Incline Of the Big Three, which is your favorite? (Fallout, PS:T, Arcanum)

[ItsChon]

The amount of Codexer's praising BG2 is sad. It's a dogshit game that completely misunderstands what made the first game so great. I've replayed Baldur's Gate a solid five times starting from when I first joined the Codex, and it has been excellent every time. I've tried playing BG2 twice and both times I quit after only a few hours. As hilarious as it is for me to cite this article, Lilura really did a fantastic job at breaking down many of the problems that BG2 has.

https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2020/12/Baldurs-Gate-1-vs-Baldurs-Gate-2-BG1-vs-BG2.html

Between FO, Arcanum, and PS:T, PS:T easily takes the cake. Arcanum is simply a broken game and any potential that might be gleaned from it by those who have the patience and know-how to get the game working is not enough to carry it to the top of this list (I'd argue it's not even enough to qualify Arcanum as a good game tbh). Whatever you want to say about Fallout, it has simply been outdone, with multiple games coming out that have superior combat, world building, and writing, amongst other things. PS:T has left the biggest impact, and it has the best first-time experience of these three games. It has very little replayability, but that shouldn't be a strike against it.

 

[Crispy]

I mean if you can't figure out how to pay for Arcanum on GOG, then apply Drog's patch, then install a simple DX wrapper to get the high-res patch to work right, then... yeah, don't bother. This game isn't meant for your kind.

 

[FriendlyMerchant]

Arcanum is simply a broken game and any potential that might be gleaned from it by those who have the patience and know-how to get the game working is not enough to carry it to the top of this list

It's literally just installing the game and then installing a patch. Just running an .exe. If it's not working, there's something else that's going on in your computer that's screwing everything up and can affect other older games too. For example: Windows 11.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

I'd probably say that Arcanum is my personal favorite, but as a total package Fallout is probably the all around better game. Arcanum does some things better, but its mix of real-time and turn based combat is a major step backward from Fallout; the turn based side wasn't as good as the previous Fallout games, and the real-time wasn't as good as games like Nox or Diablo 2. The lose of something like the display monitor to add more flavor to things going on, and the addition of nothing to replace it also meant Arcanum lost a level of immersion Fallout and Fallout 2 had over it.

Being about to talk your way out of thing, use your sex appeal in certain situations, and the stupid opinions however was something that improve from Fall to Arcanum.

You know, I'm saying Fallout is the all around better game. But I'm also thinking of a combination of the first two Fallout games. The original Fallout does have annoyances like not being able to move your party members that seem to love to block doors, and not being able to get something from a party members inventory without paying them in some way for it. Still, Arcanum made some weird choices with the transition from Fallout that I don't really get.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I haven't played Arcanum since lordy... several computers ago where it chugged like a bitch in super slow-mo. God that computer sucked. Still, I stuck with it be it blue screen o death or freezes etc. I bet its more enjoyable now.

 

[buffalo bill]

Arcanum is great, and I liked pst when I was 13, but obviously votes for games other than Fallout = decline of codex.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I don't seek codex approval to
Play any game. I do like to read their experiences and opinions though. I was disappointed death & taxes didn't have more spreadsheets.

 

[Serus]

Planescape Torment, the setting and story start out strong, but then it devolves into pretentious pseudo-intellectual/pseudo-philosophical bullshit that I don't care for and find tedious to read. I like reading, I like pulpy fantasy/sci-fi — what I don't like is *pretentiousness*, and P:T has *loads* of it. And the combat is shit, of course, so what's left? Btw, I really enjoyed going through the catacombs and meeting the rat king guy, that was brilliant, even with the shit combat. But after a while, I just couldn't tolerate the pretentiousness any longer.
I have a feeling people who find the writing great and deep have grown up "reading" Marvel comics, mainly

Haven't played Arcanum yet, I hear it has a turn-based mode? That seems promising at the very least, and the settings looks quite intriguing on the surface.

As to Arcanum, i feel that you won't like it. Combat is atrocious. It has an original setting for a crpg that is better realised than in PST. Some good exploration and quest design. No pretentious writing. The biggest city is great. Contrary to PST i liked Arcanum despite the bad combat. Mechanics of combat are poor but that's not the worst. Lacking any kind of balance is not it either. The worst is very poor encounter design and, with few exceptions, boring enemies. Which is a shame because as technologist you make all those fun gizmos but you can't try them in combat that is actually fun to play and challenging in a good way.

 

[Shaki]

PS:T is barely an RPG, it's closer to visual novel, greatest visual novel ever made, but still.

Fallout is overrated. It's a good game, but it achieved its legendary status only because it came before the other "classic cRPGs", it started an era. But ignoring the release date and its impact on the genre, the game itself is nothing special.

Arcanum is the best cRPG ever made, and it's a heresy to even put in on the list with lesser games. It's a masterpiece that will never be surpassed, the greatest piece of art created in the history of humanity, and the only accomplishment of our species worth celebrating. There is no "big three", only "big one".

 

[Daemongar]

Eh, familiarity breeds contempt they say. It's difficult to frame any of the three as I've played them and pretty much have seen it all.

1. Length and tigthness of story. They all seem to start with a bang and sort of end with a whisper in a sense. Fallout maintains consistency the most (but around Boneyard it gets pretty lame.) Fallout hands down. It's a tight story - you run around and do quests then you see a video of mutants invading your vault, and the game ends. Kind of abrupt but I can understand what they were going for. Game is consistent throughout. Arcanum starts to feel empty around that place with Sarah Toone, PS:T around the Sensates.
2. Combat. Fallout again.
3. Story. Eh, PS:T, but Fallout is pretty damn close and I'd argue has a better ending. Arcanum, I don't know, I finished it a couple of times but can't quite remember the ending.
4. Character Building: Eh - I'm biased towards D&D stats but Arcanum can't really be beat. Stats, races, perks, guns, magic - allowed for a wild array. Fallout is amazing in it's own way, so I'll put PS:T last.
5. Quests: PS:T - just for Zerthimon and such. Fallout second. Arcanum had some ones that weren't terrible, like you just walk up to a guy and he has a huge painting.

All in all, I'd have to give the nod to Fallout for best all around gaming experience, but currently I fire up Arcanum about once a month, so it still holds up.

 

[Sunri]

Add Disco Elysium to poll

 

[Lim-Dûl]

Who told you those are the "big three" of roleplaying rpg videogames?

 

[Jvegi]

People dissing PST is an example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

 

[Heroic Liberator]

People dissing PST is an example of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Spoiler

Same with DE, getting filtered by the quality writing.

 

[CyberWhale]

Fallout 2

 

[Haplo]

3. Story. Eh, PS:T, but Fallout is pretty damn close and I'd argue has a better ending. Arcanum, I don't know, I finished it a couple of times but can't quite remember the ending.

I mostly agree with your points (not with the ranking), but Fallout has better ending then PS:T? Come on. Learning your name and understanding yourself. Getting sick powers from it (and powering up certain companions too). Being able to skip the final boss and unmake the arch-enemy... or become one with him...

What game has a better ending? I don't know any.

Anyway for me its:
1. Planescape: Torment
2. Fallouts (1&2)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
X. Arcanum - sure it has brilliant facets where it shines like a star (like the world design, character development with its Magic/Technology duality), but the actual gameplay just doesn't hold up. The Turn based/real time engine is a messy abomination. Also lacking any semblance of balance.

 

[mkultra]

Fallouts. Still great especially with mods.
PS:T is also great, but gameplay wise it's not as good as BG2 imo. In fact a modded BG2 might be my favorite RPG, much because of the setting which i like more than post apocalyptic.
Arcanum, i loved that game when it came out, i've tried replaying it but i don't think it has aged well, even with mods.

 

[Comte_II]

Who really gives a shit?

 

[RRRrrr]

PST is a glorified adventure game. Not that I didn't like it, but it was not RPG in any meaningful way.

I never got into Arcanum, despite trying. I might try again, though. Too combat-heavy with not so good combat.

Fallout had fun combat, a good story and is a good RPG.

Out of the three, I prefer Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

This is not the thread to dispute which if any of the Holy Trinity here at RPG Codex isn't so holy in your opinion.

Of course not.

 

[Haplo]

PST is a glorified adventure game. Not that I didn't like it, but it was not RPG in any meaningful way.

That begs the question "What is a RPG?"



Well, stats, classes and abilities are a pretty important cRPG factor for me. And here you have 3 distinct classes, with very different combat depending on class, you need to find mentors and learn those trades from NPCs and allies. Hell, you can even discover new, powerful spells with your companions. Which grow and change with you.
Mental stats are some of the most impactful and important stats in cRPGs ever, influencing how much story content you can access - and providing generous xp rewards from recollecting memories, remembering lost abilities, sensing motives and so on.

Funny thing you brought Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines into this, as I'd say that is more of a FPS adventure game then a RPG.

 

[RRRrrr]

Funny thing you brought Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines into this, as I'd say that is more of a FPS adventure game then a RPG.

That's like saying PST is a diablo-like because it is isometric.

 

[Haplo]

Funny thing you brought Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines into this, as I'd say that is more of a FPS adventure game then a RPG.

That's like saying PST is a diablo-like because it is isometric.

The Bloodlines gameplay is dialogues + arcade/fps combat, though.

The same cannot be said about PST (I mean dialogues are there as well, plenty in fact - but the combat is more organized, can be paused, planned).

 

[laclongquan]

Fallout 2 (with Fallout 1 as Ettu project).

Why? Based on the number of replays, and amount of time spending with it.

 

[Gradenmayer]

People find P:T pretentious? I always thought it was an easy to understand story, that combines a lot of sidestories, companion quests and bunch of the lore into the, overall great, main story.

Fallout is more fun to play though. So that's my pick.