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Usually I don't appreciate real time RPGs, but...

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How about an RPG with a Commandos/Desperados/Robin Hood-like gameplay?

This is one of my favorite genres (if we can call this a genre by itself) and it's vastly underrated and forgotten among modern gamers (newsflash), which can be quite rage inducing if you're a fan like me. Those isometric/bird eye squad based stealth tactical games (how can something within a category like that be considered bad? :)) were as great as it can get, and I suspect this kind of style would serve as a great foundation to a cRPG. It wouldn't be turn based, which is sad, but it would be tactical and fun in its own way.

The game would be party based of course, and you would be able to choose and customize the entire party, with different classes and skills available. I think the idea is pretty self explanatory if you've played one of these games. There are so many variables and possibilities with a game like that, it's a pretty nice idea to toy around, and I think this would certainly be way better than most real time RPGs around.
 

JarlFrank

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Yeah, I really loved Commandos, Desperados and Robin Hood. Awesome games, beautiful 2D graphics, required some stealth tactics to go through, although Robin Hood and Desperados also had fun combat.
 

commie

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Evil Islands had missions where you had to watch for tracks on the ground to see the patterns of patrolling creatures and sneak past them ala Commandos. Of course you could try and fight, but you'd die unless you were a high enough level. The iso camera also added to the feeling of playing a mini Commandos style mission.
 

zool

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Yea, I've always loved those beautiful 2D maps. A shame there hasn't been more in the series. Now that I think about it, Spellbound also made Chicago 1930 in the same style although the gameplay was a little inferior. That was before Arcania and all that...

Anyway, love those games and would enjoy very much if they were a little bit more RPGish. Wouldn't be easy to turn the into full-blown RPGs though.
 

commie

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zool said:
Yea, I've always loved those beautiful 2D maps. A shame there hasn't been more in the series. Now that I think about it, Spellbound also made Chicago 1930 in the same style although the gameplay was a little inferior. That was before Arcania and all that...

Anyway, love those games and would enjoy very much if they were a little bit more RPGish. Wouldn't be easy to turn the into full-blown RPGs though.

Commandos 2 was the best in terms of difficulty, no shitty timed missions(Stalingrad sniper in C3..FUUUUUU!!!), had the best interface, lethal and non lethal ways of progressing through the game(I only killed the one guy that you had to in the main missions), multiple ways of doing stuff etc.

It shouldn't be too hard to make them a bit more RPG-like, give a few stats that you upgrade by doing side missions on a map that improve shooting or knocking out; depending on your lethal or non-lethal preference, allow you to carry more things etc. Maybe also make linked maps and NPC's that give you missions to do, some of which are contradictory or make you think: do you free a resistance member from an overrun safe house and risk the enemy putting more guards around the main quest mission area for the benefit of a stat increase or maybe you can instead blow something up elsewhere to draw the guards away?

Spellbound and Pyro should stop trying to do stuff they are shit at and go back to making Commandos style games. They may not be as 'sexy' or sell as much as the major genres, but since they are shit at RPG's or Total War style RTS(Imperial Glory) or FPS(Commandos SF),these attempts sell worse than their Commandos style games anyway!
 

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Maybe you guys will like the JA2 remake then.
 

commie

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Spellcaster said:
And wait, so this Chicago 1930 is also a Commandos clone? I thought it was completely different, like Syndicate or something.

I just torrented it. It is indeed like a Commandos/Desperados kind of game. I remember it didn't get great ratings at the time because of the ranged combat and repetitive nature, but fuck, in this day and age I'll take what I can get! Thanks zool for reminding me about this.


As for the best game in this category, I don't know... it may now be the best one, but I think Robin Hood is the one that reaches almost perfection. The interactivity with the environment is fantastic and the whole structure of the game, as well as the parts where you have the possibility to select the next mission, is pretty great.

Yeah RH was good. Not that many maps, but they were great and the little strategic layer where you raised money for the ransom and gained recruits by being noble and non-lethal was a neat addition. The sequels to Desperados while usually panned by those who mistook the unfortunate decision to add a clunky third person mode as meaning the game was some kind of action game, were also good but the addition of direct third person control was almost like a cheat mode and very difficult to force yourself to avoid using it when it allowed you to slaughter enemies with ease :P

I think a conversion to a full-blown RPG wouldn't be so hard. Take a standard fantasy setting for example. The thief class would be able to climb walls and walk around without making much noise, the wizard could cast magic at the people and the environment itself, like a fireball to put fire on a pile of straw to call attention of nearby enemies, and so on. The mechanics and gameplay style would be pretty similar to the Commandos clones, but in an RPG structure. I can clearly imagine, say, Arcanum working like that. Of course, many many things would have to be remade to adapt the gameplay, dungeons and etc to this scheme.

Good ideas. The typical rock/paper/scissors schematic would translate easily into fantasy archetypes.
 

zool

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You're welcome. And I just realized that I do have the Robin Hood CD lying somewhere, I'm gonna reinstall it a give it a try, haven't played it in a long time.
 

zool

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Not sure, I've only played the demo and that was a few years ago.

Enjoying a little replay of Robin Hood right now. Gotta love those beautiful maps.

37792192.jpg
 

commie

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Yeah the maps in RH, particularly the castles look fantastic. I would just fire up a map and admire the detail of the castles and all the stuff going on in them. So much soul has gone out of games with the shift to 3D.
 

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Spellcaster said:
Woah, the game has some really bad scores, but I just downloaded it too and apparently it's pretty good

zool, or anyone that has played this game more than 30 minutes, what can you tell us about it? Is that just another retarded journalists case or the game is actually crap?

Finished it once and it seriously sucks. The way I remember it, no such thing as interaction with environment ala Robin Hood. There are 3 or so character classes and the game kinda forces you to go guns blazing at parts. Oh and long time lurker first time poster. YAY! I'M A 2011 NEWFAG!
 

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Spellcaster said:
I think a conversion to a full-blown RPG wouldn't be so hard... The mechanics and gameplay style would be pretty similar to the Commandos clones

A glorified puzzle game can't become a "full-blown RPG" by any stretch of imagination, sorry.
 

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Ha!, I mentioned in a thread ages ago about game engines that the Commandos/Desperados engine would make for a great RPG.

Don't think it even garnered a response. Where were you guys then hah... HA? :smug:
 

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Spellbound, aren't they the makers of ArcaniA?

Looks great but for some reason I'm wary.
 

draconiak

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Frankly both Desperados and Robin Hood were great games. I always thought these Commandos-style/clone games had great potential. Too bad only a small number of games sprout out. Robin Hood had excellent premise but had too few maps. Desperados, on the other hand was quite a masterpiece. Unfortunately its sequels dumbed it down immensely by placing way too many loot drops and made everyone able to carry bodies, which completely killed the original tactical aspect of such games. I wouldn't say an RPG made with this system would be great but I always thought a Robin Hood-style game in a fantasy RPG setting would be nice. Nothing much stat-heavy like an RPG, rather like the stats in Robin Hood/Chicago.
 

commie

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Ismaul said:
Spellbound, aren't they the makers of ArcaniA?

Looks great but for some reason I'm wary.

Don't be wary. Commandos style puzzle action are what Spellbound are good at.

Just like Pyro who should have stuck with making more Commandos style games as they to suck at everything else.

As draconiak says, the sequels to Desperados were dumbed down, but they were still pretty good if you played them from the Commandos perspective and not the cheat third person view.
 

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Commandos 2 Destination paris mod 1.4 with quicksave hotfix is where it's at.
 

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Man, I just went and checked a few screenshots of Commandoes 2 to refresh my memory - it's been so long since I've played it. Now I remember, what a gorgeous looking game!

If there's a more beautifull, intricate, detailed 2D iso game ever made, then I've yet to come across it. Actually, Commandoes 3 is pretty fucking sweet looking too, though from memory, I don't think the game was quite as good as 2.
 

Lightknight

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Those isometric/bird eye squad based stealth tactical games
Whats tactical about a real-time game where you only control one man at a time, while the others have their brains shut off ? Even first Baldur had scripts to have party defend itself (which rarely worked, but thats beside the point). Commandos is a good game, but tactical it is not.
 

zool

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Ovg said:
Commandos 2 Destination paris mod 1.4 with quicksave hotfix is where it's at.

Haven't had a chance to try the mod yet. Is it good? The vanilla game was quite easy, so I'm looking for more challenge.
 

ElectricOtter

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Pirate Battles is a pretty fun squad based strategy/RPG with some original ideas, but individual battles are mostly chanced based and the turn system is confusing as fuck at first.
 

Ovg

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zool said:
Ovg said:
Commandos 2 Destination paris mod 1.4 with quicksave hotfix is where it's at.

Haven't had a chance to try the mod yet. Is it good? The vanilla game was quite easy, so I'm looking for more challenge.

It's absolutely delightful, especially on hard difficulty.

Missions have many more guards, patrols, all commandos (sp?) are useful and so on and so on.
 

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