Image by Undertow851 via Flickr

As I entered the Sarif HQ 6 months after my surgery in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I was told I needed to see the technician and then hurry to the helicopter. Yeah, yeah; it’s a game–the pilot can wait. It’s time to explore!

So I started talking to the receptionist. She was a nice lady, and even though I’m sure I knew her before, it was almost like we were speaking for the first time. She was the one that told me of the amazing view overlooking the lobby from my third-floor office. After looking up to where I thought it must be, I decided I needed to go see it.

Long story short, I talked to everybody in the building, visited the lady’s bathroom to hear the gossip in the stalls (and was scolded for it), and eventually found my office. The view really was great, let me tell you.

Would have been a nice story, but what I didn’t bother to mention was that the entire time I was exploring, people were yelling into my earpiece telling me to hurry my ass up because the situation was getting dire. I didn’t think one damn thing of it until I got to the chopper and was informed that all of the hostages were dead because I took so long getting there.

I played on anyway, and eventually found the room full of dead hostages. The bomb had gone off long ago while I was back at headquarters admiring the view of people walking back and forth in the lobby. I felt kind of bad. I later read online about saving the hostages… all I would have had to do is get to the chopper sooner.

It shocks me when a game tells you to “get moving or else!” and actually enforces unforeseen consequences for not doing it. It shouldn’t shock me–games shouldn’t make empty threats, but so often they do. Next time someone tells me to hurry up in a game, I’m going to think twice before ignoring it in favor of continued exploration.

Right from the start and through every level I’ve played so far, Deus Ex: Human Revolution continues to surprise me with how they got most things right on. It’s never going to surpass the original Deus Ex, but it certainly surpassed all of my expectations for what Eidos Montreal could do with a Deus Ex prequel. It’s much too early to tell where it stands, but it’s certainly turning out to at least be one of my favorite games in recent years.

To wait for so long and not be let down–it’s a good time to be a gamer.

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I know, you probably read the title and thought, “Huh?”

For those of you who read my previous Oblivion Tip, I hinted at creating a Bash Installer package for your default game files, so that BAIN’s conflict detection will help notify you and preserve your vanilla game files should you wish to overwrite them.

I took this a step further, and created a set of BAIN packages which allow me to completely customize my Oblivion experience without harming any original files. The packages offer multiple versions of the default BSAs (compressed, uncompressed, and with the USIP files packed in), original or cleaned versions of the official DLC, etc.

But I noticed that, even after installing the package, BAIN could not detect the fact that the default files even existed (it would always show Oblivion – Meshes.bsa as ‘Missing’, for example, even though it was there and matched exactly the file in the BAIN package.

This is due to the list of default files stored in ‘bush.py’ in the variable bethDataFiles. BAIN is using this variable as a skip-list so that it does not calculate CRCs or check dates for any default files. My goal was to change this behavior.

This variable, bethDataFiles, is not necessarily only used for Bash Installers, so I did not want to edit it here. Instead, I opened up the file ‘bosh.py’ and found that it is what is actually performing the CRC checks and skipping the default Bethesda files.

There are two places where I commented out references to this variable, and the result is that BAIN treats all files in the Data directory equally… it now calculates CRCs for the default .bsas (which takes a little bit of time) and properly shows matches for my installed files that overwrote the default ones.

If you’d like to have this, too, first let me specify that I take no responsibility for what Bash might do to your default Bethesda game files if you perform this tweak. The reason I did it was to use a set of custom Bash Installers I created which contain the default files, among other variations, so I am not in danger of losing anything. If you do not have such a package, make sure you back up ALL of your data files.

Open up ‘bosh.py’ in a text editor. Around line 9721 look for the following:

if not rsDir and sFile.lower() in bethFiles: continue

Change it to:

#if not rsDir and sFile.lower() in bethFiles: continue

Next around line 9935 look for:

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For those of you getting back into Oblivion (or those who’ve never left!), here’s a little tip to make your modding more productive.

I always used to take a lot of care which files from which mods I was overwriting, and in what order, using Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM). If you installed the wrong mod last, it could overwrite changes from who-knows-what-other-mods. Wrye Bash and BAIN (Bash Installers) helps out a lot here–you don’t have to worry about the order in which you install mods, as BAIN tracks all files from all mods and makes sure higher priority ones take precedence. If you uninstall the higher priority mod, BAIN will automatically extract the now-missing files from the next mod in line that uses them.

But what about mods that replace original game files? If you ever want to go back to the original file(s), or uninstall the mod, you’ll need to get the files from a backup, or potentially even reinstall the game. This can be a huge annoyance, especially when you don’t know which files were original and which were put there by a mod.

BAIN to the rescue again! Thanks to Bash Installers, you can protect your original game files the same way your other mod files are protected. Here’s an example to show you how:

1. In your Bash Installers folder (usually right next to the Oblivion game folder), create a new subdirectory named “Bethesda Default Videos 1.0″ (or you can omit a version number, or use the game’s version number–whatever you prefer).
2. Under this new folder, create a new subdirectory named “Videos”
3. Go to your Oblivion directory, then to Data\Videos. Copy the following videos and paste them in the “Videos” folder you just created:
   2k games.bik
   bethesda softworks HD720p.bik
   CreditsMenu.bik
   game studios.bik
   Map loop.bik
   Oblivion iv logo.bik
   Oblivion Legal.bik
   OblivionIntro.bik
   OblivionOutro.bik
4. The mentioned .bik files should now exist in both the Oblivion Data directory as well as the Bash Installer directory you created.
5. Open Wrye Bash and go to the Installers tab.
6. At (or toward) the top, you should see a mod named ‘Bethesda Default Videos 1.0′ (or whatever name you chose). Right-click the mod and choose Pack to Archive. Leave the default name, and choose whether or not to use Solid Compression (I chose not to).
7. When it’s finished, right-click the project again and choose Delete.
8. Now scroll down and look in the mod list for ‘Bethesda Default Videos 1.0.7z’ (or the name you chose). It should appear green but not actually be installed.
9. Right-click it, and choose ‘Move To…’ and move it to position number 1. This will allow any other mod to overwrite these videos.
10. Right-click it and choose ‘Install’. This will re-extract the same identical video files over the existing ones in your Oblivion Data directory. No changes will be made–the files are exactly the same, and you will notice no difference in the game.

It seems like a lot of steps for a little benefit, but it really took under a minute to perform this whole process, and the best is yet to come.

What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, now you can feel free to install any mod which replaces the original video files. When you install a mod which does, you’ll notice it will list a Conflict with ‘Bethesda Default Videos 1.0′. No worries, you will see in the Conflicts tab that the mod has a higher priority and will overwrite the existing video.

The best part comes when you decide to uninstall that same mod. When you uninstall the mod through BAIN, it will delete the mod’s new video files, and will extract the original videos from Bethesda Default Videos 1.0 automatically in their place.

No missing files, no hunting through backups or reinstalling the game, and no needing to worry about the original files ever again. I’ve used the same trick for most of the files in my Data directory–Knights of the Nine and all of the DLC are excellent choices because there are so many mods that replace the original ESPs.

While I haven’t taken the time to do so, in theory you could go so far as to BAIN-ify the entire Data directory from a patched (but otherwise clean) Oblivion install and place the installer at position 1 in BAIN. Activate it (I know, it probably takes forever), then you will know when any mod overwrites original files, and those files will be restored whenever any mod that replaced them is uninstalled.

Now that’s automation!

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Just when I started winding down from the recent onslaught of daily Steam deals, Valve caught me offguard with their latest sale, entitled Perils of Summer. You can find a veritable pant-load of games and even entire publisher collections on sale… many of them even 50-75% off of their regular prices.

Check out just a tiny selection of the deals to be had:

• Got $5? Why not get the entire Overlord Complete Pack–that’s a lot of bang for a few bucks!
• Still haven’t checked out Bioshock 2? It would be a shame not to for $15.
• Find the indie fantasy platforming gem Trine for only $4–you can’t go wrong here.
• DiRT 2, my new favorite racing game on the PC alongside Burnout: Paraside, is only $10. Yes, $10!
• The newly-updated Counter-Strike: Source is going for only $6.80, practically a steal.
• Get (almost) every Unreal game for a total of $13.60 with the Unreal Deal Pack. Yes, this even includes Unreal Tournament III Black Edition!
• Get all of the Call of Duty games up through World At War for $29.99
• Better yet, why not get every 2K game released on Steam (except Civ V) for $89–a 75% discount.
• THQ is also offering their entire collection for only $50, half off an already amazing deal.

This is barely a fraction of the games available in this sale, and many of these are only on sale today (June 24th) other than the publishers collections, which will be available for the duration of the sale.

Don’t miss out, but don’t spend all your hard-earned money today–check back tomorrow to see if Valve has anything else in store during this truly outstanding sale.

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Deus Ex has been on every hard drive I have owned since the year 2000 (and that’s a lot of drives, FYI). As far as I can remember, I’ve never even seen the uninstaller.

PC Gamer recently gave it the title of Best Game Ever (though I may not be remembering the title word for word), and I whole-heartedly agree. Deus Ex: Human Revolution just might be the shining ray of hope for a proper successor we’ve been wishing for ever since the somewhat-disappointing Deus Ex: Invisible War.

I look forward to remembering it just as fondly in another 10 years. I am starting my zillionth playthrough tonight in honor of this day, and I hope many others are doing the same.

By the way, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, never purchased the game, or simply want it on Steam, don’t forget to pick it up now for 75% off. That’s less than $3 for one of, if not the best game ever. In fact, why not pick up both Deus Ex games for 75% off instead?

Either way, game on!

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I watched a lot of horror films as a kid. I really enjoyed them–but something little known about me was that some of them also scared the hell out of me. It’s those films which stuck with me the most. But horror concepts are very hit-and-miss. Different people scare differently.

The same is true for games. I, for one, have had a fear of total darkness (or more specifically what could lurk in it)–fortunately for me, that’s an extremely common way many films and games alike create fear. It’s an effective way of making sure the character–or player–doesn’t know what’s waiting for them. In a movie, this is effective because I empathize with the character on the screen, experiencing similar feelings of fear and dread. In a game, I am directly controlling the experience, and it’s so effective because it forces me to willingly advance into something I know I’m going to be afraid of–essentially, to face my fear.

I believe that this is the reason that horror games (or games with horror elements) in general seem to get by with less scary elements and original ideas than horror movies–it’s simply easier to scare people when they are directly involved instead of passively observing. Hollywood needs to think of ways to scare people who are sitting in a chair with no control over what’s happening other than to leave the theater or turn off the television. A gamer has many options, but knows the only way to progress is to cause more scary things to happen–a powerful scare tactic in itself.

I’ve finished every horror movie I’ve started, aside from the few that were simply so bad that I did not want to continue wasting my time watching them. I had no problem getting to the end, regardless of whether or not or to what extent they scared me.

Games, however, are a different story. I am much more of a game buff than a movie buff, but I’ll let you in on a little secret–I could never make it all the way through System Shock 2. I’ve never seen the ending of Doom 3. I played about an hour of Dead Space and have barely touched it since. Hell, I barely made it through the F.E.A.R. games.

Hold on now, I’m not saying every horror game I play simply makes me stop playing. But I can safely say that all of those I’ve listed are some of my favorite games of all-time. They are the ones I remember playing the most, and they have certainly affected me more deeply than almost any other game, because they tap into some primal sense of dread and oppression that I can neither explain nor understand. It would seem so complex, yet most of the games I listed use very simple concepts such as darkness, evil things jumping out at the player, ominous sounds and oppressive atmospheres. Top it off with limited ammunition and other resources, and you’ve got the majority of survival horror games in existence today. Yet–cheap tactics or not, many of them still succeed in scaring me.

But many people are not affected by the same things as me, and do not get scared by cliche things such as monsters in the dark. Others have already learned to overcome those fears and simply push on. The former often do not enjoy many horror games–many reviewers seem to look at horror games in this light, as well (either because the conditions and mindset they are playing the game in is not ideal or simply because they are not scared by the tactics being used). But that’s great, actually–it’s because of these types of people that the horror genre in general must advance–game developers need to think of new and less gimmicky ways to scare their players. And that should make for a continually evolving and ever-more-interesting genre of games.

Recently I have started to revisit many of the titles that I inadvertently abandoned due to never working up the willpower to click on them again. It’s truly satisfying to finish such a title and achieve the real-world benefit (by accident, of course) of pushing myself to overcome my fears.

First up, Dead Space…

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If you think of yourself as an RPG fan and haven’t had the chance to check out Dragon Age: Origins or its expansion, Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, then today is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Until tomorrow morning at 10 am on Monday the 21st, all of the Dragon Age titles in all available versions are on sale on Steam for a substantial discount. Check out the sale here.

• Dragon Age: Origins – $26.79 (33% discount!)
• Deluxe Edition – $33.49 (33% discount!)
• Awakening – $29.99 (25% discount!)
• Dragon Age: Origins + Awakening – $47.99 (40% discount!)
• Deluxe Edition + Awakening – $53.99 (40% discount!)

I’m not normally one to hype such promotions from this blog, but I’m not making any money from this and it’s a deal that anyone who wants but does not own these titles should not pass up. I would like to reiterate that the above sale link will likely only be valid until tomorrow morning, so hurry!

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All bugs aside, I had a lot of fun with Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening. Ok, so the writing wasn’t quite as good. Alright, fine–there wasn’t enough talking and decision-making for the amount of combat the game throws at you. I’ll concede that the game is far, far buggier than I would expect from Bioware, even in an expansion. But it was obviously rushed, so some bugs are to be expected, and will hopefully be fixed if they haven’t been already.

But on the bright side, players get to delve back into Ferelden for the second-greatest adventure you can find in the kingdom, and chances are if you’re interested in the game you’ve already finished the first at least once.

Chances are also quite good you’ve also read a number of reviews far more thorough than this. So, to cut to the chase–I’ll confirm what many of those reviews conclude–if you’re into the game, you should definitely give it a shot. If you haven’t played or didn’t enjoy the original, then there is no reason you should play or would enjoy this one either. But if you’re one of those people, I really think you should give the first game another look–it’s truly a deep and rewarding experience.

A word of caution–I did run into a couple of game-breaking bugs. Spoilers follow. Check the Dragon Age Wiki’s Bugs page for full details. Mainly, be careful when and how you complete the Amaranthine smugglers quest, because it can break other parts of the game and ruin your experience as it did mine (the quest ended early and all of the guards in Amaranthine hated me even though I meant to help them). Additionally, toward the end of the game when I chose to help Amaranthine instead of the Keep, the game map indicated the keep was destroyed by darkspawn, while the ending credits confirmed it remained standing strong thanks to the defenses I purchased. All in all, it ended well, and you wouldn’t have had a chance to go back there in the game anyway.

Bioware, I want more large Dragon Age DLC!

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Although the style of game differs greatly, certainly the spy setting and overall feel are in many ways similar. One way in which they are similar is that when you are seen, if you do not kill that person immediately, or if you do and are seen or his body is discovered, then you will almost inevitably trip an alarm that causes everyone in the area to react differently.

Where the difference comes in between the two in the system is the way in which the enemies react. The mechanic works well in Splinter Cell–when you’re seen, the enemies in the direct vicinity will begin to search for you. If you stay hidden for some time, they will eventually start to patrol again and not really pursue you. This is realistic–they won’t know where you are as long as you’ve moved since the last time they’ve seen you. This is aided by the fact that you always see a ghost of where the enemies last saw you. This system lends itself well to this style of gameplay, and it works great.

Alpha Protocol handles alarms differently. If you are seen, then the enemies in the direct vicinity of whoever spotted you will immediately rush you and attempt to sound an alarm if he is near one. If you kill him first, then like Splinter Cell you may have gotten away clean unless someone else saw him die or finds his body. Once the alarm sounds, however, the system gets clunky. Every enemy on your map seems to rush your exact location and directly hunt you down as if they have psychic powers of some kind. This lasts until you turn off the alarm or, almost always, until you clear all of the enemies out, since there’s a somewhat slim chance of finishing a hack without getting shot by one of the many enemies who knows where you are.

Once you turn off the alarm, you can suddenly hide again. It’s this mechanic I feel is broken in Alpha Protocol. You should be able to hide out an alarm… if you’re hidden, you’re hidden, whether or not something–or someone–has triggered an alarm. Yes, everyone should be much more alert, and expect you to be around every corner, but they should not know where you are at all times whenever the alarm is triggered.

Anyway, that has really been bothering me lately, and when I was playing Splinter Cell: Conviction this evening again, I realized I was quite impressed with the way they handled it.

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I can’t explain it–I just keep coming back for more. After an hour or two, I’m left wondering why–it’s a very simplistic game full of simplistic game mechanics that have already been done in almost every way imaginable.

But not (arguably) since Diablo have these elements been combined in such a fun way that works so incredibly well. An overly simplistic game is no problem if that game is ridiculously fun–the point is to make you enjoy it and want to continue playing it, and in that sense Torchlight succeeds with flying colors.

The game has been out since October 2009 and it has been on my short-list of constantly-played games ever since. Big-budget $50-$60 titles fall to the wayside to other big-budget $50-$60 titles on an almost-daily basis, but here is this little $20 gem that seems to float to the top against any and all competition.

I am on my third or fourth character, not all of which have reached the end, and each experience is unique. Each class is challenging in somewhat different ways. The loot is simply amazing; that feeling you get when you find a really badass gun in Borderlands–that feeling was here first, and it sure does feel good.

The music is the best thing to happen to fantasy RPGs since Diablo’s music so many years ago (in gaming years, of course). It sounds very much in the same vein as Diablo/Diablo II, which isn’t a bad thing–in fact, it’s a magnificent thing. The soundwork in general is good and lends itself well to the fast-paced action during battles as well as the lull during a trip to town.

The graphics, while being a bit cartoonish as stated, are actually quite nice to look at. The effects make every battle a treat. Take a level 20 or 30 alchemist into a battle, and you’re going to be in for a spectacular light show. Everything just looks like it belongs in the world, and it very quickly stops looking cartoony as you start seeing some of the giant evil creatures and amazing scenery all around you. The variety of the environments between stages can also be quite staggering, and keeps things interesting.

I will admit–it took me a while to get into the game. Before ever trying it, I dismissed it as a low-budget Diablo-wannabe with cartoonish graphics that couldn’t possibly be a deep and engaging experience to even come close to the big-budget titles that have tried to touch Diablo before, let alone surpass most of them and come closest to reaching the original’s greatness. But I’m glad I stuck with it–within an hour, I was fully hooked.

If anyone out there gave any of their life to Diablo (or any number of “clones” since then–Titan Quest, Sacred, etc…) then it would be a shame if you did not give Torchlight a couple hours of your time to try it out. Not the 15 to 30 minutes I see many people giving it before deciding it’s not for them.

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