Happy Friday!

[Mr. Natural]

Howdy gang,
For years I’ve enjoyed reading computer gaming magazines. I currently receive PC Gamers, Computer Gaming World, and Computer Games Monthly in the mail each month. But for a while now I’ve noticed they’re starting to pile up and I don’t even look through them before the next month arrives. Part of the reason is I’m finding less time to sit and read. But another reason is a lot of the information is already old because I’ve already read and seen a lot of it on the internet already. Two of the magazines come with demo disks. That’s nice, but again usually old stuff because demo’s are usually already out on the internet. Often found right here at 3D Gamers. I guess demo disks are nice for folks that are on dial up.
I recently decided after reading gaming mags for numerous years I’m going to let all my subscriptions expire. They just seem to pile up now and it just seems a waste of money to me.
Are gaming magazines in trouble thanks to the internet? Share your thoughts if you like.

I wrapped up Far Cry a couple nights ago. It’s time for me to review what’s on my pc and consider finishing up some left overs. I played BF1942 for a while last Saturday night. I think the magic is finally fading for me on this game. Perhaps I’ll give it a go one more time and see, but it’s starting to feel old and tired. I have some fond memories of that game and it will be sad to think that I’ve become bored with that game. I guess we’ll see what tickles my fancy in the coming days.
Summer seems to have settled in early here. We’re already hitting 90 degrees F. It might be a long hot summer.

Enjoy your weekend gang. Party on!

[DanTheManPR]

I like gaming mags more for the articles, not really the reviews

[Mara]

I'm finding the same thing, Mr. N. about the gaming mags. It really doesn't seem worthwhile purchasing them when so much of the information is on the web.

It's another working weekend, so I won't be playing much. But next weekend is a long 3 1/2 day holiday!

Have a great weekend everyone!

[Chylde Roland]

It's Victoria Day on Monday way up north here, so we get a nice little long weekend. Looking forward to that, it'll be nice to do some major relaxing!

Not much planned, me and my g/f are planning some time together, but will mostly be playing it by ear. I figure I'm going to spend the rest of the time playing City of Heroes. It's been a good long time since I was addicted to a MMOG, but it's happened again.

My main hero, a katana-wielding swordswoman, is turning out to be a blast to play. She's a major powerhouse and I can take a very large number of enemies on at the same time. It's been pretty fun because (last night) I noticed a group of lower level heroes watching me take on six enemies and defeating every one! Fortunately they left because I got my ass handed to me a few minutes later by a magic using baddie, and actually died. Now I know to avoid the magic users! :lol:

I'm looking forward to getting her up to level 14 this weekend, because at that point I'll be able to pick the "super jumping" ability. It's gonna be really awesome to be able to jump from the ground to a rooftop, then from roof to roof. It'll really speed up my travels, that's for sure!

Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend!

[Jagndeke]

Are gaming magazines in trouble thanks to the internet? Share your thoughts if you like.

I think you'll see gaming mags and mags in general take an approach where mag subscribers will be given access to "extras" on the mag's website. Some of them are already doing this but to what success I don't know. I almost considered picking up a subscription for "Time" so I could access their subscriber only materials. So far I've held off but I do like "Time" and I wouldn't mind having access to the additional materials and stories on thier site. I suspect that they're having some degree of success using this strategy and I'm sure we'll see many others go this route as well.

Happy Friday All!

[Dan Speziale]

Happy Friday, everyone!

We're going to Michigan for the weekend to visit with some friends. It should be a nice break.

I've been replaying No One Lives Forever (I never finished it). It's a really great game. I love the humor in it and it's just so great playing as an agent.

As far as gaming magazines go, I do look forward to reading PC Gamer each month. While the internet has indeed changed gaming and other news for me, I enjoy reading a physical magazine versus an online article. I usually don't put the CDs in the drive anymore unless it's a demo that I haven't downloaded (which is rare). I do give these CDs away to friends and family who are casual gamers.

There's still a thrill for me when I receive PC Gamer in the mailbox that has yet to be matched by an online site, not to mention that the physical format of a magazine or book is just convenient to bring to places and read... places without a computer.

[Feuerwizard]

Happy friday everyone! Hav a great w-end!

[Eddie Ismail]

I read Mags only in the bathroom, so only one magazine subscribtion is enough for me.

Haven't played games in a while, but a friend of mine lent me his metroid zero mission game, and was playing it on the job the other day, it's fun for a while.

Today should be either a really nice day out, or a really weird one. since I 'm going out with my girlfriend, her best friend, my friend *I hooked the last two toghother*, and a girl I used to date and her boyfriend.

it's the first time I go out with this girl and her boyfriend, but I was pushed into doing so, kinda to prove to her boyfriend that we're over, and nothing more than friends. so I'm cool with it.

[Ojnod]

Last night I did something I have only done one time in my life..... Finished a single player game for the PC!!!!

Ever since being introducted to PC gaming I have been playing multiplayer, this was about 4 years ago. Although many of my games are single player I would never play through them to the end. I would either just quit the SP and go play their MP game mode, or I would drop it all together. Well recently with the release of farcry I realized what I could have been missing. I played farcry and I was well over half way through but I wanted to take a break. I figured I would load up a game I never did finish, max payne. I played it for the xbox when a friend brought it over about a year ago. We played the game til the end of part II and he had to leave. I needed a new mousepad last fall so I bought max payne with a free mousepad. I never played the game until now. I started it up and beat it in 3 sessions. It was very fun though. That made me realize what I was missing out on so I have a lot of stuff to catch up on. Next on the adgenda is to finish farcry, then after that there is so much to play. Hmmm let me think of all these single player games I never finished....

Mafia
Max Payne 2
Call of Duty
Aliens vs Predator 2
NOLF and NOLF2
Soldier of fortune 2
Unreal 2

And if it comes down to it...
Ghost recon w/ expansions
Rainbow 6 3

and many others. This isn't including the RPG's that I have laying around (KOTOR, both Fallouts, planescape, morrowind + expansions). I am just not much of a single player gamer, but I do want to give SP a chance because as I found out, it wasnt all that bad.

[Terry Penrod]

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I've also seen a huge pile of PC Gamer magazines pile-up recently Tim and have barely even looked at the covers. Most are still in their original plastic wrappers with demo CDs intact. I too will probably let my long time subscription expire next time.

Congrats on finishing Max Payne Donjo. It was a totally linear game but quite challenging and had a great end game scenario on the roof. I also loved the gritty, tongue-in-cheek dimestore detective dialog, narrative writing and voice acting.

This weekend, I'll get to sleep in and relax again before work gets cranking again early next week. Have had a couple of clients on vacation lately and a few big projects slightly delayed. So I plan to play some more Broken Sword 3. Just finished Arx Fatalis the other day and liked it except for the magic casting system. It simply was not practical during actual gameplay / combat and was only necessary on rare occassions. Some great ideas though that could be refined and used in future first person CRPGs or turn-based strategy titles.

Might also drop by the local sports bar tonight to see a few friends, watch game one of the Lakers - Timberwolves series and have a few single malts while checking-out the latest batch of college girls from Rice University. Hey, their ALL fun to look at but these also tend to be quite smart.

Have a safe and happy weekend folks.

Cheers, Terry

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[Nova]

Happy Friday, or more like Saturday :):

Well, I'm finally done with CÉGEP. For those who don't know, it's between college and senior high school here in Quebec. It lasts about 2-3 years and is mandatory for everybody over here. If I went to study in another Canadian or American college I believe I'd already have a year credited. Anyways, now I'm going to real college next year, in business administration.

I broke down and bought a GC, along with F-Zero GX and Metroid Prime. These games are pretty damn good and I'm going to be playing those a lot over the summer. Besides, it was so cheap, I got it all for 138$ Canadian :):

I've also finally received Tales of the Sword Coast, so I'll be doing the whole BG saga from start to finish with the same character, plus I'll also be playing UT2004 online a lot.

In case you couldn't tell, no I haven't found a job yet. It's not like I really need the money though, I just want to do something constructive. Getting drunk and playing games CAN get tedious after a while :wink:

[Terry Penrod]

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Enjoy the epic Baldur's Gate saga Nova. It is about as good as D&D gaming gets on a PC.

Cheers, Terry

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[Nova]

Thanks, Terry. I've been looking forward to doing it all from the very beginning.

[Terry Penrod]

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WARNING: MINOR BALDUR'S GATE SAGA TACTICAL SPOILERS BELOW!!!

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Just a few words of advice for playing the original game Nova - if you plan to keep the same character all the way through to the magnificent BG2 EP - Throne of Bhaal.

SAVE THE SPECIAL PANTALOONS!

Make sure you find them in BG 1 and have them in your inventory at the final save game point so you can combine them with some other unique items in a hard-to-find workshop in the second EP, in order to to acquire a VERY cool set of special, futuristic armor and weapons very reminiscent of a certain bad guy named Frank in the equally brilliant Fallout 2.

Just put them in a safe place right after you get them in a fairly easy, optional quest, as they serve no purpose whatsoever in the first game or its' TOTSC EP. But before you leave the city of Baldur's Gate the final time, go back and retrieve them. Then finish the game, make your final save and that will forward your special inventory items to the beginning of BG 2. Then do the same thing near the beginning of BG2: SoA - store them in the most convenient safe place as soon as possible. I suggest the chest in the front room of the Copper Coronet tavern & inn in the Slums District of the main city of Athkatla - next to the door that leads to the back rooms on the first floor. This becomes acccessible almost as soon as Chapter Two begins, shortly after you escape from the first dungeon in Chapter One and emerge in the city above.

Then play the entire epic game all the way up to the point that you must leave Amn for the ancient elven city of lore, retrieve the pantaloons (and I think some other items that go with them from BG2 - but will have to consult Dan Simpson's superb FAQs to be sure) and then proceed to the end. That will also forward the item's through your final save game file in BG2: Shadows of Amn to the beginning of Throne of Bhaal. Once the final EP starts you will quickly find yourself in your personal Pocket Plane between earth and hell, where there are loads of safe chests where you can store all sorts of goodies - until you finally find the secret workshop and can combine them to create the special armor and weapons.

One last piece of advice - Once you have the special armor, unequip it before you try to leave any confined level / map that has a doorway, the character wearing the armor can not fit and your party will fail to exit. So place the suit in his or her inventory, save, exit and then re-equip as needed prior to any big battles. Also, SAVE THE CARSOMYR (HOLY AVENGER) SWORD FOR YOU PALADIN! It can become even more powerful in Throne of Bhaaal with a special item that Cespenar (your comical impish bulter in hell) needs for the upgrade - making it by far the best cutting weapon in the game. Plus, be sure to find all the special items for the mighty CROM FAEYR in BG 2 - by far the best blunt weapon you can get. I'll also need to look up the items (plus 5,000 gold and two days) needed for the blacksmith in the City Docks area of Athkatla in BG2: SoA to make the special warhammer. But once you have it in the hands of any strong melee fighter, it is a show stopper against some previously difficult enemies that are immune to magic and have a high resistance to swords, spears, etc. One last special item from BG 2 is a set of wonderful bows. One (a short bow I believe) needs no arrow quivers and the other (a magical long bow) is charmed - but I can not recall the particulars and will once again need to refer to Simpson's FAQ.

Trust me, Watcher's Keep in BG2: ToB is a genuine masterpiece of D&D level design but it is also very, very hard to get through even with a super powerful party of six diverse adventurers. There are some other areas in the second EP that are "hard as hell" too. So the Carsomyr +6 for your paladin, along with the Crom Faeyr +5 and the Fallout Special Armor & Weapons are a great equalizer along with all the best special skills a thief can muster to set traps, backstab for extra damage, etc. and a full array of both Mage and Cleric spells.

Cheers, Terry

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[Nova]

Wow, thanks again. I'll definitely keep this in mind. I recall hearing about the pantaloons somewhere before, but I never knew the details. I also didn't know Carsomyr could be upgraded in the expansion.

I just made my character, a plain old vanilla fighter. I like those best and it's arguably the best choice for the first game. As far as I know, they remain useful in BG2 and Throne of Bhaal, with the right gear.

[Terry Penrod]

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Wow, thanks again. I'll definitely keep this in mind. I recall hearing about the pantaloons somewhere before, but I never knew the details. I also didn't know Carsomyr could be upgraded in the expansion.

I just made my character, a plain old vanilla fighter. I like those best and it's arguably the best choice for the first game. As far as I know, they remain useful in BG2 and Throne of Bhaal, with the right gear.


WARNING: MORE BALDUR'S GATE SAGA TACTICAL SPOILERS BELOW!!!

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Just my opinion but there are lots of big strong melee warrior types that you can have join any good, neutral or evil party all ther way through the saga, as well as some truly great thieves, paladins, rangers and clerics. But there is a lack of great mages for a good party in BG 2. That's why I usually create a straight-up mage who can cast virtually any spell from any school and can eventually level-up to become a really powerful magic user.

It is more difficult, especially in the beginning though as Mages can not wear armor and due to needing super high intelligence points, suffer from relatively low strength and constitution. But once they have some good charmed items, magical robes, etc. for extra protection and have a full range of enhacing spells along with extra help from clerics, they become very hard to hit. Of course, they do need to stay in the very back of your party at all times during combat but that's also the beauty of a world-class mage. He or she can pre-cast long range area effect spells to soften up almost any enemies and then hide in a safe orb or run away while the rest of your companions finish them off. This is even better if you also use a Bounty Hunter / Thief to scout ahead and disarm traps while invisble / hiding in the shadows to set-up a clear path back to your main party. The thief can then set a series of special traps and snares along the way which can only harm foes. Then, have the thief (still invisible) use his very best backstabbing weapon on the baddest of the baddies to instigate combat and for loads of extra damage. Afterwards, immediately have him run (not walk) straight back to the party right over his own traps. This effectively sets-up an auto-ambush for any enemies that follow him. Remember that either through a preliminary area effect spell from long range and/or the thief's initial backstab, one or more of them will already be hurt plus they will walk right over the traps for even more damage before they even get to your primary party ambush. This one tactic can thin-out the biggest hordes of undead or other monsters and weaken, scare and confuse their spellcasters before they even get a chance to strike. As a result, some battles that were just impossible to win head-to-head become fairly easy and far less frustrating - even sooner in the game.

On a related note, the reason that scouting ahead is so important is to reveal the whole area map before your main party goes wandering into a dangerous new territory. Your thief can safely do this and disarm deadly traps in dungeon areas, set his own traps and give you the lay of the land. Then, once you know where the enemies are, your mage can cast a Wizard's Eye to guide summoned creatures to their targets or your paladin can cast Far Sight to reveal areas ahead as an alternative to sending your thief ahead. These tactics allow you see what's what from a safe distance so you can plan ahead. But it also allows your spellcasters to target enemies from afar - before your melee warriors and/or archers attack. Depending on the type of enemy. this alone can turn impossible fights into laughers.

Also, before ALL big battles, be sure to make a fresh, full game save and then buff your party to the max with all sorts of protection spells, magical items and potions plus all the enhancement spells, etc. you can muster. But before you cast any party-wide protections or enhancements, also be sure to summon any beasts you want to help fight and have them stand close by the spellcaster so they also benefit from the magic.

I know that seems like a lot to do but trust me, for the bigger battles, it is necessary in order to gain an edge against the tougher opponents. This becomes even more true as you progress in the game straight through to the astonishingly powerful enemies you will face in BG 2 and ToB.

Cheers, Terry

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