Month: October 2011

Why didn’t I play this game earlier? What was I thinking?

Someone in my house recently bought SR2 over the weekend and damn.  I enjoyed Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas but I didn’t feel compelled to buy the sequel, GTA IV.  So when it came down to playing a few minutes of Saints Row 2, I was hooked.  Something about it’s open-world “do as you please” design caught my attention.

Saints Row 2 holds your hand for all of ten minutes to get you out of prison where you were in a Coma for years before ‘waking up’.  From here, you’re left with a loose suggestion on what to do next.  But it rewards you for progress.  Do the first mission and rescue your comrade-in-arms and you’ll be rewarded with a Crib where you can stockpile clothes, weapons and cars.  Do the second mission, you have a hangout where your gang lives – homie’s you can recruit to follow you around and provide additional firepower.

Should you feel more mayhem inclined there are many mission points scattered around the map you can visit for objectives like smearing the police or causing massive property damage.  I spent 20 minutes last night standing in an intersection shooting rockets at passing cars all in pursuit of an elusive $500k property damage value.  As if that wasn’t enough you’re also left the option of the Classics: Armed Robbery, Mugging and Carjacking.

Senseless violence and a loose plot makes this a keeper in my library and I eagerly await Saints Row the Third so I can continue the fun.

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This commentary is full of spoilers.  Play the game first, or keep reading – you’ve been warned.

As a chapter in the grand saga that is Dragon Age, part 2 is a solid game and a fine example of linear plot design.  They all but telegraph the problems in this city in the first 10 minutes.  Mages vs Templars.

Now, don’t get me wrong.. the Mages are dangerous.  They can easily be corrupted by creatures from the Fade (this worlds version of an astral plane).  And when corrupted, they’re not some cloth wearing sissy with fireball.  No, now they’re daemonic badasses who take a fair effort to kill.

Don’t worry though, they don’t change at whim, it’s purely by plot which of the mages turn ugly and which of them continue to hurl fiery doom.

And then of course there’s Knight-Commander Meredith who you’re told is running her operation of rooting out renegade mages like a military campaign.  So you don’t actually reach this conclusion until Act 3 and sadly, there’s no way out.  No matter how much you want to deviate from the main plot.  I tried.

It’s sorta sad really, how many excellent story bits they weave into the side quests and the companion elements and yet you have two choices when it comes to the final act.  I’d really have liked to see you and your romantic interest walk off into the sunset.  “Good luck suckers, enjoy your power struggle.”

Worth noting that few choices you make in the early game impact your late game exploits.  I neglected to pursue Fenris’ Companion Quests and so I do his Act 3 quests.

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I will never play Rage.  I do not want to.  I have no desire, not even a modicum of interest.  My exposure ends at 20 minutes of playthrough from Youtube.  TheRadBrad provides an amusing experience, but sadly I must pass on this venture.

I will never buy this game.  Not from discount bin, nor from Greatest Hits Collection.

Thank you ID.  It was fun while it lasted.  But thank you for providing Gearbox some excellent pointers on what not to do.

We shall all learn from your mistake.

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