach fantastische Atmosphäre auf und das ist es was Gothic halt immer für mich ausmachte. Es hatte den gewöhnlichen Piranha Bytes Charakter. Ich find es heute noch gut, bald(am 13.11) kommt übrigens das Addon Götterdämmerung, welches wohl größtenteils Bug frei sein soll. Wenn nicht, hat es Gothic 4 im Jahre 2011 umso schwerer. Wenn doch, lohnt es sich auf Community Patch 1.7 zu warten und vorher nochmal Gothic 3 durch zuspielen.

08. Mass Effect

Mass Effect war ein Textadventure, leider war das Kampfsystem total ungenau. Auch die Skillungsmöglichkeiten waren im Grunde unnütz. Ob ich als Soldat in Sniper 40 oder 100 Punkte steckte – es machte keinen Unterschied. Meine Erfahrungen basieren hier auf der XBOX 360 Version vom November 07, ich weis also nicht ob es dementsprechend auf dem PC besser geworden ist.
Die Dialoge waren aber BioWare-Typisch echt genial und machten sehr sehr viel Spaß. Das ganze Spiel war ein guter Film, wo man ewig Textquests lösen möchte, denn wenns zum Kampf kommt ist man schnell mal am verzweifeln. Jedenfalls war das bei mir der Fall.

07. Jade Empire

Ganz ehrlich: Ich weis nicht was mich an diesem Spiel so fasziniert. Jedenfalls ist es bis dato das einzige Spiel was ich am Stück, ohne es auszuschalten, durchgespielt habe. Nicht etwa, weil es so kurz ist – sondern weil mich die Welt von dem Game einfach beeindruckt… Maybe ist es auch das unverbrauchte Asiasetting, welches damals ganz frisch war.

06. Titan Quest

Titan Quest ist mein persönlicher Action-RPG Favourite. Klar, die Mehrheit steht eindeutig auf der Seite von Diablo, jedoch war das noch nie so mein Fall und machte mir auch nie wirklich Spaß. Titan Quest ist halt echt geil. Man kann sich zwei Klassen aussuchen und auch die Fertigkeiten dieser uneingeschränkt verwenden, skillen und sich da wild austoben. Hier gibts dann auch nich wie bei Diablo, nur für den Charakter ein sinnvolles Attribut, sondern mehrere bzw sind alle Sinnvoll je nach Skillung und Spielstil halt. Auch dieses Götterszenario aus Griechenland spricht mich sehr an. Leider wurde die Marke Titan Quest zusammen mit Entwickler Ironlore eingestampft.

Was mir überhauptnicht an Titan Quest gefiel war dieser lineare Weg der von Anfang bis Ende durchgezogen wurde. Anstatt wie bei Diablo wo man halt auch oben lang oder unten lang oder gar kreuz und quer gehen konnte, gab es hier nur einen gepflasterten Weg der einen durch die Spielwelt führte. Randommaps gab es leider auch nicht, wahrscheinlich, weil es keine Ladezeiten gibt… keine Ahnung ob man die dazu braucht.

05. Silverfall: Wächter der Elemente

Hier geht es um das Standalone-Addon Wächter der Elemente. Das Spiel hatte eine sehr gute Story und bekam in meinem Review eine 1.5. Die Story handelte halt von Völkern die sich darum streiten ob Natur oder Technik – quasi wie im echten Leben – Ökonomie oder Ökologie. Als König musste man sein Volk also entweder zum Weg der Natur oder zur Technik führen. Das ganze wirkte sich dann auch auf den Charakter aus. Als Naturfreund konnte man als Hunter z.B mit Bogen kämpfen und als Technikfreak mit Shotguns – so in die Richtung, damit ihr euch das vorstellen könnt.
Vom Addon gibt es leider keinen Trailer, deshalb findet ihr unten den vom Hauptspiel, das nicht soooo gut war aber immerhin…

04. Gothic 2

Muss man da viel zu sagen? Wohl eines der alleralleralleralleralleralleralleraller(…)besten Rollenspiele die es jemals gab! Demnächst gibt es Gothic 2 übrigens zusammen mit 29 anderen Spielen auf einer Blu-Ray für 30 Euro. Spätens da solltet ihr es euch kaufen. Wer sich auch nur im entferntesten Gamer nennen will, sollte Gothic 2 gespielt haben!
Ob Grafik (für damalige Verhältnisse), Dialoge, Quests, Design, Charaktere, Atmosphäre… es war einfach grandios! Nur mit dem Kampfsystem, falls man es so nennen mag, konnte ich mich nie so wirklich anfreunden. Cool ist auch das hier unzählige Addons von der Community gibt. Wenn ihr das kauft habt ihr halt mehr Spielspaß und Umfang als mit einem heutigen Vollpreis-Spiel.

03. Drakensang

Drakensang basiert auf dem Regelwerk vom Pen’n Paper Das schwarze Auge, hat ein cooles Kampfsystem, ein riesiges gut ausgeklügeltes Charaktersystem und besitzt gut geschriebene Dialoge. Umfang ist auch groß mit 80 Stunden, wenn man alles macht. Außerdem ist es eines der wenigen bugfreien Rollenspiele UND kommt dazu noch aus Deutschland. Was will man mehr? Bessere Grafik? Gibts auch, mit dem HighTexturePack was seit letztem Montag auf der offiziellen Seite zum Download bereit steht.

02. The Witcher

The Witcher hatte zum Release, genauso wie Gothic 3 und Co. stark mit Bugs zu kämpfen. Dennoch war es schon damals echt gut. Die Story war mal was anderes, das Kampfsystem frisch und die Atmosphäre trotz häufigen Crashes dicht wie noch nie zuvor gesehen. Nun, mit dem Enhanced Edition Patch auf 1.4 ist das Spiel total Bugfrei, hat viele verschiedene Charaktermodels, vollkommen überarbeitete Synchros und spielt sich wahnsinnig geil, weil KEIN aber auch wirklich KEIN(!) Skill/Talent/Attribut sinnlos ist. Egal was ihr skillt – es hat immer Auswirkungen auf euren Char und diese sind dann auch nachvollziehbar.
Überall im Spiel herrscht diese düstere Stimmung und ganz wichtig – es gibt Blut und Sex! Was will man mehr? Dennoch gibt es auch jetzt noch Sachen die mich am Spiel ärgern, zum Beispiel die nicht frei begehbare Welt – das ganze ist ziemlich Linear und man kann nicht mal über Zäune hinweg oder gar Schwimmen: Das hätt ich mir halt noch gewünscht.

01. Knights of the Old Republic

Ich brauche denke ich nicht sagen wie genial Kotor ist. Ich sag nur das BioWare am Start ist und Star Wars. Star Wars ist halt schon awesome und wenn dann noch BioWare n Spiel draus macht, dann ist glaub ich schon klar das es mal gespielt werden muss! Kampfsystem, Szenario, die BioWare-typischen Dialoge… einfach alles stimmt bei diesem Spiel halt. Ganz angenehm war halt das man immer pausieren konnte während des Kampfes – einfach göttlich