The (Almost) Complete NeverWinter Nights Saga

NeverWinter Nights must had been the most anticipated RPG ever. Following in the wake of Baldur's Gate games' artistic and financial success, our appetite was whetted for a third-person cRPG set in the Sword Coast of Faerûn. Because there are tons of reviews on the individual games (links provided), I shall focus mainly on this NWN Collection itself.

NWN SAGA: This collection contains the original NWN game together with its two expansions, Hordes of the UnderDark and Shadow of UnderTide as well as Kingmaker a collection of Premium Modules, (namely Kingmaker, ShadowGuard and Witch's Wake).

Note that the Premium Modules collection is not complete. Three are missing: Infinite Dungeons, Pirates of the Sword Coast, and Wyvern Crown of Cormyr. They are probably missing because they came with DRM that required ...always OnLine authentication (they have been pushing this for years!) - and EA took the servers down once they had been hacked at least once. Still, one would expect, after almost a decade, that the missing modules could be included in a DRM-free version. Disappointing.

NWN II SAGA: This collection contains the original NWN2 game together with its two expansions, Mask of the Betrayer and Storm of Zehir as well as its adventure Pack, Mysteries of Westgate (previously only available via digital download).

NWN2 was initially released with a number of problems, the camera being one of the most annoying, and it was not until the release of the Storm of Zehir that most of them were addressed.

These are all great games and, even if they series did not quite meet the expectations, I would recommend this Collection to any gamer. Completionists, however, should keep in mind that the collection is almost complete.

A Vast World Of Soaring Dragons

The end of this decade was a small Golden Age for cRPGs. Oblivion, The Witcher, Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Risen, even the humble Torchlight revived the genre with fresh ideas and renewed vigor. And Divinity II: Ego Draconis comes as the cherry to this cake.

If one remembers the (excellent) Divine Divinity, well gone are the days of isometric gameplay. Larian Studios started with a clean state and the result is a beautiful third-person action cRPG. The graphics are not cutting edge and yet they are gorgeous. Imagine what a cross between Titan Quest and Fable would look like today [by the way, ..."thank you" Peter Molyneux for snubbing PC gamers with Fable 2!].

The trees and flowers move slightly to the wind; the skies change in beautiful colors; the sunlight and shades play tricks to your eyes; the characters and gear are very artfully designed; and the fighting moves are impressive. If only the animation of the Non-Playing Characters (NPCs) were better I would be talking about one of the best-looking cRPGs ever.

Nevertheless, what grabs you from the beginning is not the imagery but the story. The first PC game to introduce flying like a dragon was Drakan: Order of the Flame. But a dragon-slayer who can shape-shift into a Dragon and back? That's some table-turning.

What is more, character development runs parallel to your Dragon development, on different skill trees. Diversification may satisfy your curosity but do not specialize at your own risk: as you advance you better have some well honed skills if you wish to survive and fight yet another day.

In the best cRPG tradition, there are quick-slots, inventory and life/mana/stamina levels as well as a small local map. Other than that the screen is free of unnecessary clutter.

What is more, I particularly appreciated the music, subtle or emphatic where appropriate. The same care was exercised to the sounds of battle, from unsheathing your sword to letting go of an arrow. As to the English dubbing (the original game was in German) it was very nicely done.

This Divinity II (Dragon Age Saga edition) includes both the (remastered) original Divinity II: Ego Draconis as well as its expansion Divinity II: Ego Draconis - Flames of Vengeance. Patch 1.497 is already out and I heard it to be especially useful for Win7 users (I cannot speak from experience on this one, I am sticking to my reliable WinXP until Win7 SP2 is released). Nevertheless, after (too) many hours of gaming I found no major bugs.

Now some more good news. The original game came with SecuROM 7 DRM - but that has been patched out. The game still requires OnLine Activation, mind you. Even if bought through STEAM, it will still ask for Activation when installed and you will have to de-authorize your copy when uninstalling. This may just barely clear my DRM-tolerance threshold, however, it is still much better than most triple-A games today.

The graphics are exceptional, the world is endless and beautifully designed, the battles are absorbing and the gameplay immersing. All in all, an excellent game and a major addition to any cRPG collection.

What Dies In Vegas, Stays In Vegas

The previous installment of the Fallout series, Fallout 3, was an excellent open-world Role-Playing Shooter (RPS). Although it suffered a far from...happy ending and most of the DLCs offered little more than even more loot and a handful of unique items, it was a game I greatly enjoyed for hours at no end and was more than happy to replay it only to follow different paths every time the story bifurcated. I for one was sure left craving for more and the Obsidian/Bethesda people were more than happy to deliver. Even so, true to Vegas mentality, they seem to have let their winnings ride...

The first thing that hits you with Fallout: New Vegas in the Mojave desert is how...familiar this new world looks like. The graphics, which were excellent two years ago, are still very good - but they are no longer cutting edge. Besides some richer shadowing and somewhat more vivid colors, if there are any major graphical improvements since Fallout 3 I failed to notice them. Having said that, I must admit that I loved the desert skies, especially during sunrises and sunsets!

Although both the story and the location are different from Fallout 3, I was happy to meet old friends: the handy PIPBOY-3000, the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skill system and the V.A.T.S. targeting aid. The gameplay seems to fit like a favorite old pair of jeans.

Character development has both acquired more depth (with the return of Traits which offer advantages but at a price) but also made easier. There are new guns and more explosive kill-shot sequences as well as more skills and perks but I felt far less pressure to complete quests to gain experience points and translate them into perks, skills and traits as the game is generous in offering different ways to accomplish this.

Notably, with all the conflicting groups and factions angling for an edge in controlling New Vegas, the story seems more byzantine than Fallout 3 and the choices one has to make now cut deeper. Note also that this is a longer game than Fallout 3.

Now some bad news. Whereas Fallout 3 had a simple disk-check, Fallout: New Vegas comes with mandatory OnLine STEAM registration and activation. If you are wondering, the game lost its fifth star neither because of its somewhat dated graphics, nor its numerous bugs or occasional crash but rather its anti-customer DRM scheme. (That was a serious misstep BETHESDA, I was disappointed). Having to activate your game OnLine means that you never actually own the game you paid for at full price. Just try to sell or gift your original version in order to replace it with the Ultimate edition and see what happens. If this does not concern you, well, you can now make an informed decision either way.

This Ultimate edition includes all of the DLCs, namely Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road, Gunrunners's Arsenal and Courier's Stash (consisting of the Caravan, Classic, Mercenary & Tribal Packs). I almost never buy individual DLCs. If I like a game enough, I wait for the Ultimate or GameOfTheYear edition to pick them all up at a reasonable price. Now that the price has dropped considerable, so many hours of fun can be bought at a bargain price.

Try your luck.

The Top-10 PC Games Opening Cinematic Sequences

From the early age of Pong, games have matured into a complete art-form. Story and cinematics are often as important as graphics and gameplay. Video games are the closest we have come so far to creating a holo-deck. You can be anyone and anything you want and you can dive head-first into this myriad of imaginary worlds. We may not realize it but gaming is a major component of what is known as the invisible literature, reproducing themes, memes and emotional states that constantly remodel and reshape our collective unconscious.

The cinematic Opening Sequences are there to start the story and make you want to follow it; to set the emotional framework and, carefully, lay hooks that will lead you to the surface. Some are Computer Generated Images (CGI) while others make use of real actors, making them short movies. These are the very best.  

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10. SYBERIA: The Wound-Up Funeral 

Syberia is a wonderful Adventure game. A young professional arrives in the French Alps looking for the heir to a toy factory. However, just like life, everything is complicated. This is only the beginning. 

The dark yet playful atmosphere is set early on. Who really is this girl arriving alone in the rain? Whose is this funeral and why are automata honoring the deceased? Not only is this opening sequence artistically impeccable but it is also effective in reeling you into the world of the game.

9. RIVEN: Through the Linking Book

Riven, another first person adventure, was produced in the wake of Myst’s huge success. Although technically a superior game in every aspect, it did not duplicate the success of its prequel, mostly because a number of Riven’s puzzles were too difficult for the average gamer (in all honesty, I had to consult a walkthrough guide to get past the rotating room!). 

This however, can take little away from the hypnotic opening sequence which absorbs you into this beautiful world of magic books, steampunk islands and damsels in distress.     

8. EMPEROR - BATTLE OF DUNE: 
The History of the Houses

The only thing better than an intro with Bene Geserit witches in it, is one where they use The Voice against each other.  Emperor: Battle of Dune is a masterpiece of a real-time strategy (RTS) game (Westwood’s swan song, just before it was absorbed and homogenized by EA) is set just after the end of the 1984 movie adaptation of the original novel. The sets and the costumes are very close to David Lynch’s vision whereas the acting follows on the footsteps left on the desert sands by the cast of the movie. 

This opening sequence makes the list because it does two things and it does them well: it recaps the history of the Houses (for those unfamiliar with the Dune universe) and it creates the anticipation of the coming conflict. The conflict you are about to get involved in. Because, no matter what, the Spice Must Flow! 

7. GRIM FANTANGO: Travel Agent to the Afterlife

Grim Fantango is an adventure game set in a 1920’s noir atmosphere, about the Land of the Dead (where little is actually different from the land of the living), can hardly avoid greatness. And this greatness is more than hinted in its subtle opening sequence. Manny Calavera is a travel agent to the souls, trying to make enough profit in order to move along himself. He may be down on his luck, exploited by his boss and ridiculed by his coworkers but nothing can make Manny loose his Humphrey Bogart cool. And the opening sequence is exactly that.     

6. CALL OF DUTY 4 – MODERN WARFARE: Driving to an Execution

CoD4-MW makes the list not because of the graphics or the artwork but because of the ingenious way it was directed. It plays out like an episode out of Homeland and it manages to both set the mood and jump start your adrenaline for the first-person shooter (FPS) that is about to explode on your screen. It can be accused of emotional manipulation but that is only to be expected of games. If an FPS manages to make you angry just before the shooting begins, so much the better! And it is the details, such the authentic interior of the late 80’s Mercedes SL you are transported in to the jailer’s sweat beading on his forehead, that convince you that you are a man about to die. 

5. SHOGUN - TOTAL WAR: The Art of War

Shogun: Total War is the game that started the THQ’s Total War series and for that alone, it is monumental. Nevertheless, the game’s opening sequence is included because it is one of the most artistic. By use of a Japanese-accented voice-over the gamer is both immersed into the world of medieval Japan and offered a number of gameplay tips that he or she will need shortly. From the traditional Japanese paintings and the koto music in the background to explaining the turned-based strategy (TBS) of a game structured on bushido, this opening sequence is a masterpiece on its own. 

4. MAX PAYNE 2: The Darkness Inside

Sequels always have the not so easy task of bringing up to speed people who missed on the previous installments. Max Payne 2 does this in NYC style. The sad story of Max Payne is outlined in a noir graphic novel that unfolds one frame at a time. The leather clad, back-combed NY detective may have gone through hell but his sufferings are far from over. Because revenge is a tiger; it is easier to ride her than slide off her. And there is always a bullet, patiently waiting in its nest, your number to be called up.   

3. STARCRAFT 2 – WINGS OF LIBERTY: 
The Price of Freedom

The sequel to StarCraft, one of the most popular RTS ever, was years and years in the making. Building on this anticipation (and actually making fun at it) this opening sequence of StarCraft 2: WoL only turns this built up tension into an unbearable desire to finally play the game. The CGI sequence is immaculately made and, even if it does not explain the mechanics of the game (most of us already know them anyway) it does set the foundations of the emotional build up that is about to unfold. “It’s about time” indeed!

2. FALLOUT 3: 
War. War Never Changes.

This one is beautiful and brilliant at the same time. It is sad and nostalgic of a futuristic world on the verge of extinction. It starts off Fallout 3 with the credits in a series of slides projected on a radiation-hardened screen. Then the Ink Spots sing the 1941 jazz hit “I don’t want to set the world on fire”, the voice coming from a still functioning tube radio in a burned out public bus. The camera pulls back to reveal the world after the nuclear holocaust. That is when the famous “War, war never changes…” monologue can be heard. And, then, in a small number of story interruptions, the gamer gets to make the choices required at the beginning of every role-playing game (RPG). Pure brilliance.

1. HALF LIFE: Black Mesa Inbound

Half Life 2 may be a better game (and one of the best games ever made), however, when I started this list there was not a single doubt in my mind on who would be at the No.1 spot. The opening sequence of the original Half Life, entering the Black Mesa research facility, is, by far, the greatest cinematic opening in any PC game.

It sets the mood and the tone of the game. It allows the gamer to try out the controls of moving around in the confined environment of the train car. Brief credits flash and fade out cinematically at the corners. You are passed by different levels, rooms and environments, all hints of what awaits you in the game about to begin. And yet you are still driven further, deeper into the research facility. You learn that your name is Gordon Freeman, you are a low level scientist. And what is the purpose of such a huge facility? Well, Dr Freeman, you are about to find out.

(NOTE: the game has been recently revived by the – unbelievable! - Black Mesa MOD which is free and can be installed on STEAM).   

Justice Served By The Underdogs

Amelie and The City of Lost Children belong to those films that, although, you find strange when you sit through it for the very first time, they stay with you forever. I find the director (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) to be Europe's answer to David Lynch - only a tad heavier on the regressive images and lighter on the subconscious horrors. So when he had another film out, I was not going to miss it. And, once more, I was glad I did. MicMacs (Micmacs à tire-larigot, as is the original title) is a sleeper gem of a film.

A bunch of eccentrics (each with his or hers own quirky character and unusual personal history) come together by life's caprice and end up undertaking an impossible task: try to take down the two largest arms manufacturers in the country. Ingenious ideas, impossible retro gadgets (handmade from salvaged materials), and an unwavering sense of justice. No sacrifice is too big if it means making the villains pay for their crimes.

The colors are soft and comforting; the imagery is mesmerizing; the music will take you back to a more naive age; and the story will make you laugh, cry and laugh again. All in all, great entertainment!

Everyday Objects Of Art

This is not the salt mill I use at home. To my delight, my brother, who knows how much I like Alessi products, offered me a set of Queen Chin Salt & King Chin Pepper as a present.

All four of them (the blue, the red, the green and the yellow) are simply beautiful and I smile everytime they catch my eye. However, as I did not think these to be as durable as my metal set, I decided to keep them as everyday art. As mills go, they are quite expensive. As objects of art that will make your life just a little more beautiful, they are not.

And, just because a Queen always needs her monkey, this was the toothpick holder that followed her home!

Life is too short. Treat yourself.

A Pyramid Built Just For Cheese

I was looking for something to balance our Alessi Juicy Salif Citrus Squeezer on my kitchen counter and ended up with one of the best kitchen products ever! This Alessi Cheese Grater is easy to hold and it can grate a large quantity of cheese very fast. And, to top it off, it looks very impressive.

The best product is always the best designed one. Because that is the one you will keep reaching for.

Can One Put A Price On Beauty?

Apparently, Alessi can.

Although, yes, this is a kettle and one can find a much cheaper ones that do exactly the same thing (that is, ...boil water). However, if you are considering buying this you are not looking for a practical kettle - but a piece of modern design that will bring some beauty into your everyday life.

This is a classic Alessi product and it is mostly well designed (the singing bird has a tendency of getting ...burned - there are replacements but, you guessed it: they are not cheap). The sky blue handle cover blends beautifully with the polished metal, the kettle is very easy to clean and, most importantly, it will bring a smile to your face every time you look at it.

Makes The Flu Just A Little Bit More Tolerable

I ordered this full knowing from other reviews that this tissue-box novelty cover cannot be used in the upright position. It can stand but once you start pulling the next tissue it will topple over.

The solution I came up with was to attach a small pin on my bookshelves back panel and tie the top of the box to it with a nylon thread. It works and it is not too much hassle when it comes time to change the tissue box inside; however, it would had been so much easier to simply have an (attachable?) stabilization stand.

Also, make sure to remove all the sticky foam from inside the nose when using for the first time. It is there to hold the mock-tissue in place but it will mess-up your tissues if not completely removed.

Overall, a fun purchase. If the Easter Island Giants can have a runny nose, who am I to complain, right?

The Only Sober Face Is Staring At You From...Inside Your Drink

I may be going through a Moai phase - I bought this Easter Island Heads Ice-Tray together with an Easter Island Head Tissue-Box Holder. And did not regret buying either of them. I find those statues mesmerizing, in whatever form or size.

Followed the instructions and gave it a good wash before using it for the first time (I let it soak in soap-water for a couple of hours and then gave it a good scrub). I did not detect any strange taste in the ice-figures (and I can taste water depending on its source!). The silicone-based material make it easy to get the ice-figures out without breaking them. It is a pain to bring to the freezer without spilling all over the kitchen though. I have to fill them up while in the freezer, using a small measuring cup. And that is my only gripe.

It's no big a deal but is there a real reason why this ice-mold should be almost double the price of every other novelty ice-mold made by the same company? Increased demand I guess.

Pathetic Masonic Propaganda

Dan Brown is a writer more famous for stirring up controversy rather than his meticulous research. Although the media noise surrounding his last two books treats them as historic novels, they are much more fiction than fact. Understandably; were they treated as works of wild fiction there would had been nothing to argue about. And if there ever was a writing career built on controversy...

I will refrain from letting any spoilers slip through and, instead, I shall make clear why this is one of the very worse books I have ever read - and that is not solely because I refused to be fed unadulterated Masonic propaganda. The book is haphazardly researched, badly written and the plot runs in circles. Come to think of it, just like a Masonic ourovoros!

Allow me to give a couple cases in point.

The over and over glorified "field" of Noetics is nothing but a New Age philosophy masquerading as "science" only to peddle warmed up ancient ideas as scientific. I never heard of Noetics before reading this book and I am not surprised. If the best arguments supporting the notions that human (and why, I wonder, is it only human?) ...thoughts have a direct effect on reality and that there is a soul and it can be...weighted are the ones presented in this book, well snake-oils and good-luck charms should start to look pretty "scientific" by now.

In his attempt to substantiate a scientific basis of the idea of Global Consciousness (in yet another excuse for the Masonic efforts towards a Global Government), Brown presents some very shaky "facts". On p.70, he claims that following 9/11 "37 Random Events Generators"(sic) [and I am guessing that, since they are capitalized, they must be some Serious Scientific Equipment, right?] "suddenly became significantly less random". Wow, hold the presses! Shouldn't we wake the President?

Even if someone were to ignore the question of ...what exactly are these 37 generators measuring, can someone give us a precise time frame of these "events" following 9/11, to establish even a mere time-line of causality? For how long were these generators been monitored to be sure that a similar "event" did not occur, say when Vettel took the checkered flag at Abu Dabi's F1 race? And if it took a catastrophic event of the magnitude of 9/11 to get a "significantly less random" measurement, what are chances of this pseudoscience getting anything measured ever again?

As to ...weighting the soul - is he serious? What are his scientific references, the ...movie 21 Grams? Was he not aware that the actual scientific explanation for the (dubious) weight difference is the release of the residual air from the collapsing lugs? But that was not fitting with the rest of the "theory" so it had to be cut to size. Here is an expression to work out the etymology of, Dan: Procrustean methods!

By the way, I doubt that anyone hiding out in a Greek island would remain inconspicuous for long with the ridiculously made-up name of..."Andros Dareios". The correct spelling is Darius and it is a ancient Persian, not a Greek name. What's more, the word "andros" is the name of a Greek...island, it means "lair" and it is not a proper name - yet another example of how epidermal and self-serving his "research" really is. Just think how many heads would turn to the name..."Piratecove Adolph".

Nevertheless, the most serious issue with this book is its incessant Masonic propaganda. Their rituals are glorified, their beliefs are polished and presented again and again whereas the political implications are (conveniently) glossed over.

Brown expresses his condescending outrage to the masses that would fail to comprehend that "Senators, Chief Justices and CIA directors are all Masonic brothers". Really Dan? Do you fail to grasp the implications of a judge having to pass judgment on a Masonic brother he has sworn to protect? Is it too complicated for you to comprehend how a Mason CIA director or a Secretary of State may promote the interests of his (International) Brotherhood above those of his country?

And exactly how ...enlightened can a secret society be when it refuses to accept women and shunts minorities? I am also wondering why there was not even a pip about Nazis' obsession with the occult Ancient Mysteries and the Illuminati (the German offshoot of Freemasonry) or and the role of the infamous Masonic Temple P2 of Rome in connecting the Fascist regime of Mussolini with the Sicilian mafia bosses. Dan's silence is deafening on these matters.

Any free-thinking person would be very suspicious of groups operating under blood-oaths of secrecy, enforcing strict obedience to their (selected and not-elected) hierarchy and wielding the ability to undermine every pillar of a democratic society, from the judiciary to the executive branch, when their members are called upon to "support a brother".

I for one do not buy the "if I were an Mason I could not be writing about all this because of the secrecy oaths" argument. As if repaying a debt, Dan Brown goes to great lengths to function as a loud PR department to the Masons. His descriptions of the Masonic rituals are peculiarly selective - and they are strictly limited to what is already public knowledge. With some selective omissions of course.

Why is there no description of Baphomet, the hoofed and horned deity ever Mason upon reaching the 33th degree has to declare allegiance to? Is this not the final "Truth" that is revealed at the 33rd degree?

Judging by his ramblings in the last pages of this book, I am guessing his next book to be on the (equally bogus) Bible Code. For someone who has been attacking the Bible so vehemently he sure seems obsessed with it. Well, I am curious to see how he is going to twist the serpents' suggestion of "Ye are Gods" into something "enlightening" Masonic.

If the Masons wanted to improve their image, maybe they should had picked a better writer.

No matter how much this guy is pushed and pulled, sure, he may be selling books - but he is convincing no one.

A SIGMA Sequel

James Rollins has penned a number of excellent escapist novels. I would recommend Ice Hunt, Subterranean, Amazonia and Sandstorm to anyone who enjoys adventuring science/techno-thrillers. I would be more reluctant to do so with The Doomsday Key, though.

This is yet another thoroughly researched, keep-surviving-by-the-skin-of-your-teeth adventure. Less pronounced in this book yet still present is Rollins' tendency to move from cliffhanger to cliffhanger, with small breathers in between. It is a book to enjoy during a flight or a rainy weekend - and it will keep you turning pages for hours. However, for a number of reasons this would had been a much better book had it not been yet another Sigma sequel.

Sigma simply does not work that good for me. I cannot buy the small number of people undertaking such critical tasks. In fact, Sigma is so understaffed that not only has to rely on certified idiots (sorry Kowalski, but you know it is true...) but even the director himself has to go into the field. They operate all over the world under thin pretexts, they do not even seem to be official sanctioned. And to add insult to injury, most new recruits seem to suffer the Star Trek's away-party odd crew-member fate...

On top of that, Sigma seems to deal with one crisis after another while under attack from both a shadow power group and other government secret services. For a writer who takes great pride in the accuracy of his facts interweaved with his fiction, this requires a continuous leap of faith.

I can understand how having a book franchise can work for both the writer and his publisher. The first has a set framework of characters to weave his new plot with whereas the later has a more or less loyal fun-base to fall back to. However, they should both keep in mind that this does not always work for the reader.

The Heir That Lost The Kingdom

The original Dragon Age: Origins was a true masterpiece that marked gaming history forever. It was an epic cRPG that not only absorbed you into a world of scheming nobles, romantic witches and invading darkspawn but it was also an exercise in morality choices and balancing the clashing personalities of your companions. Following in its success, everyone and their grandmother is waiting to play the sequel (for some reason, the grandmother usually opts for a handsome rogue character). However, the question is this: does the sequel prove worthy of the original?

Well, like an embellished Varric's tale, Dragon Age II seems to be a mix of good-news and bad-news.

LEVELING UP THAT MAKES SENSE

In most cRPGs, leveling up involves adding points to strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, charisma, what have you - which, in turn, have an effect on health points, dialogue options, defending ability, damage dealt and so on. By reading the manual you know what affects what, however, in most games, you cannot readily see those effects as you level up. Not so with  Dragon Age II. Every point added to an attribute will increase the derived statistics on the same screen.Seasoned RPGers may not need it but younger players will find this quite helpful.

COME FOR THE LOOT. STAY FOR THE STORY

Your hero, Hawk, lives during the times of the last blight, fleeing Lothering as it is burned to the ground. Your decade-long story is narrated by Varric Tethras, a companion of yours. How the story will twist and turn is supposed to be dependent on your actions and choices. The story will absorb you the first time around and it may even impress you with its bifurcation points. Sadly, though, it makes little difference in the end. It feels like you are told a story in which you are allowed to finish a number of phrases. 

THE FREE MARCHES COULD LOOK BEAUTIFUL

In a nutshell: you are never actually playing the promo CGI video but the graphics are beautiful.

The armor and clothes could use some more work in depth and texturing but the environments, the warrior moves and the spells look spectacular (keep in mind that said moves and spells will also start to look familiar after a while, especially since they look much more impressive than the actual damage they inflict - and have to be repeated again and again in every battle).

What I truly missed though was the isometric tactics perspective! The camera does zoom in and out and it pans around but it is no longer possible to get a bird's eye view of the battlefield and plan your attacks accordingly. And this was not the only thing I found missing.

FEWER OPTIONS ARE HARDLY EVER AN IMPROVEMENT IN AN RPG

In Dragon Age: Origins I favored a dual-wielding warrior, building up both strength and dexterity, equipping him with both Maric's blade and Starfag and giving him all the cool moves of double-yielding. Well, although Dragon Age II is hardly short in cool moves, it offers less specialization options in order to make warriors and rogues visibly distinct on the battlefield - hence a warrior in DA2 cannot dual-wield.

Do you find being human in a fantasy game trivial and prefer to play the role of an elf or a dwarf? Sorry, Flemeth did not see that in your cards: EA decreed you can only play a human in DA2 (and I am laying the blame on EA simply because something tells me it was a cost-cutting decision).

Personal preferences aside, the number of abilities and skills has also decreased - and some, like coercion, I outright missed.

WHAT'S NEXT, RPGs WITH EMOTICONS OVER THE NPCs' HEADS?

What I also missed was real dialogue options. If, like me, you found DA:O laconic, you will sure find Dragon Age II almost, well,...illiterate. Sure, your hero now has a voice but did the dialogue options have to consist of such short summary-phrases that give you only the gist of what is to be said? And why did those options have to be presented on a (Mass Effect!?) dialogue wheel with...visual hints on the attitude of the responses available? More often than not, you end up saying a completely different thing than what you intended...

Give some credit to your customers BioWare: we can read!

WHEN WAS I BEAMED ONTO THE BRIDGE OF NORMANDY?

This is the first thing that hits you actually. Playing, and enjoying, a fantasy cRPG requires immersion - and the graphical interface plays an essential role in this. It was not by mistake that Baldur's Gate had menus designed as if chiseled in stone, whereas Icewind Dale's were as if carved out of dark wood. The interface sets the mood of the game. Now, can someone please explain to me what are ...SciFi (again, read Mass Effect) menus doing in a medieval fantasy game?

Not only does one expect to find himself in a spaceship whenever the skills-tree or inventory menu is closed, but the in-game information is now displayed in smaller portraits with horizontal bars for health-&-stamina/mana. The portraits have moved from the upper to the lower left side of the screen; however, if opening up the screen for gameplay was the aim, well, they now seem to take up more space than before. Not to mention that they are harder to see.

WHAT GAME AM I PLAYING AGAIN?

Watch a gameplay video of Dungeon Siege III and Diablo III and try to answer this: can you really tell a difference in the gameplay? Sure, their stories and graphical styles are bound to be somewhat different but action games, hack&slashers and RPGs seem to have merged into a single hybrid-genre of quick cinematic moves, looting, bartering, re-equipping and leveling. And Dragon Age II did not escape this.

Whereas Dragon Age: Origins had lots and lots of character, its sequel appears to have clearly favored style. I am sure it tested better on the teenage (console-seasoned) target groups - but I am also sure that said target groups did not include any RPG purists.

(ALMOST) REASONABLE DRM ADDS EXTRA POINT TO FEALTY

EA dropped the ball with the recently released and over-DRMed Dragon Age: Origins (Ultimate edition) so, hopefully, they learned a valuable lesson. Going the draconian way of UBIOSFT & 2K GAMES only manages to shoot your own sales on the foot. Surprisingly, Dragon Age II, although not perfect, sports a reasonable DRM scheme.

The game requires initial activation and it will re-authenticate every time it is run and it has access to internet connection - but it will not require to do so in order to run. In other words, once activated at installation you can block its internet access and it will run fine. Moreover, it contains neither disc-checks nor any form of SecuROM - at least not according to the official EA/BioWare announcements. Let's only hope this customer-friendl(ier) trend holds when the DLCs start rolling out...

Dragon Age II is a good-looking game that relies more on its stylish hacking&slashing than any uniqueness of character and on the appeal of giving the impression of forging a personal story rather than following a deeper preset one. Because of how much I had enjoyed the series overall, I was very eager to like this game. However, as I progressed I realized that I could not honestly recommend it to anyone.Without any hesitation, I would choose the original game over the sequel. 

Nevertheless, Dragon Age II is still a game fans of the series would want to experience at least once. It is just that, after the last blade has been swung and the last spell cast, there is very little that stays with you.

Fighting More Bugs Than Darkspawn

I recently completed yet another run in the Dragon Age Universe and I realized that I had never reviewed this expansion by itself. Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening certainly deserves its own review. Even if for the wrong reasons.

ONLY THE DARKSPAWN HOLD THE STORY TOGETHER

You can either start with a fresh character or import your hero from Dragon Age: Origins (for issues with this, please read on). The problem is that of all the characters from the the original game only...Oghren is available as a companion, you are roaming a completely different map and the story feels like an afterthought. The expansion takes place in a completely different map and the red thread that holds the story together, quite ironically, are the ...darkspawn.

The original game had a solid story with twists and turns and interesting characters. Don't get me wrong, I was eager to experience more Dragon Age too, however, neither the story nor the companions meet the high standards of the original game. I mean, you get an apostate mage, the rogue son of your father's murderer, a warrior spirit incarnated into the wrong body, a murderous elf who is constantly angry (I am guessing extra chromosomes), a dwarf with a death-wish - and Oghren.

CONTINUITY ISSUES

As mentioned above, you can import your character from the original Dragon Age. Disappointingly, this does not include any DLC items(?!). So, say goodbye to your Starfang sword and beautiful Warden Commander armor set among other things. You will get even more powerful equipment in the expansion (although I still think the Sentinel armor set makes my hero look like Darth Vader!).

My advice: do a few test-runs to see what is or not imported and then sell everything you cannot bring into the expansion. You will need the money. Trust me.

BUGS. BUGS. AND MORE BUGS

Armor sets that do not complete because crates do not spawn or spawn empty. Equipment that is downgraded if left in your personal storage trunk. And you better enter the Silverite Mines...naked because most often than not all of your Hero's equipment will disappear - forever. And, no, neither the Ultimate edition nor the latest patch fixed most of these bugs. Save often (new saves, not quick ones) to avoid the grief of having to start over.

GRANDMASTER RUNE OF ANNOYANCE

Runes gain two extra levels, Masterpiece and Paragon and, besides weapons, they can now be slotted into armor as well. There is also a new skill, Runecrafting, to go with this. However, either the required ingredients are too rare or you have to decide to strip your weapons in order to augment your armor. I ended up slotting only the runes I looted and kept everything I brought from the original game.

Come to think of it, by importing a level-25 warrior (with a well-stocked...potion-cellar) I rarely had to craft any potions either.

NEW SKILLS & TALENTS

Almost every talent group gets a new tier of talents. So do Specializations and Skills. The talents are the most important as they offer new spells or warrior and rogue attacks and defenses. There seem to be more Tactics slots as well, a good idea, to accommodate the increased number of talents.

Most of the talents are well thought, useful in battle and beautifully realized on screen.

The original Dragon Age: Origins was a masterpiece of a game so if you played and enjoyed it I know you just have to play the expansion as well. However, if you don't, you are not missing much.

Keep your expectations low in order to enjoy the extra leg of the ride and to avoid being disappointed.

Are You Prepared For This?

Inception is a movie built like a labyrinth, complete with a menacing minotauric presence and a guiding Ariadne; worlds within worlds and dreams reflected onto dreams like an infinity mirror effect.

Nolan takes the viewer deep, deeper than any other filmmaker in memory, and without holding your hand all the way he never lets you get lost. His vision has years compressed into hours, Paris folding onto itself, militarized minds and entire worlds built out of a single person's imagination. Yet in the end, his logic is solid and his story scintillatingly brilliant.

This is a bioSciFi, a cyberpunk and an action movie all rolled into a complex story in the near future, where not even our dreams will be safe and sharing our subconscious fears and fixations will only be an induced REM cycle away. A true and timeless Masterpiece of a movie.

Have you tried your Totem yet?

Then how can you be sure?

Kan-Zen

About a decade ago Shogun: Total War was the masterpiece that launched one of the best Strategy simulation franchises in gaming history. It was a perfectly balanced game that combined turn-based strategic decisions with real time battles in a beautiful interface made in the style of medieval Japanese artworks.

The game was based on the teachings of Sun Tzu, the Chinese strategist, who believed in the indirect approach: search for comparative advantages, use your forces with economy, surprise and deceive, and only fight limited wars. The medieval Japanese setting (relatively small armies made up from a limited number of distinct units fighting on different terrains), served as the perfect substrate to implement these strategies.

I have played every single Total War game since and they were all a joy to experience - yet nothing surpassed to the first Shogun. Until now.

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy. A Thousand Battles, A Thousand Victories (Sun Tzu)

In Total War: Shogun II the gameplay has matured, deepened and acquired a number of new features, including some RPG additions. We now have Mastery of Arts, a tech tree branching into Bushido (warfare) and Chi (governance & finances). There are now hero units, inspiring the troops, going after the enemy general or turning the battle at that crucial point.

Generals are upgradable and modifiable, increasing their effectiveness and making them indispensable. The honorable death of a seasoned general will affect many aspects of your overall strategy and may prove the decisive point of the entire campaign. Which is why subterfuge is so important.

There may be no honor in using Ninjas - but now they can assassinate the enemy general or soften up the enemy defenses by sabotaging their production or the integrity of their defensive structures. And because the Ninja knife cuts both ways, make sure to have enough Metsuke units to sniff out the ninjas send by the enemy.

Children serve as hostages to ensure cooperation whereas marriages are arranged to strengthen alliances. And since no army fights on an empty belly, one should make sure to set up complex trade agreements. Ones that will hold through the treacheries of war. Because sooner than later, your task will graduate from impossible to you-gotta-be-kidding-me.

Invincibility Lies in the Defense; The Possibility of Victory in the Attack (Sun Tzu)

The AI will make your life miserable. Enemy units will try to flank you from every possible direction and they will try to make use of your troops movement in order to achieve this. And then, just when you think you are winning, every single clan and province turns against you...

It is possible to let the AI auto-resolve all battles and play the game as a highly sophisticated turn-based Civilization game - but why miss all the fun?

Unlike the first game, Shogun II also has sea vessels and battles. While in a sea battle, you either board and take over or burn the enemy vessels. However, the real strategic consideration is this: when attacking a neighboring province, did you leave adequate defenses to prevent, say, the sacking of your own castle? Because the AI does not forgive such oversights.

Opportunities Multiply As They Are Seized (Sun Tzu)

The graphics and sounds of Shogun 2 are something one has to experience to believe. Even on DirectX 9 (WinXP - which is the OS I am experiencing this on), the strategic map feels like flying over the real Sengoku period Japan whereas the game design goes into unbelievable details. Every ribbon on a set of armor, every blade of grass, every ray of light reflected on raised katanas or refracted through the clouds are just gorgeous.

The game absorbs you into its world and never let's go. In one word: Kan-Zen (Perfection).

He Who Knows When He Can Fight And When He Cannot, Will Be Victorious (Sun Tzu)

I usually rate lower any game that comes with any form of DRM that requires online activation or ties your game with digital shackles. Because even the retail version of Shogun II comes with mandatory STEAM, I did exactly that. However, because I rated the game well...above perfect, this could not become apparent and the game still gates full marks.

Yes, STEAM is the pheasant festering on the porch someone has to do something about. However, Shogun II is one of those extremely rare games that are worth their DRM hassle. If STEAM is still a deal-breaker for you, well, now you can make an informed decision either way.

Total War: Shogun II truly embodies The Art of War - and it will stay with you for a very long time.

A Very Good Mouse. Just Not Perfect.

My last mouse was Microsoft's Natural Wireless Laser Mouse 6000. It was very ergonomic, but it had a number of shortfalls that finally added up and it was time to replace it. So, when I decided that I needed a new mouse, what I did not like about my old mouse sure weighted a lot in making my final choice.

IF TRUTH BE TOLD, PC GAMING CAN ONLY MEAN A WIRED MOUSE

My old (wireless) mouse could loose its connection (and was then slow in responding or turned unresponsive until reset) if the receiver was not in direct visual contact with it. Moreover, there are a lot of negative reviews about rechargeable mice (such as the G700), so my next mouse could only be a wired one.

This Logitech G500 comes with an ample length of sturdy yet flexible USB cord - and the fact that it is also braided is a nice touch. Plug it in and forget about it for as long as you keep using it. No batteries to replace or recharge, no receiver to keep changing position. Technology is supposed to make our lives simpler, right?

ERGONOMICS GET A B+

I was used to the much taller MS mouse so the G500 feels too flat. That may be a matter of preference and something one has to get used to. However, with my old MS mouse the angle my wrist was resting at felt much more natural and my wrist was much less strained after some hours of computer use. Apparently Logitech addressed this in its latest G700.

Another issue I am having with the G500 is the BACK side-button which I keep hitting whenever I move the mouse to the right. I did find a partial solution to this by varying the weights and selecting the lighter ones for the left side (although the same can be achieved by completely removing the weight tray).

Having said that, the wheel-release and the DPI-level buttons are perfectly placed. Also, the two settings for the scroll-wheel are a very nice feature.

AESTHETICS

I like the way the red DPI-level lights and the scrolling wheel look as well as the texture of the braided cord.

On the other hand, the actual back surface looks nothing like the metallic looking one in the product description picture! It is plastic and its looks exactly that. I would also preferred it to be solid black instead of the two-tone sprinkled gray (again, something remedied in the G700).

ENGINEERED WEAK POINTS?

This is something I came to realize over the years: companies now seem to actually engineer weak points into their products, to ensure their replacement some time down the road. With my old MS mouse it was the silicone-based surfaces that would become impossible to clean after 12-16 months. The G500 has solid plastic surfaces that may not be the most pleasant thing to touch but they are easy to clean.

Some fellow reviewers complain about the durability of the scroll-wheel, so this may be it. After about a couple of months of use I had no problems whatsoever - but I promise to update this point of my review if similar problems occur.

DIVERT ALL NON-ESSENTIAL POWER TO THE PORT-SIDE LASERS!

The G500 is equipped with a "gaming-grade laser" (I do not know what that is, however, my MS mouse used to cause the cursor to drift for no reason whereas my G500 is solid like a rock) and it has a DPI range from 200 to 5700. The DPI setting can be adjusted on the fly. This is important because the mouse is programmable and can be customized into numerous Profiles (via its software) but it can only store one profile at a time. No matter, adjusting the DPI is what makes all the difference in the world.

THREE IMPORTANT THINGS: SOFTWARE, SOFTWARE, SOFTWARE

This is where the G500 redeems most of its shortcomings: the accompanying software works like a charm.

Anyone who ever used a MS mouse can tell you this: the IntelliPoint software that comes with it is a pain to use and a hassle to avoid conflicts with. Using the Logitech SetPoint instead was a breeze of fresh air!

Within a pleasant yet not fancy visual interface, simple and clear adjustments can be made to customize the mouse to your needs.

Overall, although not perfect, this may be the best mouse available to gamers today. Its in-house competition, the G700, does come with better ergonomics and a more pleasant color but wireless technology and rechargeable batteries do not seem just ready yet.