The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Release Day!

The wait has ended, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is now officially on store shelves! If you are reading this at 12:00am EST on 11.11.11, then know that I am currently at my local gaming store picking up a pre-ordered copy of my very own.  Yes, I know that my poor computer won't be able to run Skyrim and thus there is no point in buying now ... I wanted the physical map that came with pre-orders though.  I'm a sucker like that for gaming maps.

Later this weekend I'll post pictures of the box's contents just in case you care about that kind of thing.  In the meantime celebrate Skyrim's release by watching the game related videos below.

Happy gaming!

Behind the Scenes - A tour with Todd Howard through the offices of Bethesda in Rockville, Maryland.

The Sound of Skyrim

The World of Skyrim

 
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Demo Part 1

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Demo Part 2  

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Demo Part 3  

  Image: Source

Jade Empire: Édition Spéciale

What do you know?  My collection has grown once more with the addition of Bioware's 2005 game Jade Empire.  This is one of those games that I must admit to knowing nothing about.  I somehow managed to miss this game when it hit the shelves, and honeslty would not haveknown about its existence at all if certain members of GameBanshee didn't keep talking about it whenever a Bioware related subject is posted on the newsfeed.  On one hand I feel like my lack of knowledge concerning this game is a bit odd since I've been a major supporter of Bioware and thier story-telling abilities.  On the other, I have to forgive myself since Jade Empire is in an unusual, ancient Chinese inspired setting.  Yes the setting is unique, but I've always been more into the "normal" high-fantasy settings and thus might have simply completely disregarded the game on appearance alone (at the time) before blocking it from my memory altogether.  Doing so would have been rather un-gamerly of me, but I can't think of any other way that this title managed to slip under my radar.  Well as it stands, I'm now the proud owner of  Jade Empire: Édition Spéciale, which includes both the English and the French versions.  Acquiring a copy of the French game was completely unexpected, but that is what happens when you buy "new" games sight unseen from companies that largely deal in used games.  You won't hear complaining though, because there are far too few multi-lingual games in my collection.

Image: Source 

Alpha Protocol

Alpha Protocol came in the mail today.  Released in 2009 by Obsidian, Alpha Protocol is a third person action cRPG.  (Or as the box say, it's an "espionage" cRPG.)  When the game originally hit the shelves I didn't pay it any mind because, to my understanding, it deals heavily with stealth and utilizes gun play as a central component.  I'm sure that it's been mentioned before this, but ranged weaponry and I have a very strained relationship.  My success rate with guns, bows, and crossbows is rather abysmal without a good targeting system; so generally if a melee option exists I'll opt for that instead.  Recently, however, I've begun to realize just how many games have flown below my radar due to their reliance on ranged weaponry.  Thus, after repeated references to, and recommendations for, the game from Game Banshee contributors, Alpha Protocol has joined my rapidly growing to-be-played library.

Another thing that has also previously deterred me from purchasing AP, is the fact that reports regarding its "brokenness" abound.  We aren't just talking one or two obscure references here.  References to its broken nature (largely in the form of bugs but also regarding balance issues) appear in customer reviews, professional reviews, and even serve as qualifiers for otherwise positive recommendations.  Considering AP was distributed by Obsidian I suppose this isn't too much of a surprise, but when negative comments are that common, one will certainly think twice about sinking their money into a release.  Something that I've discovered lately though, is that despite all its nay-sayers, this game has continued to intrigue me. The basic premise, or at least what little I understand of it, is perhaps not exactly earth shattering material.  What I've heard about AP's dialogue system and character development though certainly makes me sit up an pay attention.  Only time will tell what I'll ultimately think of the game, but for now I'm thrilled to finally own Alpha Protocol and hope to get to it soon.  Once comprehensives are finished there (theoretically) will be a lot more time on my hands, so hopefully that won't take too long.

Image: Source

First Impressions - Devil May Cry 2

Studying for Comprehensive Exams has been consuming just about all my time these past months.  You reach a point after a while, however, when you just can't take any more and will snap if you do not take a break. This is where Capcom's Devil May Cry 2 (2003) recently entered the scene. Yesterday found me picking up Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3 for the PS2, and then popping the first game in to see what it was all about.  Given my rocky relationship with JRPGs, I must be honest here and admit that I only picked these up because of Unskippable's video for DMC1, and Yahtzee's reference to keeping enemies "afloat with a cushion of bullets" in DMC4.  Given comps, there hasn't been much time to properly play DMC2 yet, but after zooming through the first mission it seems like a great deal of fun overall.  I have clearly undervalued the cathartic nature of shooting projectiles in the past, because gunplay, for once, is far more satisfying than swordplay.  There is nothing quite like jumping a mile into the air and then keeping yourself  there amidst a sea of gunfire.  The game's gun play is even exhilarating enough to forgive the world's worst fixed camera, the inability to see half your enemies, and the fact that Dante runs like a man trudging through knee-deep mud.

Verdict: Hello there, my new stress relief game of choice.

Image: Source 

Now Available - The Witcher Enhanced Edition: Director's Cut

I wouldn't normally do this, but I have had a ton of people hitting my blog lately in search of Witcher news.  As a result, I'd like to remind everyone that The Witcher Enhanced Edition: Director's Cut is now available for purchase at GOG for $4.99.  It will revert to its standard price of $9.99 after May 14th.  I already have a hard copy of it that I purchased a couple of years ago, but I went ahead and purchased it again for the art book.  With so many paintings and pieces of conceptual art it is pretty spectacular and makes you wish that you had an actual book in your hand.

For those of you interested in the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings why don't you check this new video with GOG's now infamous, and rather beloved, French Monk ... in the Witcher 2.

From Their Website -  No one expects the French Monk !

Huh. We just saw this in a playtest of The Witcher 2 from our sister company.
What do you think a repentant French monk is doing in the game?
I wonder if he has something for Geralt?

Check out the video of Geralt meeting the French Monk and tell us what you think is going on

Image: Wallpaper available with Witcher 1 purchase from GOG.

Evil Genius - The Other Side Has Feelings Too

I've been eying this game for a long time so when it went on sale this weekend I had to snap it up.  Developed by the now defunct Elixir Studios, I honestly don't remember hearing anything about Evil Genius when it first came out in 2004.  Come to think about it, I don't remember hearing much about it since 2004 either.  Maybe I've been living under a rock?  That is a distinct possibility.

Classified by GOG as a RTS meets managerial gameplay, Evil Genius appears to center around building a mountain side lair, overtaking the world, foiling the plans of silly do-gooders, and constructing the ultimate doomsday device.  You know, all the stuff that any decent malevolent mastermind should be able to do in their sleep.  I haven't played it yet, but I'll probably blog about it when I do.  This summer is already looking pretty packed with RL and Mass Effect 1+2, so I'm putting this game on the "to-do if I miraculously find time" list.

Even though I have yet to play the game, I found a customer review by GOG user DMorrone to be quite intriguing.  Entitled Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to ruin their mission - if they accepted it - of course, his review reads thusly:

Good Day Mastermind,

Congratulations on your recent promotion and the newly gained ability to be able to build that secret mountainside lair that all of us in the upper echelons of crime own.

Just a few items to note - please be sure to examine the whole range of rooms available to you and your minions. Remember - you cannot control you personnel directly - but you can influence what they do out of subtle reminders and pure stark terror. You have an assortment of ways to improve them - whether it's in the training room, the archive library or by simple experience within the base itself. Be sure to wander about often, glaring and pointing indiscriminately.

You will also have the ability to work your crime finesse on the big board of the world - and although you don't get the finer details that you do as you oversee your base, there is a certain sense of accomplishment in raiding the world's coffers bare to pad your own.

Do be careful - the do-gooders of the world will eventually put the pieces together and find your lair. Fortunately, we've worked hand in hand with WayAm Enterprises to provide an assortment of traps and weaponry that you configure as you see fit to defend your base.

Oh, and always make sure you have enough freezer space for your vanquished foes.

Good luck, enjoy the intricacies of managing your base and don't forget to come up with at least three synergistic action items for EvilCon in August. We're going to be holding it on Dr. Amalgamation's submarine in the Artic Circle - so dress appropriately.

Regards,

Overlord Quantum

Now how could I say "no" to a game with marketing like that?

Image: one of the wallpapers available, with purchase, from GOG

Mass Effect

Mass Effect (the first) came in the mail today as well. Now my post-DA:O gameplay is set and ready to go :) The game suddenly, inexplicably jumped in price from like $7.00 to $42.00 on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. With the amazon.com jump all the games everywhere else jumped as well (ebay, half.com, etc). I was able to find a brand new European copy (which I've read works fine in the US and even seen sold through American retailers) for very cheap though so I snapped it up before anyone else could. I don't know how that will effect game importation from ME to ME2, but I'm willing to play the two as separate games if need be.

Image: Source

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 came in the mail today and is now sitting pretty on the shelf. Once my most recent playthrough of DA:O/DA:O Awakening is finished then it is on to Planescape: Torment. I expect to actually invest time in Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 this summer but we shall see how long my weak will power holds out. It has been a while since I played an RPG that was not rooted in high fantasy (I think Knights of the Old Republic II was the last one) so this should be interesting and I'm quite excited at the prospect.

Image: Bioware