Nine Muses

So, my favorite thing about the new Dungeon Siege 2 is… *drumroll*

… the pets!

It’s a fun game overall (so far) and there are other really great things about it (and a few not-so-great things), but I love what they turned the old pack mules into.

Pets, which are no longer restricted to just pack mules and some odd creature (what was that thing in the expansion anyway), actually advance. They start off as babies, grow into fledglings, then juveniles, etc. As they hit each growth level, they get new stats and new abilities. The good old sturdy pack mule also has his inventory size increase.

You advance your pets by feeding them items. Swords make them stronger, armor helps their defense (and some stat a little, depending on the armor type), etc.

One of the pets is a Lap Dragon. That is such a goal for me, getting one of those. I like little dragon things.

I’ve seen one note that suggests making a very small party (one or two characters) with the rest filled in as pets since pets don’t share in experience. Theoretically, that’ll make character advancement a bit faster. I’m thinking of doing half and half — three characters, three pets — in my single player game.

More to come as I play the game more…

Technorati Tags: Games Dungeon Siege 2

Dungeon Siege 2 is out, and I have it, and I’m playing it! I adore it so far, but it’s late and I’m tired, so expect a more detailed post tomorrow.

Technorati Tags: Games Dungeon Siege 2

Already, the comment spam is threatening to take over. At first, it was just a couple of posts. Today, there were six or so. So, I deleted them. (I should remember to request a multi-delete.) And I turned on registration required for comments, until I find a better solution. If you have any better ideas, let me know.

Ugh. I had to put “Waking the Moon” down. I’m halfway through it and I’ve decided to take a little break.

It’s not a problem with the writing style. The author’s prose is wonderful. It’s just… so much angst, it seems… something like that. It’s almost hard to put my finger on.

I guess it’s that we’ve spent half the book establishing the roles of both sides of the conflict, and the blah personality of the person caught in the middle of the conflict. (And really, she’s not very interesting other than that she’s caught in the middle of this situation — though I think that’s the point. She’s ordinary, caught up in the extraordinary.) And everything I read is just more of what I’ve been reading for the last couple hundred pages, it feels like.

This book was highly recommended and very well reviewed. I’m wondering what I’m missing at the moment. It’s not that I’m not enjoying it… I just keep wondering when things are going to start happening.

Technorati Tags: Books Fantasy Literature Elizabeth Moon

So, I’m reading this book by Elizabeth Hand called “Waking the Moon,” and I’m just really not sure who the good guys are. It’s at least apparent who the protagonist is, but since she’s not sure who’s good and who’s not either, that’s not much help.

There’s the Benandanti, who are saying that the Goddess awakening will bring chaos and darkness and all that, and you think they’re the good guys at first, especially since the Goddess seems a bit on the bloodthirsty side.

At the same time, you find out that for thousands of years, these men have barely tolerated women at all, and have done all they can to squash anything, religious or secular, led by women.

So, I’m halfway through, I’m intensely into the book, and I have no idea what’s going to happen next. I guess that’s a sign of a good book.

Technorati Tags: Books Fantasy Literature Elizabeth Moon