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Are we still going to see the writing challenges? They're great for inspiration, and often contain good advice for writers just starting out and looking to improve. I'd love to see them continue."
In most cases it refers to the removal of redundant gameplay. It tends to be viewed as making a game too easy, but I would argue that a lot of the time, difficulty remains unchanged, or was more harsh than fun to begin with (e.g. not being able to hit anything for the first few hours of Morrowind).
Skyrim's skill system allows you to shape your character as you're playing, rather than on a piece of paper/excel spreadsheet before you even begin. I'm thankful for this, as I remember Fallout 3 taking a long time to get into, simply because I obsessed over which stats to put points into during the introduction.
Another good example is Civilization. A lot of people complained about the streamlining of empire management in Civ V, but some of the insane micromanagement in previous Civ games was tedious, and I personally didn't miss it.
EDIT: And as for Mass Effect, it's true that a few gameplay elements were simplified in the sequel, but I never felt that it had strayed far from its RPG roots. If anything, it was such an improvement that it made going back to the first game a chore.
I'll be picking the most RPG-inclined mode in Mass Effect 3, but I've got nothing against anyone who wants to enjoy Mass Effect experience without having to deal with dialogue trees and ability menus. Some people don't have the patience for that sort of thing, which is fair enough."
Sonic Generations has had surprisingly good press, and the demo seemed pretty good. I suppose I'll give it a try."
Most annoyingly of all, it tends to be those in last place that are 'gifted' with one of these monstrosities. How is hitting the player at the front going to help them?
Its only purpose is to induce rage; a task at which it excels."
Maybe it's something we'll see in future patch notes?
- Racism towards elves increased by 38%. We'll be monitoring this change and adding more hate as necessary.
That extra health and stamina is crucial when learning and getting to grips with the combat and boss fights. Most beginners will make mistakes when playing through each area for the first time, and there needs to be room for those errors.
Sure, you'd be forced into improving at a much faster rate if you had less soul levels, but I think a game that's so intimidating to begin with needs at least some sort of learning curve.
Plus, I think the attitude of "must get my souls back!" can be healthy, as it forces the player to rethink their strategy and up their game, so that they don't die a second time.
For a second playthrough though, certainly. I think it's a great idea to stick to a lower level. It allows you to get more involved in PvP, and I can imagine you impress a lot of summoners when you cut through a boss like butter."