Steerpike said:

Unless of course they make me an offer I can't refuse, like Kate Beckinsale.

Underworld or Van Helsing Kate Beckinsale?

I did mock you for owning DA on the 360, didn't I, Toger? One wouldn't think it wise for a mere penguin to mock a giant, half-extinct freak-beast, would one?

Obsidian do have a rather lousy track record, don't they? Alpha Protocol (a good game buried within a terrible game, to paraphrase Steerpike's impressions), NWN2 (a system hog of Crysisian proportions, generally aimed at a crowd of folk who probably own(ed) a fleet of aging PCs), and the commercial success, critical "it's pretty good," and in-hindsight-it's-too-similar-to-KOTOR of KOTOR 2.

What we've got here is a recipe for disaster. Will New Vegas ride too much on the coattails of Fallout 3, or can Team Original Fallout (Kind of) rise to the occasion and deliver a winner? Will the Movie Trailer Voice Guy personally narrate this forum post? Tune in tomorrow … same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.

I didn't mind combat in ME, it was fine, if not lacking some fine tuning. I found combat in ME2 very sharp; much better than Halo, which I think has terrible combat but obviously a nation of millions can't be wrong; I think ME2 almost out-Gears'd (sorry Steerpike) Gears of War.

Where ME1 was a respectable role-playing game with a fair story and a few decent characters to flesh it out, its combat was cited as the awkward weakness in the pie. In ME2 it's the opposite: brilliant shooting mechanics, some of the most enjoyable console combat I've ever partaken in, filled with mostly over-dramatic caricatures of struggling or conflicted individuals and an all-too-typical Dark* Second/Middle Act plot. The characters, you say?

Disgruntled, former alliance military man with unresolved father problems and trust issues? Check. (Jacob Taylor)

Genetically modified super-woman created for no other purpose than to be a perfect woman/being (both physically and intellectually)? Check. (Miranda Lawson)

Super genius male alien doctor inserted almost purely for comical relief? Check. (Mordin Solus)

Greatest assassin in the galaxy, conveniently willing to join your cause for no fee because he is terminally ill and must cleanse his conscience? Check. (Thane Krios)

Most powerful biotic (read: magic) user in the galaxy, rife with angst issues and an uncontrollable urge to destroy everything in her path because of her shitty upbringing, conveniently willing to join your cause because you tease the promise of all that and more? Check. (Jack aka "Subject Zero")

Smartest, most efficient vigilante in the galaxy, willing to join your cause because he feels the need to atone for the deaths of his former mercenary squad? Check. (Garrus Vakarian)

Hilariously macho, suicidal maniac with excellent rifle skills willing to join your cause because he likes blowing shit up and getting revenge on people who have wronged him? Check. (Zaeed Massani)

The list goes on …

There are at least some great characters who iron out the bombast of the others (Grunt, Legion, Samara). That's not to say, of course, that I hate the game; to the contrary, it's quite entertaining. Just a bit tiresome when it comes to the personalities within it.

*I have found the word "dark," in popular culture over the last decade, to be the most detestable word used to describe anything. Find me something with the number "2" in it that isn't pitched as "a much darker story" and I'll give you a cookie. This word is followed closely by "reboot."