Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,035
<a href=http://www.ugo.com>UGO</a> has compiled <a href=http://www.ugo.com/a/top-11-rpgs/>an epic list</a> of the most epic RPGs.
<blockquote>As RPGs became more advanced, simple dungeon crawls were replaced by games with truly deep, literate stories - truly epic games in every sense of the word. Exploring issues of identity, fate, destiny and loyalty, these games stand with any other entertainment medium as truly worth the commitment it takes to play them.
Begin: The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion...</blockquote>What does Oblivion have to do with "truly deep, literate stories" and "issues of identity, fate, destiny and loyalty"? Let's find out!
<blockquote>Oblivion: ... the player has dozens of ways to tackle the main quest, and can also choose to ignore it and explore the living, breathing AI world, taking on hundreds of other jobs and tasks. Of course, when it is time to confront the Daedric Lord and close the gates forever, the resultant kick-ass battle is a climax for the ages, but the genius of Oblivion is that you're never in any rush to get there.
...
Gothic: Trapped inside the mining city of Khorinis, you find yourself forced to ally with one of three factions trying to break the magical barrier keeping them imprisoned. Gothic is awesome because of the massive, seamless game world - the entire city is one, huge area, with the exception of three underground complexes. In addition, the game's world is carefully crafted, with the camp's inmates speaking a unique and profanity-laced patois and the fascinating tale of trickery and heroism that the game lays out for the player. In the end, of course, the player must find their own way in between all three of the factions to destroy the barrier - but at what cost? The unique, nihilistic ambiance of Gothic makes it stand in a league of its own among role-playing games but rest assured that it's an experience you will not soon forget.
...
Betrayl at Krondor: With a dense, complex nine-chapter storyline based on the fantasy novels of Raymond Feist, this incredible adventure is widely regarded as one of the forebears of the epic RPG. Following a trio of unlikely allies through a story of warring nation-states, magical trickery and the titular betrayal, the player will explore sewers, cities and alternate planes of reality in order to lead the trio to their individual destinies. The narrative is as rich as any of Feist's novels and is considered a canonical part of his writing. The unique tactical battle system brought a new dimension to combat, forcing players to carefully position their warriors for maximum effect. Praised as a revolutionary development in computer RPGs, Betrayal at Krondor proved that mature, complex storylines had a place in fantasy role-playing forever.
...
Knights of the Old Republic: What could be more epic than a space-faring struggle in the Star Wars universe? Set four thousand years before the rise of the Empire, BioWare's awesome RPG casts the player as a lone Jedi in opposition to the marauding Sith. In their quest to recover a powerful weapon, the Star Forge, the player is confronted with the revelation that they themselves are actually a Sith Lord, Darth Revan. Will you choose to continue your quest and eradicate the Sith or will you relapse into your evil ways? The constant struggle within every Jedi between the light and the dark side makes for extremely compelling drama, with most players tackling the light side first and then using their second play-through to gleefully unleash their inner Vader on the game. Every action you take in the game is tracked and used to determine your moral standing, affecting how characters react to you throughout the galaxy-spanning adventure.
...
Wizardry 8: Nine years after the last Wizardry title, Sir-Tech's long-lived franchise brought itself to a close with the biggest and best installment. In the quest to collect three magical artifacts and transcent the mortal plane and become a god, Wizardry 8 brings hard-core, old-school role-playing action into the modern world with multiple unique paths and bonus ?retro dungeons? in the style of older games in the series. One of the coolest aspects is the vital nature of diplomacy in the game - you need to watch what you say to cement your alliances with one of the game's two main factions. Of course, you could always choose to make enemies of both factions, which will give you yet another unique ending. Unfortunately, during the production of the game, Sir-Tech went bankrupt, bringing one of the legends of role-playing to an ignoble end.
...
Planescape: Torment: When a game opens with the main character waking up in a mortuary, you know you're in for a wild ride, and Planescape: Torment doesn't disappoint. Taking your horribly-scarred, unkillable main character across numerous planes of existence, trying to piece together your missing identity, the very nature of reality is called into question. With over 800,000 words in the game's script, this is an RPG that progresses more through conversation, investigation and characterization than all-out combat - in fact, it is possible to complete the game and only fight four times! The emphasis is on the story, and what a story it is - rife with flashbacks, multiple lifetimes, and quirky, unique characters including a floating skull, a sentient suit of armor, and a luckless succubus, there's a reason Planescape: Torment has one of the most loyal fan followings of any PC RPG - it's just that good.
...
Baldur's Gate 2: Truly the Infinity Engine's finest hour, the awesomely deep Baldur's Gate II (and we're including the Throne of Bhaal expansion here) takes the Dungeons & Dragons universe and spins it out to an epic narrative of fate and betrayal. Moving away from the constant combat of most RPGs, Baldur's Gate II gives the player a host of ways to proceed through the story - they can play a barbarian and cleave skulls until the sun comes up but there are several other ways to play. Midway through the game, the player is given the choice to ally with one of two factions. This choice is one of many branches in the deep, dark narrative, which eventually sees the main character revealed as a dark avatar of the deity Bhaal. The multiple moral decisions that a player must make comprise the real meat of this fascinating adventure.</blockquote>Discuss!
<blockquote>As RPGs became more advanced, simple dungeon crawls were replaced by games with truly deep, literate stories - truly epic games in every sense of the word. Exploring issues of identity, fate, destiny and loyalty, these games stand with any other entertainment medium as truly worth the commitment it takes to play them.
Begin: The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion...</blockquote>What does Oblivion have to do with "truly deep, literate stories" and "issues of identity, fate, destiny and loyalty"? Let's find out!
<blockquote>Oblivion: ... the player has dozens of ways to tackle the main quest, and can also choose to ignore it and explore the living, breathing AI world, taking on hundreds of other jobs and tasks. Of course, when it is time to confront the Daedric Lord and close the gates forever, the resultant kick-ass battle is a climax for the ages, but the genius of Oblivion is that you're never in any rush to get there.
...
Gothic: Trapped inside the mining city of Khorinis, you find yourself forced to ally with one of three factions trying to break the magical barrier keeping them imprisoned. Gothic is awesome because of the massive, seamless game world - the entire city is one, huge area, with the exception of three underground complexes. In addition, the game's world is carefully crafted, with the camp's inmates speaking a unique and profanity-laced patois and the fascinating tale of trickery and heroism that the game lays out for the player. In the end, of course, the player must find their own way in between all three of the factions to destroy the barrier - but at what cost? The unique, nihilistic ambiance of Gothic makes it stand in a league of its own among role-playing games but rest assured that it's an experience you will not soon forget.
...
Betrayl at Krondor: With a dense, complex nine-chapter storyline based on the fantasy novels of Raymond Feist, this incredible adventure is widely regarded as one of the forebears of the epic RPG. Following a trio of unlikely allies through a story of warring nation-states, magical trickery and the titular betrayal, the player will explore sewers, cities and alternate planes of reality in order to lead the trio to their individual destinies. The narrative is as rich as any of Feist's novels and is considered a canonical part of his writing. The unique tactical battle system brought a new dimension to combat, forcing players to carefully position their warriors for maximum effect. Praised as a revolutionary development in computer RPGs, Betrayal at Krondor proved that mature, complex storylines had a place in fantasy role-playing forever.
...
Knights of the Old Republic: What could be more epic than a space-faring struggle in the Star Wars universe? Set four thousand years before the rise of the Empire, BioWare's awesome RPG casts the player as a lone Jedi in opposition to the marauding Sith. In their quest to recover a powerful weapon, the Star Forge, the player is confronted with the revelation that they themselves are actually a Sith Lord, Darth Revan. Will you choose to continue your quest and eradicate the Sith or will you relapse into your evil ways? The constant struggle within every Jedi between the light and the dark side makes for extremely compelling drama, with most players tackling the light side first and then using their second play-through to gleefully unleash their inner Vader on the game. Every action you take in the game is tracked and used to determine your moral standing, affecting how characters react to you throughout the galaxy-spanning adventure.
...
Wizardry 8: Nine years after the last Wizardry title, Sir-Tech's long-lived franchise brought itself to a close with the biggest and best installment. In the quest to collect three magical artifacts and transcent the mortal plane and become a god, Wizardry 8 brings hard-core, old-school role-playing action into the modern world with multiple unique paths and bonus ?retro dungeons? in the style of older games in the series. One of the coolest aspects is the vital nature of diplomacy in the game - you need to watch what you say to cement your alliances with one of the game's two main factions. Of course, you could always choose to make enemies of both factions, which will give you yet another unique ending. Unfortunately, during the production of the game, Sir-Tech went bankrupt, bringing one of the legends of role-playing to an ignoble end.
...
Planescape: Torment: When a game opens with the main character waking up in a mortuary, you know you're in for a wild ride, and Planescape: Torment doesn't disappoint. Taking your horribly-scarred, unkillable main character across numerous planes of existence, trying to piece together your missing identity, the very nature of reality is called into question. With over 800,000 words in the game's script, this is an RPG that progresses more through conversation, investigation and characterization than all-out combat - in fact, it is possible to complete the game and only fight four times! The emphasis is on the story, and what a story it is - rife with flashbacks, multiple lifetimes, and quirky, unique characters including a floating skull, a sentient suit of armor, and a luckless succubus, there's a reason Planescape: Torment has one of the most loyal fan followings of any PC RPG - it's just that good.
...
Baldur's Gate 2: Truly the Infinity Engine's finest hour, the awesomely deep Baldur's Gate II (and we're including the Throne of Bhaal expansion here) takes the Dungeons & Dragons universe and spins it out to an epic narrative of fate and betrayal. Moving away from the constant combat of most RPGs, Baldur's Gate II gives the player a host of ways to proceed through the story - they can play a barbarian and cleave skulls until the sun comes up but there are several other ways to play. Midway through the game, the player is given the choice to ally with one of two factions. This choice is one of many branches in the deep, dark narrative, which eventually sees the main character revealed as a dark avatar of the deity Bhaal. The multiple moral decisions that a player must make comprise the real meat of this fascinating adventure.</blockquote>Discuss!
Thank you UGO !!!
