Be Excellent To Each Other

While that is true, this is the same Obsidian who won our hearts with KoTOR and then tore out our hearts by reaching up our urethras wearing spiked Michael Jackson gloves with the unfinished abomination of a sequel.

but their dialogue system has not been bettered.

I don't understand.

Yes, I played Bloodlines. No, didn't play Torment.

Mass Effect had what I think is an amazing conversation system - you didn't choose dialogue, you chose what amounted to an attitude/intent for your response. This kept conversations flowing realistically and believably, and it was better than any similar system I'd seen in any other game. You also did more than just choosing and option and being talked at.

That was all I said - I didn't say Bioware were super amazing at everything, so I don't know why this makes me so wrong I can't be reasoned with.

The Mass Effect dialogue system enabled me to play the role of my character far more effectively than most other (and let's say, more traditional) RPGs that I've played.

Go read the Wikipedia writeup on Alpha Protocol, Meaty. Obsidian's current game. It has the same system. You're a spy, and they call the options the "three JBs": suave (James Bond), professional (Jason Bourne), aggressive (Jack Bauer).

Unconfirmed sources inform us that the next issue of Game Informer will have a feature on Fallout: New Vegas. Here are the tidbits:

Fallout New Vegas information is coming "very soon." It's going to be Gameinformer's next cover. This is the information in the magazine:

- Similar to Dragon Age: Origins, at character creation the player can select from different background stories. The first few hours of the game are different depending on which background you choose, and you get some unique perks based on your background when the main game begins.

- One background story is shown, Chinese Agent. The background story takes place before the bombs fell. The player is part of a team of Crimson Dragoons infilitrating Hoover Dam. You manage to sneak through the Americans' defenses, set explosives, and head to an extraction point, but your escape is cut off by American soldiers in Power Armor. The player and other survivors of the Crimson Dragoons take refuge in a cave in the canyons, where they commit hari kari with cyanide capsules. The player about to do the same when the bombs fall. The background story ends an indeterminate time later, when the player exits the cave, removes his helmet, and sees his ghoulish reflection in the waters of the Colorado River.

- The background story segues into character creation. The player can customize the appearance of the ghoul, and you see you start the game with two unique perks. One, similar to the Ghoul Mask in Fallout 3, makes Feral Ghouls non-aggro. The other makes the player immune to radiation sickness and allows the player to discharge accumulated radiation in a blast similar to a Glowing Ghoul, healing the player and any mutants while damaging all non-mutants in range.

- By default, the Chinese Agent has the skills Sneak, Small Arms, and Explosives tagged and SPECIAL stats set, although the player can modify their tagged skills and stats if they don't like the template.

- One character background option is Lone Wanderer. This selection has no background story or template and is a complete blank slate for players.

- The SPECIAL system used will be similar to Fallout 3, but skills will be harder to cap and one character will not be able to become a master of all skills. The article is not very specific because apparently it's something the developers are still tweaking.

- Gambling will return, but not as a skill. Your Luck stat will effect gambling results. You can attempt to cheat at cards using your Sneak skill or hack slot machines using your Science skill.

- There will be vehicles. The desert of New Vegas dwarfs the Capital Wasteland and you will need transportation to get around and explore it. You will acquire a vehicle several hours into the main quest. You can customize your vehicle with parts bought at shops or won through racing circuits and quests. Vehicles will not be common, but you will encounter road gangs, merchant caravans, and other vehicles in the wastes. The open desert is home to some very large mutant creatures, like giant radscorpions and sandworms, that will attack your vehicle.

- New Vegas has a coliseum run by a slaver gang called the Caesar's Legion. You can gamble on and participate in arena fights.

Be advised, these are just rumours and might be entirely false.

I want the feature of being able to play without VATS.

Can't you do that already? Just don't use the VATS?

I want the feature of being able to play without VATS.