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RPGs Whats hot, Whats not

#1 User is offline   Cause 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 01:45 PM

I was talking to DIBs about what are the good RPGs out there. His views and the critics views sometimes differed wildly (Not that the critics seem to be able to agree either). So I thought I wouldd ask for further opinion. What RPGs did you enjoy playing. What do you think are the must haves and what have you got your eye on. The amount currently on the market can be staggering and I don't want to waste my time on a poor choice when their are so many to choose from. So have you any opinion on

Lost Odyssey
Blue dragon
Eternal Sonata
Valkyria chronicles
Star ocean lost hope
Last remnant
Infinite undiscovery
enchanted arms
Magna Carta 2

Are their any others?
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#2 User is offline   Tarcanus 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 02:09 PM

View PostCause, on 01 March 2010 - 01:45 PM, said:


Lost Odyssey - Great game, but make sure you save! I got to point after difficult bosses and forgot to save, then was owned by something stupid and had to start the hard bosses over again. I couldn't bring myself to keep playing and finish, but I still thought it was a great game.
Blue dragon - I've heard average things about this., Nothing stellar nothing terrible.
Eternal SonataI've heard that this is only great if you are a fan of a certain composer, as the game focuses on his life(can't remember which composer)
Valkyria chroniclesNo opinion - haven't played and haven't heard player testimonials. The 'buzz' I hear is good, though
Star ocean lost hopeOMG DON"T PLAY! This made me want to gouge out my eyes with rusty legos! And then jam infected syringes into my ears! This combines every terrible cliche and trope with bad voice acting, shitty characters, the pointless level and item grinding, and large bunnies you have to ride(that was when I officially facepalmed and quit the game and then immediately traded it. I didn't want that dross in my apartment.
Last remnantNever played, but heard decent things if you can deal with loading times
Infinite undiscoveryNever played, but heard that it was over-hyped crap
enchanted armsNever played
Magna Carta 2Never played

Are their any others?

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#3 User is offline   Gothos 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 02:16 PM

I'll assume you mean cRPGs and not tabletop or P&P...
so. There's a nice set of blockbusters you should try. Me being me, they're mostly PC titles. Also, since it's been said several times about most of these titles, I won't go into details about them.

Planescape: Torment - popularly labeled as "the thinking man's choice of RPG". Focus: story, characters, setting, choices. What you won't find: arcade action.

Diablo & Diablo 2 - the legend of hack'n'slash action RPG, these should be a must-have for anyone wanting to delve the waters of RPG games. Focus: gameplay, atmosphere (D1 had INCREDIBLE atmosphere throughout the game, mainly thanks to awesome music - Blizzard's specialty - and dark, gritty graphics. D2 follows this to a lesser extent, instead focusing on superior gameplay). What you won't find: hundreds of pages of statistics.

The Elder Scrolls games: Morrowind and Oblivion. These could be called the pinnacle of open-ended gameplay in RPGs, they're decent games with a lot of freedom. Focus: freedom of action, large area of play, complex character creation and advancement, multitude of options. What you won't find: an engaging story, awesome dialogue or memorable characters.

The Baldur's Gate series: the games that resurrected the RPG as a genre. Classic AD&D transcribed onto the PC screen, these games offer everything you'd expect from a decent, long D&D story - heroes, villains, gods, dragons, wizards and ninjas. And space hamsters, right, Boo? Focus: pretty evenly set. It's like The Standard Fantasy RPG. A little dash of everything. Be prepared for a focus on challenging gameplay in the Throne of Bhaal expansion.

The Gothic series: comparably not that well-known, Gothic has been developed by the german studio Piranha Bytes back in the stone age. Well, OK, it's not THAT old, but it's been some time. Anyway, what this game offers is a "bit" different look on the world: there's pretty much just shades of grey. In the first game, everyone you meet is some sort of heavy duty criminal. All in all, this is a pretty gritty look at Fantasy RPGs, even if it gets a tad more shiny in later games. The spiritual successor to the series in Risen (haven't played it yet). Be warned: the first game has a pretty infuriating interface. Focus: freedom of action, grey and black morality, very detailed game world, a decent-ish story. What you won't find: hundreds of pages of statistics, the good guys, justice.

Mass Effect series: one of the few and far-between Sci-Fi RPGs, ME takes on the space opera setting and makes it something manly and involving. The second game enjoys following the "edgier, grittier sequel" rule, and keeps the level up. Your choices in each game affect the storyline of the next ones. ME3 looks like a big bunch of variabels right now. Focus: good gameplay, believable technology, involving story, characters and dialogue, cinematic feeling of the game as a whole; continuity. What you won't find: hudreds of pages of statistics.

Final Fantasy series: it's hard to say anything solid about ALL of these games; let's just say they share a certain "feeling" to them. Some have awesome story (FF7, FF10), others rely on gameplay more (FF8 - the story was really rather poor). There's fantasy worlds, sci-fi worlds, steampunk worlds, everything. They're worth a try for sure.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
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#4 User is offline   drinksinbars 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 03:53 PM

i love the story in ff8 for the big impact moments. the main gripe with it is that squall is a douche bag for most of the story and the ending makes less sense than i do at the end of a drinking session. if last remnant had the same battle system but a decent story / voice acting it would be one of the best jrpgs of all time. as it is its just awesome :o

cant believe i forgot about oblivion...
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#5 User is offline   caladanbrood 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 04:06 PM

As I've said before, Lost Odyssey is a brilliant game. Frustrating at times, but very very good :o
O xein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti têde; keimetha tois keinon rhémasi peithomenoi.
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#6 User is offline   Gothos 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 04:09 PM

View Postdrinksinbars, on 01 March 2010 - 03:53 PM, said:

i love the story in ff8 for the big impact moments. the main gripe with it is that squall is a douche bag for most of the story and the ending makes less sense than i do at the end of a drinking session. if last remnant had the same battle system but a decent story / voice acting it would be one of the best jrpgs of all time. as it is its just awesome :o

cant believe i forgot about oblivion...


I have one word for you that ruins everything, though.




Rinoa.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
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#7 User is offline   Illuyankas 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 05:34 PM

View PostGothos, on 01 March 2010 - 04:09 PM, said:

View Postdrinksinbars, on 01 March 2010 - 03:53 PM, said:

i love the story in ff8 for the big impact moments. the main gripe with it is that squall is a douche bag for most of the story and the ending makes less sense than i do at the end of a drinking session. if last remnant had the same battle system but a decent story / voice acting it would be one of the best jrpgs of all time. as it is its just awesome :o

cant believe i forgot about oblivion...


I have one word for you that ruins everything, though.




Rinoa.

I have some more but I'll settle for these two:



Draw system.
Hello, soldiers, look at your mage, now back to me, now back at your mage, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped being an unascended mortal and switched to Sole Spice, he could smell like he’s me. Look down, back up, where are you? You’re in a warren with the High Mage your cadre mage could smell like. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s an acorn with two gates to that realm you love. Look again, the acorn is now otataral. Anything is possible when your mage smells like Sole Spice and not a Bole brother. I’m on a quorl.
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#8 User is offline   General King 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 07:05 PM

the draw system was crap
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#9 User is offline   Gothos 

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Posted 01 March 2010 - 07:55 PM

Let's elaborate:
The draw and junction system was crap because if you knew how it worked and were willing to put a bit of extra effort into grabbing some spells early in the game, the difficulty vanished. Last playthrough, fighting against Odin, I was lucky I missed two or three triggers on Squall's first Renzokuken, else it'd oneshot him. Took down Tonberries in one Renzokuken. Tonberry King down in three Renzokukens. And all this without Lionheart.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
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#10 User is offline   Cause 

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Posted 02 March 2010 - 07:39 AM

People please. I left out final fantasy because I consider it an obvious choice. I cant wait for FF13. Should be out in two weeks or less. Im ofcourse familiar with diablo 2 the greatest game of the nineties but if you think Diablo 1 is any good especially today your kidding yourself. Oblivion will be picked up at some point.

I have heard of baldurs gate but dont know much. But again is it not over ten years old?
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#11 User is offline   Gothos 

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Posted 02 March 2010 - 08:18 AM

Well that's why I mentioned superior gameplay. If I could do magic, I'd merge Diablo 1's dungeon setting, color palette, musical theme, quests etc with Diablo 2's gameplay, at least the engine. It's something of a horror game, really. The Catacombs, especially.
It did rock back then though. I think I went through the demo's single dungeon level between 400 and 600 times.


anyway, I did forget quite a few that are worth mentioning.

Dungeon Siege series: IMO, the only hack'n'slash games that got even CLOSE to Diablo 2's playability. Very interesting character development system (learning through doing), an interesting world, it's a rather seamless experience with interesting combat, diverse enemies and... and... damn, the games got balls, is all.
Dragon Age: Origins: (doh... see other thread)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: some of the best RPGs released on the PC, IMO, these come close to putting the original trilogy to shame. Great story, gameplay, characters (though some of them are annoying - STOP GOD DAMN WHINING, CARTH!) and all set several thousand years before the movies. These two are a must-play for anyone that even slightly liked Star Wars. Even if the sequel has some real problems with actually being finished, due to executive meddling.
Neverwinter Nights series: how could I forget! Being responsible for bringing D&D3 and later D&D3.5 to the masses (like me), it's a great take on Forgotten Realms. Gameplay is really good, but the real strength of the first game lies in it's flexibility. There's tonnes of mods, dedicated servers and the like. The second game brought everything the original had up to eleven - I'd say it's better in every single aspect. Anyway, for a fantasy geek, NWN, and especially NWN2, are a must-play.




Lionheart: uhhhh... no. Just don't. It sucks. It sucks donkey cock. Don't even touch the screen when it's name is on it.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
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#12 User is offline   lord of tragedy 

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Posted 02 March 2010 - 01:07 PM

lost oddysee was shite. pretentious drivel. blue dragon is a solid old fashioned jrpg.
the list is a pathetic endictment of a terribly stale genre.
sitting down here in the campfire light, waiting on the ghost of tom joad.
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#13 User is offline   Morgoth 

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Posted 02 March 2010 - 02:56 PM

Fallout (all three really) and Arcanum should be mentioned here.
Take good care to keep relations civil
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#14 User is offline   Cause 

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Posted 02 March 2010 - 08:29 PM

Dungeon siege and arcanum deserve to burn in the pits of hell.
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#15 User is offline   Gothos 

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Posted 02 March 2010 - 11:41 PM

View PostCause, on 02 March 2010 - 08:29 PM, said:

Dungeon siege and arcanum deserve to burn in the pits of hell.


die in a fire!
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
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#16 User is offline   Morgoth 

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Posted 03 March 2010 - 01:09 AM

what Gothos said. This blasphemy will not stand
Take good care to keep relations civil
It's decent in the first of gentlemen
To speak friendly, Even to the devil
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#17 User is offline   Adjutant Stormy~ 

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Posted 03 March 2010 - 06:38 AM

Negative- Dungeon Siege is the worst RPG I have ever played. Ever.

There was no dynamic. Having healers was pointless. There was almost no reason to have ranged attackers at all. The game penalized you for having too many characters in the early game (since you got less experience), and that annoyed the shit out of me. The story was meh, the attempt at online play was kinda insultingly bad, and to top it all off - they even managed to put out a sequel (which I have not played).

There is one shining light, however, in this gaping anus of a game. The greatest line in any game ever, in the very beginning!
I'm paraphrasing here,
"Damn fool krug! The set the bridge on fire and the sent the wagons over while it was still aburnin'!"
<!--quoteo(post=462161:date=Nov 1 2008, 06:13 PM:name=Aptorian)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Aptorian @ Nov 1 2008, 06:13 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=462161"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->God damn. Mighty drunk. Must ... what is the english movement movement movement for drunk... with out you seemimg drunk?

bla bla bla

Peopleare harrasing me... grrrrrh.

Also people with big noses aren't jews, they're just french

EDIT: We has editted so mucj that5 we're not quite sure... also, leave britney alone.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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#18 User is offline   Shadow 

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Posted 03 March 2010 - 06:56 AM

This is going to totally give away my alt to anyone playing the current mafia game, but Morrowind has memorable characters and decent storylines (not the main one, but it was still better than Oblivion).

I agree with Arcanum, but don't really like Dungeon Siege - got into it heaps until about halfway through when I just went 'meh' and left it.

Fallout, yeah, all 3 of them. The latest one is best for action, and graphics, but lacks in the other departments by comparison (GOGO Bethesda over-simplifying-prettifying machine!).

Planescape Torment was the win. It is getting dated now, unless you're hardcore enough to put aside the graphics.

Uhm...Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines for a semi-alternative title. The bugs are mostly fixed now due to community patches...honest! And the gameplay is pretty sweet with some great roelplaying potential. Just don't expect a lot from the animations. :veryangry:

Er....think the rest have been pretty much covered. *crawls back into his mafia hole*

#19 User is offline   MTS 

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Posted 03 March 2010 - 07:20 AM

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Jade Empire. That's a brilliant game.

This post has been edited by MTS: 03 March 2010 - 07:21 AM

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#20 User is offline   Cause 

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Posted 03 March 2010 - 10:19 PM

Dungeon siege to me was a game that all but played itself. Your character autamatically attacked anything that attacked him. If told to attack he ould keep attacking untill all before him were lifeless. Not to mention that between yourself and your 7 companions ever fight was a breeze. I also recall it was damn short compared to say Diablo 2 which it was directly compared with and meant to be better than. Yes I was struck by the amazing graphics but that was it.

What was the opinion about too human?
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