So, quite a belated post. Had a few issues with Blogger and Google Accounts, but I think it's all fixed now. Since my last post I've gotten Divinity 2: Ego Draconis, and I've been working through some of Jade Empire.
Jade Empire Thoughts:
Eh, it's alright. The combat is a bit annoying, and some of the characters do look a tad silly (Wu the Lotus Blossom, one of the character choices, looks rather uncomfortable), but overall it's not an unpleasant experience. It's taken me two tries to get into the game and I'm now on Chapter 3, but one thing I don't like is perhaps how linear it is, but also how the quests seem to be a tad faulty. One quest I picked up I couldn't do as I went via "Open Palm" instead of "Closed Fist" (Think Good/Evil but not exactly), yet I ventured to the appropriate area regardless and I believe my character had all the items I needed for that quest, yet I couldn't give them to him.
A good way to describe Jade Empire is Kung-Fu KotOR. The menu and interface is very similar, the visuals are of roughly the same quality (although Jade Empire natively supports 1600x900 and KotOR doesn't) and aside from setting, the only major differences are 3 "Utility" companions (who don't have a function outside of their use, I believe) and the combat. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's quite a refreshing break.
Divinity 2: Ego Draconis Thoughts:
Now this is a game I've been lusting after for some months now, and I finally got my copy a week or two ago after trying the demo. I won't pretend for a moment that this is the greatest game ever, because it's far from it. The first "area" after the training zone is very hard, if you want to be able to pick locks (or other utilitarian things) you have to forsake skill points for your offensive/defensive abilities, and the voice acting is almost laughable at times. It's probably not as noticeable to someone with no real experience of the variety of accents in the UK (especially England, funnily enough), but to me the accents are quite funny.
On the other hand, it has one of the best soundtracks I've heard (Kirill Pokrovsky is amazing) even if the placement at times is questionable, and I think it's a very attractive game visually. I would love to have a better PC to do it justice.
I've also gotten my paws on Baldur's Gate 2 and I've occasionally had a sniff at Drakensang, Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights 2, but I'm finding it very hard to sit down and play anything at the moment.
