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Review - posted by Elwro on Sun 13 March 2011, 19:27:43
Tags: DrakensangSince the dawn of humanity Man has wondered upon the nature of time. Is the experience of its passage indicative of a real process? Is it a form of Anschauung, constitutive of our everyday experience, but not per se a part of it? The RPG developers from Radon Labs attempted a metaphorical analysis of the subject in Drakensang 2: The River of Time, partly based on Cratylus and Heraclitus. Still, a long-standing tenet of RPG Codex has been that the passage of time does not apply to good games; they don't age. (Well, bad old games continue to be bad, too). That's why, even though the game is already a few years old, we bring you Jools' review of Drakensang: The Dark Eye.
Might & Magic VI: Review - Here there be monsters...
Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Tue 1 March 2011, 06:43:59
Tags: Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven; New World ComputingVarn reviews Might & Magic VI, one of those old game from the days when RPGs didn't allow you to respec at the sign of a tough battle:
I have been told by a townsperson whose name I cannot recall, that the Dark Magic master can be found in a small town called Sweetwater. What at first seemed an absurdly easy task for the power it would grant my party has quickly turned into a nightmare. Over the hill near Sweetwater are swarms of Titans and there is no other way in to the town. I cast the “fly” spell, nervously hover over the beasts while taking massive damage, and drop down to the ground to cross to the next zone. Once it loads, my party survives for about 3 seconds before being obliterated by the giants’ shock attacks. My last save was 3 hours ago and I think I’ve been playing for 6 hours straight, but I can’t be sure. The only indication is the slight ray of light coming through a crack between the blinds. Fighting off sleep, I reload, and try again.
What? Reloading in my RPG?
I have been told by a townsperson whose name I cannot recall, that the Dark Magic master can be found in a small town called Sweetwater. What at first seemed an absurdly easy task for the power it would grant my party has quickly turned into a nightmare. Over the hill near Sweetwater are swarms of Titans and there is no other way in to the town. I cast the “fly” spell, nervously hover over the beasts while taking massive damage, and drop down to the ground to cross to the next zone. Once it loads, my party survives for about 3 seconds before being obliterated by the giants’ shock attacks. My last save was 3 hours ago and I think I’ve been playing for 6 hours straight, but I can’t be sure. The only indication is the slight ray of light coming through a crack between the blinds. Fighting off sleep, I reload, and try again.
What? Reloading in my RPG?
There are 20 comments on Might & Magic VI: Review - Here there be monsters...
Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Thu 27 January 2011, 01:09:34
Tags: The Year in ReviewOnce again we look back at the year that was:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">If 2009 was the year stuff didn't happen, then 2010 is perhaps as good as it gets to the year stuff did happen. Sort-of. The year opened with a bang as BioWare released Mass Effect 2, the sequel to their previous space romance simulator Mass Effect. It was a design goal right from the start for you to be able to continue with your Mass Effect save games into Mass Effect 2. What remained to be seen was how BioWare would overcome the problem of finishing the first game with an awesome character capable of kicking ass and chewing space-gum - and yet still allow you to level-up your stats in the sequel. The answer of course, was an ingenious and revolutionary system that...
Until next year.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">If 2009 was the year stuff didn't happen, then 2010 is perhaps as good as it gets to the year stuff did happen. Sort-of. The year opened with a bang as BioWare released Mass Effect 2, the sequel to their previous space romance simulator Mass Effect. It was a design goal right from the start for you to be able to continue with your Mass Effect save games into Mass Effect 2. What remained to be seen was how BioWare would overcome the problem of finishing the first game with an awesome character capable of kicking ass and chewing space-gum - and yet still allow you to level-up your stats in the sequel. The answer of course, was an ingenious and revolutionary system that...
Until next year.
A History of RPGs – Event Horizon Software
Information - posted by JarlFrank on Thu 23 December 2010, 01:42:44
JarlFrank takes a nostalgic look at the early games created by Event Horizon Software, that is, the years before they became DreamForge Intertainment (that "I" is not a typo - God only knows why they picked that monicker):
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">While their earlier works were much more obscure than the EoB-style games they made later on, they were very interesting and, at the time, unique experiences that can be put into the same sub-genre as Diablo, but with much more depth than either Diablo or any of its clones would ever achieve. If they had continued to develop games in the style of Dusk, Summoning and VoD, maybe the sub-genre of the Action-RPG would look vastly different today, with more dialogues, non-linear stories and puzzles than Diablo’s simple kill-and-loot gameplay.
This is what happens when you change your company's name to some kind of popamole bullshit.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">While their earlier works were much more obscure than the EoB-style games they made later on, they were very interesting and, at the time, unique experiences that can be put into the same sub-genre as Diablo, but with much more depth than either Diablo or any of its clones would ever achieve. If they had continued to develop games in the style of Dusk, Summoning and VoD, maybe the sub-genre of the Action-RPG would look vastly different today, with more dialogues, non-linear stories and puzzles than Diablo’s simple kill-and-loot gameplay.
This is what happens when you change your company's name to some kind of popamole bullshit.
There are 22 comments on A History of RPGs – Event Horizon Software
TNO fellates Fallout: New Vegas
Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 5 December 2010, 02:03:14
Tags: Fallout: New Vegas; Obsidian EntertainmentFallout: New Vegas is an RPG made by the same company that brought you Alpha Turd, that slightly unpolished spy thing. Did they do better with Fallout: New Vegas? Find out as TNO reviews fellates New Vegas. I could say it's an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of one of the most important RPGs of the century but that'd just be lying. Nope, TNO pretty much just sticks to the fellatio with this one:
Fallout: New Vegas is one of the best RPGs of all time. A masterpiece, although not an unblemished one - the Obsidian trademarks of beta-as-release candidate, consolized interface and badly optimized graphics are there. But so is a cracking story, clever, intricate quest/C&C design, and the wasteland brought back to life in the same blackly jaunty way Fallout did. If you've been after a proper successor to Fallout, or simply something to redeem the genre after several years in the doldrums, look no further. Welcome back, MCA: all is forgiven.
Agree / Disagree? More importantly, what does this mean for Dungeon Siege 3?
Fallout: New Vegas is one of the best RPGs of all time. A masterpiece, although not an unblemished one - the Obsidian trademarks of beta-as-release candidate, consolized interface and badly optimized graphics are there. But so is a cracking story, clever, intricate quest/C&C design, and the wasteland brought back to life in the same blackly jaunty way Fallout did. If you've been after a proper successor to Fallout, or simply something to redeem the genre after several years in the doldrums, look no further. Welcome back, MCA: all is forgiven.
Agree / Disagree? More importantly, what does this mean for Dungeon Siege 3?
Codex 2010 Short Story Winners
Competition - posted by DarkUnderlord on Sat 4 December 2010, 11:29:21
<span class="postbody">Well, it's time we announced the winners for The 2010 Codex Top 5 RPGs Short Story Contest. From all the stunning entries we received (of which you may inflict the pain of reading them upon yourself by turning here), the judges spent some considerable time in deliberation and, after much debate, have chosen the following winners:
Notable mentions but ultimately deemed unworthy were:
</span>
</span>
- [Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines]: grotsnik made two entries and wins a prize, not for his follow-up "serious" entry, but for his original Dracula inspired series of letters. At one point we were happy to give him all 5 copies and declare him the out-right winner. But then we didn't.
- [Fallout]: treave took the rape and torture theme others had tried and ran with it, creating wonderful subtexts that will score him a game.
- [Fallout 2]: In what was deemed a surprise entry, Commie actually wrote something pretty good. It's a story about a man who's entire world is reduced to 'a thumb and a forefinger' and it wins him a prize.
- [Planescape: Torment]: flabbyjack for making a simple tale that seemed like a good start, disappointing only in that it didn't go further.
- [Arcanum]: Kaanyrvhok - who needs a lesson in the definition of "we said short, mother-fucker" - wins because anyone who can talk about a character called "Huggy" engaging "in a sort of masterbatorious foreplay" deserves a prize... even if it was all a bit tl;dr.
Notable mentions but ultimately deemed unworthy were:
</span>
- <span class="postbody">Zed's graphic rape story that might've worked better if it had pictures. </span>
- <span class="postbody">zelda64whatagreatgame for his tale of a new 'artistic' approach to a store. </span>
- <span class="postbody">Callaxes', who tried to grab our attention, did so mildly successfully at one point but then didn't go anywhere with it. Also "burrowing" ladders lulz.</span>
</span>
Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Saga Interview
Interview - posted by VentilatorOfDoom on Tue 30 November 2010, 23:05:54
Tags: Divinity II; Larian StudiosSwen Vincke of Larian Studios took some time to answer our probing questions about Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Saga and future Larian titles.
<blockquote>Another rather nifty idea in Divinity 2 was the mindreading. In my opinion the *thank god no one knows the location of mah trezure*-kind of application was a bit overused and in FoV it was a bit too expensive XP cost-wise but it was a nifty mechanic nontheless and enabled some nice unique quest solutions. Can we expect to see this or a similar mechanic in future games or was it an one time thing for Divinity 2 only?
I’m glad that one received so much positive attention. It was quite a lot of development work to put it in there, and I’m pretty sure many people in QA wished it wasn’t there. I remember when introducing it, the team looked at me as if I’d been taking drugs. Already they were overloaded with work to get all of the content in, and here was this madman telling them that every single dialog should get a mindread path because of this new cool skill. Considering the amount of dialogues in the game, that really added a lot of work to their plate, so you can understand that on occasion they took a shortcut, but there really are some very cool mindreads in there. And yes, we’re thinking of similar ”small” things when it comes to our next RPGs.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Another rather nifty idea in Divinity 2 was the mindreading. In my opinion the *thank god no one knows the location of mah trezure*-kind of application was a bit overused and in FoV it was a bit too expensive XP cost-wise but it was a nifty mechanic nontheless and enabled some nice unique quest solutions. Can we expect to see this or a similar mechanic in future games or was it an one time thing for Divinity 2 only?
I’m glad that one received so much positive attention. It was quite a lot of development work to put it in there, and I’m pretty sure many people in QA wished it wasn’t there. I remember when introducing it, the team looked at me as if I’d been taking drugs. Already they were overloaded with work to get all of the content in, and here was this madman telling them that every single dialog should get a mindread path because of this new cool skill. Considering the amount of dialogues in the game, that really added a lot of work to their plate, so you can understand that on occasion they took a shortcut, but there really are some very cool mindreads in there. And yes, we’re thinking of similar ”small” things when it comes to our next RPGs.</blockquote>
There are 38 comments on Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Saga Interview
Forgotten Gems: A look back at Ultima V
Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Wed 17 November 2010, 15:33:10
Tags: Ultima V: Warriors of DestinyFor those of you who don't know BLOBERT, he's a pretty cool BRO isn't afraid of anything. He also writes in ALL CAPS a lot. He also likes RPGs and in our ongoing serious of Forgotten Gems, takes a look back at Ultima V:
<img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.rpgcodex.net/images/screenshots/ultima_v/53368424.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480" />
It only gets better from there.
<img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.rpgcodex.net/images/screenshots/ultima_v/53368424.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480" />
It only gets better from there.
There are 58 comments on Forgotten Gems: A look back at Ultima V
Arcania: Gothic 4 – Theatre of the Absurd
Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 24 October 2010, 05:23:21
Tags: Gothic 4: Arcania; JoWood Productions; SpellboundDarth Roxor tells us all how much he enjoyed Gothic: Arcanum IV - Spellbound's Magical Scrotum. In his review he talks about the game' deep sense of immersion:
... improvements the game has made over Oblivion:
... the highly enjoyable role-playing aspects:
... and even the meaning behind the game's title itself, buried deep within the game's lore:
In the end he enjoyed it immensely and recommends you should all pick yourselves up a copy. 5 stars.
That's right. The whole game is, basically, a linear progression through a handful of extremely small and hideously closed areas. Each time you want to advance from one section to another, you have to do all main quest-related tasks to remove the obstacles that block your path. These obstacles often feel half-arsed and could have been easily omitted, but alas. For instance, to travel from the city of Stewark to the Valley of Blood (bonus points for the very original name), you have to obtain permission from the duke. Okay, fine. But the whole checkpoint leading to the valley is just a shoddy wooden gate with a trapdoor and one guard. Why exactly can't I just knock the guard out and proceed anyway? Just because. There's no sense in asking yourself 'why?' while playing this game. In the magical, mystical lands of Argaan, things rarely make sense. And it wouldn't be so glaringly bad if it happened only once, but no, it's abused all the time. Also, there are so many artificial barriers blocking you from going further that it's ridiculous. Every section is surrounded by an impenetrable mountain range and some auxiliary roads leading out that are always blocked. Another funny thing is, you also never return to the sections you've previously unlocked. Just forget about them and move on, citizen.
... improvements the game has made over Oblivion:
I know it often seems far-fetched to call something 'worse than Oblivion', but I think this game has done it.
... the highly enjoyable role-playing aspects:
Thanks to the 'interface elements', you can make this game 100% idiot-friendly. Minimap? Check. Quest compass? Check. Flashing weapon telling you when to click? Check. Roleplay activities? Che... wait, what are roleplaying activities? These, gentle readers, are all sorts of things that you can use to LARP the night away, as they don't influence the game in any way.
... and even the meaning behind the game's title itself, buried deep within the game's lore:
And I still have no idea as to why, exactly, it's called 'Arcania'...
In the end he enjoyed it immensely and recommends you should all pick yourselves up a copy. 5 stars.
There are 70 comments on Arcania: Gothic 4 – Theatre of the Absurd
Forgotten Gems: Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
Review - posted by VentilatorOfDoom on Sat 2 October 2010, 11:42:38
Tags: Strategic Simulations, Inc.Local powergamer and pun aficionado VentilatorOfDoom loaded up DOSBox for another run at SSI's Dark Sun: Shattered Lands.
Other than completing the main plot there are a couple of areas to explore, many of which will have a subplot or a few interesting sidequests to do. Contrary to the “escape the arena” solution, the violent approach isn’t always the best. Sometimes settling a conflict peacefully gains you the best rewards. Of course, being an AD&D game, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands has no skills, as diplomacy and the like, so instead of skill checks in dialogues it’s generally up to you which course of action you choose when talking to NPCs. It’s most likely wise to be not overly hostile; sometimes you might find unexpected allies against the Drajian army.
Read on for the full review...
Other than completing the main plot there are a couple of areas to explore, many of which will have a subplot or a few interesting sidequests to do. Contrary to the “escape the arena” solution, the violent approach isn’t always the best. Sometimes settling a conflict peacefully gains you the best rewards. Of course, being an AD&D game, Dark Sun: Shattered Lands has no skills, as diplomacy and the like, so instead of skill checks in dialogues it’s generally up to you which course of action you choose when talking to NPCs. It’s most likely wise to be not overly hostile; sometimes you might find unexpected allies against the Drajian army.
Read on for the full review...
There are 48 comments on Forgotten Gems: Dark Sun: Shattered Lands
Knights of the Chalice – A Heroic Fantasy Adventure
Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 5 September 2010, 03:54:27
Tags: Heroic Fantasy Games; Knights of the ChaliceDarth Roxor takes a look at Knights of the Chalice, that turn-based indie D&D game which has been known to rape the less experienced:
But is the game fun? Read the rest to find out.
Next thing that deserves mentioning is the enemy AI, as it really is top notch. It adapts to your party tactics and line-up well, effectively uses spell combinations and abilities. For example, is everyone in your party engulfed in web? You’re bound to have a fireball going your way to achieve extra fire damage. Some of your party members are protected by death ward? Archers with slaying arrows will be less likely to target them. It’s also common for pretty much your whole party to be completely disabled, due to good choosing of priorities and abilities among the enemy. The knight? Grappled and pinned by a giant. Wizard? Counterspelled. Cleric? Three archers are ready against his casting of spells. Second knight? Charmed. Have fun, you’re doomed.
But is the game fun? Read the rest to find out.
There are 56 comments on Knights of the Chalice – A Heroic Fantasy Adventure
Review - posted by Elwro on Wed 18 August 2010, 10:10:28
Tags: Basilisk Games; Eschalon: Book IIWhile travelling through the world of Eschalon: Book II, Elwro learned the hard way that if you love a puppy, you must let it go and not sell its pelt to unscrupulous shopkeepers.
There are a few well done locations (Port Kuudad has its fair share of secrets) and quests. For example, to cut a long story short, a dwarf asks you to steal a puppy from a big wolf. You are told to bring exactly one puppy and leave the rest in the den. You will be tempted to take more than one, because they are valuable and you could certainly use the cash. You are told that something bad will happen if you take more than one puppy... and let me just tell you that it does happen. You have to weigh this consequence against your heavier purse. A real choice, a good quest.
Read on for his full review.
There are a few well done locations (Port Kuudad has its fair share of secrets) and quests. For example, to cut a long story short, a dwarf asks you to steal a puppy from a big wolf. You are told to bring exactly one puppy and leave the rest in the den. You will be tempted to take more than one, because they are valuable and you could certainly use the cash. You are told that something bad will happen if you take more than one puppy... and let me just tell you that it does happen. You have to weigh this consequence against your heavier purse. A real choice, a good quest.
Outcast - a genre bending masterpiece
Codex Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 19 July 2010, 09:13:03
Tags: Appeal; OutcastTNO got bored of all the New Shit™ and decided to take a quick look at some Good Old Shit™ by reviewing Outcast. Outcast is more a puzzle-adventure-type-thing than an RPG-type-thing but here's a bit:
If the game sounds mildly interesting, you can pick it up from GOG these days. /Shameless plug
The dialogue is broadly good, and is also broadly well acted. The music is utterly sensational: well composed, well motifed, and well performed by the Moscow orchestra and chorus. Three examples although I really could have taken any of the tracks: 1 2 3. Also the incidental sounds (especially the beast calls) make the world of Outcast come alive.
Helping this is the careful scripting of the NPCs. Talanzaar, the bazaar-esque trading hub of Adelpha is a case in point. Dozens of NPCs carry loads, move to and from each other, go on set 'rounds' or patrols, go to their workshops to craft items for you and generally, well, make it look like the bustling bazaar. It simply beggars belief why games almost ten years later still can't do something similarly convincing. Similar sentiments apply to the fauna too.
Helping this is the careful scripting of the NPCs. Talanzaar, the bazaar-esque trading hub of Adelpha is a case in point. Dozens of NPCs carry loads, move to and from each other, go on set 'rounds' or patrols, go to their workshops to craft items for you and generally, well, make it look like the bustling bazaar. It simply beggars belief why games almost ten years later still can't do something similarly convincing. Similar sentiments apply to the fauna too.
If the game sounds mildly interesting, you can pick it up from GOG these days. /Shameless plug
There are 33 comments on Outcast - a genre bending masterpiece
Annie Mitsoda's (nee Carlson's) Zombie Baby
Interview - posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 12 July 2010, 15:56:04
Tags: Annie VanderMeer; DoubleBear Productions<p style="text-align: left;">Annie Carlson, formerly of Obsidian Entertainment and currently of DoubleBear Productions, took some time out of her busy two-job schedule to answer us some questions. She speaks of DoubleBear, babies, Zombies:
<p style="text-align: left;">
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">Can't go into details about our stage of development, but that focus question is a good one so I'ma address that. Functionally speaking, I'm going to say we have to get the combat working on a solid model, because it's tied into a lot of basic character creation skills. Also it's a common adage among designers that "if the combat sucks, your game is fucked," so we want to get the basics of that working well before we get the survival/management aspects ironed out. I'd say they're of equal importance, but perfecting the functionality of the combat I think is a little higher priority, but also easier to do at the early stages and will require fundamentally less polish and tweaking than the management aspects will.
<p style="text-align: left;">
<p style="text-align: left;">... and turds:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I recall being fantastically pissed-off at <span style="font-style: italic;">Dark Cloud</span> - not only because at the time I had no money for games and my computer would play basically nothing at all, but because you could get trapped in an attack combo that could break your weapon right in the middle of it. Since you didn't really gain levels but your weapon did, that meant you were suddenly fucked. Also you had to eat and drink, which was implemented particularly shittily. It's not that I can't handle food in an RPG, it was just really terrible in that game. It was poo topping on a crap sundae.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">
Read the rest here.
<p style="text-align: left;">
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;">Can't go into details about our stage of development, but that focus question is a good one so I'ma address that. Functionally speaking, I'm going to say we have to get the combat working on a solid model, because it's tied into a lot of basic character creation skills. Also it's a common adage among designers that "if the combat sucks, your game is fucked," so we want to get the basics of that working well before we get the survival/management aspects ironed out. I'd say they're of equal importance, but perfecting the functionality of the combat I think is a little higher priority, but also easier to do at the early stages and will require fundamentally less polish and tweaking than the management aspects will.
<p style="text-align: left;">
<p style="text-align: left;">... and turds:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I recall being fantastically pissed-off at <span style="font-style: italic;">Dark Cloud</span> - not only because at the time I had no money for games and my computer would play basically nothing at all, but because you could get trapped in an attack combo that could break your weapon right in the middle of it. Since you didn't really gain levels but your weapon did, that meant you were suddenly fucked. Also you had to eat and drink, which was implemented particularly shittily. It's not that I can't handle food in an RPG, it was just really terrible in that game. It was poo topping on a crap sundae.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">
Read the rest here.
There are 58 comments on Annie Mitsoda's (nee Carlson's) Zombie Baby
Avadon: The Black Fortress Interview
Interview - posted by Jason on Sun 13 June 2010, 08:47:48
Tags: Avadon: The Black Fortress; Jeff Vogel; Spiderweb Software<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now that the details for Avadon: The Black Fortess are out and about, we thought it time to pin down Jeff Vogel for another round of questioning.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Any future plans not related to Avadon?
Quite a few. We’re looking hard at the future, figuring out if we have a place in it. In the near future, will will be releasing new, highly upgraded versions of the first Avernum trilogy. They are about a decade old and really showing their age.
We are also looking hard at other platforms. Specifically the little ones that you carry around everywhere.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Now that the details for Avadon: The Black Fortess are out and about, we thought it time to pin down Jeff Vogel for another round of questioning.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Any future plans not related to Avadon?
Quite a few. We’re looking hard at the future, figuring out if we have a place in it. In the near future, will will be releasing new, highly upgraded versions of the first Avernum trilogy. They are about a decade old and really showing their age.
We are also looking hard at other platforms. Specifically the little ones that you carry around everywhere.
There are 24 comments on Avadon: The Black Fortress Interview
Mass Effect 2: A Narratological Review
Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Fri 11 June 2010, 04:47:57
Tags: Mass Effect 2TNO follows up from his earlier escapades of looking at the story side of things in Mass Effect by casting his eye to the aptly named sequel in: Mass Effect 2: A Narratological Review.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="postbody">The real problem is the titanic catastrophe of the plot itself. There are lots of little niggles with ME2 (“Why do I start looking like the terminator if I pick nasty options in dialogue?” “If the Collectors go through the O4 relay, why don’t people notice this/why not just blockade it or blow up the relay?&rdquo
but these are sufficiently minor that you assume some semi-plausible explanation can be fan-wanked in. The main plot of ME2 careens from the simply sloppy (reliance on plot coupons and McGuffins), to the irredeemably bad ‘oh-god-I-hope-this-gets-retconned’ stupid (the human Reaper). </span>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="postbody"> Jetting off half-way across the galaxy to lift emotional baggage for the party made them less a crack team of elite specialists and more an angst battalion. </span>
<span class="postbody">Fan-wanking commence! Your angst battalion has been attacked!
</span>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="postbody">The real problem is the titanic catastrophe of the plot itself. There are lots of little niggles with ME2 (“Why do I start looking like the terminator if I pick nasty options in dialogue?” “If the Collectors go through the O4 relay, why don’t people notice this/why not just blockade it or blow up the relay?&rdquo
but these are sufficiently minor that you assume some semi-plausible explanation can be fan-wanked in. The main plot of ME2 careens from the simply sloppy (reliance on plot coupons and McGuffins), to the irredeemably bad ‘oh-god-I-hope-this-gets-retconned’ stupid (the human Reaper). </span><p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="postbody"> Jetting off half-way across the galaxy to lift emotional baggage for the party made them less a crack team of elite specialists and more an angst battalion. </span>
<span class="postbody">Fan-wanking commence! Your angst battalion has been attacked!
</span>
There are 42 comments on Mass Effect 2: A Narratological Review
The #5 RPGs of the Decade (that we think you should play)
Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Tue 18 May 2010, 02:29:38
In a follow-up to our award winning, critically acclaimed RPG of the Decade - Developers' Choice article, we make our own picks for RPGs of the decade:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Gothic 2 was, in the eyes of most fans, the very best installment of the series. It had a reasonably-sized world (quite large, but not too large), every single encounter was hand-placed which led to perfect balancing, and it had the best NPC schedules since Ultima VII. The capital city of the game really felt alive, with NPCs going about their daily business, going to the pub in the evening and sleeping at night. Many quests had multiple solutions (there were at least three ways to enter the city, and the expansion added another one) which, sometimes, required you to use your brain.
We've included our personal picks, did some argy-bargy to pick a "top #5 that you should play", before finishing off with the Your Choice Awards. That's where we asked you to send in your pick for RPG of the decade. You didn't but we've included the responses of those who did. We also picked three random winners from that competition which without further ado are as follows:
So go on and read our conclusion to the 2000's in RPGs.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Gothic 2 was, in the eyes of most fans, the very best installment of the series. It had a reasonably-sized world (quite large, but not too large), every single encounter was hand-placed which led to perfect balancing, and it had the best NPC schedules since Ultima VII. The capital city of the game really felt alive, with NPCs going about their daily business, going to the pub in the evening and sleeping at night. Many quests had multiple solutions (there were at least three ways to enter the city, and the expansion added another one) which, sometimes, required you to use your brain.
We've included our personal picks, did some argy-bargy to pick a "top #5 that you should play", before finishing off with the Your Choice Awards. That's where we asked you to send in your pick for RPG of the decade. You didn't but we've included the responses of those who did. We also picked three random winners from that competition which without further ado are as follows:
- <span class="postbody">stony3k (Arcanum)</span>
- <span class="postbody">Ronald Abadi (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic)
</span> - <span class="postbody">Dandelion (Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines)
</span>
So go on and read our conclusion to the 2000's in RPGs.
There are 88 comments on The #5 RPGs of the Decade (that we think you should play)
RPG of the Decade - Developers' Choice
Information - posted by DarkUnderlord on Fri 16 April 2010, 06:02:24
It's been 10 long years of RPGs. In our RPG of the Decade - Developers' Choice we take a look back at the decade that's just been and go over some of the more notable events. We then asked a bunch of better-known developers in the RPG field what their RPG of the decade was:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I mentioned earlier that "choice and consequence" is a catch-cry here on the Codex. Well, choice and consequence is not an ingredient in a Bethesda game. In your typical Bethesda game, you get to role-play everyone. You get to make every choice, typically without any consequences.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">And by God does that make their games hugely successful.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="postbody">Tim Cain: There were so many good RPG’s released in the last decade that it is hard to choose the “RPG of the Decade”. I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t played some of them, and I only want to nominate a game that I have played. And that list is still large: Baldur’s Gate 2, Icewind Dale 2, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age (Bioware is on a roll in my list, you can see), Fable, Deus Ex, Fallout 3, Geneforge. So I am going with a game that captured my imagination and that I played for many many hours, and that I think about when designing my own games. And that game is… </span>
<span class="postbody">Read the rest to find out!</span>
<span class="postbody">We're also running a competition. Let us know what your RPG of the decade is and we'll give a random entrant a free GOG game of their choice. </span>Competition closes 30th April 2010.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I mentioned earlier that "choice and consequence" is a catch-cry here on the Codex. Well, choice and consequence is not an ingredient in a Bethesda game. In your typical Bethesda game, you get to role-play everyone. You get to make every choice, typically without any consequences.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">And by God does that make their games hugely successful.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="postbody">Tim Cain: There were so many good RPG’s released in the last decade that it is hard to choose the “RPG of the Decade”. I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t played some of them, and I only want to nominate a game that I have played. And that list is still large: Baldur’s Gate 2, Icewind Dale 2, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age (Bioware is on a roll in my list, you can see), Fable, Deus Ex, Fallout 3, Geneforge. So I am going with a game that captured my imagination and that I played for many many hours, and that I think about when designing my own games. And that game is… </span>
<span class="postbody">Read the rest to find out!</span>
<span class="postbody">We're also running a competition. Let us know what your RPG of the decade is and we'll give a random entrant a free GOG game of their choice. </span>Competition closes 30th April 2010.
There are 222 comments on RPG of the Decade - Developers' Choice
Interview with Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games
Interview - posted by Jason on Sun 11 April 2010, 04:40:31
We take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to bring you an interview with indie adventure game designer Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 30px;">The gameplay is much more dialogue oriented than the typical adventure game, as shown by Sierra and Lucas Arts, where you mostly collect and combine items. What made you decide to deviate from the traditional adventure formula and focus on dialogue instead of items?
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 30px;">
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 30px;">Even though Blackwell deals with ghosts, it’s very grounded in reality. And in a setting like that, it’s hard to justify the usual adventure game puzzles of using objects in obscure ways to solve arbitrary puzzles. In you’re in a fantasy game and you find a door that can only be opened by six mystical bagels, then fine. You can accept that. But when the setting is urban noir, it’s more difficult to suspend your disbelief. So instead I focused more on dialog-related puzzles and gameplay. I’ve always been a sucker for games like that.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } -->
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 30px;">The gameplay is much more dialogue oriented than the typical adventure game, as shown by Sierra and Lucas Arts, where you mostly collect and combine items. What made you decide to deviate from the traditional adventure formula and focus on dialogue instead of items?
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 30px;">
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 30px;">Even though Blackwell deals with ghosts, it’s very grounded in reality. And in a setting like that, it’s hard to justify the usual adventure game puzzles of using objects in obscure ways to solve arbitrary puzzles. In you’re in a fantasy game and you find a door that can only be opened by six mystical bagels, then fine. You can accept that. But when the setting is urban noir, it’s more difficult to suspend your disbelief. So instead I focused more on dialog-related puzzles and gameplay. I’ve always been a sucker for games like that.
There are 34 comments on Interview with Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games
Mass Effect: A Narratological Review
Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 5 April 2010, 09:11:26
Tags: Mass EffectTNO decided to take a look at Mass Effect but not from the usual game point of view, instead by taking an in-depth look at its story (He originally posted this in our forum but why just leave it there?). Here's what he came up with:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">These are good subversions, but they aren't pulled off properly. Humans are still 'special', and one of the endings of the game lets you put them wholly in charge. Whatever choice you make humans become the top dog, as all of the other species get mauled by the terminators. The reveal of the real big bad (the 'Reapers') does set them up as nasty villains ("slaughtering all life in the galaxy? peh. We've done that repeatedly for millions of years.") But no explanation is ever offered for why they bother doing this - Bioware hides behind alien inscrutability (you can't possibly understand, beyond your comprehension etc. etc.) Maybe sequels will satisfy this, but I don't hold my breath for this explanation being any good.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">One thing that deserves a rant are the SPECTREs (Special whatever and Tactical Reconassaince, or whatever the backronym was.) Another part of Bioware's formula is having a leet crew of kewl people who have absolute power to protect the established order by any means necessary (see the Grey Wardens). This trope is rammed into the game with barely any justification. Intelligence services? Sure. Black ops? Fine. But mankind has never done this 'special dudes who are cool and answer to no one' as the best way of doing these things. Why would wider alien community (of multiple species) agree to this sort of thing? What if one of them discovers a plot device of doom and goes crazy?
Crazy is good.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">These are good subversions, but they aren't pulled off properly. Humans are still 'special', and one of the endings of the game lets you put them wholly in charge. Whatever choice you make humans become the top dog, as all of the other species get mauled by the terminators. The reveal of the real big bad (the 'Reapers') does set them up as nasty villains ("slaughtering all life in the galaxy? peh. We've done that repeatedly for millions of years.") But no explanation is ever offered for why they bother doing this - Bioware hides behind alien inscrutability (you can't possibly understand, beyond your comprehension etc. etc.) Maybe sequels will satisfy this, but I don't hold my breath for this explanation being any good.
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">[...]
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">One thing that deserves a rant are the SPECTREs (Special whatever and Tactical Reconassaince, or whatever the backronym was.) Another part of Bioware's formula is having a leet crew of kewl people who have absolute power to protect the established order by any means necessary (see the Grey Wardens). This trope is rammed into the game with barely any justification. Intelligence services? Sure. Black ops? Fine. But mankind has never done this 'special dudes who are cool and answer to no one' as the best way of doing these things. Why would wider alien community (of multiple species) agree to this sort of thing? What if one of them discovers a plot device of doom and goes crazy?
Crazy is good.
There are 9 comments on Mass Effect: A Narratological Review
