OK, just for fun. let's do this
Skara Brea
Skara Brea
Skara Brae
Skara Brae
First of all, wow.
We are getting a true sequel.
While perhaps a matter of opinion, this is vastly debatable.
This new installment in the series builds upon the original story.
Well. It deviates significantly from the original story, but whatever.
Bard's Tale 4 does come with the lore and flavor of the originals.
Lore? An "adapted" version at best ... and the "flavor" of the game is very different from the originals.
In true fantasy fashion, you start with a lone adventurer and gather allies, gaining in power as you traverse all the twists and turns the story has to offer.
"In true fantasy fashion"? Fantasy RPGs are usually party-based. And not just games -
Lord of the Rings was party-based for crying out loud.
When making a game based on a series that started over thirty years ago, inXile has the daunting task of deciding when to stick to the trappings of the original and when to modernize components.
Only thing in the article worth a thumbs up. All these series revivals have been mine fields.
They have wisely done away with the faux first-person view and grid-based movement of the '80s
Grid-based movement is still to be included last I heard, and the original games were already proper first-person view.
Character creation and progression is very similar to the original games
Character creation and progression is
nothing like the original games.
(limited classes to start, unlock the more powerful classes as you progress)
In the original games this was only true of a few magic user prestige classes. All other classes were available at level 1 and no abilities unlocked as you levelled up, your numbers just got better. A level 50 Hunter was a level 1 Hunter with a better crit rate.
While most recent RPGs have shunned racial passive abilities, BT4 gives a nod to the original with each race having their own unique ability
The original games did not have unique racial abilities, just stat bonuses/penalties.
All races have male and female options
Except dwarves and elves.
While you have full control creating the main protagonist, the rest of your party will be made up of characters you find throughout the story.
You (eventually) have full control over creating the entire party. There is no main protagonist. You
can keep the "narrative PCs" provided if you wish, that's it.
You will still be able to reset their skill trees so there shouldn't be any worries about tweaking the party to fit your playstyle.
While unlimited respec is available in the beta, this will not be the case in the release version.
One thing is certain, you'll never have enough opportunity points to do everything you want in a single turn.
This is even more of a throwaway line than the rest of the article. It's quite possible to have all party members pull off their "big moves" in one turn, and cooldowns on important powers mean that sometimes the player will have more Opportunity than can be effectively used.
One thing that hasn't changed much from the original is the limited save opportunities.
The save system here is completely different from those of the original games, which notably even had different save systems from each other.
[inXile Entertainment has] done an excellent job of blending the old with the new, and fans of the original series, and dungeon crawlers in general, should be happy with the direction they have taken the genre.
Obvious to state, but to claim what grognards should or should not be happy with is the height of arrogance.
