ChaosDent

@echoecho: I'm pretty sure they can make a better game than DA II, I'm willing to give them the 'rushed' excuse for many of the problems it had. I still think a real PC interface and balance pass is too much to expect from DA III, so I'm just hoping it's a solid console game. There are plenty of PC-ass RPGs coming down the pipe from smaller teams using Kickstarter (Shadowrun Returns, Wasteland 2, Torment 2, Project Eternity, probably more that I'm not aware of) that I'm not going to get bent out of shape if DA III isn't one.

@echoecho: Have they announced anything about how DA 3 will play? Not that I would trust them if they did announce anything. They made big promises about DA 2 as well, but as you say it was clearly a hastily modified DA 1 combat engine. They just sped up the turn time and eliminated the action queue--actions trigger as soon as you press the button and can never be cancelled by a stun once you start them. It feels much more responsive, but it falls short of being even a competent action game while at the same time nerfing almost all of the interesting tactical play through interface changes, bad balance and bad encounter design.

If Dragon Age is going to be console first, they need a new combat engine, and they need to decide if they will be a single character action game like Mass Effect or a multi-character menu driven game like Knights of the Old Republic. I'd rather have the former for a PvE mode and the latter for a PvP mode. In any case, either of those paradigms than the half-assed attempt at both they went for with DA 2.

I personally probably won't look at multiplayer at all in Dragon Age 3, so I'd rather they go back to a top-down classic style tactical view on PC with good encounter design and meaningful tactical considerations like positioning, terrain and friendly fire, but I'm not stupid enough to hope for anything from BioWare any more.

I am like a moth that flutters toward shiny new things. I rarely look back and regret not playing more of or finishing an older game, though I often flutter back to them when they catch my eye again.

As far as how I keep track of my backlist, if you want to call it that. It's whatever is installed on Steam and/or my PS3. If it isn't installed or in the disc drive I don't really think about it.

Wii Sports is my pick. Its influence is still being felt not only in the games Nintendo publish, but also in driving Kinect, Move and next generation system design.

I also think it's hard to overstate the impact Guitar Hero had. Plastic instrument games had a huge effect on retail, and did a lot to change the perception of gaming as a loner slouched in the couch with a controller in their hands. You can also argue that it influenced other custom controller attempts such as Tony Hawk Ride.

You can encode multi-channel audio over SP/DIF or HDMI using almost any combination of onboard audio and video card these days. Most desktop motherboards come with discrete outputs for multiple speakers (assuming anyone cares about that anymore). Abstractions like DirectX and OpenAL seem to be doing the job of positional audio and environmental audio just fine for games.

There is certainly a case to be made for sound cards with respect to input and output quality, lower interference and peripheral options. For games, I'm happy to just pipe stereo audio over optical or even RCA to a receiver and use a pair of desktop speakers or headphones. For every desktop I've built in the last 8 years, gaming audio has been a totally solved problem out of the box.

@mrt: You should also consider a buckling spring keyboard from Unicomp. These are built using the same components as the venerable IBM Model M, which has almost 30 years of history. While they are not technically mechanical keyboards in the modern sense, this buckling spring design is what people are referring to when they say mechanical keyboards can last decades. I have both a 90's Model M and a 101 key Unicomp Classic, the feel of both is nearly identical and none of the components on the 20+ year old keyboard (that I use every day for work) have had any problems.

Now they aren't fancy, they don't have any lights or external ports, and the noise is louder, the key travel is longer and the resistance is higher than the typical Cherry gaming switches. What they do have is the perfect standard layout and excellent response. The keys click, actuate and dramatically lower resistance at exactly the same time so it becomes natural to avoid bottoming out when typing. The keyboard pictured below is the one I'd probably recommend. It is the Ultra Classic, and has a smaller footprint and lower weight than the original Classic model while retaining the same standard key layout.

I have and will skip cutscenes if I am uninterested in the story. Of course, with most modern games if you aren't interested in the story there probably isn't much interesting or unique to offer in the game design either so I'd probably call the game a total loss at that point.

I have more than enough games and game devices that I don't plan to pick up any hardware devices or new games at all in 2013. I play most games on a midrange gaming PC anyway, and I have plenty of games in my Steam library to tide me over to the 2014 summer sale. Summer 2014 will also be the 3 year mark for my current Windows PC, so I'll probably spend my hardware money on the first post-new-console-generation GPU and CPU at that time if I feel it necessary.

If I ever pick up another console it will probably be the PS4, but a necessary condition for that will be that there is a Rock Band 4 that is compatible with the DLC for the PS3 Rock Band games. Failing that, there is no way I'll be able to retire the PS3, so there is no room for a PS4 in my stereo cabinet.

I am very excited for this, I played so much of the old Age of Wonders games. None of the other games in this genre really caught my attention the way these games did, and I'm very happy Triumph is finally able to revisit this franchise.

If you don't allow yourself to get swept up in the hype of every game that comes out you can easily get away with only one system, especially one as well supported as a Windows PC, a 360 or PS3. There are good games available on almost every platform, but I don't buy the credo that every system must be owned to enjoy gaming--just as I don't buy any argument in favor of one system as the end-all for games.

Just make your choice and resolve to enjoy it.