How was Geneforge 4?

[Naked_Lunch]

Good? Bad? Ugly? Mediocre? Ye flask?

Anyone?

 

[Amasius]

More of the same, only better. Best Spiderweb game so far I'd say. (But I haven't played the Nethergate remake yet)

 

[Fodel]

Very good :D , but G2 is my favourite.

 

[Micmu]

Plain awesome. I can't decide which one is better, G1 or G4.
Combat system is a bit different (you need only one remaining AP for a melee/ranged strike), but you'll get used to it (it is better).
It is not as linear as G3 and not as weak in story as G2.

More of the same, only better. Best Spiderweb game so far I'd say. (But I haven't played the Nethergate remake yet)

Nethergate is awesome, too. It's like Avernum on stereoids - similar dungeon crawling, party-based, bigass open world (smaller than in AV3), yet with more narrative and role-playing options, like Geneforge.

 

[Sodomy]

Pretty much agreed with Fodel; it's the second best in the Geneforge series, with Geneforge 2 being the best.

 

[Trash]

Both the last avernum and geneforge are pretty cool. I dig the exploration part and the tons of fun encounters.

Though I'd love to see a new setting from mr Vogel, I understand that he has had quite some trouble keeping his business profitable. All in all, the games seem to get better again. But some fresh air would be very welcome. Guess I'll have to try nethergate.

 

[Mamon]

This indie games are UGLY. Sorry, but being 2d or indie is NOT an excuse for being ugly. On the contrary AoD and Eschalon actually look decent.

 

[MetalCraze]

what do you mean by UGLY?

 

[Mamon]

It looks ugly.

 

[MetalCraze]

Oblivion there ==========>

 

[Micmu]

Don't feed the trolls.

 

[Jasede]

...
Well, it does look fucking ugly. If a game is so ugly that you want to ram your skull into a pair of scissors then something is wrong.

I wouldn't even mind it if at least they improved! But no, they don't. The same shitty interface, the same cancerous sprites, every new game-

You can't expect sane people - or me - to even bother with a game that is so ugly that even mentioning its unholy name spreads a blight amongst the people.

I'd play it if it was text-only. Ugly graphics < no graphics.

 

[Micmu]

What's the problem then? Imagine his always the same tiles are like always the same ASCII characters. It works for me.

 

[Sisay]

It's a good game but sometimes I wonder if it gets so much praise just because Geneforge 3 sucked so bad. I'd say the original is the best, then 2. Geneforge 4 was still too much like Geneforge 3 for me. It has some good new stuff like sneaking and starting out as a rebel which was a nice set of pace. However, it's just too linear and only has two major factions with one being a bit hidden. G1&2 are more open ended and have more different ways to finish the game.

To anyone who hasn't played any games in the series, just start with the first one. It's easily the best.

 

[Lurkar]

If I remember correctly, he's stated he has one more Geneforge planned to end the storyline, and that it'll be pretty damn open ended to allow the player to decide how the whole Shaper nation or whatever turns out in the end.

That said, I dunno if I'd say it's the best, but it's very much up there with 1 and 2.

 

[POOPERSCOOPER]

From what I've seen GF4 was like 3 which was like 2 which was like 1. I only played one though.

 

[Azael]

The only likable faction from the first two games was still absent, although I suppose there's no place for the Awakened in a full conflict. The game was decisively better than the predecessor, but not as good as the original. Starting out as a rebel and being forced to use the geneforge right at the beginning was a nice touch, but didn't pay off enough in the end. The new faction was interesting, but didn't play enough of a part and in the end it literally came down to flipping a switch in order to decide your ending.

Oh, and combat is no different from the other games.

 

[Sodomy]

...
Well, it does look fucking ugly. If a game is so ugly that you want to ram your skull into a pair of scissors then something is wrong.

I wouldn't even mind it if at least they improved! But no, they don't. The same shitty interface, the same cancerous sprites, every new game-

You can't expect sane people - or me - to even bother with a game that is so ugly that even mentioning its unholy name spreads a blight amongst the people.

I'd play it if it was text-only. Ugly graphics < no graphics.

Actually, Geneforge 4 updated both the sprites and the interface.

Oh, and combat is no different from the other games.

Actually, yeah, it is, since you can attack and cast spells with only 1 AP left.

 

[Veracity]

I take it there's minimal point in paying attention to Nethergate: Warmed Over if you have the first one? The original wasn't bad, but it was a bit of a let-down how much it managed to take a really novel setting idea and still turn it into something of a formulaic series of dungeon crawls. Geneforge is the most interesting series, imo, though I've still played only the first two.

 

[Psilon]

There are a few changes, but nothing too major from a design perspective. Emperor Nero is still utterly overpowered if you manage to recruit him, for instance, and the hydra dungeon is still boring as hell.

As I understand it, the Nethergate remake was basically done in lieu of patching the original to be Vista/IntelMac-compatible. It's not intended to be anything significant; think of it more as a Nethergate port for BoA users who didn't play the original.

 

[Azael]

Actually, yeah, it is, since you can attack and cast spells with only 1 AP left.

True, that did change combat. It's not really a significant change though and attacking still ended your turn. Combat in Vogel's games are only really interesting for spell slingers since they at least have some degree of choice in combat. Melee combat is just about hitting the enemy with the same damn attack the whole time. The only difference is in what weapon you use.

 

[Sodomy]

Actually, yeah, it is, since you can attack and cast spells with only 1 AP left.

True, that did change combat. It's not really a significant change though and attacking still ended your turn. Combat in Vogel's games are only really interesting for spell slingers since they at least have some degree of choice in combat. Melee combat is just about hitting the enemy with the same damn attack the whole time. The only difference is in what weapon you use.

Attacking only ended your turn if after the attack you had less than 5 AP. With 5 more more AP (possible with quicksilver equipment or haste/mass energize), your turn would continue.

Not saying that combat was great by any stretch of the imagination (although I have yet to play any Geneforge game as a Guardian, as that seems like it would be hideously boring), but there have been tweaks made to it.

 

[overtenemy]

Have to disagree

On the topic of the endings merely being a flip of the switch, that's only true for the "base" endings. Each ending however, is HEAVILY modified depending on what you've done throughout the game, and I mean heavily.

SPOILERS BELOW!!!!



If you're a canister monkey and you get the shaper ending, for instance, the best you can do is wind up in a little retirement home (prison) for the rest of your life. That's assuming your Shaper standing is excellent, and Alwan/Miranda are alive. If you fail on either of those accounts, they simply execute you.

In my game, I was a canister monkey, who tried to "kick the habit," similar to Litalia, and eventually chose the moderation ending. But I had been helping the Shapers for most of the beginning of the game, so my rebel standing wasn't particularly awesome. The Drakons locked me up, but instead of getting released, they managed to quietly execute me because no one in the rebels really cared enough.

So yeah. The endings were pretty sweet if you ask me. :0

 

[Sodomy]

To be fair, though, there's no way that any of the Shaper loyalist endings will be as good as if you stay true to the rebellion, and the Trakovite endings are all rather bad (either life inprisonment or execution). This is pretty much a necessity (there's no way that a Shaper would fully accept someone touched by the Geneforge), but it does place a HUGE dependance on that one flip of the switch.

 

[Azael]

I really liked the Trakovite ending though, hope that's the one they go with as the official ending for the next game as either a Shaper or a Rebel ending would give either side too big an advantage. Haven't played through the game as a Shaper yet though, maybe I should give it a whirl. Even though I have my complaints, I still like the game, especially compared to 3 which was disappointing. Really don't care for the drakons, I'd much have preferred the series to go down the Goettsch/Barzahl route with corrupted Shapers as the main adversary.