Game News Brian Fargo announces Bard's Tale IV at PAX South

[Shannow]

Here is to hoping that gaming journalists performed with their usual quality and almost everyone of Fargo's statements was misrepresented.
I can see it in my mind:
BF: It's phase based, like Wizardry.
Dorito: It's what, like what? *mountain dew brain*
BF: Eh... you know TB? PB is a version of that. Characters take turns and it's all very tactical and strategic...
Dorito: ... Will you buy me a pizza if I write about your game?
BF: Look, you know Hearthstone? With all the options and players taking turns?
Dorito: Oh, your game will be like Hearthstone. Yeah, sure I know that. Now about the pizza... I'll also take doritos or mountain dew.
BF: *rummages in his pockets* I've only got this toilett voucher on me right now.
Dorito: *grabs the voucher and quickly stashes it* That'll do just fine. My precious... Thank you for the interview mr. Fargo. I think I got everything I wanted and it's crystal clear. You can expect the article in the next 30 mins. It'll be very positive. I know just what to write to excite our readership. *Leaves, looking for the next toilett*


Bard's Tale (though I barely remember anything about it, only having played a few times at a friend's house when I was in my early teens) with Wiz8 combat system (or better) and Grimrock graphix (or better) (and Wiz8 personality-system) would certainly be

Fuck the haters.

Spoiler

Inb4 the journos got everything right and Fargo wants to make a dungeon-crawl version of Hearthstone in the Bard's Tale universe.

 

[Grunker]

LOL, that's adorable, you think the Codex has editorial standards.

Oh, we do have standards. 2, in fact:

1) has to be intelligeble

2) has to be Codexian

Beyond that, well... talk to Crooked Bee or Infinitron, I am still on hiatus due to my thesis.

 

[Infinitron]

I find it just as difficult to believe that someone who liked Fallout did not enjoy Wasteland 2.

You're in luck, because I've decided to write a review of Wasteland 2 for the Codex to be published in the News section. I won't be pulling any punches. From that point forward, when someone expresses disbelief that I don't think Wasteland 2 is as good as Fallout or Fallout 2, my analysis will be readily available in great detail just a click away.

I will also now be writing retrospective reviews of Fallout and Fallout 2, which I've played through in excess of 15 times apiece since 1997/1998. There'll then be no doubt that I've played them all.

I'll be writing it, that is, if the staff have the balls to publish something that will verbally brutalize a current Codex Defense Force darling. They already know I can write, and were only too happy to publish my preview of UnderRail, which even in alpha is already a much better game than Wasteland 2 could ever hope to be.

Infinitron, Grunker, thoughts?

Whoa. And here I thought you were busy banging cocaine-snorting high society girls and losing interest in CRPGs.

I'd say go for it, but only if you commit to also doing the Fallout retrospectives. But let's see what the Bee has to say.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Whoa. And here I thought you were busy banging cocaine-snorting high society girls and losing interest in CRPGs.

Wasteland 2 brought him back to the light.

 

[Invictus]

Ok let me get this straight, turn based combat means each character get its turn to act individualy and in a certain order (like W2) while phase based would be like in Wizardry 7 were you give individual orders to each character at once but once those commands have been entered then the actions of your party is out of your hands till the next phase or round, is that correct?
So Fargo wants to do combat like later Wizardries (or Grimoire) instead of the "now its your turn" individual order system of Wasteland 2 or a game like Xcom
Sounds good to me too
Thinking about it some more wouldnt the tech of something like Ethan Carter work for something like this? It is an indy game and it wouldnt be that much more expensive would it?
Oh and Blaine chill out and repeat after me Wasteland is Wasteland and Fallout is Fallout and wanting one to be like the other is your fault not Fargo's
And hiver, didnt you have your own forum to rule them all?

 

[GarfunkeL]

WEGO / Phase-based has been done quite well in wargames for years now, where you can pause at any time and when you unpause, the game runs in slightly sped-up real time. This is great for tactical level games where, at most, you command a company or so and issue orders to fire team/squad/vehicle commanders. Because there is a short command delay, you cannot just change orders every second, either. It would work just as well for individual units.

But how to use that in a FP blobber? Boggles the mind.

 

[made]

I find it just as difficult to believe that someone who liked Fallout did not enjoy Wasteland 2.

You're in luck, because I've decided to write a review of Wasteland 2 for the Codex to be published in the News section. I won't be pulling any punches. From that point forward, when someone expresses disbelief that I don't think Wasteland 2 is as good as Fallout or Fallout 2, my analysis will be readily available in great detail just a click away.

I will also now be writing retrospective reviews of Fallout and Fallout 2, which I've played through in excess of 15 times apiece since 1997/1998. There'll then be no doubt that I've played them all.

I'll be writing it, that is, if the staff have the balls to publish something that will verbally brutalize a current Codex Defense Force darling. They already know I can write, and were only too happy to publish my preview of UnderRail, which even in alpha is already a much better game than Wasteland 2 could ever hope to be.

Infinitron, Grunker, thoughts?

Please do. VD has long since sold out to the man, his reviews read like lessons from a handbook for marketing reps. "Best RPG ever since the last game I called best RPG ever", "Genre was dead - until this game revived it". Disgusting. Time for someone to step up and slap the brutal truth into Codex' fat, complacent face.

The truth that everything is shit.

Infinitron, Grunker, DO YOU HAVE THE BALLS to publish Blain's dissenting (and well-written) reviews? Or will you continue to lick investor boot like the emasculated lap dogs you appear to be?

 

[Volrath]

For me, Wasteland 2 was the best game last year. However, had I paid $1000 for it, I may have also had unrealistically high expectations. It wasn't as good as Torment, but it was almost as good as Fallout 1/2.

 

[Blaine]

I am absolutely dazzled that anyone could hate something so much that they'd still award an 8/10 too.

I don't hate Wasteland 2, and never have. It's a thoroughly mediocre game, though, and I certainly do hate "Codexers" (possibly RPGWatch double agents) who insist it's on par with far superior games, because that's a disservice to those games.

Please note that Metacritic scores are subject to favorable weighting, as are most game review scores in the 21st century. On an actual linear scale from 1-10, I'd rate Wasteland a 5/10 at release, and a 6/10 after fixes/updates.

And then there's another kind of hate, where I can see how something does a lot of things right, but I could also see it being so much better, and I just hate all the frustrating ways in which it falls short. Perhaps all the moreso if I'd kicked $1000 its way.

Yes, you get it. Unfortunately, some of the ways in which WL2 falls terribly short are critical to an enjoyable overall experience, and no one who isn't pitifully desperate for a decent cRPG should be willing to overlook them.

I'd say go for it, but only if you commit to also doing the Fallout retrospectives. But let's see what the Bee has to say.

The thing is, if I take the time to write a long, comprehensive review, and then it's rejected for what are essentially "political" reasons, I'm never going to write another review for the Codex again, including the ones you want me to write. I do value my time, and I don't appreciate it being wasted.

If a Wasteland 2 slam would make too many people butthurt, better to get that sorted out before I start writing.

 

[Infinitron]

The thing is, if I take the time to write a long, comprehensive review, and then it's rejected for what are essentially "political" reasons, I'm never going to write another review for the Codex again, including the ones you want me to write. I do value my time, and I don't appreciate wasting my time.

If a Wasteland 2 slam would make too many people butthurt, better to get that sorted out before I start writing.

Man, who even cares about political reasons at this point? Vault Dweller's review will always remain our official review, linked in the Steam curator. Yours will be more of a controversial second opinion. Think Roguey's Reviews.

But again, wait for the Bee to say her word.

 

[Grunker]

Or will you continue to lick investor boot like the emasculated lap dogs you appear to be?

it's rejected for what are essentially "political" reasons

You really think we reject things for "political" reasons?

We let Roguey post reviews for christ sakes. You want us to commit to posting something we haven't read. That's obviously never going to happen. However I will promise you that if your review doesn't get posted "for political reasons" I volun-fucking-teer to screenshot that shit and post it in Site Feedback, even if I am shunned from the 'dex for all eternity.

"Rejected for political reasons", motherfucker lol. I haven't even touched the game yet (actually I'm crafting my party right now). It might be terrible for all I know. In fact I'm counting on hating the combat.

In the end, it's Bee who controls the pipeline. Wait to hear what she has to say.

 

[Athelas]

If a Wasteland 2 slam would make too many people butthurt, better to get that sorted out before I start writing.

One would assume the butthurt is the main motivating factor for writing the review.

 

[Grunker]

If a Wasteland 2 slam would make too many people butthurt, better to get that sorted out before I start writing.

One would assume the butthurt is the main motivating factor for posting the review.

Fixed

 

[made]

Or will you continue to lick investor boot like the emasculated lap dogs you appear to be?

 

[Infinitron]

Actually Grunker, on second thought, I can think of a reason why I don't want Blaine to write this yet.

Let's re-review it after the Balance Patch.

 

[Grunker]

Good point. Buuuuut, that sort of depends on Blaine wanting to play a bit of the game after that patch.

 

[Blaine]

If growing weary of retards comparing a mediocre game to timeless classics and wanting to put my money where my mouth is by actually analyzing the game and putting in the effort to write a comprehensive review (rather than shitposting sarcastic one-offs) is now "butthurt" to you people, then you're not worth my time. It amazes me that people who consider themselves monocled will side with lazy fuckups who spew worthless opinions but can never cash the check their mouths are trying to write. It's wall-to-wall armchair experts in here.

Sure, it's not political... except you've made it a point to note that it'll be swept behind the "official" review, and there was never any doubt that my preview of UnderRail would be posted, was there? If it had been incoherent or a mess, I'm sure it would have been rejected, but that already went without saying. You both know I'm perfectly capable of writing a proper, comprehensive review that meets or exceeds technical expectations, and there's no legitimate reason to expect anything drastically different this time, so stop waffling about how you can't REALLY know until you read it.

I can already smell the butthurt from both of you, though, because I know you Defense Force this game hard, and I also know you're smart enough to fully realize it's medicore as Hell. The question is whether you can stop hiding behind the skirts of your Goon overqueen for a minute and have the balls to say, "Yes, Blaine, we're comfortable enough with our opinions of the game to stop hemming and hawing like a couple of pussies, give you the greenlight to write that review, and suck it up when you shine the light of day on the exact reasons why Wasteland 2 is a mediocre turd that we should all be ashamed of."

 

[Infinitron]

If growing weary of retards comparing a mediocre game to timeless classics and wanting to put my money where my mouth is by actually analyzing the game and putting in the effort to write a comprehensive review (rather than shitposting sarcastic one-offs) is now "butthurt" to you people, then you're not worth my time. It amazes me that people who consider themselves monocled will side with lazy fuckups who spew worthless opinions but can never cash the check their mouths are trying to write. It's wall-to-wall armchair experts in here.

Sure, it's not political... except you've made it a point to note that it'll be swept behind the "official" review, and there was never any doubt that my preview of UnderRail would be posted, was there? If it had been incoherent or a mess, I'm sure it would have been rejected, but that already went without saying. You both know I'm perfectly capable of writing a proper, comprehensive review that meets or exceeds technical expectations, and there's no legitimate reason to expect anything drastically different this time, so stop waffling about how you can't REALLY know until you read it.

I can already smell the butthurt from both of you, though, because I know you Defense Force this game hard, and I also know you're smart enough to fully realize it's medicore as Hell. The question is whether you can stop hiding behind the skirts of your Goon overqueen for a minute and have the balls to say, "Yes, Blaine, we're comfortable enough with our opinions of the game to stop hemming and hawing like a couple of pussies, give you the greenlight to write that review, and suck it up when you shine the light of day on which it's a mediocre turd that we should all be ashamed of."

Is there any point to this, Blaine? Reply to my previous post - do you want to review Wasteland 2 after the balance patch?

 

[Grunker]

If growing weary of retards comparing a mediocre game to timeless classics and wanting to put my money where my mouth is by actually analyzing the game and putting in the effort to write a comprehensive review (rather than shitposting sarcastic one-offs) is now "butthurt"

In exploding in this huge lack-of-anger-management-rant you apparantly failed to realize that the butthurt I was talking about (the "fixed"-post) was the one produced in members by reading your review. As in: the butthurt that your review would cause. Hence the Roguey-comparison.

It also was a joke, and while I realize that humor isn't easily decipherable on the internet, I sort of hoped that the huge troll-smiley next to my post would help clarify that bit.

Anyway, if you're serious about this I suggest you reply to Infinitron's point about the balance patch. That patch is a great editorial excuse to put up a new review. I am sure we'd be delighted to host your thoughts on the game and whether the patch changes anything.

EDIT: Also, if you truly, honestly think that I would stop a review due to "political reasons" of not wanting to insult InXile, you are deluded. Not in the sense of "lol, you are deluded bro haha" but in the sense of "you are seriously deluded if you think Bush was behind 9/11."

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

I'm sure a number of us would be interested in a review from Blaine now, to contrast with VD's broadly favourable review. It would certainly reflect the split of opinion on WL2 on the Codex where some agreed with VD's favourable opinion but there's a sizable contingent who think it was far too positive.

 

[evdk]

ITT:

 

[Lurker King]

Faro used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point

You mean "Fargo used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point".

 

[Infinitron]

Faro used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point

You mean "Fargo used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point".

Tell that to IGN!

 

[himmy]

Faro used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point

You mean "Fargo used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point".

I love Bran Faro! He made my favourite game, Waste Lad.

 

[kazgar]

Faro used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point

You mean "Fargo used broadcast TV stations to illustrate his point".

I love Bran Faro! He made my favourite game, Waste Lad.