Beat Fallout a while ago. Despite the rocky start, random CTDs and weird bugs, which I believe might have been caused by the Fixt (oh the irony), it ended up as an excellent game. Should've stickied to the vanilla version, though.

The freedom to play the way you want was invigorating too. Most problems could've been solved by smooth talking, whereas in NV you eventually had to shoot something. Learning of the humble beginnings of the BoS, NCR and other factions was nice, better than just reading the wiki.

Now on to (unmodded) Fallout 2.

Which is exactly why I'm not a big fan of "the cloud".

It's a bit weird how most gaming-related websites are reporting the shutdown without properly explaning the reasons for such action. Then again, there seems to be an anti-Nintendo thing going on lately.

Woah, new journal topic!

Thanks to the GOG giveaway last year I'm playing the original Fallout. I wasn't enjoying much until I hit the Boneyard. That Cathedral was way creepy and idk why but it reminded me of Orwell's "1984". Unfortunately my visit triggered the super mutants random encounters, which keep wiping me out. Or maybe I'm terrible at character building because the same thing happened in New Vegas. To make things worse I can't get into the Brotherhood camp to get the power armor training in order to alleviate the issue. Maybe it's karma for blowing them up in NV.

Went back to MH3 Ultimate after messing around in Freedom Unite. I'm really fond of third gen, even if underwater battles are iffy. Whereas FU was at times akin to a puzzle game, 3U feels more organic and reactive.

Reminds me the one unfortunate time I had a proper "gaming pc" fitted with an MSI board and VGA. Had to replace the fans on both. One year later, the VGA started displaying artifacts and died; the mobo went soon after. That pc only lasted 2 or 3 years. Needless to say, I never bought anything MSI again or any high end parts.

I didn't play many games this year, but here we go:

- GOTY
Monster Hunter 3 U. Refined mechanics, great monster roster (missing Tigrex though), hours and hours of content. Only thing that brings it down a bit is the crappy framerate when there's too much action going on.

- Non-2013 GOTY
Fallout New Vegas, hands down. It was so good it ruined rpgs for me, haha.

- Biggest Disappointment
Besides MH3U the only other 2013 game I played was EOIV, which was decent from what I had experienced. If we count non-2013, then Dark Souls. It is a fine game and I understand its appeal but unfortunately it didn't click with me. Maybe it will in a future replay.

Yeah, in theory Dark Souls would be right up my alley. I almost bought a PS3 to play the two Souls games but then From announced the port.

I liked the minimalist approach to storytelling and the art direction. It's the gameplay that didn't click with me. While a game like MH keeps me on my toes all the time once you reach Hi/G Rank, Dark Souls only did so in a few boss fights (like the duo Ornstein/Smough). Such a goddamn shame.

I think I've finally burned out on rpgs. EOIV remains untouched since May; forced myself to finish Dark Souls to see what the deal was and didn't think much of it in the end (Anor Londo was friggin' great though). New Vegas and Kotor 2 were probably the only games I've really enjoyed this whole year (and maybe the past one too). I just don't care anymore. :\

If it wasn't for Monster Hunter and indies like FTL I'd probably be in gaming limbo. Weird.

Well, according to the press release:


Steady flows of revenue = why mess with something that's making money? If I'm not mistaken, Atlus (including the USA branch) was the only profitable Index property.

Dark Souls – I may have been a bit unfair and hasty in passing judgment on the game. I was approaching it in a Monster Hunter mindset which obviously didn't quite work out despite both titles being so similar. Yeah, most normal enemies are easy to read and have exploitable patterns in DS but the boss fights and the overall atmosphere sure make up for it. Anor Londo was great in this regard.

MH3U - Took forever to kill a Rathian in free hunt. I'm rusty. :(

Dark Souls - I had spent a bunch of souls in useless stats so I restarted the game. Added a ton of stamina and now I can just roll/block endlessly. Explored the Catacombs then briefly visited the Tomb, where I met my demise by falling off a cliff, yay.

Nice! Gonna wait a bit though, maybe it shows up in sale or something. Can't wait to meet SR2 Shaundi again.

SR2 is damn good despite the shoddy pc port. If you thought Dark Souls was bad you've seen nothing.


How is the game? Is the Boss able to fly all over the place a la Vanguard?

Even with the restoration mod the ending still feels incomplete, probably because it is. There's only so much modders can do or else you risk venturing into "fanfiction" territory. Still, I thought the team did an admirable job considering the material they had available.

During her final speech Kreia does a little info dump about what's going to happen to the Exile's companions, except the droids and Bao-Dur. I think you can even decide if the Exile is going to look for Revan. I recommend you read this excellent Let's Play, specially the last chapter. It also could have something to do with you going Sith, I've read that a dark side playthrough isn't as fulfilling as its counterpart.

KOTOR 2 is a great game, but you need to keep in mind its flaws. If only LucasArts didn't rush Obsidian...

New Vegas - Beaten! What a masterpiece, haven't put so many hours in a PC game since Dragon Age, way back in 2009. Good thing I managed to solve my issues with the camera or I would miss a truly great experience. Obsidian deserves all the praise, you can tell NV was a labor of love.

Dark Souls - While I like the game, it's missing something the Monster Hunter series has. Outside the bosses, most enemies are boring/repetitive to fight whereas in MH they differ in size, behave a bit randomly, you might be paralyzed by a vespoid and get trashed... A battle will never be the same, even if you are prepared.