New or old, I need advice on a new game to play. I am sick of every other genre at the moment, and I could use a fun RPG to distract me from my life.
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New or old, I need advice on a new game to play. I am sick of every other genre at the moment, and I could use a fun RPG to distract me from my life.
How long has it been since you've played Baldur's Gate? Yes, I know, dated graphics, yada-yada-yada.....but there are folks over at Gibberling's 3 that are still modding the game, especially the creation of new characters. I'm currently waiting for the Tyris Flare character (remember her from the Golden Axe days?)to be completed for ToB so I can play the BGT with her included.
C'mon....you know it's been ages since that thick-as-brick Minsc had you laughing your @@@ off with his stupid hamsters & rangers lines.....or the even funnier one-liners as your group teases Edwina.....err... I mean Edwin on his recent 'accident':laugh4: Or romancing the hottest hottie in the game.....Viconia......
Hell, you can be masochistic and add on some of upgrades by original BG design team members....back when fighting dragons and liches was a chess match that could last an hour or more.....
The Mass Effect series. My favorite game of all time. I played through them at least 8 times already, and still going strong. Especially if you like space and other things along those lines.
Dragon Age is good too, if your into the fantasy stuff like dragons and other monsters.
Fallout 3 is good, I liked it, cant think of any more off the top of my head.
Which have you played, so we know which not to recommend. ~;p
definetly a sandbox dragon ages type stuff gets repetitive i would honestly recommend like oblivion i started playing it again and i just love it so much
I have played the final fantasies, the elder scroll games, most things that are square, the .....what are they called....meh. At any rate, do not fear to delve into the wonders of the console games. Actually, those are preferred. I dont know why, but I hate playing anything other than strategy games on the computer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychonaut
Planescape: Torment if you haven't already, awesome deep story and solid gameplay. Was obsessed with the sinister gameworld and story while it lasted, which was thankfully a long time. Graphics are obviously dated but they aged well
edit which console, if you have the ps3 'Valkyre Chronicals' and 'Demon's Souls' are real gems. Demon's Sould requires some dedication though it's extremely unforgiving, especially the first hours are a nightmare
Mount and Blade.
Demon's souls is a very good game. A bit too stressful for me, though. My temperament is just not set for the intensity of the boss fights. Besides, I have a tendency to screw up right when I am about to kill the boss. After five hours of trying to kill the spider bastard, I just stopped.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fragony
I have heard wonderful things of mount and blade.
You guys know anything with a compelling storyline? Storyline > sandbox
Mass Effect.Quote:
Originally Posted by Motep
I'll second the Mass Effect recommendation. Great story.
CR
Baldur's Gate & Baldur's Gate II are nearly flawless in design, but if you can't handle dated graphics I'd advise against it.
Knights of the Old Republic I & II.
The Original Fallout, Fallout II
Mass Effect :love:
No BG experience yet ?
Baldur's Gate is the peak of CRPG and no one should think of dying before getting hands on it.
That's one of the easiest bosses, block attacks, wait for him lower, hurt him. If he starts doing fire attack run back. You stopped on time it gets worse ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Motep
Mass Effect 1 (the second one's plot is subpar)
Avoid Dragon Age, it's bad.
Baldur's Gate (I & II)
Planescape Torment
Vampire Bloodlines
Arcanum
Fallout New Vegas
Drakensang I & II
Mostly old games cause new ones are usually pretty bad on the RPG departement.
It depends on how you look at it. In terms of gameplay, ME2 was a billion times better than ME1. Unless you like clunky combat mechanics, and a really messy inventory system, in which case ME1 is better. But in terms of raw epicness, I will agree, ME1>ME2, but ME2's plot is not subpar by any means. While less organized than ME1 in terms of main plot missions, ME2's plot is still excellent.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meneldil
But dont take our word for it. Try it yourself.
Would you care to give reason?Quote:
Originally Posted by Meneldil
It's incredibly boring, took me 4 hours to figure out I just wasn't having fun. You can only really enjoy one Bioware game, and you will, but it's a one trick pony.Quote:
Originally Posted by india
Graphically, how many sprites can you handle?
~:joker:
Most of the older stuff is where the best storylines are.
But if you hold out, this year is gonna be pretty big on releases; there are some pretty hyped titles (many, many sequels) coming.
(nb: some are much more swerving toward action-adventure than your classic RPG, but will do the job nonetheless!)
Gothic IV
Dragon Age 2
Last Guardian
The Witcher 2
Fable 3
Diablo III
Elder Scrolls V
Demons Souls 2
Two Worlds 2
Mass Effect 3
edit: and OMG how on earth did I forget - Deus Ex: Human Revolution (YEAAHH)!!?
I would second, BG, BG2 and Planescape Torment, but some may find the ageing graphics and clunky interface offputting. I fired up BG2 some time early last year, getting ready to revel in nostalgia. I was quite disappointed by the annoying controls and constantly reloading due to dying party members that cost a fortune to resurrect. I made it out of the dungeon in the first level and out into the streets of Athkatala (the city where the first part of the game is based) before yawning and putting it down. I uninstalled the following day I think and won't be revisiting. All of that nostalgia was wiped in a few minutes and now I'm not so sure whay I loved that game so much and played it through so many times. I had also forgotten about how much the NPCs and "plot" irritated me and why I preferred Icewind Dale with the Heart of Winter expansion's strictly party based dungeon crawls.
I much prefer Neverwinter Nights 1 (never thought I'd say it). I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned here. You can pick up the platinum edition with both expansions included now for about £10 and it's well worth it. The two expansion campaigns are much better than the original and it has much more longevity overall than the BG series. I still pick that game up every 6 months or so and give it another go and it never disappoints.
:2cents:
I think it comes down to whether one can play a game for the story and overlook the gameplay flaws or not. I agree that the gameplay does get slightly dull....too much so in some missions....but that does not negate the fact that the game had an interesting story and some nice characters.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fragony
That said, it's one of the top RPGs of this day and age.
Edit:
BTW did you finish a play-through or just put it aside half way?
Good:
Fallout 3 (it's far less of a Sandbox game than ES)
Console Baldur's Gate
ES IV: Oblivion (the stories of the 2 expansion campaigns, Knights of the nine and the Shivering Isles are quite compelling)
Diablo II (I really hope 3 is on the consoles, otherwise I can't play it)
Jade Empire
Knights of the old Republic 1 and 2
Bad:
Neverwinter Nights
PC Baldur's Gate
Final Fantasy or any other JRPG (entire sub-genre is crap, avoid at all costs)
Baldurs Gate for the PC bad? Does your alternavitive reality have a name? Awesome game.
@India I shelved it, it bored me to death. Combat is actually good, but it's just all so bland, it just isn't interesting.
In those olden days when you could rent PC games I rented PC-Baldur's Gate. After about 1 hour of the horrid controls and clunky gameplay, I turned it off in disgust. Took it back and exchanged it for something playable.
That's why it's important to install BGT (Baldur's Gate Trilogy) and develop your PC and whatever merry band you put together from start to finish. One gets a sense of accomplishment at developing the prowess of your six party members (at least I do). With all the new NPC's that have been created by the mods at G3, you get much more replayability.Quote:
All of that nostalgia was wiped in a few minutes and now I'm not so sure whay I loved that game so much and played it through so many times.
I think we all have been spoiled by the better UI's (for the most part) of today's games, but there was only so much that could be done with the Infinity Game Engine...Quote:
I was quite disappointed by the annoying controls
Don't die:laugh4: Seriously...one can adjust difficulty sliders, and take a look at battle tactics ;-)Quote:
and constantly reloading due to dying party members that cost a fortune to resurrect.
I guess that preferences change with time...IWD & the HOW expansion were fun to play, but it was difficult to identify with party members as they had 0 personality. As you say, strictly a dungeon crawl. BG has one of the best plots ever written for RPG's, IMHO:shrug:Quote:
I had also forgotten about how much the NPCs and "plot" irritated me and why I preferred Icewind Dale with the Heart of Winter expansion's strictly party based dungeon crawls.
To play BG you must have an interest in tactics...period. I have an abiding love for NWN, as well, but fighting dragons and liches is child's play in that game, compared to the epic encounters of BG. For me, planning out who is going to do what, and keeping everyone standing upright and in one piece is the real challenge. Far more so than the micro-managing insanity of games like Civ4/GalCiv, etc. After spending an hour defeating the Shandalar Cult in the Dock's District in my last playthrough, I was more proud of winning that fight than all the fights in IWD combined. I still have an affinity for NWN, as well, but it's for all the mods, some of which are simply brilliant. The official expansions are fun...to a point. The only reason for playing HotU, for me, is the Grimgnaw fight. Since I solo the entire expansion, that's a handful. But the plot is too linear for my liking.
Klauth? Pfft. My fighter/rogue/ranger character can take him down without even touching him. Firkraag with the Ascension Mod.....get ready to reload...multiple times.
Like I said, times change and what one looks for in a game changes, as well. I, personally, still enjoy the chessmatch-like qualities of BG.
Anything after VIII, I would agree with that to some extent...the characters just kept getting younger and younger...more cutesy in that Japanese style.......let's just call it "Diaper Wars" already:laugh4:Quote:
Final Fantasy or any other JRPG (entire sub-genre is crap, avoid at all costs)
But VII and VIII were classics. Good story, unique ways to develop a character (c'mon...calling out Shiva or Doom Train were awesome cut-scenes, as were many of the others....), and fighting those friggin' Weapon's in VII......Tam Storm THIS!!! you ******-******
Depending on if you want more fun or difficulty, Morrowind would be good. Umm Fallout definitely, Demons Souls. cant think of any others right now.
As of yet all of these are unreleased...Quote:
Originally Posted by Raz
if you'd have read the entirety of my post, you'd note that I only listed unreleased games. :PQuote:
Originally Posted by Prussian Iron
The idea is that, if Motep wants the storyline but can't handle dated graphics, then perhaps he should hold out until some later releases.
You know what my most hated game ever is? FF VII. After that vile excrement I've never played another FF game beyond the first.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai
Current eyecatchers:
baldur's gate, mass effects, getting kotor back
Also, bad graphics do not bother me. I still play my NES happily.
Planescape: Torment is epic; if you're going to do BG, might as well do PS:T too. While BG is more like a "classic" D&D game, Torment's setting in the Planescape realms makes it much more interesting in my book. Great story, great twists from the run-of-the-mill fantasy RPG.
I've not played any mods or adaptations, just BG, BG2 and the expansions - I played BG about a year after release and bought BG2 soon after release. You seem to play the game in much the same way I did, with autopause and planning every battle, etc. I agree, NWN is a dumbed down "walk in the park" compared to BG, but NWN is just more fun in my opinion. It's funny that when I first played NWN I missed all the features and controls of BG/BG2/IWD/PST. I missed being able to create my own party from scratch like in IWD (I prefer that to the NPCs you pick up in BG/2) and instead being stuck with just one character. Now the opposite is the case. The plot in the first NWN was ok, it was the soulless characters and execution of said plot that was poor. I agree with regard to HotU, hated that at first but got into it eventually - it's a dungeon crawl at best and a better one than the previous games where you spent most of your time unlocking or breaking into death trapped chests containing one piece of gold or carrying useless equipment back to merchants be sold. As a whole with D&D games I prefer less tacky plots and more tactics. Another problem with NWN was that for the most part you can loot and pillage with impunity.Quote:
Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai
Not Fable III. Got 'imQuote:
Originally Posted by Raz
The mods can add much more flavor to the game...or unbalance it. One has to be careful with their use. Case in point for adding flavor: the Tactics Mod---the tactics used by bosses are greatly improved. Firkraag is a good example. The standard tactic of buffing up beforehand and sending in summoned fodder first no longer works because the wily old dragon will have an immediate buffing sequencer that fires upon starting combat (including Haste), his first spell is Dispel Magic (cast at a very high level) that strips off all your buffing, and his second spell will dismiss all your summons. Nothing is worse than standing in front of an angry red dragon with no magical defenses and his complete attention focused on you because all your summons are gone :-(Quote:
I've not played any mods or adaptations, just BG, BG2 and the expansions
The obvious one is BGT (Baldur's Gate Trilogy). It allows you to play all three (BG, SoA, and ToB) as one continuous game (well BG, BG TotSC, and SoA because ToB allows you to import your NPC's anyways). You get to keep NPC's along with their exp, skills, and weapons from one to the next.
The Ascension mod, among many other things, completely changes the ending to ToB. Instead of the standard bash-fest with Mel, you get to fight all five Bhaalspawn........at the same time! And if you're of good alignment, you have the option of recruiting Balthazar to fight on your side...as a 7th party member. But there are consequences...Mel gets the services of.......big, bad, Jon Irenicus and his vampy sister Bodhi. The 'mother-of-all-battles' so to speak. Great fun...and frustration.
There was a mod called "Honor Among Thieves" that was specifically made for rogue/thief characters. It had exceptionally good scripting, and some novel ideas. Your rogue had to infiltrate a notorious assassin's guild to retrieve some extremely rare magical items that had been stolen from a powerful mage (who gives you your initial quest, and some additional help as the plot progresses). There were two factions within the guild led by guild-masters who gave you quests...the assassins and the thieves. At some point, after a power struggle breaks out, you had to make a decision to side with one or the other, with consequences for your decision.Quote:
Another problem with NWN was that for the most part you can loot and pillage with impunity.
The city layout, and implementation were novel, and brilliant, IMHO. At night, as you walked the streets, random muggers/assassins would appear and harass the city guard and local citizens. You had three choices: you could just watch; you could assist the 'bad guys'; or you could join in on the side of the guard. All these had alignment consequences, so you had to roleplay your character.
Shops were only open during business hours. No more popping in at some ungodly hour to sell your stack of loot, and they had a limited amount of money to barter. To get magical items identified, you had to bring it to...a mage, of course! What would some brawny smith know about magic, anyways?:laugh4:
When given thieving missions, you had to follow directions...exactly. If you alerted the guards in any way....mission over. If you killed anyone, or stole any items not on your list of 'to do's'....mission over (and of course there were some very tasty items to test your resolve). You had to get in, do what was required, and get out...in the spirit of BG's Yoshimo: "All the world is blind to my passing".
Very much fun. I still play that one, occasionally......
PC version yet to be released. Got 'im, riposte! :laugh4:Quote:
Originally Posted by Prussian Iron
touche'!Quote:
Originally Posted by Raz
Paper Mario (N64) is pretty awesome.
I would second Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, as a player who played it for the first time, properly, about six months ago :2thumbsup:
I just started Call of Pripyat; it's sorta RPG, sorta FPS. its sorta in the middle. I really like it, try it out.
as many have mentioned, the D&D games.
Baldurs gate 1 has an awful storyline really, however, it is imo, one of the most enjoyable games ever made .. when you reach the end of bg 1, a storyline begins to take form and then you will venture into the interesting world of the bhaal spawns.
Icewind dale , plansescape torrent are both very good games as well
Morrowind is a must and a wonderful game
What I didn't spot at my quick glance over the thread, was the final fantasy series and Chrono trigger?? Chrono trigger has perhaps the best plot and storyline I have ever seen in any game.. and Final fantasy is always fun, unless you forget to pick up the super duper weapons and get smashed by the overpowered enemies
I'm gunna trhow out an older series here that you would proabably need at least a ps2 to play. Its a series that spans the ps1 and ps2. The Suikoden series (there are five of them). The first two are the best and are harder to find than the other ones but they are worth the effort. They are from '95 and '97 respectively so the graphics aren't the best but the story are awesome. They play similar to some of the earlier FF's but I find them vastly more enjoyable . 108 different charcters ("the stars of destiny") also makes it intersting.
ME2 plot mostly consists in doing useless quests for your henchmen. I consider that subpar.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooahguy
Yes.Quote:
Originally Posted by India
The plot is here again, subpar (run around the kingdom to recruit allies). The fights were pretty bad, with barely any tactical element. Then, it seems the developpers couldn't quite figure out whether they wanted to make a serious-dark-fantasy-badass game or a college-humor one.
Add the craptacular DLC's and you get what I call a bad game. Mind you, I finished it three times and unlocked all the achievements. But looking back at it, I see nothing that'd bring me back to it.
To be less of a jerk, I guess I could say DA is a decent game (but still not nearly as good as some other less well known RPG's) but a huge disapointement given all the hype around it.
Of course your definition of a plot seems to be narrowly defined by one single story that the game progresses through. Of course, ME1 had that in the sense that any side quest (except for a few) was not very deep and usually consisted of a one-liner message at the end and that was it. The few character-based missions (like for Garrus, Grunt, and Tali) were very, very short and left much to be desired. Personally I like character-based stories with a general plot behind it that gives overtones on the character stories, and theres nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with liking the one story kind of plot that ME1 has either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meneldil
But again, try it for yourself, dont take our word for it.
Though be warned, the combat in ME1 is horrendous.
Don't get Fable 3. Biggest disappointment of the year.
I wish I did not see that coming...Quote:
Originally Posted by Beskar
Oh yeah? I enjoyed Fable 2 with my god-daughter, but am no longer living there, hence no more Xbox. Care to share a brief perspective? I'm very curious.Quote:
Originally Posted by Beskar
I was a big fan of Fable 1 and 2, so I am not new to the series. For Fable 3, I pre-ordered the collectors edition as I expected it to be the same quality as its predecessors. In short, it was far from it.
Every aspect of the game was really oversimplified from the second, including the story and the games DLC is a complete joke as it is obvious they removed aspects of the game to repackage it as you see these big gaping holes where things were meant to be (like dye colours).
If you are completely new and want a over simplified RPG, then Fable 3 is for you. But if you are a fan of the previous games, you want to give it a miss. It was the Phantom Menace of the series.
I think I saw a review of it somewhere that listed the problems with it.
Here we go, just dont watch it with children the reviewer isnt exactly restrained when it comes to cursing.: http://blip.tv/play/hdEVgpniagI
wow fable three sounds absolutely cruddy
Thanks for the comments and link. Yeah, I guess I'm not missing much. Too bad, Fable 2 was surprisingly fun; I went into it half-willingly thinking it would be boring and ended up enjoying it a lot.
Setting my nostalgia ray to wistful, I would also recommend Arcanum and/or Vampire: Bloodlines. But then I am a sucker for non-medieval RPGs.
I think Zero Punctuation's review of Fable 3 said plenty enough for me to stay away. Warning, it's Yachtzee, so there's probably some bad British language.