Be Excellent To Each Other

Yesterday i was in a really RPG mood. I didn't had much time to play but looked at my games shelf and picked Wizardry 8. Unfortunately one of the disks has an error and it was impossible to install, so i proceeded to torrent it (who says piracy is bad??). The point is, RPGs nowadays are like point and click games 10 years ago. Bioware and Bethesda are the only major companies doing it and while Bethesda redeemed itself with FO3, Bioware as been shit since BG2.

But even though FO3 is good, where are the tactics, puzzles and writing that defined the best rpg's of the past? It has none of it. While Point and click adventure games never died, i feel RPGs are truly dead and Vampire: Bloodlines was really the last good one. And it was quite a sad epitaph.

Anyway, there's still many more Wizardry 8 playthroughs before i get really depressed.

RPGs have, as a genre, largely turned into 'Action-RPGs', so Sacred, the console BG games, the Titan Quest games, Champions of Norrath, etc.

I think you're being a little harsh towards Bioware there - NeverWinter Nights, KotOR, and Mass Effect were all very good games.

To answer the question: MMOs.

You can only RPG if you do stuff that you think that your character would do. Hence MaliA in fallout3 behaving like I thought MaliA would do, and letting that influence the conversational choices. If you don't do that then you're not Rping, fag.

NWN 1 was ok as a toolset. There were some good modules for it. But the Official Campaign was probably one of the worst things i've ever played.

KoToR was ok. I loved it's graphics and atmosphere. But the writing and morals was tipical Bioware evil/good shit. And it was so devoid of challenge (even in Hard) that i lost interest in the combat quickly. KoToR 2 was so much better even with the rushed ending.

Mass Effect i never played. I may play it one day when there's lack of other options.

Even "Rougue/Diablo-likes" are shit nowadays. Diablo 2 was released in 2000 and there is still no viable option for it, unless one counts Divine Divinity as a diablo-clone.



i have to agree here. If these companies were concentrating on doing single player RPGs maybe there would be some good ones coming up. But that doesn't excuse Bioware and Bethesda failures. But even some companies that used to make excellent games turned to shit. See: the guys that did the wonderful Age of Wonders 2 now with Overlord 2.

Bioware have always been better at building engines than scripting content for them. That's why there are so many big titles produced by other companies using their engines.

RPGs died when Origin died.

Probably not much use but there's a Wizardry game on the PS2.

I'm still battling on through Fire Emblem on the Wii which is a nice and traditional turn-based tactical RPG, albeit with a bloody steep learning curve. It reminds me of the days when I'd play Shining Force 1 & 2 to death.

There's plenty of JRPGS, of course.

The Twat makes a good point.

Surely that was to be expected in a Star Wars game? It's part of the whole setting.

After getting heavily into FFVII, I used to look forward to the next FF game to come out, but in recent years it seems that Squaresoft are churning them out on a regular basis across a variety of formats (DS in particular it seems); so much so that I've no idea which ones are any good anymore.

Mass Effect is fantakka, of course. ISN'T IT GILL?

i've been playing Radiant Dawn every once in a while. I like this kind of lite-strategy RPG's but i just wished there was more depth to it (depth in the Jagged Alliance/silent storm common sense, not esoteric stuff like the color panels in Disgaea) and less stupid dialogue. Even though the writing is weak is more bearable than in every other jRPG. But at least this is not laughably easy like Path of Radiance.

Never played Wizardry on the PS2, but i don't have a PS2 so its out of question.

Meanwhile, i recall that i never finished Temple of Elemental Evil and Icewind Dale 2, so those are also on my list.

Maybe in the big Jedi/Sith picture. But i'm talking about the small actions you make, the choices and consequences. KoToR 2 showed that it could be much more

Got an iPhone? The Quest is an old school first person RPG, Underworlds a Diablo clone, Zedonia a SNES style action RPG. All have Lite versions - or "demos" as I like to call them.

But you just said you haven't played Mass Effect, which means you don't know just how well you are allowed to roleplay a space badass.



Go and try and make heads or tails of Arcanum, and maybe you'll come back talking sense.

I quite liked Arcanum, even if it was bloody annoying at times.

how come? Arcanum came 3 or 4 years before Bloodlines

EDIT: I thought Arcanum was average when it came out. It was completely unbalanced and the dungeon design was crap. But compared to the shit we see nowadays it's gold.

I like Arcanum because of the setting, but the interface, graphics, music and combat are all shit. And where are the dark elves?

Are you kidding? Arcanum has lovely music. And there's nothing wrong with the graphics either.

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But you just said you haven't played Mass Effect, which means you don't know just how well you are allowed to roleplay a space badass.
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You've almost convinced me to do another playthrough of Mass Effect playing as a dick...

As time passes I realise how much I enjoyed Mass Effect, warts and all, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel.

I will probably try it then. Meanwhile i urge everyone to torrent Wizardry 8, as the game isn't available anywhere.

I don't really like traditional RPGs though, so it may not be best for you. Buyer beware and all that. Also the invertory is like death.

forget the buyer beware. It's not like i'm going to buy it

You are a PC gamer, let's not forget.

Jen leaves on Monday, I'll be finished by Friday! She was meant to leave ages ago,I can't wait for my 15 weeks of xbox time

oh, @ Dimrill btw x

If you read my first post, you know that i had wizardry 8 on a shelf, inside a box. If i like Mass Effect i'll buy it.

Endless, sweeping strings got both really tiresome and really depressing. What, no pianos? No brass?

The graphics were extremely plain and dowdy - compare it with stuff like Fallout or Planescape or any number of other isometric 2D stuff and they just lacked character... all the streets and buildings in Tarant looked the same, Dernholm had a bit more character but was still very plain. Given the locations were so huge, having more distinctive looking graphics would have really helped in finding your way around. More than anything, I was disappointed that the same amazing standard of imagination of the Victorian/fantasy character portraits or parts of the interface wasn't felt throughout rest of the game.