I replayed this per Spirit's recommendation. Last time was 15 years ago and I didn't really like it then. This time around I totally enjoyed it, however, and agree with his verdict.

The levels are not very large, but there's lots of potential for exploration and nonlinear progression. Often the way to proceed is not immediately clear, but then you find a way by blowing up a wall or using the jetpack. This was probably all intented but it made me feel smart.
Most of the levels have an insane number of secrets, both marked (=with message/stats, sometimes up to 10) and unmarked, and the way you can create shortcuts and make the map more interconnected by blowing stuff up is pretty cool. Apparently there's TNT in the flame extinguishers.

I now see how this game allows for lots of excellent custom maps. 

I now see how this game allows for lots of excellent custom maps

The best thing about mapping for Duke3D though is the varied and diverse texture set, and the insane number of ways in which you can use them, then throw in some palette changes and spritework. Best vanilla assets I've worked with so far. 

and on top of that, building basic areas is simple like doom. just trace some lines out and boom you've got all kinds of shaped rooms and corridors. 

Including ones that break the laws of physics. Or at least utilise more dimensions than the usual 3. 

/hard-on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2USBm4hMOAw&feature=player_embedded 

Steam Summer Sale starts today.

/hard-on

http://store.steampowered.com/ 

Though as usual the Euro prices/discounts are unfair compared to the other currencies and for Germans many games are unavailable.

I'd love to get the id Super Pack this time. And I'm so going to approach someone of you for another 'gift' deal... ;) 

Am excited, will buy. 

definately 

I'll step aboard this bandwagon! ;) 

And also the commentator guy looks remarkably like czg.

http://www.gamespot.com/shows/now-playing/?event=now_playing_torchlight_ii20110629

czg are you him??? 

how many hours down the drain am I looking at? 

Several hundred maybe? Depends on if you actually beat it and explore.You can beat the main quest pretty easily, but everything else is going to take you quite a while. 

I've been wondering the same thing nitin. I don't want to play it if it's 200 hours - I get sick of a game after 10 hours normally. 

This game is a lot of fun exploring. There's a ton of stuff to do. It's not like the same thing for 20 hours - there really is a huge variety of things to do in the game. 

Floating ! on people's heads :( 

it really depends on what kind of gamer you are. if you stick to the main quest, i think it's over in a few hours. 10 maybe? if you do a few side quests, it can stretch to 15-20ish.
it's only if you start downloading mods and really exploring the entire map that you start to look at 50-100+ hours.
otoh, some of the best moments in the game for me was while exploring. sometimes without even a quest as a goal. just bought the fastest horse and started in a direction. :P
also, there's this great zombie mod that simulates a zombie apocalypse, complete with towns slowly becoming infected and spreading to other towns. the cool thing is that no matter what happens, you can just reset the mod and have everything back to normal when you get bored of it, without loosing your game. 

I think I'll play it causally and if I like it, we will see :)

Am I correct in remembering a couple of recommended mods? 

Reddit has this thread

http://www.reddit.com/r/oblivion/comments/cdmzf/the_reddit_beginners_guide_to_modding_oblivion/ 

necros, I played it 100 hours without any mods (except for a few UI enhancements), I must be weird. :) 

Can't wait for Skyrim! 

So is Kinn. But yes, a game like Oblivion takes time, especially if you explore every inch of. This is weird, because there are many duplicate areas (dungeons, caverns, Oblivion realms) that become boring to visit after a while.

An excellent and highly recommendable mod that was posted here some time ago is Nehrim.

I haven't followed Skyrim or watched any trailers, but I'm up for it too. Also, Risen 2 is due at the end of the year. 

Nehrim was nice, and I'm really looking forward to Risen 2, yar! Especially after the disappointment that was Gothic 4. 

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/06/30/maximum-mod-crysis-2-editor-released/

I think I will be purchasing Crysis 2 if it goes on sale ... 

I've been messing with it and its very very similar to sandbox2 for the first crysis.

A nice thing Crytek did is include the maps for most (if not all) the single player, so you can see how they made it. Very handy!