Review Drakensang RoT Review

[VentilatorOfDoom]

Tags: Drakensang

Some <a href="http://nambulous.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/drakensang-2-am-fluss-der-zeit/">german reviewed</a> Drakensang: The River of Time (AFdZ = Am Fluss der Zeit) and he did it in english:
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<p style="margin-left:50px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;border-top-color:#ffffff;padding:5px;border-right-color:#bbbbbb;border-left-color:#ffffff;border-bottom-color:#bbbbbb;">Sometimes people criticize a lack of party banter in these games. I don’t see it. While they don’t talk all the time, the discussions of party members revolve around the task at hand, where those in Dragon Age usually just relate to certain characters and could be triggered any place and any time (and are). This helps create the illusion that fellow travelers are aware of the situation and care about it. I consider it a strength.
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I further disagree on arguments that this game wouldn’t be on par with other genre giants. Drakensang might not utilize the Unreal 3.5 engine (I personally think the Nebula engine is absolutely beautiful and is perfect for creating a role-playing world) or feature a bunch of Hollywood actors for voice work, but its quests easily belong to the best the entire role playing genre has to offer. People who disagree here, should play more than one RPG. Quests are still the backbone of every good RPG (I won’t describe the other aspects again).
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The next expansion is <a href="http://www.drakensang.de/phileasson.php">already in the works.</a>
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com/#14592">RPGWatch</A>

 

[Malakal]

So someone here played it and can tell whether they changed this miserable peace of shit into something playable?

Quests my ass, in Drakensang they were as clasic and boring as possible. Scripted reactions to enviroment do not help really when npcs are booooring and bland.

 

[Rude Dude]

My english is shit, so I will keep it short

I don't know if they changed something, but i wouldn't say it's a piece of shit.

my opinion so far(played for 7 hours)
i like the combat, you can evade+parry attacks-thats cool, plus you can cripple enemies which result in a malus for the major combat attributes . dialog is flavor with some skillchecks and the quests are mediocre(sometimes the map change and you cannot abort the quest; since there is no level scaling this could result in a real problem)
the "fast travel" works for me (travel only between important places)

p.s. If you use a crack, your companions won't be resurrected after a battle...so yes there is autoheal+autoresurrection

 

[Ch1ef]

Sometimes people criticize a lack of party banter in these games. I don’t see it. While they don’t talk all the time, the discussions of party members revolve around the task at hand, where those in Dragon Age usually just relate to certain characters and could be triggered any place and any time (and are). This helps create the illusion that fellow travelers are aware of the situation and care about it. I consider it a strength.
I further disagree on arguments that this game wouldn’t be on par with other genre giants. Drakensang might not utilize the Unreal 3.5 engine (I personally think the Nebula engine is absolutely beautiful and is perfect for creating a role-playing world) or feature a bunch of Hollywood actors for voice work, but its quests easily belong to the best the entire role playing genre has to offer. People who disagree here, should play more than one RPG. Quests are still the backbone of every good RPG (I won’t describe the other aspects again).

LOL BUTTHURTED NAZI

 

[Cenobyte]

My english is shit, so I will keep it short

I don't know if they changed something, but i wouldn't say it's a piece of shit.

my opinion so far(played for 7 hours)
i like the combat, you can evade+parry attacks-thats cool, plus you can cripple enemies which result in a malus for the major combat attributes . dialog is flavor with some skillchecks and the quests are mediocre(sometimes the map change and you cannot abort the quest; since there is no level scaling this could result in a real problem)
the "fast travel" works for me (travel only between important places)

p.s. If you use a crack, your companions won't be resurrected after a battle...so yes there is autoheal+autoresurrection

Cracks for Securom-protected games are so last-gen... there are much better methods

Anyway, regarding the game itself: It depends on what you want. If you want ultra-dungeoncrawling, you will be disappointed since the combat system still lacks in depth. If you want romances, aliensex and "CnC" à la Bioware you will be disappointed, too.
But if you just want an entertaining game with lots of humour, nice challenges, some puzzles and good pacing, then this game is something for you.

Personally I like this game much more than its predecessor. While there are no groundbreaking changes, they've successfully improved most aspects of the gameplay (and lots of minor issues that were requested by the fans). I'd definitely give the game a chance, if you're remotely interested in Baldur's Gate-like RPGs.

Edit: I've heard that some guys are working on a fan translation into English. So if you desperately want to play the game and cannot understand German, there might be a possibility in the near future :wink:

 

[Shannow]

What I'm interested in:
Is encounter design improved? Or does the vast majority of fights still consist of wailing away at rats?
Do enemies still simply run through the frontliners to chew the squishies?
Do you get ridiculous items for solving parts of the mainquest again?
Is the movement speed increased or do I have to mod it in myself again? If it isn't, any link to how to mod it in handy?
And last, and least, is the mainquest any better than that of the first game?

 

[Circuitbreaker]

What I'm interested in:
Is encounter design improved? Or does the vast majority of fights still consist of wailing away at rats?
Do enemies still simply run through the frontliners to chew the squishies?
Do you get ridiculous items for solving parts of the mainquest again?
Is the movement speed increased or do I have to mod it in myself again? If it isn't, any link to how to mod it in handy?
And last, and least, is the mainquest any better than that of the first game?

Rats are actually very rare, there is one minor side quest which has a load of them though.

Some enemies will consistently go after your Archer and/or Mage, especially when they are the first to hit the enemy (realism FTW) but most of the time you'll be able to keep them at a distance from the melee if you so desire. Of course in cramped spaces this will be difficult.

The boss fights I got so far don't appear to be as rigged as in the original Drakensang. The different areas are accessible in a fairly non-linear fashion (locations don't become unavailable after finishing them!) and you can enter some very dangerous areas early on if you dare. The Pirates vs. Elves quest was great fun. I also like the fact that the starting town provides different jobs in the beginning depending on your character type (Fighter/Mage/Thief). The beginning also has a very clear C & C with regards to your first companion. In general skill checks occur far more often in the game and make more of a difference.

Weapons are quite expensive compared to the original and rewards are fairly modest. This makes people with Alchemy, Smithing and Fletcher skills more useful. There are also more recipes in place.

Walking speed is still a pain but the forum should have a link to a mod somewhere.

All in all like other commenters already stated, this game is definitely better than its predecessor. The developers have clearly been listening to the comments about the previous game. If that's enough to convert stubborn Codexers is something else though.

 

[Sceptic]

I didn't care much for the first game but the above post makes it sound like they improved on a lot of fronts. I'll have to see about demoing it once it gets translted to English.

 

[Phelot]

Some enemies will consistently go after your Archer and/or Mage, especially when they are the first to hit the enemy (realism FTW) but most of the time you'll be able to keep them at a distance from the melee if you so desire. Of course in cramped spaces this will be difficult.

But can they glitch their way through your characters? Like, just run right through them like the first game? That seriously sucked balls.

 

[GarfunkeL]

That sucked in DA:O too

 

[Cenobyte]

Some enemies will consistently go after your Archer and/or Mage, especially when they are the first to hit the enemy (realism FTW) but most of the time you'll be able to keep them at a distance from the melee if you so desire. Of course in cramped spaces this will be difficult.

But can they glitch their way through your characters? Like, just run right through them like the first game? That seriously sucked balls.

Sadly yes. The combat system is still the weakest element of the game.