HOME | DD

DragonsLover1 In reply to Xandi5anders [2011-02-21 04:16:10 +0000 UTC]

22's hair was a real BITCH to draw. . .but I love it so. I'm actually most proud of 21.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

DragonsLover1 In reply to Dakt37 [2011-02-20 04:35:12 +0000 UTC]

Thanks. I forgette to do stuff like wrinkles and scars, sadly, but as long as my point got across, I'm good.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-02-07 03:18:31 +0000 UTC]

YOU. MUST. PLAY. THIS. GAME. It's a PC game initially, and recently all the add-ons and the expansion come with it, so therefore this is the BEST time to buy it. Especially because Dragon Age 2 is getting so close to release.

AH BLAST. You just reminded me, I was going to give her a few visible scars. I forgetted. Dang it.

Okay. Quick rundown of the ages thing. "Pre-Warden" means it's before she became a Grey Warden. Duncan is the first Grey Warden you meet, always in the beginning of the game -- the crux, as it were. Later you become a Grey Warden yourself. However, you then have to assemble an army from four different sources to battle the darkspawn. Along the way you also gather party members, four of whom you can have a romantic relationship with.

In the expansion, you're the Commander of the Grey, hence, the leader of the Grey Wardens. With this comes the castle (of sorts) of Amaranthine, making you the arl (male) or arlessa (female) of the place. My chick ended up queen because of the choices she made, and becoming either queen or king is available only if you choose a specific Origin story.

Hopefully the faces make more sense now. Technically the first and last headshots are not vital to the storyline. It's just me overdoing things again.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-02-10 07:15:34 +0000 UTC]

I've seen that expanded edition. The one with the add-ons and all that. But in the PS3 section of the game shop. My computer has issues with playing games. It can play old ones but the more recent ones it can't seem to handle. It can play The Sims 2 but it can't play The Sims 3 for example. If the guy I borrow the PS3 console from had it I would probably try it but I don't think he does. I don't think he's into games like that.

Soooo...a warden is a leader of some sort. Like a captain or something. From what I've read about the game it sounds quite interesting. Making choices and all that. I'm always into games that change based on how you play them. Having romances sounds like something I'd get off on too. But admittedly I've not really read much about it so that's probably why I've not seeked it out or anything.

They kinda do. I mean...I can see there's progression there but I don't know if it's possible for me to understand the relation they have to the game and it's story.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-02-10 08:46:09 +0000 UTC]

Ah shit. The PS3 version isn't as good as the PC version; Dragon Age was made to be a PC game. It's possible to beat the game no sweat on the PS3 (I have done so multiple times) but it's stilljust overall easier to use on the PC.

See, this is why I wanted to get you a PS3. But nooooo, you had to be difficult.

The Grey Wardens are an order of protectors, great warriors assembled to battle darkspawn. It's more than that, though; they have a connection with darkspawn to help fight them. For instance, they can sense when darkspawn are near, know how to battle them, and they're the only ones capable of killing an Archdemon, the leader of the darkspawn.

Which is just another reason why you NEED this game.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-02-11 20:51:58 +0000 UTC]

Is this because of a controls thing? Is it better to use a keyboard than a controller? I didn't realise that it was THAT kind of game. I thought it was more an actiony type of game rather than a WoW type RPG. I knew it had RPG type things in it but I thought they would've been more like Final Fantasy. See? I know nothing about this game.

I live to be difficult. It pleases me.

I NEED this game? That's a pretty bold claim. You realise that you've hyped it up quite substantially now. So if I WAS to play it I would go into it with pretty high expectations. And if it didn't live up to those expectations...well...there would repercussions.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-02-21 09:18:06 +0000 UTC]

Yes and no. For instance, in the PS3 version, you can bring up a "pause" screen with L2 that's a radial menu with a target in the center. You can use this to aim at a target and attack. Unfortunately, that's harder than a simple point'n'click.

There's also the fact that on the PC, you can pause and give everyone individual orders, even the summoned allies like a ranger pet or a mage's skeleton. On the PS3, you can't do that. It's overall just harder to use.

That didn't stop me from beating the game like five times on the PS3 though.

Oh trust me. It's even BETTER. And if you don't buy it, so help me I'll buy it FOR you and send it to you, now that I have your address.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-02-22 01:10:49 +0000 UTC]

That sounds like Assassin's Creed. That radial menu thing you bring up to choose your weapon. But you don't target with it. That would suck.

Seems strange that you can't pause and give orders on the PS3 version. It's not like the PS3 isn't capable of pausing. Maybe it has something to do with processing power or something. RPGS always seem to get more love for PC versions though. Apparently using a mouse and keyboard is better. I prefer controllers though. My hands have been programmed for controller use. I think if I was going to play DC Universe Online I'd probably think about playing it on PC though. If my PC was capable of running the game.

Crap. I did send my address didn't I? Well A-HAAAAAAA! You're still foiled because I don't have a PS3 and my PC wouldn't be able to run it. So I win.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-02-22 09:38:27 +0000 UTC]

Assassin's Creed was a hell of a lot easier to use. One thing that constantly annoys me about most games is the lack of a jump button. I don't know why; it just feels so limited that I can't hop everywhere.

You CAN pause and give orders, but as soon as the order is given, it's carried out. So you can't strategize as well by giving orders to everyone; you just have to be uber quick with the pause button.

What's that? So you need a PS3 and/or a new computer? Okay then!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-02-23 22:26:19 +0000 UTC]

YEAH! There was some game I was playing not long ago that didn't have a jump ability in it and it pissed me off. It was a recent game too. Not having the ability to jump is almost unforgiveable. Even if the environment is completely flat...that's still no excuse. Every character must be able to jump. Oh...you know what? Guitar Hero has ended. Activision are discontinuing the series. Bastards. Hopefully someone will buy the brand off them. Even though the sales for music games are poor these days...you can't end it. YOU CAN'T! Oh wait...there's Rock Band. So long as THEY don't decide to cancel as well.

That actually sounds more in tune with my style of battling. I'm not a real big strategiser. I do a little bit. When I'm playing Assassin's Creed I'll have a look around and see where the guards are and what their line of sight is...but I tend to just leap into battle. If I only have to worry about one character then I'll try a bit of strategy. But if I have to look after a team then I usually don't bother. That's why I've always had such a hard time with Final Fantasy. I'll be hacking away and then see someone in the team is dying and get all frustrated because I have to stop hacking to heal them.

No. I don't NEED those things.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-02-24 23:09:12 +0000 UTC]

I can see if the game designers don't see a NEED for a jump button, like there's no use for it and such. But it'd still be fun to have, ya know?

Yeah Eric told me about that. It's a little sad, but I suppose by now they're scraping the bottom of the barrel. Which is crazy, really, cause I have dozens of songs on my playlist they could totally put in the game. . .provided the bands agree.

Dragon Age employs something called Tactics. They're pretty varied. It's an if/then thing. Example for a tactic I gave to Alistair:

Enemy: Attacking Wynne; Use Ability: Shield Bash

Or for Morrigan:

Enemy: Health: <50%; Use Ability: Walking Bomb

For Wynne:

Ally: Health: <50%; Use Ability: Heal
Ally: Health: <50%; Use Ability: Group Heal
Ally: Health: <25%; Use Ability: Lifeward
Ally: Health: <10%; Activate Mode: Cleansing Aura

She's the healer in case ya can't tell. Point of her dual <50%s is that she first uses Heal, then Group Heal. They all have to recharge, so it's best this way. They can't use one tactic, they move down the list.

That's basically the most strategizing you do. Me, I also make sure to put my rogue behind an enemy so she does backstabs. And there's never enough tactic slots to use all abilities, so you have to be clever with it.

Rambling. . .sorry.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-02-26 21:25:02 +0000 UTC]

I'd say that for action games you expect there to be a jump button. Right? It's a natural instince to want to jump while running around and blowing people away.

Apparently music games aren't selling very well anymore...so that may have influenced the decision. They could've easily kept it going though. They just needed more variety. They always seemed to be going back to the same bands. Every game there were always the same ol' bands. Lynrd Skynrd...was there a game they weren't on? They should've just had some variety. Oh...and gotten rid of the story too. The game is supposed to be about playing music...not trying to save the world with monsters and powers.

That sounds pretty identical to what they had in Final Fantasy 12. There were all these commands you could put on people so they'd react in a certain way in a certain situation. Like that stuff there. If health gets low...health yourself or someone else or the group. Or if you encounter a fire based creature then attack with water spells. Stuff like that. I never really got into it. I just gave everyone stuff to heal if they were dying but that's about it. I know everyone got a lot of slots. I think you got more as you levelled up. The last time I saw it...they had about 12 each.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-03-02 12:59:08 +0000 UTC]

Heavenly Sword: kick ass game involving tons of combos, a sexy redheaded heroine, and a sword that can be used in three separate ways. But no jump button. Then again, God of War didn't have a jump button either, and I believe the two were made by the same developers.

They added the story in the third one, and it was about making deals with devils. Then in number four, I believe, they added a God of Rock you had to contest with. . . But then my memory's fuzzy with so many sequels.

You make a good point though. However, they DID have downloadable and extra tracks. I mean friggin' Trogdor was included. Halo 3 theme song. But the variety was so lacking that I found one song I liked for every seven or eight I didn't. I left those for Eric to 5-star Expert.

The tactics don't go into stuff like water-based or fire-based. It only has three classes: rogue, warrior and mage, so it goes off that. There's also armor rating, rank, clustered. . . and more spells than you'll ever know what to do with.

For example, there's about 30 spell combinations you can use. You have to discover them on your own, however, and I've only ever discovered four.

The tactics I believe go off your Specialization (Wynne was a Spirit Healer and started off with like 15, while Alistair started off with 4) as well as your Cunning score. As a rogue who uses a lot of cunning, I have around 12 or so tactics now, and I'm level 25. In this way, though, it's useful to choose the Spirit Healer specialization just to get all the extra tactics, even if you never intend to use that mage as a healer.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-03-03 21:35:08 +0000 UTC]

I remember something about Heavenly Sword. I think I saw a review and the guys reviewing it said that it was a good game but really really short. I think one of those same guys referenced it recently. They were pointing how it was similar to something he was reviewing...but did it better. God of War didn't have a jump button? I don't remember that. They must've done a good job then because obviously you don't miss it.

Yeah...but after they started that devil dealing story, they wouldn't let it go. The devil was in a few more after that. Then God got involved somewhere along the way. Then in that Warriors of Rock one they just went crazy. Recruiting supernatural guitar players to take on a big monster using their special rock powers? Just give me more songs! Stop filling up the disc with shit like that!

That's exactly the reaction I had. I saw that the Rockband 3 game came with a little pamphlet that listed all the downloadable songs and I think I found one I'd download for every 20 I wouldn't. I don't think Guitar Hero is even going to let you download stuff anymore. I think they're completely stopping everything.

Stuff like that is what always turns me off rpg's. I can never decide what to do. Picking classes and stats and all that. How am I supposed to know what I want? I BARELY PLAY RPGs AND I HAVEN'T EVEN PLAYED THE GAME YET! I DON'T KNOW!!!! My default pick is usually to go the warrior or whatever the equivalent is because my fighting technique is to run at things and hit them until they fall down. Warriors seem suited for that.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-03-04 01:41:30 +0000 UTC]

Heavenly Sword. . .I didn't think was SHORT, per se. But despite the freaking incredible female protagonists (all two of them), I didn't like it much. Maybe it was cause I couldn't win the freaking boss battle at the end. I had to have Eric do it for me, and it even took HIM three or four tries.

I heard nothing of this Warriors of Rock. I haven't played all the games, see. In fact, I've played like three total.

I only recognize so many songs anyway. I may have been raised on my dad's music, but I don't friggin' remember them.

It's not THAT complex. There's only four specializations for each class, see. And shite if this isn't gonna be hard to explain.

Okay, the skill tree works like this: it's broken down into separate skill sets. I'll describe the rogue's, since it's easiest.

There's the general Rogue tree, with four rows of four. Each of these rows has to go left-to-right and has a specific advantage. For instance, I fill up the Lockpicking row as quick as I can, considering it's so useful.

Then there's the weapon trees. For rogues, there's only the dual-wielding and archery trees. Each has three rows of four.

Each specialization gets its own row of four. You only get to pick two specializations, though, and not everybody on your team gets both. Some start off with a specialization -- technically, most do.

I pick Duelist and Assassin for my chickie.

So it's complex, but not so complex that you can't figure it out. If you're predicting so much trouble with the game, though, I urge you to play on Normal. Don't even TRY a harder difficulty.

Yes, that's right. I'm talking like you're gonna effin' get it, one way or another.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-03-07 20:18:29 +0000 UTC]

Ohhh. Well maybe the guys reviewing the game were super awesome gamers and managed to blitz through it really quickly. Not being able to get past things ruins games for me too. There's been games I've abandoned and never gone back to because I couldn't get past some bit. I never finished Final Fantasy 12 because it got too hard.

Warriors of Rock was the last Guitar Hero game. It was about recruiting guitar players and then getting them to turn into these creature forms that had special guitar playing powers so they could group together and beat this big mechancial robot. You know how Guitar Hero had stars? 5 stars for a perfect playthrough? Well in Warriors of Rock the max amount of stars for a song is 40.

I don't remember my dad's music but I remember the bands and singers.

You know...from the way you've spoken about your created characters in the past I get the impression that you like stealthy sneaky people. I get the feeling you enjoy sneaking up on people and killing them rather than charging at them with weapons swinging or firing.

That seems pretty straight forward. You have a levelling system for various things. Reminds me a bit of Fallout. How you pick what you want to specialise in and you level up your special abilities as well as your base ones. If there's only four slots in a row then that sounds like it would be easy to max out your level. Unless it takes a lot of be able to build it up.

Well I guess I could look into it. Maybe the guy I borrow the PS3 from will get it. I could tell him it comes highly recommended and that there's a special version of it with the expansions and he might be into getting it. Then I could play it.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-03-07 21:42:58 +0000 UTC]

I've never even PLAYED FF12. Most Final Fantasy games I give up on cause I lose interest in them anyway. Never beat FF10, and I never got a good ending with FFX-2.

Ah. Wow. Well then. Glad I never played it.

Sort of. Playing games like Oblivion and Fallout, I thrive on being sneaky. Usually I sneak EVERYWHERE I can. I've gotten so good at it I can remain unseen in stealth while attacking enemies and they never spot me, even whilst running into me.

But in Dragon Age I never select the Stealth talents. But that's fine. I have an absurd amount of dexterity anyway, so -- true story -- I can take one four golems while the rest of my party is dead and win. It requires healing via potions, of course, but I avoid most attacks and almost never miss, so it's merely a game of patience.

Sort of. (Yes I realize I repeated the phrase shuddup.) There's attribute points, then skill points, then there's talent points. Each skill and talent point has a prerequisite of some sort. For the Dual Wielding tree, it's all based on dexterity, as is most Rogue talents. The Skill trees are mostly passive things, like increasing your Tactics and Herbalism and Survival.

The only skill tree I consider "vital" is the Combat Training. It is literally required to be filled up if you want your rogue/warrior to be able to select higher-tier talents. It's one-for-one; you need one rank of Combat Training for each next tier of any talent tree. Its use for mages is to determine how much damage they can take before losing a spell.

So see, it's not as easy as picking one for each level. The game gives you one talent each level, and one skill per two/three levels (depending on class).

Well, the PS3 version isn't as good as the PC version, but you can beat it. I did -- twice. I can promise you'd spend a good 40 hours on it, plus another 10-15 on the expansion, Awakening. So it's realistic to say you'll be spending over 50 hours on this monster.

Actually the expansion feels incredibly short compared to the rest of it. But damn if it isn't easier to make money in the expansion.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-03-13 21:19:54 +0000 UTC]

I used to play them to the end. I really liked 12 but I lost motivation on it because I got to a point where I needed to level up or else it would be unbeatable but I couldn't be bothered levelling up. I never beat 9 but that's more because it wasn't my game and I had to give it back. I got so close to getting 100% X-2 but there was one thing left to do and it was a pain in the ass. You had to go down this tower thing that had 100 levels and beat all the bosses. Couldn't be bothered doing it.

If you are that unseen then you can pretty much run around killing whoever you want. That must be nice. I remember on Fallout I was going around 'discovering' new areas and this one city bit had these monsters that were so hard to kill. Would've been nice to be unseeable and just smoke those f**kers.

I've done that before. I'll focus on just one character and all the others will die so I have to end up beating monsters with just one person. I hate it when you get so close and lose. You spend 20-30 minutes on a fight and then BAM! you slip up or forget something and you die. That's when I switch the game off and call it rude names.

Oh. That sounds a bit more complicated than what I was picturing. Sounds like you have more decisions to make too. It sounds like you quite enjoy this kind of ability building. Is this to do with creating a character? Like...because you are deciding how the character builds then it feels more personal? Most games I've played that have had levelling in them haven't really been that complicated. You could just level up everyone in everything so there was no real decisions to be made.

I think they've tried to make the console version better. For the sequel. Expansions are always shorter. Every expansion I've read about has had around 10 hours of stuff. Makes me think that AC: Brotherhood was almost an expansion. If it wasn't for all the side quest thingies you could do you could probably have finished that game in around 10 hours.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

DragonsLover1 In reply to The-G [2011-03-15 02:46:08 +0000 UTC]

A lot of people hated 12 because of the absurd level-up license requirements. Needing a license to wear a hat, of all the ridiculous. . .

I've done stuff like that before. Boss runs and towers. In Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, there were two towers, the tower of Eternity and tower of Evermore, I think. Both had 50 floors. But here's the cool part: you climb UP to the top of one, then hang on to a bird pet of yours and glide to the next tower, where you climb DOWN the fifty levels.

The very last boss is a kind of blood skeleton that you literally CANNOT beat without a particular wizard pet helping you. But he drops a Miracle Egg, which is the rarest and most coveted item in the game. So it's all good. REALLY difficult though. By the 65th floor I was having a really hard time of it, even had to abandon the effort and retry it when I reached level 70 or something.

The Boss Mode Run was way too hard for me, even when I was nearing level 80. Now first of all, you can go through the battle of Dracula however many times you want; entering the room starts the final battle over again. THAT was no real trouble. Once I had a system down it was a piece of cake.

The hardest battle was against the Granfaloon. After chipping away at this giant floating mass of human bodies, it breaks apart and "births" some kind of ultimate form. It was all white and could move through solid mass, stretch its limbs, grow larger or smaller, and create shockwaves. All in all it was the hardest battle in the game, but luckily, it's also optional. You can simply avoid it.

Going through the Boss Run, I could never beat the Granfaloon. This is because you only get to hold a certain number of potions and seven Innocent Devils (your little helper pets) at any time. Once the IDs lose all their hearts, they're useless until you give them more. Once you're out of potions, you're out of luck. Just GETTING to the Granfaloon depletes your arsenal one bit at a time.

Now I've gone off into detail again. I blame you.

City with monsters. . .was it the one with all the Super Mutants? OH WAIT, the deathclaws! Yeah, there's one city area filled with deathclaws. They're so tough it usually requires you to be around level 15 to even start facing them. But I'm pretty sure they inhabit that area (and the deathclaw cave) from the very beginning. If you show up early. . .sucks to be you.

OH GOD. That was the worst. Going through a battle like that, getting so close to winning. . . ! I ran into that multiple times against the Harvester in one of the Dragon Age optional campaigns. It uses your character at whatever level, adjusts the enemies to be of around the same level, and lets you have at it. The end boss, Harvester, was harder to beat than the friggin Archdemon. Not to mention when I THOUGHT I'd beaten it, turns out it just basically cut off a mass of its own body, and now I had to kill the head.

The first time it happened, I was alone, my party dead. The second time, one person survived with me, though he died but quick. Third time wasn't as lucky. Fourth time, amazingly, two of my party members survived with me, though only my main remained standing till the end of the battle.

Also sadly, BioWare was smart about this. While you can use your Awakening character to play the optional campaigns, you cannot use your saved optional campaigns to start an Awakening game. I was gonna try to take advantage of that to level up to Uber, but sadly, 'tis not allowed.

Yeah. See, there's different fighting STYLES. I go with dual-wielding, Eric, as a warrior, went with sword'n'shield. You level up the fighting style along with the class talents. In the end, it's impossible to level up the two specializations, the fighting style, AND the class talents, so you have to pick which to overlook. Hence, I overlook Stealth and the Assassin specialization.

Oh, they HAVE. I've played it, so I can say for sure. Auto-attack is now as fast as you can mash the 'X' button, and the level-up system is different too. It works like the original fighting style trees, only much more separated, with heightened focus and. . .well. . .like three or four attacks per tree, with upgrades to each attack (two, usually) that you can pick and choose, plus one activated mode in most cases.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

The-G In reply to DragonsLover1 [2011-03-22 13:06:56 +0000 UTC]

But it's just a game. If you wanted to get technical about it...I don't think that lighting up a square on a board would teach you how to use weapons either.

Is that the more recent Castlevania game? I didn't expect Castlevania to be like that. I knew you had items and weapons and all that but I didn't know there was levelling and side quests and all that. I don't know...I guess I just assumed it was a standard platform game. You just play through it and that's that. The way you described it there it sounds like an RPG almost. You play through it again to get extra stuff and to keep levelling up. Have you considered using a walkthrough to help with those tough battles or do you prefer to get through it on your own or not at all?

Deathclaws! That's them...the bastards. The first time I saw one I thought "Bah! This bitch is mine!" then it killed me in about two seconds. So I reloaded and went back and it killed me again. Then I reloaded and went back and finally killed it. I used up a lot of ammo and health items but I did it. Then I turned the corner and there was another one. I haven't been back since. But you know what? I've been playing that game again because I never finished it the first time I played it and I love that game now. I had a "This shit is awesome" moment. I was just looking around and finding new locations and I found this garage thing and it had a Vault entry below it so I went in and this robot greeted me and told me where to go so I went down to this area with all these pod things and I got in and I went into this 50s virtual reality neighbourhood where the dad was a dog and a crazy man was pretending to be a little girl. That was awesome. I fell in love with the game at that moment.

Guess what? The video game review show was just on so I ran off to watch it and they reviewed Dragon Age 2. And...uh...wow...it wasn't a very positive review. The only good thing they had to say was that the battle system was better but apart from that they pretty much said they were disappointed by it. Apparently the thought the story wasn't interesting and that Hawke wasn't a likeable character and that the locations were repetitive. I of course have no opinion about this because I haven't played any of the games. Oh that's right...they were saying something about how in the first game you had all these dialogue choices and you felt like you were influencing the plot but in the second one the choices were simplified and it felt like you weren't really affecting the plot. The showed some footage and they showed this levelling up thing you've described.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0