You, Mr. Chick, have excellent timing. Now I can read your helpful tips while I wait for my DLC to download.

Oh, and a helpful tip of my own: After you redeem the codes for DLC, you have to separately chose to download every item. I had already started my game before I realized this, and I had to back out to the title screen to download them.

Oh, and another tip, unlike normal Xbox Live codes (I'm playing the 360 version), the DLC has to be downloaded from the game, not on the Dashboard, and you have to stay on the downloading screen. If you close the download progress screen, the download will cancel.

And just after I convinced my better half that I'll get a lot of entertainment for the $50 on this game, now it looks like it'll benefit me to spend another $20+ on a Prima or Brady game guide. Sigh...

So .. should I get this on 360 or PC? It's much cheaper on the PC for me (Australia), and it's a fairly kickass PC... but the pull of playing this on the couch with my shiny new TV is strong.

What's the presentation like?

PC all the way. The gameplay is much better: deeper and more tactical.

"elemental resistance potions, poison coatings for weapons, or gear for one of the two party members who uses specialized gear"

Why no use of these? Do they suck or something besides just taking up space?

One thing to add that I wish I would have known

The Tactics Skill only gives you an extra tactics slot. Which for your main character is pretty useless if you plan to control them most of the time.

Thanks for the tips, Tom. I'm getting the game today and can't wait. I plan to start up a standard fighter/knight type character and was wondering if I'll come across a rogue to join my party (and open up the chests) sometime soon in my adventure, or will I be screwed out of a lot of stuff for a big chunk of the game?

Thanks for the tips, Tom. I'm getting the game today and can't wait. I plan to start up a standard fighter/knight type character and was wondering if I'll come across a rogue to join my party (and open up the chests) sometime soon in my adventure, or will I be screwed out of a lot of stuff for a big chunk of the game?

@Everlast: Their usefulness isn't worth the space they take up. Which is a shame, since they're obviously part of the game design. But given the limited inventory space, it's a trade off I decided to make so I can carry all the treasure out of a long dungeon.

@nilus: I had a hard time letting go of controlling my main character as well, but I think it's something you have to get used to. As the game goes on, you'll find that you need to control various characters at various times. So you'll sometimes want your main character on autopilot, and those additional tactics slots can come in handy.

@Mississippi State University Steve: NPC rogues are a dime a dozen in this game. It rains rogues!

I was also wondering whether to get this on a platform or PC. Ive always played RPG based games on a PC but want to take advantage of a couch and large TV as well. Any specific pros and cons between playing this on a PC versus a platform?

Sam - The bonus of playing on a PC is, as always, that you won't need an XBLA account to access DLC, that you'll receive free patches and updates and, in the case of Bioware games in recent history, that you'll have ready access to user created content. You'll also, in most cases, have better graphical performance, unless your PC predates your 360. The pros of console play are pretty much what you just said: nice big screen, comfy couch. These pros can be applied to almost any title, for future reference.

OmegaChervil, as far as console pros go, you've left out my favorite, and smudged the details a bit. You don't need to be a paying XBL member to get patches. All you need is an internet connection, which you need to get the same on PC. More importanty to me, I spent roughly 7 hours last night playing while the people on my preferred forum reported lots of issues with getting the PC version running. Between digital downloads and installs and compatibility issues and god knows what else goes wrong with PC games, I welcome the performance hit for a plug-n-play experience.

I learned my lesson, as I still cannot get Half-Life 2 to run on my vista 64 machine.

Tom, Tom, Tom....hadn't you played any Bioware RPGs before? Coercion or the local equivalent is -always- incredibly useful in Bioware RPGs. (And Obsidian followups, for that matter.)

Ben, a decade ago I'd totally agree. But I had 1997 grade PC bugs with Mass Effect out of box that have endured through around five playthroughs. The era of the console as the platform for instant gratification is over. There's also the example of Alone in the Dark's woefully shitty remake, which featured a driving sequence wherein my 360 couldn't keep up with the game and dropped me into a giant chasm instead of onto a crowded street because it couldn't render the next area quickly enough. Eventually I had to trick my console into caching the area by pausing mid-jump. I literally had to outsmart my console in order to hotfix it.

You can't count on your console hardware not to fail, and you can't count on console developers to launch software without bugs, especially Bioware. They've had fatal flaws in their console releases since KoToR and, given the enduring PC support they usually offer, you're a lot more likely to receive a fix, even if it is a year or two late, on a PC rather than a console.

As for your HL2 experience, that blows, but difficulty running what is essentially the second most ubiquitous piece of software on market is more than likely an example of an overenthusiastic first time builder who didn't do his research thoroughly enough. Not to knock you, but you're using a computer. Not a magical wardrobe. It operates under a system of rules, just like your console. There is no mystical energy preventing you from fixing any existing issues with your PC, and you have a great deal more agency in doing so than you ever will with a console, past, present or future.

"There is no mystical energy preventing you from fixing any existing issues with your PC, and you have a great deal more agency in doing so than you ever will with a console, past, present or future."
@Omega-
While I don't have enough information to reply to this for Ben, I wanted to chime in on this thought. This argument also comes up a lot in the Mac vs. PC debate. The one thing to consider is that while a lot of folks enjoy building and troubleshooting PC's, other folks don't. Just because a pre-built/plug and play system adds zero value to one person's gaming experience doesn't make it totally invaluable to every person's gaming experience.

Re: Mass Effect
Are you talking about the texture pop-in, or something else? Because that was the only "bug" I encountered, and it really paled in comparison to all those sweet elevator rides that were apparently part of the actual game design.

Keys - Texture pop-ins sort of come as the price of entry on the 360. They're less a bug and more something to be expected given the strain the hardware is under. In ME I experienced scripting glitches and random crashes out of dialogue. Nothing quite like losing an hour or two of play during a conversation. There were also more minor bugs, like skipped dialogue lines and camera errors during dialogue and cutscenes, and Mike Krauliak has publically issued some horror stories about character models failing to render at all during cutscenes. Even if you want to call that sort of thing bearable, I still consider it totally unacceptable when there isn't a readily available remedy for these known issues.

As for the Mac v. PC debate, hardware and software problems on traditionally "stable" systems are becoming increasingly prevalent, with ROFs on consoles eclipsing those of PCs in some cases. I maintain that the PC community has constructed itself to manage these problems, while the console community has not. If I have an issue getting Borderlands to let me host a multiplayer game on PC there is a bevy of forum threads dedicated to that cause, and with a little elbow grease I'm going to work out the problem. If I have the same issue on my 360, I'm shit out of luck. If these systems were reliable it would be a fair trade, but that's no longer the case. The existing user support base on the PC and the assumption that problems will occur and that we need channels to fix them is an advantage native to the platform, one consoles (and Macs, as you point out) are solely lacking. Sure, some people aren't going to want to pour over forums and config files, but that's a problem affecting the user base, not the platform. If my 360 shits itself I've got to make a 45 minute call to tech support and ship it away for a month before I receive a replacement box which may or may not break down due the same error in six months time.

Keys - Texture pop-ins sort of come as the price of entry on the 360. They're less a bug and more something to be expected given the strain the hardware is under. In ME I experienced scripting glitches and random crashes out of dialogue. Nothing quite like losing an hour or two of play during a conversation. There were also more minor bugs, like skipped dialogue lines and camera errors during dialogue and cutscenes, and Mike Krauliak has publically issued some horror stories about character models failing to render at all during cutscenes. Even if you want to call that sort of thing bearable, I still consider it totally unacceptable when there isn't a readily available remedy for these known issues.

As for the Mac v. PC debate, hardware and software problems on traditionally "stable" systems are becoming increasingly prevalent, with ROFs on consoles eclipsing those of PCs in some cases. I maintain that the PC community has constructed itself to manage these problems, while the console community has not. If I have an issue getting Borderlands to let me host a multiplayer game on PC there is a bevy of forum threads dedicated to that cause, and with a little elbow grease I'm going to work out the problem. If I have the same issue on my 360, I'm shit out of luck. If these systems were reliable it would be a fair trade, but that's no longer the case. The existing user support base on the PC and the assumption that problems will occur and that we need channels to fix them is an advantage native to the platform, one consoles (and Macs, as you point out) are solely lacking. Sure, some people aren't going to want to pour over forums and config files, but that's a problem affecting the user base, not the platform. If my 360 shits itself I've got to make a 45 minute call to tech support and ship it away for a month before I receive a replacement box which may or may not break down due the same error in six months time.

To all you couch potatoes with big flat screens, I highly reccomend hooking up your PC to the TV. It is great for PC gaming, internet, DVR, etc. My Vizio has a VGA input, but you can also get a VGA or DVI to HDMI converter at radioshack.

OC-
I mentioned the pop-in as that was really the only bug I experienced in ME. In fact, I've yet to run into a show-stopping crash on my 360, other than the RROD that happened some three-odd years ago. In that case, I was back up and running in a week. The times I've had to replace bad MOBOs, I've experienced the about same turnaround time with New Egg. Either way, my 360 has been about as plug and play as you can get.

In fact, I would have experienced less downtime had not all the Walmarts in my area been out of stock on the 360 when mine went down. My wife bought it as a gift and she purchased the extended warranty along with it. Had there been one in a brick & mortar location, I would have gotten it.

"The existing user support base on the PC and the assumption that problems will occur and that we need channels to fix them is an advantage native to the platform, one consoles (and Macs, as you point out) are solely lacking."

Over the course of the last 12-24 months, I've used pre-built systems for my work, what happens to be a hybrid of audio engineering and working as a freelance musician. Obviously these systems all happen to be Macs. It’s been at least two years since I've seen a PC in a recording studio. Not to say they’re not out there, but since we’re allowing acedote, I figured I’d throw that in.

So, if we just accept for a moment that hardware failure can happen on pre-built and custom built systems, what are we left with? If you are trying to get results for as cheap as possible, custom is the way to go if you aren't going to consider any of the hours spent as billable (what your time is worth on an hourly basis). Or if you happen to love building PC's. There's nothing wrong with it. I've done it enough to understand the appeal. But it's not for me. I don't think I'm alone in this.

I will make what sounds like a concession: I'm familiar with just about every Digital Audio Workstation out there, and I've seen them all misbehave to some degree on OSX. But, I've also seen them act badly on Windows. So, all things being equal, I'd rather just pay a little extra for the extended coverage and get on with my life.

At the end of the day, there are any number of mission critical things that can go wrong that don’t have anything to do with the DAW. If the mixing desk’s power supply fries, is it a good idea for me to build one from scratch? What if we’re not using a DAW? Should I try to part together a 2” tape machine from scratch? What if the guitar player is too drunk to play? What if the coked-up ad exec can’t get his cell phone away from his head long enough to tell me how he wants his stupid commercial to sound?

Some goes for my free time. Section 8 is running like a champ on my 360 right now and Alex f*cking Rodriguez has a World Series Ring. What am I gonna do? Even if I was playing it on a PC, that douchebag would still have a title. It’s all a matter of perspective…

This should definitely make the list: dagger rogues are bugged ( http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/9/index/101814/1 ).

A fix is apparently out for the PC, but consoles will have to wait for a patch to come out.

Good thing I started with a mage as my main character.

Tom...followed you for years, CGW and on. I feel it is high time I assigned you an immortal quest...cough... asked a favor. As you will soon find out and as the forums prove; archers are gimped. BG1, BG2, NWN1, NWN2 and now DA...archers ALWAYs gimped. Every time I am disappointed then I wait a few more years for Bioware to come out with a new fantasy RPG. I mend my tights and polish my replica composite bow all ready to don leather only so I can start pinsticking greenskins. DA was my last hope...again my Legolas ears will have to go back into my treehouse. I am not alone in my quest to role-play the most effeminate and deadly of Tolkien's characters...why won't they give us this dream? You seem to have caught their attention with the inventory thing...maybe you can drop a blog post about the persecution of archer wannabes? Please, for old times sake? I can't ask Jeff Green, he has some kind of dwarf, gnome fetish. Would never understand. Sigh, if not, then's it time to boot up Pool of Radiance again, the last game that actually made archers viable.

who ever wrote this article is a moron and if he didnt know most of this stuff befor he started playing he dont know how to play games like this. of coarse the rogue needs deft hands. and u get a charector with 2 points with poisen making as well as herbalism go with survival. and cohercian eather you do it or you dont and if you dont you know there will be consequences and you accept it and enjoy it any ways. Im sorry i thaught this article would be usefull and tell me somthing but after i read it i realised that this article was for people not experienced with rpg's.

^^^^^^ Wow. cohercian, poisen, charector...... REALLY?

Why are people always mentioning a nice large TV being a reason to play games on a console? I have my PC hooked up to both my TV, PC LCD and if I so desire, I can easily switch it over to a projector (although I need to buy a better one to get the 'cinema gaming' feel). Granted I have my PC in my entertainment room, where I have my TV, the mini-bar and fridge, consoles (that are never used) and such. Nothing's stopping you from enjoying quality PC gaming relaxing on the couch. Bar perhaps fundings to realise the dreams. Consoles are nice, but I am a PC gamer at heart.

PS: There's not typically a problem plugging in a XBOX360 controller (or a PS2/3 one if you prefer those) and play most PC games these days. Typically they at the very least (Games for Windows) support the XBOX360 controller like they do on the consoles. The bonus (if you got a good hardware setup) is that you get better peformance and graphics.

Actually there is a reason not to take coercion until after lothering. You can max out Morrgain's faction intimidating the revernd mother over and over if you fail the check. Which is only possible with zero points in coercion.