Was I the only one waiting for This is Vegas?

It looks like This is Vegas has been canned.

This was going to be the next game created by Surreal Software, the studio behind the underrated horror classic The Suffering and its inferior (but still pretty good) sequel, and I have to admit that I was hoping they would create another great game. But something was not right. The colossal Midway was sinking, and it looked like this game could be a victim of it. Also, to our eyes the game seemed a bit pointless. What is it exactly? A mere GTA clone? A playboy simulator? Is there anything else to do other than just go from one place to another and "party"? With no interesting story or characters sticking out, it looked like they were taking too long for just a glorified HD mini-game collection.

Maybe we were wrong. Maybe there was a great game underneath. But then again, why did they choose to show only those parts of the game? Were they really building up a whole game based on the secondary, throwaway elements that filled up GTA's world for those moments when you wanted a break from the main story?

They've been working on this game for years and they've already spend $50 million. Are they really throwing all that work away? Even 3D Realms allegedly handed Duke Nukem Forever to another developer to finish it. Can't they just release what they have as a budget title, or as a downloadable game? Maybe they won't be able to sell it spectacularly for $60, but why not for $20? I would definitely buy it.

RPGs are too addictive! Also, DNF is the most appropriate title ever.

Hi SuperViv!

OK, I'll probably follow your advice. No Oblivion! I definitely want to play Fallout 1, but I need to be on the right mindset. I can't just drop into the game, because I'm easily turned off by the gaming conventions and design contraints old games have. We've come a long way and now games are so user-friendly that it's hard to go back to the basics. I've read that Fallout 2 was broken because it was rushed out (always a bad sign for a game), though a fan-created patch fixes that. Then, there's a third game for PC, "Tactics", and one for consoles, "Brotherhood of Stell", but they are not RPGs anymore.

Of course I know Guild Wars! Actually, my first professional translation was an expansion for this game, Guild Wars: Nightfall. The text was so interesting that I bought two copies of the game afterwards, and I started to play it with my brother. That's the best way to enjoy it! I also bought the other games and played through most of the Prophecies campaing.

The thing with GW is that it's actually a MMORPG simulacrum, and it can be described as a regular RPG designed to be played with up to three other players in coop mode or solo. Great you can play solo! Though an early gate in "Prophecies" can only be opened with the help or another player. I don't know if they have changed that now that some servers (the Spanish one, at least) are completely deserted with no other humans in sight (and I did notice that the difficulty of some enemy encounters have been drastically toned down). It's a shame, because it's just a great game.

I think the best thing about Guild Wars is that it's so casual-friendly. You can play a bit, do a few missions, and then pick it up several months later. So I've been playing it for almost three years now. That's the only way for me; I don't like the WoW mechanism of buying your way into the game: once you start paying the monthly fee, then you just have to play. This creates a pressure on the player, a pressure I don't want or need. I don't want to give up my life for a f***ing game.

I'm still waiting for Did Not Finish... I mean, Duke Nukem: Forever. They should just release what they have as a shareware product (back to the good old times!), and call it DNF: The Lost Levels.

I've been playing Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazzard lately, and there's a jab at Duke Nukem ("Nuke Winter: Coming Soonish!) during the last level. Which is stupid, because Matt Hazzard is supposed to be Duke Nukem, and because DNF is probably better in its unreleased form that this boring mess of a game. Maybe one day I'll tell you what's wrong with it. Too bad, because it definitely had potential for greatness!

See you tomorrow!
Danda

The Fallouts and Guild Wars (or: The beginning of an addiction?)

Hi Danda,

Wow, if you really want to play all the previous games to any new series you start, you'll have your hands full, I tell you. I played Fallout 1, it was fun, and then I tried Fallout 2, but it was way too difficult. For me, anyway. And the first Fallout 3, I thought that wasn't even released? As for playing Oblivion first... well, that's a little far-fetched, I'd say. But it's not like I'd want to discourage you from it. It's a fun game, although so far not as gripping as Morrowind. It's easier to get into it, though, because it begins with a clever tutorial in a prison dungeon at the beginning of the game. Just like Fallout 3 had a nice beginning, where the tutorial was cleverly built into the telling of the background story. Bethesda does that well. However, as you pointed out, it's also a time consuming game, and when you're not completely taken by the story or you get side-tracked and do something else, you forget what you did before and then you'd almost have to start again to enjoy it. And then you'd have to go through the tutorial again. And it won't be as much fun the second time around.

At any rate, I did go out yesterday and bought Guild Wars - the first chapter, entitled Prophecies. A friend of mine talked me into it, since he is playing it all the time, and so I bought it knowing that he'd be joining up with me and explaining the basics. I can see how such games make people addicted to them, especially when there is someone else who has an interest in you playing. The graphics are pretty good, considering the game was released in 2005. But it's still being played four years later, and the good thing about this MMORPG is that you don't have to pay for anything else but the game itself. No subscription fees. That is certainly a good selling point.

The game has a story, of course, but you can also just go out and do quests for a long time, just building your character, learning the basics, looking around. The fighting is still a bit confusing to me. You basically just click on the enemy and your character starts beating on it, and then there are special skills you can use, some of which become available when you get adrenaline from fighting. So basically I just clicked on the enemy and then was frantically clicking on my skills, and many times I ended up winning. There's still a lot I have to learn. But it will be nice to have my friend teach me.


Anyway, I imagine if "normal" games are too time-consuming for you with their 100 hours (which I entirely understand, after all you're a casual core gamer!), you're likely to stay away from MMORPGs until you retire. But if you don't, get Guild Wars and we can kill monsters together!

And last but not least, let me tell you that that Bionic dude looks a lot like Duke Nukem (see image). Which reminds me, I think Duke Nukem Forever is coming out this year. Heh.

Talk to you later!
- SuperViv