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10 Best Written Video Games
- Thread starter KalosKagathos
- Start date
stuffed mickey
Novice
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2009
- Messages
- 8
Jasede said:
a) I don't, I was just guessing at what might have prompted such a harsh reaction to a game you seem to consider completely insignificant.
b) Did you even play it? Yes, time manipulation in some form has been used in several games but not at the same level. Things like using the past to change the present in the zelda's and bullet time in shooters are not comparable to braid at all, and going back in time to undo twitching mistakes is only a minor feature in that game. Blinx for xbox 180 apparently incorporated extremely basic puzzle solving through time manipulation, so you're right, but it sucked and it's still idiotic to claim that braid tries to be retro.
c) how many other 2D games use modern technology as well as braid?
ZbojLamignat said:
You can claim this if you interpret the sources in the right way (and do some deliberate trolling by quoting Nazi propaganda as sources)
But yeah, this list is utter derp and horrible and shit, just like 90% of all modern gaming journalism. This was totally unexpected after Fallout 3 winning the best writing of the year award. I don't really care anymore because it's so blatantly obvious that all of these "best ever" lists are just giant industry-cocksucking contests where gaming websites compete about who can blow the most developer cock while spewing the most nonsensical and counter-factual bullshit they can while still sounding believable to anyone who is either completely uninformed about games and knows next to nothing about the games mentioned in the article, or who is a modern consoletard and totally agrees with every single sentence written in the article even though he doesn't understand half of the words.
Redshirt #42
Augur
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2009
- Messages
- 341
Whoa, that list is almost decent.Volourn said:
sgc_meltdown
Arcane
- Joined
- May 8, 2003
- Messages
- 6,000
I.C. Wiener said:
I dunno man ninja gaiden 3's plot is pretty bad I mean david gaider can write way better than that
Begriffenfeldt
Educated
http://listverse.com/2011/05/09/10-worst-written-video-games/sgc_meltdown said:
spectre
Arcane
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2008
- Messages
- 5,419
Why so butthurt about a blog which sits right next to plebian shit like "Top 10 Things To Do When You Become Unemployed" or "The best OMG photos"?
You can even find one that lists Checkers and Dominoes among top 20 strategy games.
Although I am curious about the top position of desu sex, perchance related to human revolution marketing effort?
You can even find one that lists Checkers and Dominoes among top 20 strategy games.
Although I am curious about the top position of desu sex, perchance related to human revolution marketing effort?
stuffed mickey
Novice
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2009
- Messages
- 8
Topher said:
Rayman 2-kind of awesome? I'll admit that I only skimmed a review saying that time themed puzzles were few, very basic and very repetitive, so I concluded that this particular aspect of the game must have sucked. I'd give blinx a try though if I could find a torrent, because it does look fairly interesting "on the box".
Oesophagus
Arcane
I don't get what Shadow of the Colossus is doing there. It has an amazing art direction, but is the writing really that good?
The list isn't THAT bad, I mean at least the top three aren't Fallout 3/Oblivion/Dragon Age (in any order you like).
fuckin' decline is making me lower my standards again
The list isn't THAT bad, I mean at least the top three aren't Fallout 3/Oblivion/Dragon Age (in any order you like).
fuckin' decline is making me lower my standards again
mysterious-stranger
Educated
Ok, I'll bite, what the hell is Half Life doing at the top of the list despite having no NPC's with personality and zero plot?
mysterious-stranger said:
Because it's game where invisible woman wearing only latex...?
Because NPC dialogs like - “why do we all have to wear these ridiculous ties” or “do you know who ate all the donuts” are very answer to postmodern human condition? Because Nietzsche, I'm sure, would love Half-life? How about that!
DraQ
Arcane
Still beats oblivious. Even with one hand tied behind its back. And the other stuck in its anus.CorpseZeb said:
DraQ
Arcane
CorpseZeb said:DraQ said:Still beats oblivious. Even with one hand tied behind its back. And the other stuck in its anus.
Yeah... I never seen any trace of latex in Oblivion. Not mention about proper women...
If looks could kill...
Cloudy, purple shit is detect life effect.
Unfortunately it does a really lousy job obscuring the face that could sink a thousand ships(TM).
DraQ
Arcane
What's wrong, codex? Are those looks too striking for you?
kingcomrade
Kingcomrade
While normally I am not so quick to shit on lists just to let you know how more awesome my choices would've been, this list isn't just the best it's full of crap.
Braid? Seriously? The music was good, the game was great, the last level was a really cool idea. But the writing was just a text dump at the end of the game.
Oblivion is on the list, which is just sonic the hedgehog fanfiction. Shadow of the Colossus, while really great in a lot of all artsy ways, had barely any dialogue.
Half Life winning is just stupid, but seriously the big issue is:
Where the fuck is Planescape Torment? How can you make an article about writing in games and not include PST anywhere? How fucking bad? Also Fallout 2 is an honorable mention but not FO1.
Braid? Seriously? The music was good, the game was great, the last level was a really cool idea. But the writing was just a text dump at the end of the game.
Oblivion is on the list, which is just sonic the hedgehog fanfiction. Shadow of the Colossus, while really great in a lot of all artsy ways, had barely any dialogue.
Half Life winning is just stupid, but seriously the big issue is:
Where the fuck is Planescape Torment? How can you make an article about writing in games and not include PST anywhere? How fucking bad? Also Fallout 2 is an honorable mention but not FO1.
Tel Velothi
Cipher
http://listverse.com/2011/05/09/10-best ... deo-games/
Literally lol'd. Oblivion is such a great game.
Literally lol'd. Oblivion is such a great game.
sgc_meltdown
Arcane
- Joined
- May 8, 2003
- Messages
- 6,000
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/988968-drago ... iew-145912
STORY 9.25
The story of the first Dragon Age was based almost entirely on the world it took place in, not as much as your character you played as. The sequel negates this idea by making it take place almost entirely in one city, which is the city of Kirkwall, which makes it much more personal because you are more familiar with your environment and are not constantly moving around to different cities where things are constantly changing. I personally think that this is a great thing to do because it definitely feels like YOUR city, however I can see how some people may not like it because it definitely feels limiting, and it also makes the game lack a sense of diversity in the environments.
Another thing that makes this story much more personal is the inclusion of family, which does in fact play a huge role in the story. The beginning of the story deals with Hawke trying to get his family safe, and throughout the game, you will become a champion of Kirkwall, plus your family grows and changes just as the character of Hawke does, and their actions depend very much on what you do throughout.
The story brings in many decisions that will invoke emotion, and some decisions will make you truly stop and think about the consequences that may occur. The thing that makes it even more incredible is that even from your very early decisions, you will feel like your decisions have a very significant impact on the world. There will be times where something bad might have happened, and you could have done something earlier to stop it from happening, and it makes you actually think about it. It is very well done, especially since the overall story of the game lacks direction. It truly feels like your story; a story that you the player craft.
My personal story felt almost like a romance at parts because of a path I decided to take with a certain companion, and it amazed me at how the story shifted to allow that. It is even more amazing because I know somebody who played through the game without that companion at all, and in mine, that companion was almost integral to the story.
The story spans 10 years and is separated into three acts, each of which ends in a major event that will affect the city in a big way. The problem is, however, that there isn't really an overarching story that ties the three acts together. The only thing that really ties them together is the rank in the city that Hawke grows as time progresses, and there are times where you might feel like you don't remember why you are doing some of the things you are doing. It may get irritating at times, but it never affected me so much that I wanted to stop playing. Part of what helps that is the number and quality of awesome side quests.
There are four types of quests in the game. There is Main Plot quests, Secondary Quests, Companion Quests, and Side Quests. Main plot quests are the line of quests that will make you proceed through the story throughout the three acts. These quests usually bring an important plot point into your mind, however there are times where you may not be exactly sure how it affects the story. Rest assured, you will find out eventually, and when you do, you will be happy you did so. Next up is Secondary Quests, which is an interesting animal. Many of the Secondary Quests are simply “go there, do this, come back” quests, however every once in a while, there is a Secondary Quest that has a plot that is very intriguing, and you will want to see them through until the end.
Next up are Companion Quests, which are certainly the best side quests in the game, assuming that you interact with your companions. Each companion you have has their own unique back-story, and the many of the Companion Quests that you do involve that specific companion's back-story. Doing these quests not only gives you an interesting plot, each of which you will want to see through until the end, but they also further your relationship with that character, romantic or not. Last and certainly least are Side Quests, which essentially are quests in which there are things that you can find along the way, and if you find all of them, you can go back and claim a reward. It is definitely the weakest of the quests, so much so that I didn't complete a single Side Quest.
Speaking of companions, lets talk about the romances with companions. You will encounter a multitude of companions, each of which you have an opportunity to engage romantically with. Much to the game's credit, unlike the first game, some of the companions that you have the opportunity to have sex with in the game are characters that you would actually WANT to have sex with, regardless of the player's sexuality. I don't know how BioWare did it, but they managed to make each of these characters very interesting and compelling, and they also make you think before you act because there can be times where if you do something wrong, the companion can leave, sometimes for good.
One thing about the characters that I did not like, however, is that throughout the game, there will be a number of characters that you can choose to either save or let die. Being a “good” character (which I will get to later), I saved all that I came across. The problem, however, is that near the end of the game, there are parts where many of the characters you interacted with and saved come back, and you are almost expected to remember all of them and what you did for them. This is very frustrating to me because I didn't remember many of them, especially since there are characters in the game that look very similar, almost to the point that you cannot differentiate two different characters.
Overall, I thought the story was excellent. The characters in it are incredible, especially the ones that return from the first game (Enchantments anyone?). It may be very different than that of the first, but in a way, it had to be, because if it was just another “the end of the world is coming” story, players might have felt Deja vu and may not have seen it all the way through. With this, however, I wanted to see how the game would end, which is a huge credit to the game. Another credit to the game is that it stops you from playing either a completely good or a completely bad character as many RPGs nowadays allow you to do, even more so than the original Dragon Age. You may think you are doing a good thing, but it can easily turn into something bad, and there are consequences to everything. This is a great thing to see, as many times in games you choose the good dialog option because you want to be the good guy or vice versa for evil, but this game can preclude you from doing that very easily.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/187975-plane ... iew-126768
"A long-winded, frustrating version of Fallout 2."
Planescape: Torment is an RPG cult classic released by Black Isle Studios in 1999. It is one of the most open-ended games ever, as there are many possibilities when it comes to customizing your character and numerous quests. It has received numerous distinctions. Seeing it named in Top PC Games lists and made by the developers of Fallout, I decided to give it a shot.
The setting is based off a Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaign. If you have not played AD&D, then this game will be very hard to understand at first. There are a lot of references to it, from the main city to characters you come across. For example when you learn a spell you have to equip it then sleep to memorize it. It also uses Bioware's Infinity Engine used in games such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. Don't know what that is? Good, neither did I.
STORY: 3/10
The story begins with the protagonist, The Nameless One, awakened on a mortuary table by a floating skull named Morte, who you also control. Basically you are on a quest to figure out why The Nameless One cannot die. Throughout your adventure, you meet several diverse characters (there are 6 other possible NPCs) and pick up many other quests. The game has references to a lot of wide references, not just to AD&D, and unique languages. However I found the use of 17th-century English slang and uncreative names, like Ravel Puzzlewell, to be of no interest.
I found the story to go from interesting to uninspiring. The story isn't too bad at first, but the game continues with long-winded explanations of unnecessary background stories that are really hard to pay attention to. You discover a lot more about the protagonist as the game goes on. But halfway through the game I found myself skipping through the dialogue as fast as possible.
GAMEPLAY - This is where Planescape: Torment really fails. 2/10
Somewhere along the making of this game the developers of Planescape:Torment forgot that games are supposed to be fun, and a deep story is used to enhance that quality. The bulk of the game is spent in text. Massive amounts of text.
The majority of experience comes from text quests, not through battles. A lot of the quests involve running back and forth and engaging in conversations. The conversations are especially long-winded. Many times you will have to hit "Click for More" button because the whole dialogue won't show up in the window. I was able to follow the dialogue initially, but the sheer amount of unnecessary wordiness will break down anyone's attention span. The conversations depend on what you say. There isn't necessarily a right thing to say in every conversation, but a few important outcomes depend on certain dialogues. It isn't too hard to figure out the right thing to say, because they are usually the longer lines. You don't have to bother reading them.
Controls are good, but the map is very frustrating. You can't skip from one section of the town to another on the world map until the end of the game, and that only works if you run to the town exit. The map is supposed to be responsive, so if you click on a section of the map your characters will run there, but this rarely happens.
In terms of what makes this game open-ended, there is an alignment system in the game based on your character's actions. You can join factions and become a fighter, mage, priest, or thief. Your character can't die, but there are a few parts of the game where it will end if you fail to accomplish an event.
If people say you should save before talking and the majority of the game involves talking, then the game isn't very fun.
LOOKS AND SOUND 5/10
Nearly ten years after its release, there's really nothing to complain about in terms of graphics. The game does a nice job of using different colors.
The soundtrack, on the other hand, is a much different story. Especially the battle music. It's really annoying. I played my own music to combat it from tormenting my mind. A few important characters, such as the NPCs, have voices but you rarely hear them because the dialogue is so complicated. There are a few annoyingly voiced characters. The floating skull, Morte, can be entertaining.
REPLAYABILITY - 2/10
This game takes a healthy amount of time to complete, it took me a month but I didn't play every day and probably completed about half the quests. I really forced myself to complete this game because of its reputation. You can do a speed run in about 10 hours, but you will miss most of the quests. Judging by its popularity, if you like the game you will replay it. But I will never do so.
FINAL WORD - 3/10
If you are unfamiliar with the AD&D system or don't like massive amounts of text, then you should probably skip this title.
PROS
Good controls
Various ways to play
A lot of detail
CONS
A lot of backtracking
A lot of text
Annoying sound
Unlikeable characters
Uninspiring story
Unnecessarily long
Not much in terms of gameplay
Did I mention a lot of text?
STORY 9.25
The story of the first Dragon Age was based almost entirely on the world it took place in, not as much as your character you played as. The sequel negates this idea by making it take place almost entirely in one city, which is the city of Kirkwall, which makes it much more personal because you are more familiar with your environment and are not constantly moving around to different cities where things are constantly changing. I personally think that this is a great thing to do because it definitely feels like YOUR city, however I can see how some people may not like it because it definitely feels limiting, and it also makes the game lack a sense of diversity in the environments.
Another thing that makes this story much more personal is the inclusion of family, which does in fact play a huge role in the story. The beginning of the story deals with Hawke trying to get his family safe, and throughout the game, you will become a champion of Kirkwall, plus your family grows and changes just as the character of Hawke does, and their actions depend very much on what you do throughout.
The story brings in many decisions that will invoke emotion, and some decisions will make you truly stop and think about the consequences that may occur. The thing that makes it even more incredible is that even from your very early decisions, you will feel like your decisions have a very significant impact on the world. There will be times where something bad might have happened, and you could have done something earlier to stop it from happening, and it makes you actually think about it. It is very well done, especially since the overall story of the game lacks direction. It truly feels like your story; a story that you the player craft.
My personal story felt almost like a romance at parts because of a path I decided to take with a certain companion, and it amazed me at how the story shifted to allow that. It is even more amazing because I know somebody who played through the game without that companion at all, and in mine, that companion was almost integral to the story.
The story spans 10 years and is separated into three acts, each of which ends in a major event that will affect the city in a big way. The problem is, however, that there isn't really an overarching story that ties the three acts together. The only thing that really ties them together is the rank in the city that Hawke grows as time progresses, and there are times where you might feel like you don't remember why you are doing some of the things you are doing. It may get irritating at times, but it never affected me so much that I wanted to stop playing. Part of what helps that is the number and quality of awesome side quests.
There are four types of quests in the game. There is Main Plot quests, Secondary Quests, Companion Quests, and Side Quests. Main plot quests are the line of quests that will make you proceed through the story throughout the three acts. These quests usually bring an important plot point into your mind, however there are times where you may not be exactly sure how it affects the story. Rest assured, you will find out eventually, and when you do, you will be happy you did so. Next up is Secondary Quests, which is an interesting animal. Many of the Secondary Quests are simply “go there, do this, come back” quests, however every once in a while, there is a Secondary Quest that has a plot that is very intriguing, and you will want to see them through until the end.
Next up are Companion Quests, which are certainly the best side quests in the game, assuming that you interact with your companions. Each companion you have has their own unique back-story, and the many of the Companion Quests that you do involve that specific companion's back-story. Doing these quests not only gives you an interesting plot, each of which you will want to see through until the end, but they also further your relationship with that character, romantic or not. Last and certainly least are Side Quests, which essentially are quests in which there are things that you can find along the way, and if you find all of them, you can go back and claim a reward. It is definitely the weakest of the quests, so much so that I didn't complete a single Side Quest.
Speaking of companions, lets talk about the romances with companions. You will encounter a multitude of companions, each of which you have an opportunity to engage romantically with. Much to the game's credit, unlike the first game, some of the companions that you have the opportunity to have sex with in the game are characters that you would actually WANT to have sex with, regardless of the player's sexuality. I don't know how BioWare did it, but they managed to make each of these characters very interesting and compelling, and they also make you think before you act because there can be times where if you do something wrong, the companion can leave, sometimes for good.
One thing about the characters that I did not like, however, is that throughout the game, there will be a number of characters that you can choose to either save or let die. Being a “good” character (which I will get to later), I saved all that I came across. The problem, however, is that near the end of the game, there are parts where many of the characters you interacted with and saved come back, and you are almost expected to remember all of them and what you did for them. This is very frustrating to me because I didn't remember many of them, especially since there are characters in the game that look very similar, almost to the point that you cannot differentiate two different characters.
Overall, I thought the story was excellent. The characters in it are incredible, especially the ones that return from the first game (Enchantments anyone?). It may be very different than that of the first, but in a way, it had to be, because if it was just another “the end of the world is coming” story, players might have felt Deja vu and may not have seen it all the way through. With this, however, I wanted to see how the game would end, which is a huge credit to the game. Another credit to the game is that it stops you from playing either a completely good or a completely bad character as many RPGs nowadays allow you to do, even more so than the original Dragon Age. You may think you are doing a good thing, but it can easily turn into something bad, and there are consequences to everything. This is a great thing to see, as many times in games you choose the good dialog option because you want to be the good guy or vice versa for evil, but this game can preclude you from doing that very easily.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/187975-plane ... iew-126768
"A long-winded, frustrating version of Fallout 2."
Planescape: Torment is an RPG cult classic released by Black Isle Studios in 1999. It is one of the most open-ended games ever, as there are many possibilities when it comes to customizing your character and numerous quests. It has received numerous distinctions. Seeing it named in Top PC Games lists and made by the developers of Fallout, I decided to give it a shot.
The setting is based off a Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaign. If you have not played AD&D, then this game will be very hard to understand at first. There are a lot of references to it, from the main city to characters you come across. For example when you learn a spell you have to equip it then sleep to memorize it. It also uses Bioware's Infinity Engine used in games such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. Don't know what that is? Good, neither did I.
STORY: 3/10
The story begins with the protagonist, The Nameless One, awakened on a mortuary table by a floating skull named Morte, who you also control. Basically you are on a quest to figure out why The Nameless One cannot die. Throughout your adventure, you meet several diverse characters (there are 6 other possible NPCs) and pick up many other quests. The game has references to a lot of wide references, not just to AD&D, and unique languages. However I found the use of 17th-century English slang and uncreative names, like Ravel Puzzlewell, to be of no interest.
I found the story to go from interesting to uninspiring. The story isn't too bad at first, but the game continues with long-winded explanations of unnecessary background stories that are really hard to pay attention to. You discover a lot more about the protagonist as the game goes on. But halfway through the game I found myself skipping through the dialogue as fast as possible.
GAMEPLAY - This is where Planescape: Torment really fails. 2/10
Somewhere along the making of this game the developers of Planescape:Torment forgot that games are supposed to be fun, and a deep story is used to enhance that quality. The bulk of the game is spent in text. Massive amounts of text.
The majority of experience comes from text quests, not through battles. A lot of the quests involve running back and forth and engaging in conversations. The conversations are especially long-winded. Many times you will have to hit "Click for More" button because the whole dialogue won't show up in the window. I was able to follow the dialogue initially, but the sheer amount of unnecessary wordiness will break down anyone's attention span. The conversations depend on what you say. There isn't necessarily a right thing to say in every conversation, but a few important outcomes depend on certain dialogues. It isn't too hard to figure out the right thing to say, because they are usually the longer lines. You don't have to bother reading them.
Controls are good, but the map is very frustrating. You can't skip from one section of the town to another on the world map until the end of the game, and that only works if you run to the town exit. The map is supposed to be responsive, so if you click on a section of the map your characters will run there, but this rarely happens.
In terms of what makes this game open-ended, there is an alignment system in the game based on your character's actions. You can join factions and become a fighter, mage, priest, or thief. Your character can't die, but there are a few parts of the game where it will end if you fail to accomplish an event.
If people say you should save before talking and the majority of the game involves talking, then the game isn't very fun.
LOOKS AND SOUND 5/10
Nearly ten years after its release, there's really nothing to complain about in terms of graphics. The game does a nice job of using different colors.
The soundtrack, on the other hand, is a much different story. Especially the battle music. It's really annoying. I played my own music to combat it from tormenting my mind. A few important characters, such as the NPCs, have voices but you rarely hear them because the dialogue is so complicated. There are a few annoyingly voiced characters. The floating skull, Morte, can be entertaining.
REPLAYABILITY - 2/10
This game takes a healthy amount of time to complete, it took me a month but I didn't play every day and probably completed about half the quests. I really forced myself to complete this game because of its reputation. You can do a speed run in about 10 hours, but you will miss most of the quests. Judging by its popularity, if you like the game you will replay it. But I will never do so.
FINAL WORD - 3/10
If you are unfamiliar with the AD&D system or don't like massive amounts of text, then you should probably skip this title.
PROS
Good controls
Various ways to play
A lot of detail
CONS
A lot of backtracking
A lot of text
Annoying sound
Unlikeable characters
Uninspiring story
Unnecessarily long
Not much in terms of gameplay
Did I mention a lot of text?
Captain Shrek
Guest
sgc_meltdown said:
Quit wastin' my time dude. I almost started to read it.
DraQ
Arcane
sgc_meltdown said:http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/988968-dragon-age-ii/reviews/review-145912
STORY 9.25
The story of the first Dragon Age was based almost entirely on the world it took place in, not as much as your character you played as. The sequel negates this idea by making it take place almost entirely in one city, which is the city of Kirkwall, which makes it much more personal because you are more familiar with your environment and are not constantly moving around to different cities where things are constantly changing. I personally think that this is a great thing to do because it definitely feels like YOUR city, however I can see how some people may not like it because it definitely feels limiting, and it also makes the game lack a sense of diversity in the environments.
Another thing that makes this story much more personal is the inclusion of family, which does in fact play a huge role in the story. The beginning of the story deals with Hawke trying to get his family safe, and throughout the game, you will become a champion of Kirkwall, plus your family grows and changes just as the character of Hawke does, and their actions depend very much on what you do throughout.
The story brings in many decisions that will invoke emotion, and some decisions will make you truly stop and think about the consequences that may occur. The thing that makes it even more incredible is that even from your very early decisions, you will feel like your decisions have a very significant impact on the world. There will be times where something bad might have happened, and you could have done something earlier to stop it from happening, and it makes you actually think about it. It is very well done, especially since the overall story of the game lacks direction. It truly feels like your story; a story that you the player craft.
My personal story felt almost like a romance at parts because of a path I decided to take with a certain companion, and it amazed me at how the story shifted to allow that. It is even more amazing because I know somebody who played through the game without that companion at all, and in mine, that companion was almost integral to the story.
The story spans 10 years and is separated into three acts, each of which ends in a major event that will affect the city in a big way. The problem is, however, that there isn't really an overarching story that ties the three acts together. The only thing that really ties them together is the rank in the city that Hawke grows as time progresses, and there are times where you might feel like you don't remember why you are doing some of the things you are doing. It may get irritating at times, but it never affected me so much that I wanted to stop playing. Part of what helps that is the number and quality of awesome side quests.
There are four types of quests in the game. There is Main Plot quests, Secondary Quests, Companion Quests, and Side Quests. Main plot quests are the line of quests that will make you proceed through the story throughout the three acts. These quests usually bring an important plot point into your mind, however there are times where you may not be exactly sure how it affects the story. Rest assured, you will find out eventually, and when you do, you will be happy you did so. Next up is Secondary Quests, which is an interesting animal. Many of the Secondary Quests are simply “go there, do this, come back” quests, however every once in a while, there is a Secondary Quest that has a plot that is very intriguing, and you will want to see them through until the end.
Next up are Companion Quests, which are certainly the best side quests in the game, assuming that you interact with your companions. Each companion you have has their own unique back-story, and the many of the Companion Quests that you do involve that specific companion's back-story. Doing these quests not only gives you an interesting plot, each of which you will want to see through until the end, but they also further your relationship with that character, romantic or not. Last and certainly least are Side Quests, which essentially are quests in which there are things that you can find along the way, and if you find all of them, you can go back and claim a reward. It is definitely the weakest of the quests, so much so that I didn't complete a single Side Quest.
Speaking of companions, lets talk about the romances with companions. You will encounter a multitude of companions, each of which you have an opportunity to engage romantically with. Much to the game's credit, unlike the first game, some of the companions that you have the opportunity to have sex with in the game are characters that you would actually WANT to have sex with, regardless of the player's sexuality. I don't know how BioWare did it, but they managed to make each of these characters very interesting and compelling, and they also make you think before you act because there can be times where if you do something wrong, the companion can leave, sometimes for good.
One thing about the characters that I did not like, however, is that throughout the game, there will be a number of characters that you can choose to either save or let die. Being a “good” character (which I will get to later), I saved all that I came across. The problem, however, is that near the end of the game, there are parts where many of the characters you interacted with and saved come back, and you are almost expected to remember all of them and what you did for them. This is very frustrating to me because I didn't remember many of them, especially since there are characters in the game that look very similar, almost to the point that you cannot differentiate two different characters.
Overall, I thought the story was excellent. The characters in it are incredible, especially the ones that return from the first game (Enchantments anyone?). It may be very different than that of the first, but in a way, it had to be, because if it was just another “the end of the world is coming” story, players might have felt Deja vu and may not have seen it all the way through. With this, however, I wanted to see how the game would end, which is a huge credit to the game. Another credit to the game is that it stops you from playing either a completely good or a completely bad character as many RPGs nowadays allow you to do, even more so than the original Dragon Age. You may think you are doing a good thing, but it can easily turn into something bad, and there are consequences to everything. This is a great thing to see, as many times in games you choose the good dialog option because you want to be the good guy or vice versa for evil, but this game can preclude you from doing that very easily.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/187975-plane ... iew-126768
"A long-winded, frustrating version of Fallout 2."
Planescape: Torment is an RPG cult classic released by Black Isle Studios in 1999. It is one of the most open-ended games ever, as there are many possibilities when it comes to customizing your character and numerous quests. It has received numerous distinctions. Seeing it named in Top PC Games lists and made by the developers of Fallout, I decided to give it a shot.
The setting is based off a Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaign. If you have not played AD&D, then this game will be very hard to understand at first. There are a lot of references to it, from the main city to characters you come across. For example when you learn a spell you have to equip it then sleep to memorize it. It also uses Bioware's Infinity Engine used in games such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. Don't know what that is? Good, neither did I.
STORY: 3/10
The story begins with the protagonist, The Nameless One, awakened on a mortuary table by a floating skull named Morte, who you also control. Basically you are on a quest to figure out why The Nameless One cannot die. Throughout your adventure, you meet several diverse characters (there are 6 other possible NPCs) and pick up many other quests. The game has references to a lot of wide references, not just to AD&D, and unique languages. However I found the use of 17th-century English slang and uncreative names, like Ravel Puzzlewell, to be of no interest.
I found the story to go from interesting to uninspiring. The story isn't too bad at first, but the game continues with long-winded explanations of unnecessary background stories that are really hard to pay attention to. You discover a lot more about the protagonist as the game goes on. But halfway through the game I found myself skipping through the dialogue as fast as possible.
GAMEPLAY - This is where Planescape: Torment really fails. 2/10
Somewhere along the making of this game the developers of Planescape:Torment forgot that games are supposed to be fun, and a deep story is used to enhance that quality. The bulk of the game is spent in text. Massive amounts of text.
The majority of experience comes from text quests, not through battles. A lot of the quests involve running back and forth and engaging in conversations. The conversations are especially long-winded. Many times you will have to hit "Click for More" button because the whole dialogue won't show up in the window. I was able to follow the dialogue initially, but the sheer amount of unnecessary wordiness will break down anyone's attention span. The conversations depend on what you say. There isn't necessarily a right thing to say in every conversation, but a few important outcomes depend on certain dialogues. It isn't too hard to figure out the right thing to say, because they are usually the longer lines. You don't have to bother reading them.
Controls are good, but the map is very frustrating. You can't skip from one section of the town to another on the world map until the end of the game, and that only works if you run to the town exit. The map is supposed to be responsive, so if you click on a section of the map your characters will run there, but this rarely happens.
In terms of what makes this game open-ended, there is an alignment system in the game based on your character's actions. You can join factions and become a fighter, mage, priest, or thief. Your character can't die, but there are a few parts of the game where it will end if you fail to accomplish an event.
If people say you should save before talking and the majority of the game involves talking, then the game isn't very fun.
LOOKS AND SOUND 5/10
Nearly ten years after its release, there's really nothing to complain about in terms of graphics. The game does a nice job of using different colors.
The soundtrack, on the other hand, is a much different story. Especially the battle music. It's really annoying. I played my own music to combat it from tormenting my mind. A few important characters, such as the NPCs, have voices but you rarely hear them because the dialogue is so complicated. There are a few annoyingly voiced characters. The floating skull, Morte, can be entertaining.
REPLAYABILITY - 2/10
This game takes a healthy amount of time to complete, it took me a month but I didn't play every day and probably completed about half the quests. I really forced myself to complete this game because of its reputation. You can do a speed run in about 10 hours, but you will miss most of the quests. Judging by its popularity, if you like the game you will replay it. But I will never do so.
FINAL WORD - 3/10
If you are unfamiliar with the AD&D system or don't like massive amounts of text, then you should probably skip this title.
PROS
Good controls
Various ways to play
A lot of detail
CONS
A lot of backtracking
A lot of text
Annoying sound
Unlikeable characters
Uninspiring story
Unnecessarily long
Not much in terms of gameplay
Did I mention a lot of text?
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Exterminatus. Now.
Clockwork Knight
Arcane
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