I just took a look at the videos for the upcoming game Dante's Inferno from EA. Man it looks interesting. I loved reading the book back in high school. I am hoping that they remain close to the source material. The idea of playing through the story, or a game closely related to it sounds tantalizing.

It is my hope that it isn't just a hack & slash, but rather there is a RPG aspect to it, or a good story driving it. The book deserves more than a rehash of God of War where you just run around killing anything that comes in your way. I'd rather do some quests or something along the way. Not that you can't still have action too, I'd just rather have both. My only other caveat is that it is currently only coming to the current gen consoles, of which I have none. I guess if I was desperate enough I could play it on my brother's PS3, but I might, just might, be tempted enough to buy a XBOX 360 for this game (and a few others I'd like to play like Fable 2). It is still a long ways off from release, but I am eager to see more about it. Maybe EA might even be convinced to bring this game to the PC as well.

I watched the Battle Report posted here on GS of Starcraft 2. I have to say I was rather disappointed, and I've been eagerly looking forward to this game. SC1 is now some 10 years old and while it was a classic then, there has been a lot of advancement in RTS technology and game hardware. New techniques have been introduced like "leader units" and getting away from base building, especially for things like supply depos that hamper your population expansion without them. Watching the video just seem to be like watching a video of the original Starcraft except with better graphics and new units. It was almost like a Starcraft version 1.5. Something that a modder or fan would make that would be true to the original (same camera, same UI, etc.) but make no innovations as to piss off the fans.

It seems to me that Blizzard is intent on making this game for the hardcore competitive gaming scene rather than a good game for the masses. I know that SC1 is still played in Korean leagues competitively and the games watched on TV there. SC2 seems to have been made exactly for that purpose, to be played by hardcore fanboys and not to offer long time fans any evolution in game play.

Even WC3 made more evolution when it was released over WC2. WC3 introduced leader units and a RPG side to things where you could collect items, equip them, level units, etc. While I argue that it wasn't a perfect implementation, it was better than just releasing WC2 again with new graphics and some new units.

While I will still probably buy SC2 when it comes out, and enjoy it, I still feel disappointed in paying $50 to play a game I already have. I hope that game review sites like Gamespot don't get star-lust when they review the game since it is by Blizzard (who it seems could release a bag of crap and still not score less than a 9). I want a thorough, honest review that scores this game on not just what is in it, but what was left out.

I was disappointed to see the result of the work on Demigod. I am a real fan of RTS's and this one seemed appealing on the outside. But the more I watched the videos of gameplay, and then after reading the revew here on GS, I decided to skip it. I like the idea of controlling a boss or god-like unit with its minions, but being able to only control that unit and not the minions seems like a problem. If you wanted to create a diversion with your minions or the AI was being stupid you'd have a problem. Being left with only 1 unit to control in a RTS seems like little fun, even if there are RPG apsects to it like getting items and skills. I'd rather be controlling armies than a solo character. The nail in the coffin is that there is no single player. I mostly enjoy my RTS's with me vs. the computer AI since my friends almost all lack decent computers or are adicted to WoW. Playing against strangers online just doesn't seem as much fun, since inevitably you'll run into a crowd who play a lot more than you and are better and consistently wipe the floor with you. And that's no fun except to them I guess. Even if I was interested in online play, it is currently broken in Demigod according to GS, which cuts out the main purpose of the game.

I am also kind of skeptical about buying a Gas Powered Games game again after buying Supreme Commander Gold from them. I liked the original and decided to pick up the bundle of the original and the expansion for $30 on Amazon. Seemed like a good deal. But what I found was that the expansion is very buggy on my system, even with the last patch applied. The sound cuts out in the game, and only 1 or 2 buildings might have sound. This affects gameplay since you don't have cues of what is going on audibly. The publisher THQ's site had a post about it, but the fix didn't work, and the game doesn't seem to be actively supported anymore. Speaking of THQ, could they have made finding a patch or getting support on a game any lousier? You have to search for the game's exact title (where there should be a pull-down menu with all their games in it or something), and then there isn't an actual page where the patches are posted and the changes listed. Is it that hard to support games like Blizzard does? They still have pages for patches for games released in the mid-ninties (Diablo) while THQ can't seem to support a game that's less than 2 years old?

I picked up a copy of Jade Empire for the PC. So far I have found it pretty fun. I like how it has RPG aspects to it, but the action plays out realtime and you have more control of the battles. One thing I've always have had a love-hate relationship about is queued action lists. The story is pretty interesting so far. Perhaps I might even finish this one ;P

I checked out the Overlord demo. I liked it, even for how short it was. There were a few issues, the movement control is a little wonky and I don't care for the invisible walls that keep you to a narrow path and don't allow you to explore. And from the demo at least, you can't be as evil as I would have liked. From the hype around the game I thought you were going to be this great force of evil roaming the landscape reining terror down. Rather you do missions for humans and help them out. I hope things get more evil in the game.:evil:

I am a little bit of an older gamer, able to remember the hype around Mario 3 and when the kid with the Powerpad in the neighborhood had all the kids over at his house. I like a variety of games, but these days I usually only have time and patience for games I can pick up and drop quickly. I like RPG storylines, but usually don't have the patience to figure out what to do and drop them quickly:P

Anyway, these days I spend most of my gaming time on the PC. I am currently wading through Supreme Commander, which I like quite a bit. The ability to give your units advanced orders is really cool. I also like the look of the units as well, especially the really large ones. The movement through technology and the so called super-weapons are well done too. My biggest complaint stems from the fact that the units amongst the 3 factions are almost identical. Each has their light and heavy fighters and bombers, tanks, etc. The only thing that really varies is their look. I would have preferred that each faction had unique units and strategy like in Starcraft or the C&C series. All in all though, it is pretty fun :)