Let's Watch - Elder Geek's Non-Violent Skyrim

I am quite the fan of Elder-Geek.com's video game reviews because of their even handed approach to assessing games.  As a bonus, they keep an older audience in mind during the process.  Just the other day, Elder Geek posted a rather fantastic four minute video entitled Non-Violent Skyrim Playthrough.  I am still finishing Meriel's log entry for tomorrow, so in the meantime here is this video for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

Let's Watch - Toegoff's Plea to Gamers Regarding SOPA, PIPA, and Piracy

This is my last post on the subject.  I promise.  The Let's Player Toegoff, however, just posted a very good video regarding his opinion in SOPA/PIPA, piracy, and the need for gamers to take responsibility for their actions and personal decisions.  While, unlike him, I would advocate innovation on the industry's part to deter piracy (as opposed to laws with vague terminology), his thoughts on piracy itself just about mirrors my own thoughts on the subject 1:1. As I said before though, L'Épée Magique is not a political/advocacy blog and I have no desire/intent to turn it into one.  This is the last you will hear from me on the subject.

Tune in tomorrow for the next entry in Meriel Shepard's personal log.

Edited to add: Follow up video specifically about piracy.

Let's Watch - Tristania's "My Lost Lenore"

I'm still getting back into the swing of things after being MIA for a few weeks.  A new Mass Effect entry will be up Sunday, but in order to maintain the usual posting schedule I present you with a youtube video in the mean time. :)

As a side note, I would love to know exactly what it means to "secrete" one's soul.

Let's Watch - Elder Geek's Witcher 2 Review And Impressions Of My Own

As I've mentioned before, my video card can not currently run The Witcher 2 properly. That does not mean though that I haven't been keeping tabs on the game post-release.  Most of the people I know, myself included,  found out about The Witcher 1 via word of mouth after it had already been on the market for a while.  TW2, however, has received far more press and build up in the United States than its predecessor.  As a result it is quite interesting to see how people receive such an unapologetically intense PC exclusive game that makes you work for everything you get.  Yes I'm aware that TW2 will likely receive a console port in the future, but CD Projekt RED constantly reminds the public that their focus is the PC market.  They feel that it is unacceptable to "streamline" or "dumb down" a PC release just so it will be easier to port over to consoles.  That combined with the fact that it, and TW1, is currently only available on PC makes it a PC exclusive in my eyes.

From reviews I've read over the past week or so, it seems like everyone agrees on a couple of things.  

1) The initial combat is very difficult, even on normal setting, and requires you to actually strategize.  You cannot go in swords a-swinging and expect to rule the day.  You will die.  A lot. 

2)  The game is short by current RPG standards.  People generally quote a time between twenty and thirty hours.  CDPRed made every minute count, however, by not including all the padding and Fed-Ex quests that contemporary titles often indulge in.  Your decisions in this game have a great deal of impact on the game's ending.  With sixteen ways it can finish, some of which require a Witcher 1 save game to access, replay value is high and you will want to play it multiple times.

3)  While my video card is too old to run the game smoothly, I was still able to install the game and at least get it to boot up.  From what I did manage to see in game, amidst my atrocious FPS, was pretty beautiful even for the lowest all around visual settings.  The camp I found myself in was humming with activity and natural animations.  It also looked and sounded like what I think a king's military camp should look and sound like.  Fantasy elements could not be denied, but there was a certain realism about the whole scene that made me embrace it as real.  The camp did not use fantastical architecture and impractical props as a way of pointing to itself and saying "Look at me!  I'm a war camp in a fantasy game!"  The game honestly tried to mimic an alternate reality and from what I saw it did so very successfully.  Most everything I have read has reinforced my impressions.

  

If you are still uncertain about whether this game is for you, Elder Geek has a spectacular video review that seems to hit on all the major points.

Image: Available as a wallpaper from GOG.com with purchase of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Let's Watch - The Literal Skyrim Trailer

I know I've posted a lot of videos lately you guys.  I sorry!  I have one more paper to finish tonight and then things will go back to normal I swear.

That said, Ferry shared this over at Video Games Blogger and I had to pass it along.  It's pretty brilliant.

Let's Watch - Zero Punctuation

Because I just finished a major project (after 9 uninterrupted hours of mind-numbing loose end tying), have a presentation to prepare for Thursday and roughly forty pages to write + finish researching by Monday, I'm going to let fatigue get the best of me tonight.  I had been working on an original blurb for this week's Tuesday/Wednesday post, but instead I have decided to share a video series which has been keeping me both entertained and sane the past week or so.  Since all of the Zero Punctuation videos are roughly five minutes each I can afford to watch one, have a laugh, and then get back to work without losing too much time.

From Their Website - Zero Punctuation is The Escapist's groundbreaking video review series starring Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. Every Wednesday Zero Punctuation picks apart the games so you don't have to. Called "hilariously cutting ... first legitimate breakout hit from the gaming community in recent memory" by Boing Boing, see why gamers love it and developers fear it.

Some Thoughts Of My Own -  Witty, antagonistic and insightful, Zero Punctuation has been running for a few years now on the Escapist's website.  While I do not always agree with  Yahtzee's opinions, his reviews are so amusing that I can't hold it against him.  Outside of worshiping a few games like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Psychonauts, Silent Hill 2, and Portal (a devotion not blinded by their flaws); he routinely calls out new releases for lazy story lines and poor game mechanics.  He rarely has anything fantastic to say about Western RPGs, but certainly has much more respect for them then he does JRPGs.  His dislike for the Wii is amusing, and he endears himself to me with a overwhelming dislike for multi player campaigns.  Overall I wouldn't exactly use him to help me find games to buy, I'd end up with empty game shelves, but one can't deny that he makes a number of very keen observations each week.  If you can overlook his off-color language and not-so-family friendly analogies, then you will find Zero Punctuation to be quite a gem.  Below are some of the videos that I have found myself going back to watch time and time again.  At this moment the one for Two Worlds II  is quite possible my favorite.

Past Videos of Amusement -

Assassin's Creed 





Assassin's Creed 2

Fallout: NewVegas

Two Worlds II

Dragon Age: Origins

Fable: The Lost Chapters

Fable 2

Fable 3

Alpha Protocol




Images: SplitReason & The Escapist

Let's Watch - GOG's Witcher 2 Q&A

If you, like me, are eagerly anticipating the release of CD Projekt RED's game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, then you really need to watch this video.  If you have already pre-ordered the game or don't plan on pre-ordering the game then you can skip the first four minutes which is all about GOG.com's DRM-free pre-order offer.  Everything else is about the game itself and proves very informative.  It discusses changes in Geralt's appearance (something that was changed in response to fan complaints), shows video of in-game play, and answers questions from fans.  The whole video is roughly an hour long.

Let's Watch - Morrowind's E3 Trailer

I'm just going to leave this here.

Let's Watch - Skyrim interview with Todd Howard

Here is a little extra to hold you over until tomorrow night.  This was a rather insightful interview about how mini-quests will be doled out, a refined magic+melee combat system, and real time conversations.  Between this and the recent news that Bethesda has eliminated the Myticism school of magic, it sounds like a lot of good things will be happening in Skyrim to make game play more natural.  Generally I'm against change for change sake, but it sounds like most of the basic game changes this time around have a very specific purpose that addresses a very specific need.  For instance, I don't really mind the way current Elder Scrolls conversations happen, but the way their new system is described makes a lot of sense from an immersion standpoint.  Bethesda got a little bit sidetracked with Oblivion, but these changes and their decision to remove auto-levelling [YAY!!!] make me feel like the company is reconnecting with their core fan base.  More attention seems to be given those who appreciate Elder Scrolls for its unique role-play experience, instead of spending time catering to an audience who insists on instant relatability and having their hand held.  Bethesda seems to be finding a careful balance that doesn't alienate either side, but lets the role-players know that they have not been forgotten.  If that doesn't thrill you to the bone, then their claim that Oblivion sacrificed what made Morrowind special certainly will.  (Morrowind, of course, being the gold standard to which all Elder Scrolls games should be compared.) Only time will tell how well everything is executed, but the more I hear about Skyrim the more I am excited about its possibilities.  All I know is that I'm going to need a better video card ...

Perra will be taking over very late tomorrow night when she reports back in from the Landsmeet.

P.S. - Can I talk for a moment about how psyched I am that crafting (specifically cooking) will now be in the game?  I do not know if that means that a reality option for eating/drinking will exist (like it did in New Vegas), but I certainly hope it does.  That would be one less mod I'd have to download.  As much as I appreciate those who build the reality mods, hunger mods always seem to wig out on me after a while where food stops being as effective or I'm cursed with perpetual hunger.  Those bugs probably had less to do with the mods themselves though then they did with a possible mod conflict that Wrye Bash/Mash couldn't detect/fix.

Let's Watch - Skyrim Trailer

Ok I know that everyone and their brother is posting this today, but I simply could not resist because it looks amazing!  It has all the things we have come to expect from Bethesda with the astonishingly beautiful scenery (if it was like that in real life I'd spend more time outside) and the beyond beautiful soundtrack. Seriously.  In heaven I believe the angels will be playing TES music.

If you want a special little surprise though, skip to time stamp  1:12.  No you are not hearing things, that really is the Morrowind theme song sounding even better than ever.  This is one soundtrack I will most certainly be purchasing the moment it hits the stores.