Having never played either, which would be a better one to try: Avernum or Avadon?  I realize it's based on taste, etc., but which game would you recommend to someone who loved the Ultima games?

I would like to know the answer to this as well.

Well, they're both by the same company, so get both.

That said, AFAIK, Avernum lets you design your own party of 4 from scratch, while Avadon lets you create a single character (but you'll get companions as you go). And I hear really good things on both games.

Destructor has summed up the basic differences (aside from the story).  They use the same engine and game system. 

I must know how to make this! My daughters must experience this!

I want this game so badly...

Do you even get an option if you import a character? I got the option when I played the demo, but I don't remember seeing the option when I started the full game.

I did not get the Story/Normal/FPS choices when I imported my ME2 character.

so much laughter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A0TRbNEl4s

Loved some of those moments, watching those guys trapping baddies between their melees.  Had me laughing.

http://blog.bioware.com/2012/01/27/special-forces/

Hah, wakeboard the rhinoceros.  I love it.

I don't think I ever heard, but does anyone know why he passed away?  (If I'm bringing up some taboo, just say so and I'll let it be.)  I really enjoyed playing games online with Dave and thought of him when I thought of a good friend (since middle school) who passed in November due to ALS complications.

BTW, I just read the descriptions of the DLC this morning...  It's talking about the same armor and weapons I got as pre-order bonuses from Gamestop.  So, read it carefully if you got preorder stuff.. you may have those packs already.

Can't wait to get home tonight and play this!

get a new headset and join us in coop (in other games that is) 

Amen.  I'm thinking of getting the GOW3 headset so I can run both sound and chat into headphones.

Can't wait to get home tonight and play this!

Dreamshadow#1980 here... no relations to BSG 1980.

Working my way through for the Overachiever achivement.. why?  Because I like achivements.   *presses the pavlov button again*

Interesting..  There are achievements where I've earned the later versions of (Elite Kills 35, 50) but I've not gotten the 10 and 20 versions of.

You're right, it did feel a little like L4D.  The breach (aka hacking system) was very nice and context based.  I've run the whole map just healing other people up and not firing a shot, and was second on the scoreboards.  I also picked up shielding and damage amp, and I keep those active while healing and we tore through the groups.

I'm liking the demo.. more notes in a bit.

I like to consider myself a writer, but I'm crippled by an addiction to MMOs and various gaming (aka, I don't invest any time in writing.)  I've gotten about 20k words written in two separate novels and never finished them.  It haunts me.

I hear ya. It takes real discipline to sit down and reach a writing quota every day. I keep telling myself I'll write XXXX words per day but I rarely do it. Instead I sort of write in spurts. While working on a second draft of my new book I added about 5K in 3 days. Before that I didn't write a single word for a week. I planned to write all day but I only managed to revise a few paragraphs before running off to play Fallen Enchantress. 

Still, 20K is very respectable. Hang in there.

I'm using your FB posts as encouragement.

I like to consider myself a writer, but I'm crippled by an addiction to MMOs and various gaming (aka, I don't invest any time in writing.)  I've gotten about 20k words written in two separate novels and never finished them.  It haunts me.

Thank you pr0ner.  you have both made me laugh out loud and ruined my childhood in the same instant.

Congrats Pete!

I'm playing on Harbringer with the QT3 guys.  Thomasic, Thomasien tend to be my character names.

I've had that and beer beer beer stuck in my head.

Heh, the trailer for Bard's Tale references my 2004 review of the game.

I managed to kill him twice at level 8, but the trade off was my Housecarl Lydia died too, which is weird as she wouldn't die on other attempts, just take a knee.  So I ran past and leashed him.

[Spoiler]

Spoiler for Hiden:

So I'm going up the 7k steps, and there is a troll I just can't kill as a warrior at level 8.  Any suggestions or do I just need to level up a little more.
 He just swats me twice or three times and I'm dead.  My housecarl and I just can't do enough damage.

Looking forward to your review.  Can't wait to play this on the 360.

Finally beat the game last night, and I'm glad I did.  It is one of those series that I'm happy with where it went and how it wrapped everything up.  I could empathize with the characters and their situation too.  Overall, Gears 1,2,and 3 tell a decent story.

I played last night without the HD pack, and thought the game looked fine.  (Granted, I did install the HD pack before I went to bed which was 1.6gb, and the MP disk which was about 6.7gb.)

A friend that I've known since 7th grade is deteriorating from ALS.  He's only 34 and I can barely understand him anymore.  At this point it is only a matter of time before some thing comes along and finishes the job.  It is depressing.  It makes it hard to go visit him, but I do, because I know that inside his head, he's a fully capable person and still thinking up there.

IE is only better because we've chosen to accept it's rules and code the way it wants us.  Which makes the picture even funnier in my opinion.

Anyone that gives you that kind of trouble doesn't deserve to matter. If they paid attention and followed your posts they'd quickly discover that you've been using the name longer.

Cannot wait for tonight to get home and play!  I'm hoping my World of Warcraft raid gets cancelled tonight.

Send me an invite for the GTF team.  What is the bonus track pack?  And will I be able to buy a vip kit later on, as I pre-ordered my Forza 4 too late for the collectors edition?

probably the size of the pic, noob!

It's not that large of a pic.

It's only a model </python>

Finished the campaign tonight - really enjoyed the game. Good story overall and I am happy with the way it ended.

Just hit Chapter 4, and I'm liking the writing.  There's a little bit too much of 'BLAH BLAH is back again? I thought we killed them?"   At this point, I'm almost expecting RAAM to appear.

Could we at least remove the pic of the infect/bitten thumb?

More Horde!! That boss wave was rough.

How much of my PSP collection is gonna be invalid for the Vita? I know my discs may not work...but will I be able to use my PSN purchases?

I spent about two hours last night playing the Area Control MP mode online as a Tactical Marine. I discovered that I really liked it. A fair number of players were playing Devastators and assault marines (Sorry, I'm not a chaos kind of guy, so I'll be using the Space Marine terms here) and Tactical Marines seemed a little light on representation. It was very interesting playing the middle ground. I had to listen for the sound of Assaults launching and landing and being ready to move. I got creative and was even able to stun a couple when they went melee wild towards me. Ended up killing them with stun/melee/ranged combos. I also learned to do a little scouting and watch where friendly assault marines were dying. It told me a lot about where the Devastators were hunkering down at control points, slaying people. Most of the other Tactical Space Marines I saw were going sniper, and very few learned to change their snipe location after dying... made it very easy for me to continually come up behind them and melee them to death.

It was a fine middle ground, but after a couple of rounds I didn't feel outclassed there. Yes, there was the usual lag issues from playing on Xbox Live, but overall I felt challenged, not frustrated. There is a chance I'm just fortunate enough to be playing while everyone is a new player, but I'm very happy with the single and multiplayer so far.

I'll be in for Space Marine co-op, as long as I can display my colors as a Black Templar.

Let's make it Orky!!!  For Gork and Mork!!!

Pre-ordered.  I was pretty sure I was going to get this, but last night both levels just clicked for me and I couldn't stop replaying them over and over.  Next tuesday is gonna be fun!

I'm having mixed feelings about the demo.   The elevator sequence is frustrating on Normal, as I'm having problems getting my health back.  Also how does one detonate vengeance gun charges that hit the ground?

Bummer.. I get to wait till tomorrow for my copy.  No midnight release for me...