Computer woes.

My relatively new PC started to have an annoying, intermittent problem with USB devices disconnecting. BIOS options, newer drivers, even on Linux the problem persisted. It was a defective motherboard. Well, sooner or later these things happen, right? I got another mobo, better components, newer chipset and so forth. Should be the end of the story, right? Of course not!

Spent two days figuring out a bizarre issue with - wait for it - USB ports! My mouse would freeze at the login screen and USB3 was at USB2 speeds but only on Windows, so it was a driver issue. Turns out USB3 implementation is overall shifty and Intel USB drivers are a bit wonky, a potential headache inducing combo. During my testings the Intel drivers somehow managed to kill all my usb ports + PS/2 keyboard (lolwut) and I had to reboot AND disable xHCI to access anything on Windows. Obviously it was not enough, so later I had a system freeze and my external HDD was corrupted (and that's why you back everything up. Twice.)

Next on my ongoing saga, I restored an early system image, re-enabled xHCI, installed the newest available chipset + USB drivers and things are functional. Still, my transfer speeds are lower on Windows than on Linux.

I think my mistake was to install the drivers that came with the motherboard, I should have gotten them directly from Intel. I probably ended up with an unholy mismatch of versions which then proceeded to bork everything. It's been so long since my last PC upgrade I thought it was still alright to install the drivers that came with the CD, haha.

Fallout 2 - Dropped. How they went from FO1 to this is a mystery.

Was about to start NV but then I found out the modder responsible for NV Bounties returned and is working on the final installment so I might postpone my playthrough for a while.

SRR and DF were pleasant surprises, no doubt. I'm looking forward to it too, though I prefer to set my expectations to normal levels haha. Since they won't target the tablet market (for now) HBS might be able to, at very least, tweak the interface. Other than that, I hope they keep the game compact, "fat-free": no huge dungeons, trash battles, fetch quests and so on.

Fallout 2 - I don't know if at this point anyone cares about spoilers but you've been warned.

For all the hype the game gets it sure is boring. I'm mostly in it for New Vegas (and Cassidy, because he is awesome). The whole of San Francisco and that Hubology cult was so out of place, not to mention New Reno and a certain Vault populated by rather peculiar inhabitants. Despite the similarities shared between New Reno and Vegas (casinos, warring families, overall feeling of decadence), the latter was properly integrated and consistent to the overall theme of the game whereas the former was "just there". NV had its wacky moments, truth be told, but most of it was confined to a special perk and Old World Blues (the weakest dlc, imo). Not only that, it more or less kept the "post-apoc western" setting through most of the campaign (the dlcs were exceptions).

Anyway, at long last I delivered the GECK hoping the game would end and, yo and behold, it tells me I need to face the Enclave, just like that. Zero build up, unlike the Master's shenanigans back in FO1 or the growing tensions between the major factions in NV. However dry it could be at times, the original Fallout had focus and interesting, even creepy places like the Glow and the Cathedral. Back when I started FO2, I was looking forward to visit the NCR territory and, when I did, the "best" thing I found over there was Tandi, who basically gave me $ and told me to gtfo. If not for Vault City and Gecko there would be no interesting areas to explore.

Hopefully the Enclave section will be over quickly because the game is dragging by now.

TL;DR - I don't like Fallout 2.

1) Tie between Shadowrun: Dragonfall DC and Morrowind.

2) Shadowrun: Dragonfall DC

3) Maybe Dragon Age Inquisition? Not a proper disappointment since I was expecting a prettified DA2 (which I'm not a fan of) and that's exactly what it was.

Dragon Age Inquisition - Yeah, I think the series isn't for me anymore. I could list all things I thought were poorly done or implemented but then I'd be a negative nanny haha. At least DAO will always be there to replay.

A few spoilery comments:

Finished both Shadowrun campaigns. DMS was really good, but Dragonfall DC was on another level, almost there with New Vegas. Gameplay, writing, soundtrack, visuals, atmosphere - it nailed everything. I had no idea I would like it (and DMS) so much considering I knew nothing of the pnp game. Can't wait for another official module.

Good preview, Taellus. I haven't kept up with the development so I know little about the game.

It seems most people who were able to play it early highlighted the fedex nature of the "sidequests". I think it would be more apt to call them busywork them properly structured quests. Skyrim was guilty of these too so maybe it's a problem inherent to open world games.

Oh, agreed. Chapter 12 had a nice one too during the intro.


Yeah, I read about it on the FF wiki (you know a game had good storytelling when you need to check external sources). It also explains the party transformation and the Fang/Vanille thing. Wouldn't be bad if they actually mentioned her directly during the course of the story instead of a datalog entry or a throwaway scene towards the end of Chapter 11 in which Vanille is basically just reading stuff. Show, don't tell.

They should have taken more time to develop the mythos/backstory. Hell, Chapter 11 onwards should be about the party discovering the existence of said goddess and she could even manifest herself or something. Instead, they go to Oerba because reasons. So many missed opportunities.

I was mildly interested in XIII-2 and LR because the battle system was improved, but I don't know if I'll be able to stomach the story + annoying characters. If there's something I liked about Lightning is that she was quiet and would tell people to shut up.

FFXIII - Beaten.

It's an ok game. Unfortunately it started to fall apart by Chapter 11, which managed to kill the pacing, characters and story in one swift strike. The final dungeon deserves special mention because god, it dragged so much. I had more trouble getting to the boss than fighting it. The ending was a bit of a wtf or maybe I wasn't paying attention. Gonna hit Youtube later to rewatch the cutscenes.

Aaaand that's it.

Oh I see. It's just that I kept reading "Morrowind has no item/level scale and is perfection!!1!one!" so I was surprised.

To be honest after playing it the Skyrim hate makes little sense beyond lore/world building. Maybe if I had played the game back in 2002 I'd think different. Well, I did but quit after character creation, oops.

Morrowind - Beat the main quest and did a bunch of Imperial legion ones. Took too long to join House Redoran and they ended up telling me to gtfo. I know you can join then later but what's the point? Still, good game. The meeting with a certain someone in Vivec during the final stages of the main campaign was truly great as well as the whole Tribunal debate through the story.

On the bad side:

- I thought the game had no leveled lists/level scaling but daedric weapons were dropping left and right and Dark Brotherhood ambushes were getting way too hard. Two assassins? Good thing I was near the door.
- Final boss encounter was bugged because once I cast levitate he tried to go after me, fell down and got stuck somewhere, which was unintentionally funny. How come such powerful enemy doesn't know how to fly?
- Dungeon design was weak, there was no variety whatsoever. It's something I thought was rather well done in Skyrim.
- Fetch quests everywhere.

Out already?! Need to play the first one...

MH Freedom Unite - Mission accomplished. Took down Ukanlos (huge pain in the ass, ugh) which means I'm done with the game. There are still quests left but I'm not dealing with Diablos or Rajang anymore, nope nope. Gonna take a long break from the series and "hardcore" gaming as a whole.

FF XIII - It's a soap opera instead of a game, full of fake melodrama. Only downsides are Snow (good thing all sane characters tell him to stfu) and Vanille (what the heck is wrong wih her?). Voice acting is mostly solid, though everytime Lighting talks I imagine Liara, haha. Probably explains why she was all dark and edgy in Mass Effect 2.

Battle system got a bit better once I realized the stagger mechanic is all that matters, however I still have trouble remembering which paradigm does what. Would be better if the game paused while you decide the next shift.

It's been an enjoyable experience so far.

I'm playing the Final Fantasy XIII PC port and by reading internet forums you'd think it's the worst port ever when it's not even close. Yeah, it's missing basic options like being able to set the resolution and key mapping (not all keys can be changed) and there's some weirdness going on with the framerate but it's not the end of the world. Dark Souls and Saints Row 2 were way, way worse as in not even properly playable at launch. Game is pretty, runs fine on my mid range desktop and default keyboard controls are decent.

It's another case of the PC gaming community overreacting and blowing things out of proportion. I think some of these people prefer to nitpick about every single detail instead of, I don't know, playing games and having fun? "Oh noes, 720p? The horror, the horror!"

I'm just glad I can finally play the game.