http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS-heAe_6TU

here, I found you one, the environments are pretty but nothing outside of a loot droppers and a few doors are interactive. and yes everything just snakes around on linier, one lane roads.

for reference, a bit of DS2 gameplay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C28jC9wtMRw&feature=related

DS3 is pretty with all it's shadows, but where it falls flat is that in the first 2 DS games the second you step outside of town it's on with critters of some sort piling on you while in DS3 you gotta hoof it for a while before you run into an isolated pack of enemies. it's kinda like playing an action version of KTOR2 or NWN2 only with zero character customization and a hollow skill progression system.

sorry, not trying to beat a dead horse or be one of those whiny "but I wanted a pony!" pricks, it's just that I really had high hopes for this title and it's like they didn't even try to keep with the source material ... in a way it seems like a recycled design for an action based NWN2 spin off that Atari didn't pick up and was subsequently retrofitted with a thin layer of Dungeon Siege.

Ive got to say honestly, i pretty much agree. But that isnt going to stop from me from at least trying some of these games. Just because they look generic as fuck doesnt mean there wont be at least some entertainment value from them. But more or less im pretty reliant on the Indie scene now a days. Games like Terraria, Project Zomboid, S.P.A.Z., keep my interest in games. Just feel like mainstream gaming has turned into a complete joke of what it was, trying to attract non-gamers has complete destroyed the industry. Its ok to try and attract some new faces, but to focus on it like most of the industry is doing is killing the initial fan base, which i find completely wrong. Whatever though, as long as the Indie developers continue to make games that the mainstream big boys wont, games i WANT to see, ill continue buying them. Id rather give my money to people who arnt afraid to take a chance with a 20 year concept and try and bring it into todays world, then fork it over to people who just want to make generic shit, make a quick buck and try to force feed me.

Sometimes I think I like the idea of playing a game more than actually playing it. Weird I know....

Yes, it can be regained. I lost my passion for gaming over a period of about 2 years when I was working at a big game development studio -- at first it was great, working with my biggest hobby, etc. But as crunch time set in, the company got into financial trouble, earlier designs were simplified in major ways to appeal to a broader audience, and people started getting cut... I got to see the ugly side of the gaming industry and it was just very, very depressing.

It's one thing to look at a game's development cycle from a distance, as a fan, and quite another to have it impact you and your friends' lives, sometimes in very negative ways. And so I lost my interest in games and eventually quit that job as we moved to a different city. It took almost as long (1,5 years) for me to really get back into gaming and GOG.com was actually a big part of that -- I started buying some classics that I'd never played before (Beyond Good & Evil and Psychonauts were the first, I believe) and enjoyed them immensely, and it kinda just grew from there.

I still enjoy older titles a lot more than the new ones though, and don't like the direction the industry seems to be taking (I'm looking at you BioWare!) but there are a couple of games I can honestly say I'm looking forward to. Diablo III and Batman: Arkham City come to mind :)

Sometimes, I feel like most of the software industry has been taken out of the hand of engineers/programmers/gamers and over by businessmen.

Most of the software development opportunities out there are uninspired and boring as hell. It's safe money really... sure and steady returns on investment.

Most of the group speeches would be made by businessmen talking about sales figures, potential new partners, opening a new studio there or there... really, business guys patting themselves on the back and as a software developer listening to those speeches, you'd be expected to pretend like you'd care about those details.

I guess it makes sense as business people have more, well, business acumen, but for someone wanting to do something original and out there, it makes for the heck of a depressing ride.

I actually did talk about DS1 since I really hated that game. The game was extremely liniear with no RPG elemetns whatsoever like a world that felt alive with "real" people etc. The game was extremely easy because combat would play itself with the auto-attack and just to get ANY enjoyment out of it I would multi-class my party but then halfway through the game the diffictulty would shift to insanity and my party was too weak to move forward and I quit the game then and there. To me it felt like an RPG with training-wheels on and it was way too simplified for my taste. But perhaps I should give it another try?
Also I'm NOT looking forward to DS3 since Obsidian makes it and I freaking HATE Obsidian. They killed KOTOR2, they nerfed Fallout:NV, they completely fucked up with Alpha Protocol and they didn't really do much with Nwn2. I loved Black Isles Studios but can't stand Obsidian - go figure!

You pretty much just said you hate anything but JRPGs.

Eh no I didn't. I only play PC games so I've never played a JRPG before. I love plenty of RPGs since it is my favourite genre - like all Infinity Engine games, Fallout series, Dragon Age, Mass Effect series,Morrowind, KOTOR1 etc. In fact it's rare that I hate a game but DS1 did it and so did most of Obsidian's games.
I hate games that are dumbed down or made just for the money (DA2). If a game feels honest and have its "heart" in the right place I will atleast like it even if it has flaws.

I agree that DS1 lacked depth and was very linear and repetitive, but I have to disagree with you on Obsidian... In my opinion the NWN2 series is, as far as single player goes, a vast improvement over NWN1. Sure, it took them a while after its initial release, but in it's current state NWN2 is great.

I can't say much about KotOR, simply because I don't seem to hold the original (or the sequel) in as high regard as some other people do... The first game was decent for me, and the second felt like more of the same but with slightly better writing in some places. Neither has stood the test of time very well. At all.

Fallout New Vegas, however, is probably the best game they've released to date and a MAJOR improvement over Fallout 3, IMO. I haven't played any of the DLC yet, so I can't say anything about that, but I'm playing it (I believe) on the second highest difficulty with hardcore mode enabled, and it's one of the best CRPG's I've played in a looong time.

And I can't say anything about Alpha Protocol either, as I haven't played it (yet). But I gotta say, after the disaster that was Dragon Age 2 (it actually managed to ruin the first game for me in terms of re-playability... go figure :-/ ) I've more or less dropped BioWare and started looking to Obsidian and CD Projekt RED for RPG's that suit my preferences. And I expect that Icewind Dale III announcement from Obsidian any day now... ;-)

Edit: Oh, and I think DS3 looks like it'll be fun! It reminds me of the Dark Alliance games on the PS2, which were great sofa co-op hack-and-slashers.

Rayman Origins :D :D :D
It looks good.

Depends on your preferences I'd say, but I like your enthousiasm ;-)

Off of that list, Alice is the only title that appeals to me, and I'm still kind of in wait-and-see mode for it. Although, to be fair, I never played the first two Raymans (got them wishlisted though) and they definitely seem like something I could enjoy and so, consequently, I might enjoy Origins as well...

Diablo III is easily at the top of my upcoming games wishlist, followed by Batman: Arkham City (loved the first one), but after that there's very little for me to be excited about, really... Mass Effect 3, maybe (loved the first two), but the shenanigans BioWare has been pulling lately put that game firmly in the wait-and-see category as well... Oh and I'll probably keep an eye on Prey 2 :-) the first one really surprised me back in 2006.

I find Alpha Protocol to be a fairly okay game though with a ton of issues. At least the removal of DRM removed a bunch of them.
Still the "action"/"Stealth" bits feel like something tacked on, which is sad since it's where you spend a large part of the game.
Where the game shines is in it's conversations which work quite well, the story seems okay (gotten about halfway through it).
It's too bad that they offer you the ability to customize your character quite a lot, but in the end there's too many areas where you MUST fight, the plot doesn't leave you a way to stealth or talk your way out of everything, which is kinda sad.

The console versions had heaps of technical issues too, but I've luckily never had too much trouble on the PC with those.

In the end, it's an okay spy themed game with interesting conversation system and simplified stealth and action sequences. A bit more polish on the stealth and the ability to solve all problems more than one way and it could've been great. As it is, it's okay for what it is. A narrative wrapped up in a (casual) game.

I should probably review the rest of the thread before I post this, but whatever...

I thought this kind of indicated where the canon story broke off and potentially linked into the "Marathon" series?

It is a shame there probably will never be any more work on Alpha Protocol. It had a lot of potential if only there was more quality control, the gameplay was balanced properly and the AI wasn't coded by Feargus's dog. Easier said than done I suppose. I know I get tired of the same franchises showing up every year, but their effort would not be wasted if they gave the game the respect it should have.