Review Kult praised by Idle Thumbs

[Otaku_Hanzo]

Just for the record, I played the first disk of FFVII when it first came out and recently played it to completion. I see it is a crap game now that I am older and wiser -- but I finished it nonetheless. Since I reviewed Kult I played FFIX to see the similarities people mentioned and they are there.

Well, when I go into a console RPG these days, I don't expect anything but linearity as far as plot goes, but instead just hold onto the wish that perhaps there may be some saving graces as far as character development goes. The "attunement" system in FFIX sort of allowed for that and is why I enjoyed it over the others. Granted it wasn't as good as the attunement system in Kult though.

As I've said before, I just hope Kult does well enough that we will be able to see more from those guys. I think given a bigger budget, they could definitely do a really kick ass crpg. And that's just what we need.

 

[Limorkil]

I have the same view as the reviewer on the issue of good versus evil, although not the same *apparent* level of hatred. I'm surprised that his mention of Republicans got so much flak, given that people here are usually more broadminded and there were far far worse things in the review to have a go at.

As I wrote before, I kind of like reviews that ramble a bit because I'm sick of the Review 101 style that almost everyone follows. However, the review has to give an opinion on the game and not just be stream of consciousness piece. So full marks for the concept from me, but no marks for execution.

And you don't get to come here and defend your piece. That's not how it works. You write, we discuss, we all move on. Surely brow beating people to accept your ideas as gospel is a Republican thing, no? If George W called you up and told you he felt like killing you for dissing his party, you'd think he was a jerk who should have better things to do, yes? Well thats what you look like right ..... about ...... NOW.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Now, though I might have, I didn't go for your juggular, sir.

Duly noted, but since I happened to be a staff member, I felt the urge to protect the honor and all that shite.

Gameplay, what exactly do you mean by gameplay? What the story is and some basic mechanic of the engine? What do you wish to know that I didn't cover? Feel free to ask.

Thanks. Here it the list (mind you, I know the answers, but a person who's never heard of the game, might want to know the following

1. Character creation: do I get to create my character as in play with skills and abilities?
2. Char development: is it fun overall? You said "Levelling up is intuitive and that is all I really need to say about it." That's not very specific, is it now? How's that different from other system? Are there many skills to pick from? Are those skills diverse enough to make different characters? How many different directions are there, i.e. magic user, fighter, talker, thief, etc?
3. Can I actually play different characters, i.e. are there different ways to handle quests and situations (i.e. fighter fights; thief sneaks, unlock; talker talks his way through, etc)
4. Dialogues. From that example you used, it's unclear if that was a one liner reply or if the game has in-depth dialogues trees. Are there options to pick? Does the outcome depends on the option picked or is it always the same?
5. Combat. Is it fun, is it boring, or is it just ok? Why? Is it tactical or you just point and click? Is it tough and challenging? Whom are you going to be fighting? Is it balanced for different characters?
6. Choices and consequences. Do you get to make choices or do you merely follow the storyline? What do these choices affect if any?

Just to give you an idea of what you missed.

You mention how you didn't like BG because it was too modular while each Kult's area is an individual picture. ... You mention your dislike of Fallout and then praise Kult for not doing the "do Good by killing Evil".

I mentioned that the visuals of those games didn't impress me and then latter on said that I didn't enjoy Fallout. How did you pick up that I said it was a bad game out of that?

How's our reading comprehension? I used words "didn't like" or "dislike" which doesn't mean "bad". In fact I was careful to use the exact words you used in the review: "...by admitting to disliking Diablo II, Baldur's Gate and Fallout..." So?

In no way did I call up Fallout when discussing the story of the Heretic Kingdoms.

You didn't. Yet when you mention that you dislike Fallout and then start excitedly praising Kult for the things FO did years ago, it does look ignorant and inconsistent. It's like saying that you dislike BG and then go on praising another game for innovative RT with pause combat.

The introduction has five paragraphs because I never wrote about RPGs and wanted to establish some integrity...

Like I said, you established your ignorance of some of the games you mentioned and lack of credibility, but that's ok.

If you don't agree with my likes and dislikes for the reasons that I bring up, this may not be a game for you.

True but you haven't established your reasons for disliking these games, and you even praised Kult for some of the trademark features these games had.

Actually, what I wrote there was nowhere on the internet or in the files that the company sent me... so you know, I kinda wrote it myself. I do however have mad copy-pasting skillz that are seldom recognized by my peers -- I thank you -- but that is hardly evident from the little indent part you object to.

Wow, not bad then. My apologies.

Next 3 paragraphs are about your excitement about the heroine, narrative, and atheism in the setting. It could have been something, if we didn't have to wait 9 paragraphs to get it. Boring, longwinded, and unfocused.

Subjective, subjective and subjective. Write an interesting objective review and I will commit sepuku.

Could it be both subjective AND informative or do you think those are mutually exclusive?

Next paragraph is short, thank God. You simple state that the story and game mechanics are so awesome that they totally own Bio games. Could be, but where are the fucking facts?

Well, for one, Bioware likes to translate everything into a d20 system which is completely inane and tough on those dorks not familiar with tabletop RPGs. I opted for just a comparative little blurb that tells you that if you were bothered with Bioware's games mumbo-jumbo, you wouldn't find Kult's voodoo objectionable in the least. Elaborating would be boring, longwinded, and unfocused.

Not really. You said that comparing Kult's mechanics to Bio mechanics is like comparing "counting sheep to taking square roots". That could mean a number of things (is it a simple system with 3 skills, or not as complex, or a dumbed down system).

Has anyone ever told you how charming and easy to like you are?

Not lately, no

You may like your reviews split into easily-digestible fragments -- the Setting, The Character system, The Magic System, The Combat, The NPCs, In Conclusion and so on -- but it is a very sterile, if highly informative, way to do things and we just don't do it.

Nobody said that you should do exactly that, but that info is important. Do you realize that you haven't really said anything about the game, other than the fact that you really liked it? Do you honestly think that's enough for a person to make a decision using your unclear likes/dislikes as some sort of guideline?

 

[dojoteef]

Has anyone ever told you how charming and easy to like you are?

Not lately, no

VD, you are very charming and easy to like :D.

As for the review itself. VD pretty much laid it out for you. A few witty responses in a game doesn't make the overall game good. And saying you liked it doesn't convey much to the rest of the people. The review you wrote might very well work for a movie, but it certainly doesn't cut it with a game review. Games are higher dimensional entertainment constructs, especially for the reason of interactivity. While movies are passive games aren't. Thus you have to give more information, namely in the points VD mentioned.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Suffice to say, if I hadn't already played Kult and liked it to some degree, I wouldn't buy Kult based on the Idle Thumbs review. It'd be like reading a blurb in someone's cluttered blog that in some small part mentions some relatively unknown independent movie (which may or may not be good) and going to see it based on that, without having watched any of the trailers or read any other reviews. It just wouldn't work.

You have failed as a reviewer. I do not think that the underlying concept of your reviews is necessarily a bad thing, and in fact I welcome it, but your execution of the concept has been dismally poor.