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Geneforge 3 needs more love

Higher Game

Arcane
Joined
Apr 14, 2005
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Female Vagina
Lets face it, it's the best of the first 3 (the ones I have played so far). It has well balanced elemental damage, the island system seems to help Jeff create immersive environments by working on a theme (ice, desert, etc), the boss fights are very well designed, the two factions are both fleshed out (not kitchen sink syndrome that the second game's 4 factions had), the character classes are balanced, the equipment and armor system and inventory are far better than before, the writing and story are great, and the crafting system allows much more customization than before.

Why the hate? Is it because it's too difficult for average players? Many parts were difficult, but being hard is much better than being flaccid, and I think the earlier Geneforge games were too easy at times. I beat Geneforge 3 without any canisters and only used Gamefaqs to remember alchemy recipes I never bothered to write down. I would actually say the game is of average difficulty, it's just that the first two games are easy!

I think the Geneforge games have only gotten better as time has gone on.
 

Psilon

Erudite
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
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Codex retirement
I personally found GF3 just to be boring and uninspired. Other than some much-needed interface tweaks, the game simply felt flat. The multiple islands were obviously chapter breaks, where you had to complete one Big Shaper Objective or a Big Rebel Objective then go on to the next tileset. There was no real way to play the sides against each other, like in GF1, and you certainly couldn't do an end-run to the final zone like in GF1.

Oh, and Alwan and Greta were transparently the Loyal Guy and the Rebel Girl, so much so that they're both major commanders of their respective sides in GF4.

Finally, the series is getting increasingly newbie-hostile. Not so much because of the difficulty as because of the traditions. The first two games were much better about teaching you the capabilities of artilas, vlish, spinecores, spawners, and so forth before dumping you into a pitched battle. In GF3, Jeff assumed you knew what each non-boss creature could do before it did so, so a lot of encounters turned into getting your creation (or yourself) one-shotted before quickloading and doing things the proper way.

And there were the blatantly obvious Mechanics Guy and Combat Guy paths. It wasn't quite as painful as the Bloodlines endgame, but the game really rewarded hyperspecialization. Mechanics and Leadership at low levels basically got you a few extra thorn batons, at medium levels were wastes of skill points, and at high levels meant you could skip most (hard as hell due to lack of combat/shaping skills) non-boss fights. Oh, and explicitly neutering Leadership in the final fight was a nice touch.
 

Chork

Scholar
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Mar 12, 2006
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Alberta
Eh... I've played 2-4, and out of those, I find 3 is the worst. Not bad, just not as good as the others.
 

Lurkar

Scholar
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
791
I really didn't find the storyline in 3 to be engaging at all. Forcing you into choosing either rebel or shaper was irritating when the two were so drastically polarized, and it was especially awkward coming after 2, arguably the best of the series so far as plot goes. I can't imagine how you could ever say the factions of 3 were better then 2.
 

Higher Game

Arcane
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The factions of 2 were all very small, with each one occupying just a fraction of the game map. The thing about Geneforge 3 is that both factions have a presence on each island, and it makes the conflict feel more imminent. The situation doesn't seem as hostile when the faction bases are separate by 10 zones on opposite sides of the map. You feel like a one man army working between them, while you feel like you're stuck in the middle of things in the third game.

The second game was just like the first game, except cranked up far beyond its own good. Geneforge 3 is more refined and it has a much stronger sense of direction. Working on different islands/chapters must be a better system than trying to do everything at once, and it seems to really explain why the later Geneforge games (I just started 4 and it's great) are much better organized than the first 2.

They are all worth checking out, of course.
 

Aikanaro

Liturgist
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
142
I didn't like Geneforge 3 much at all, but thought the first two were brilliant.

One thing that stuck out to me about it was that I never felt like there was any sensible reason for joining the rebels (well, except maybe for POWAH!, but I don't find that a terribly sensible reason). I'm generally the sort of person who jumps ship to the rebellion at first opportunity, but in this game there never felt like any compelling reason to do so. The rebels came across as nutters.

Didn't like the island setup either. As Psilon said - obvious chapter breaks, funneling you through the story. Might have been forgivable if the story was extremely good, but it's not. The overarching story of the games is pretty good, but not good enough to be pushed through it. Its main strength is that it gives you opportunities to choose where you stand and what lengths you're willing to go to for your side. I didn't get this in Geneforge 3.

I disliked it enough to not finish it. Not sure what point I got to, but ended up at the point where I didn't feel it was worth trying to get through tough combats because on the other side of those combats there was very little of interest happening. Compared to the first two games which I played without pause until they were finished.
 

Keldorn

Scholar
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
867
It's time for the Vogelmeister to close the chapter and *evolve*.
 

bezimek

Scholar
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Jul 21, 2007
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Poland
I must say I like all Geneforge games and Geneforge 3 is nice game, too. It is true that combat is difficulty ( newbie-hostile) but after some fights most players will know capabilities of weak creations. Traders with unlimited gold is step in right direction. It is sad that Greta and Alwan don`t have full stats like player character.
 

OSK

Arcane
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Keldorn said:
It's time for the Vogelmeister to close the chapter and *evolve*.

He is. Geneforge 5 will be the last Geneforge. Honestly, I'd rather have him wrap up Avernum.
 

OSK

Arcane
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Oh. It sounds like he's moving onto something new (hopefully), but he didn't outright say it was the end of Avernum. I'm sure we'll still see 7, 8 and 9.
 

Jasede

Arcane
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Jan 4, 2005
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And 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and the remakes of 5-9, now with two new sprites and an additional animation.
 

Andhaira

Arcane
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
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He will do a baldes of avernum 2 with the new engine he is using for g4 and a5.
 

burrie

Scholar
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
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317
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Holland
I'm planning on getting all five once the fifth one is released on the PC. I played most of the demos, and think that I would enjoy them if I spend more time with them. Just need to shelf out the proper Euros, so that I can grab 'em all at once.

Just curious, there are multiple endings for each game, right? What happens with each sequel? Is one specific ending chosen for each game to tell the storyline, or is it possible that all the endings happened?
 

xantrius

Liturgist
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
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Ascending (Denmark)
How good is the story and the presentation of its setting in the Geneforge series? Are these a strong point? or is it rather something else or a mix?
 

Psilon

Erudite
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Messages
2,018
Location
Codex retirement
Andhaira said:
He will do a baldes of avernum 2 with the new engine he is using for g4 and a5.
Not happening. I don't have a post handy, but Vogel said Blades of Avernum sold absolutely terribly and nearly put him out of business. There will not be another toolset game a la BoA or BoE.

It wouldn't surprise me if he's doing G5/A6 to build up a cash reserve before taking a chance on the new setting.
 

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