The role-playing paradigm in the post-Oblivion era

[Lumpy]

Almost 5 years ago, Oblivion was released. A fairer time. Back then, the Codex was united in its hatred of Oblivion, and the classic games were unanimously liked - any divergencies were minor.
Later on, things were different. Pretty much every RPG released has tended to polarize the Codex - mindless fanboys, mindless haters, and mindless nazis who didn't even play RPGs.

Now, we find ourselves at a time when there is nothing new on the horizon (ME3 and DA2 don't count as "new"). So it's an ideal time to look back upon these 5 years. Recount which games we liked, and which games we didn't.

 

[Freelance Henchman]

Alpha Protocol was really good.

 

[racofer]

Alpha Protocol was really good, while Mass Effect was total banal, shit, boring popamole uninspired crap from none else than Biocrapware OLLOLOOLLOLOOL

There, FH. I'm instructing you on how to post on Obshidex.net so that you don't get tagged as a dumbfuck.

 

[Volrath]

FULL RETARD AHEAD

 

[SimpleComplexity]

bring it on bitches!

 

[Azrael the cat]

I'm with FH - I enjoyed Alpha Protocol, and thought it offered excellent C+C and some decent action-rpg. I've heard all the arguments as to why it supposed to be crap (conflicting for the most part - the general gaming audience thought it was much too hardcore, what with the inability to spam headshots with weapons that they hadn't put many skill-points in) and I still can't see why it had so much hate here. It's not the most amazing game of the past decade either - lack of dialogue skills hurt it, but as usual there seems to be 2-point grading system at work, where any game that isn't amongst the greatest few ever made is therefore shite. Most of the criticisms boil down to standards that the 'great' games could never meet, and certainly not the great hybrids like Deus Ex or SS2 (no, I don't think AP is in the same league as those two), and some folks seem to get outraged that anyone likes a game, to the point where they have to keep spamming the same views.

 

[racofer]

Dialog mini-game.

 

[mondblut]

Knights of the chalice is the game we liked.

 

[Lumpy]

Gothic 3 was an interesting game. The combat was generally shitty (though mildly fun at some points), the quests were boring, and there wasn't all that much environment interaction. However, it was maybe the first mainstream C&C sandbox-game - you had a huge, varied landscape, each area having its own factions, and you had complete freedom to choose sides (or not) in every location. The main quest itself was (at least apparently) composed of all the town quests you could do, and I don't think most were compulsory.
The game could've been a great foundation for a proper sandbox game.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Alpha Protocol was really good.

 

[Carlos' Bitch1]

Knights of the chalice is the game we liked.

 

[Luzur]

Knights of the chalice is the game we liked.

yes.

cant remember about Echalon though.

 

[Overweight Manatee]

Knights of the chalice is the game we liked.

Unplayable due to a shitty perspective.

Gothic 3 was an interesting game. The combat was generally shitty (though mildly fun at some points), the quests were boring, and there wasn't all that much environment interaction. However, it was maybe the first mainstream C&C sandbox-game - you had a huge, varied landscape, each area having its own factions, and you had complete freedom to choose sides (or not) in every location. The main quest itself was (at least apparently) composed of all the town quests you could do, and I don't think most were compulsory.
The game could've been a great foundation for a proper sandbox game.

Quite.

 

[Scream Phoenix]

FOnline's second open beta was best open beta.

 

[Morkar Left]

There are no traditional rpgs in the last 5 years I really enjoyed. Mostly because nearly no traditional rpgs were developed :/

RPG-hybrids that I enjoyed:
- New Vegas (comes very close to a real rpg, if you rely mostly on vats it plays similar to M&M6+)
- Mount & Blade (Warband)
- Gothic 3 with latest community patch and latest Questpaket
- Space Rangers 2
- Ascii Sector (close to a real rpg)

New Vegas is the game I enjoy the most from the list (15 h so far)
Didn´t play Risen and MotB is still waiting. SoZ isn´t bad but it really lacks content.

 

[SuicideBunny]

Mostly because nearly no traditional rpgs were developed :/

motb, soz, avernum 4+5+6, geneforge 3+4+5, eschalon 1+2, the dark spire, etrian odyssey 1+2+3, knights of the chalice (plenty others i forgot) isn't exactly what i would call "nearly no"

 

[mondblut]

Unplayable due to a shitty perspective.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Combat-oriented:
1. Knights of the Chalice
2. The Dark Spire
Getting buttraped in The Dark Spire right now. A great dungeon tower crawler. Can't wait to get to make my Warrior-Thief-Priest-Mage party into the Paladin-Ninja-Wizard-Druid one. Last time I played it I didn't get past the 3rd floor iirc.

Story-oriented:
MotB
Geneforge 4,5
New Vegas?

Probably others.

 

[Sceptic]

I still can't see why it had so much hate here.

Because it's an Obsidian game, duh?

I mean, the Codex is full of nothing but butthurt AP fanboys (I counted... 3 so far, I think?). Which is why you see nothing but posts bashing AP and talking about those mystical fanboys.

It's an interesting dichotomy.

 

[Chefe]

I didn't like any of them

 

[FeelTheRads]

Unplayable due to a shitty perspective.

Pretty much. KOTC perspective is superior to crap like overhead 3D or 3rd person like in NV which IS unplayable.

 

[ironyuri]

Unplayable due to a shitty perspective.

Pretty much. KOTC perspective is superior to crap like overhead 3D or 3rd person like in NV which IS unplayable.

So you can't play NV in first person then....?

 

[Joghurt]

Well I will pretty much agree that one of the only AAA titles in recent I've managed to enjoy (and still am because I haven't finished it) is NV.

On AP. I didn't find much C&C except for cosmetic ones where one NPC model is replaces another and has a different dialog. The quests themselves didn't change much and even the final boss fight was the same when I compared it to youtube videos - just a different boss, but the place is pretty much the same.

 

[bhlaab]

Alpha Protocol was really good.

Hold on.

Alpha Protocol was pretty good.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Also: Alpha Protocol had some interesting ideas but ended up being a directionless, confused mess. It was mediocre on the whole, but not quite shit. Look, I can consider something poor without screaming "SHIT SHIT RETARDS SHIT SHIT MORONS KILL YOURSELVES"!

Unplayable due to a shitty perspective.

Pretty much. KOTC perspective is superior to crap like overhead 3D or 3rd person like in NV which IS unplayable.

It's not a matter of it being primitive or whatever; I play a lot of Roguelikes, found Dark Sun aesthetically pleasing and am genuinely confused when people say X-Com's graphics were shit. I just can't stand a perspective that makes me feel like I'm about to gently topple over and subconsciously tilt my head for the rest of the day.

That said, I should probably try it and try to power past that, I'll probably stop noticing it quickly enough.