So as much as I'll rag on Pillars of Eternity 2, The Outer Worlds, and New Vegas I still have to admit that Obsidian Entertainment makes some pretty great games and rpgs.
Some better then others, so I figured that I would share my thoughts of them starting with the best and going down the list.
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Neverwinter Nights 2: Neverwinter Nights 2 is one of those games that feels like it will never come again. The Loud music of the Harvest Festival seared into your heads, the stupidly complexity of the DnD 3..5 system and all of the race and background and class choices, how each of your companions though simplistic at first each have something to make them stand out as well as a complex plot of gambit pile ups upon gambit pile ups as opposing factions trip the **** over eachother as their scheming brings them into eachother's crosshairs by sheer accident.
It's fantastic.
And with all Obsidian games. . .there's a lot of cut content. Qara your Sorcerer companion is mostly cut content with only the barest bit to make her functional left in the game, Neeshka (who is bae) had her romance cut.
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Pillars of Eternity: Pillars of Eternity is Obsidian's first real solo adventure that they had had in decades. A brand new CRPG, in a brand new hand-crafted world, with unique peoples, cultures, languages, gods, and all of it wrapped around a world coming into it's Renesceance.
Pillars 1 has some of the best companion characters that they have ever made, with notable stand-outs being Durance the Self-aggrandizing Priest who hate/loves his own Goddess after he helped kill a god.
Or That Village woman who is super super cool in concept but sucks to actually use because the other companions never talk to her and mostly just ignore her entirely.
Or Pallegina whose arc revolves around whether it is best to follow her orders, or do her best to break those orders to better benefit her people for better or for worse.
Or Aloth your Wizard pal who has a severe case of one too many people inside his own head.
Or Hirevias the Druid trying to come to terms with his past (seriously I highly recommend picking Hiravias up as immediately as possible as he has SO MUCH dialogue in parts 2 and 3 of the game once you hit the big city)
Sagani trying to complete her quest so she could finally return home, scared that her own family has forgotten her.
And Kana Rua your giant friendly historian buddy whose sister you can date in the sequel.
Genuinely one of the best games that Obsidian has ever made, even if their Rtwp system feels odd to go back to after playing the sequel.
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Pillars of Eternity 2:
Do you like Voice Acting? Ship to Ship combat? Turn-Based Combat?
No. . .Aww.
Pillars 2 takes place in the Deadfire Archipelago (Not the Dreadfire as it turns out, that was another Berenstein bears situation it seems) where you go chasing after the God who destroyed your well earned castle and home from the last game, and find yourself once more at the whims of the Gods.
While chasing after this threat you find yourself embroiled in the political machinations of the factions of the region.
The Huana: Or more specifically the Huana Tribe of the Kahanga who seeks to unify their people under their absolute monarchist banner in order to stave off the outsiders who are attempting to colonize the archipelago for themselves. Perhaps the most ethically good faction of the bunch hampered severely by their Caste system.
The Royal Deadfire Company: The Faction of Rautai. Rautai's heritage belongs to that of the Archipelago as the same people who became the Huana and the Rautai were once the same, until a cataclysmic event led Rautai to flee and conquer Rautai for themselves having lost their homes. Now they are back to share their new culture and ways with the Huana.
So think Imperialism being forced on you by your cousin, but in exchange they bring you Forts, Gunfire, and tear down the caste system entirely.
The Vailian Trading Company: think the East Empire Trading Company. Their goal is profit. They seek to harvest, exploit, sell, and steal anything and everything that they can get their hands on. Stealing land from the Huana? It's all good! Working with Slavers in Huana lands, also good! Really the only thing they have going for them is that they don't want to conquer the Archipelago as much as they wish to exploit it and it's wealth of Arda.
Amusingly they have what is either one of the most hopeful and one of the most dour endings of the game.
Principi sen Patrena: The Princes without Patrons. Pirates of the sea, refugees from Old Vailia, who seek to claim a new homeland for themselves and or as much profit as they possibly can.
They are perhaps the most colorful faction in the game. . .and also the most inconsequential in regards to the actual main plot of the game. Without a doubt the faction with the most potential for change with the most colorful characters and system of government. . . but again inconsequential. Don't do them for your first choice.
Cool companions, each of which I tend to play in two teams.
A Team: The Factions Gang
B Team: Main Plot Gang.
The Turn Based mode is odd but works oddly well after a while.
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Alpha Protocol is a broken broken ass Spy game that is easy to break over your knee and is shockingly reactive to your choices and method of play. I highly recommend it.
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Fallout New Vegas: Great Game, overhyped by everyone over the years, still pretty great even if only two game paths are actually viable and thus a player wanting to make their golden endings tend to make the exact same choices every single time.
The Legion Sucks narratively because they could have been so so so much more interesting, and it feels like they were placed in the game first and written backwards.
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running out of time before having to leave for work
Uh The Outer Worlds decent, but it only has a single joke and message that ultimately does nothing with it.
Best planet for writing and choices is Monarch, Best companions are Parvarti, Maxwell, and Fenix in that order, again a game where the choices are far far too easy.
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And those are my rushed thoughts on Obsidian Entertainment games.
What about the rest of y'all? What are your thoughts on their catalog?
