Games and Fun

Johns discovery of the GoG service got me thinking recently about games from my own past, that is what inspired todays post.
Some of you may know, but most of you will not, that my favorite game of all time has been Baldur's Gate II : Shadows of Amn since I first played it many years ago. I mention this because it is pertinent to what is due to follow. I said recently that I had finally got around to completing Neverwinter Nights 2, and wishing I hadn't, the reason for this will become clear later.

Bioware are undoubtedly in my eyes the greatest developers of the entertainment industry, the one developer who's mere connection to a game is enough to make me purchase it regardless of reviews and play it. In recent years this has included everything Bioware, Black Isle or Obsidian Entertainment have worked on. It was a dark day in my diary and when EA ( a company not unlike our very own ER soft) acquired them in 2007.

Some of the these games I have completed in one “sitting” (I don't mean in the same day, meerly that I played nothing else until they had been completed) such as BG2,Mass Effect, some I have completed in sessions revisiting them once the desire to continue playing has returned (Throne of Bhaal, Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights 2) and some I give up on playing after becoming “bioworn-out” (Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the old Republic, Dark Alliance). The reason for this last situation is normally a particular twist in the story, an irritating gameplay mechanic, or simply not being fun anymore decreases my desire to continue playing so much that I move on and never want to revisit that game again. Sometimes a game may have one of these flaws but another area of the game is strong enough to persuade me to continue, like Jade Empire's combat system or Mass Effect's storyline. But occasionally, and sadly rarely, the old Bioware magic hits and like in Baldurs Gate 2 a game is so well crafted that its good points so greatly outweigh its bad points that whilst I am playing it time passes in some form of hyper-dilation and entire days fly past, when I am not playing it I am thinking about playing it, and when I have finished it I cant wait to talk to someone else who has played it and find out what they thought.

Imagine my surprise after completing the amazing disappointment that was Neverwinter Nights 2 and starting on its expansion pack, Mask of the Betrayer, that I had lost an entire day and I knew I was in for one heck of a ride. I wasn't wrong, and Mask of the Betrayer is now my favorite game of all time, or at least that's what I would be saying were it not for the fact I'd had to play Neverwinter Nights 2 to get to it. It's a shame really as it had a great story, a fine balance between combat, storytelling, puzzle solving and as engaging characters as I've seen in a game for years it's only downside was that of the spirit meter gameplay mechanic but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the game.

So my favorite game of all time is still Baldur's Gate 2, but it was a close roll of the die.

So after that little history lesson here's a glimpse of the future, the next dotCommentary is due up tomorrow and a few new comic idea's are currently being formulated as we speak, soon the new Uni year begins, that may have an effect on site and blog updates but either way we'll keep you informed.

I hope this inspires John to perhaps share his thoughts on his favorite game of all time, or perhaps one that has at least came cloe to greatness.


Until next time,
Forever rolling 20's
T/K