Reviews

[rafoca]

I've only played the demo but for me the main points I am looking for now that I know what to expect:

 

1. Hopefully less-corridory maps (this seems to be confirmed).

2. Loot. I'm not even going to try and judge this on the demo ...

3. Dungeons. I'm hoping for some big dungeons with lots of interactivity.

4. Story. Hopefully some cool twists and C&C that help replay value.

5. Can't really test out the character system unless I can max a character.

 

Unfortunately I think I am going to have to wait for the price to go down. If you guys at Obsidian care why, here's why: For full price the game needs to be fully featured.

 

I compare 3rd Person Action RPG's to Sacred 2. In that title there is:

--Single player, story + free modes with 5 difficulty levels that support New Game+ up to the final difficulty level. That's Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Niob difficulty levels for Single Player Story Mode and Free Mode.

--There is also Multiplayer with Story + Free Mode and 5 difficulty levels.

--There is also Multiplayer PvP which is basically just Multiplayer Free Mode with PvP also 5 difficulty levels.

***Through all of these different gameplay modes you can take your character, level up, collect loot, and improve your character.

***These are pre-set characters with their own backstory. Each character has a unique class quest that spans the entirety of a single player adventure. Each character begins the campaign from their own perspective of the story.

--There is a Light and a Dark campaign.

--Four of the six characters can choose to complete either the Light or Dark campaign.

--Two of the characters have their alignments tied to their respective story.

--There are over 600 quests, some are really basic and some are very involved.

--A massive overland seamless map sits on top of hundreds upon hundreds of dungeons that run beneth the world. The world is hand crafted and more massive than most gamers will ever fully explore (even those that love the game).

*****4 Player Co-op ***2 Players playing couch co-op can go online together from the same Xbox***

*****Characters -that are not playing on the same Xbox- are not tethered to each other in any way. You can be on the other side of the gameworld from your companions if you want.

****!!**Every character has a unique mount! Your combat talents and normal attacks work while riding your unique mount. The game also features Horses for travel before you have quested for your mount.**!!****

 

---

TLDR version:

 

A full price game needs to stack up to the best in the genre for Xbox 360 for my money. I hope you guys sell a bunch of full priced copies so you make that money. I'll be waiting for that $20 - 30 price window.

 

 

I agree, friend

[Labadal]

Guys, I appreciate discussing the other games, but it's probably best to do that in the other (non-DS3) forums

 

Topics going off topic is the norm around here. But I do agree it should stay a little bit more on topic.

[Alpha]

you can't compare the "story" of sacred 2 with the story that will be in DS 3. Sacred main focus was co-op , like Borderlands that's why you see no much interaction with npc's. Dungeon main focus is story IMO.

 

My only big complain is the camera is worst than Sacred 2 camera.

Edited June 4, 2011 by Alpha

[MonkeyLungs]

The Sacred 2 camera is awesome. You can zoom in and see the faces of the NPC's or zoom out for a top down view. Right analog stick controls camera movement, all players have their own screen in online multiplayer and can go anywhere they like.

 

Further we don't know what the story is going to be like. Unlike most I don't put all my enthusiasm into hearing voice acting. I prefer text. Sacred 2 had quite bit of backstory and also some really fun and mutipart sidequests. Not much voice acting and almost no cutscenes though (which I view as a plus but apparently goes against the mantra of the new s***).

[Tigranes]

Story = Voice acting? O_o

[MonkeyLungs]

Story = Voice acting? O_o

 

Yeah it seems to me that's what alot of people think. If the game doesn't have full voice overs for all the lines then people tend to really knock down the story of the game. I blame the GD Newfans and their insistence that everything be voice acted. It's bloated, wasteful use of resources and if RPG's went back to just doing key voice overs ala Falout 1,2 and BGII I think gameplay, especially in the form of dialogue content, would improve. There would be more options, more skill checks, more class based dialogue, more unique paths etc.

[hopfrog16]

Story = Voice acting? O_o

 

Yeah it seems to me that's what alot of people think. If the game doesn't have full voice overs for all the lines then people tend to really knock down the story of the game. I blame the GD Newfans and their insistence that everything be voice acted. It's bloated, wasteful use of resources and if RPG's went back to just doing key voice overs ala Falout 1,2 and BGII I think gameplay, especially in the form of dialogue content, would improve. There would be more options, more skill checks, more class based dialogue, more unique paths etc.

 

Eh... I'd agree with this, but only because I'm an older gamer who grew up with this stuff, heh. If voice acting is done well, though, it can really add depth to a game I think... When it's bad it can really ruin what immersion you have in the game, however.

[Jean-Eric Khalife]

The blurriness on the textures is a bug that got introduced, but we were able to fix it in time, so by the time you guys play the full game the texture sharpness should be a lot higher and it will allow you to see a lot more detail in the textures. The quality should match what you've seen in the screenshots we've released. Thank you to those who pointed out the issue, you've been a big help.

[Cyrannos]

The blurriness on the textures is a bug that got introduced, but we were able to fix it in time, so by the time you guys play the full game the texture sharpness should be a lot higher and it will allow you to see a lot more detail in the textures. The quality should match what you've seen in the screenshots we've released. Thank you to those who pointed out the issue, you've been a big help.

 

While your at it, also fix the camera and controls for the pc.

[Flouride]

Finnish magazine Pelit gave the PC version 87/100 and a recommandation. Which is pretty good...

[beastlybob]

PC Games 85% Game Informer 8/10 GameStar 80% Good reviews so far for a great game! Grats.

[Cyn!c]

The blurriness on the textures is a bug that got introduced, but we were able to fix it in time, so by the time you guys play the full game the texture sharpness should be a lot higher and it will allow you to see a lot more detail in the textures. The quality should match what you've seen in the screenshots we've released. Thank you to those who pointed out the issue, you've been a big help.

 

Wow, really? Any chance that the frame rates for the PS3 will be more stable in the final release?

[Alpha]

The blurriness on the textures is a bug that got introduced, but we were able to fix it in time, so by the time you guys play the full game the texture sharpness should be a lot higher and it will allow you to see a lot more detail in the textures. The quality should match what you've seen in the screenshots we've released. Thank you to those who pointed out the issue, you've been a big help.

 

 

Is that apply to 360 too i will be very happy .

Edited June 10, 2011 by Alpha

[WorstUsernameEver]

The blurriness on the textures is a bug that got introduced, but we were able to fix it in time, so by the time you guys play the full game the texture sharpness should be a lot higher and it will allow you to see a lot more detail in the textures. The quality should match what you've seen in the screenshots we've released. Thank you to those who pointed out the issue, you've been a big help.

 

 

Is that apply to 360 too i will be very happy .

 

According to Nathaniel on Something Awful, it does.

[Bos_hybrid]

Not being able to create a character seems to be a negative point in some reviews. Funny thing is, I can't remember a recent H&S game that has had this.

 

Any reason why Obs went this route.

[sorophx]

Not being able to create a character seems to be a negative point in some reviews.

I wonder what they said about DA2

[Bos_hybrid]

Not being able to create a character seems to be a negative point in some reviews.

I wonder what they said about DA2

 

Nothing, because while you were always Hawke, it did have character customisation and class selection.

 

I don't remember anything about it being said when AP came out either.

[sorophx]

it did have character customisation

oh, right, I only played the demo version. as for class selection - DS3 has more classes than DA2

[Oner]

BTW I can't be arsed to buy a local mag just for the DS3 review, but on their homepage they say the game is one of this summer's most pleasant surprise.

[MonkeyLungs]

Not being able to create a character seems to be a negative point in some reviews.

I wonder what they said about DA2

 

Choosing a pre-determined character (aka Hawke) -even though you could customize her/him- was heavily criticised by fans of Origins, myself included.

[Bendu]

Some more scores:

 

play3: 83 %

ComputerBild Spiele: 80 %

 

 

And someone from SA forum said it got 8/10 from the EGM Magazine.

I was surprised to see a review for the game in the latest issue of EGM. They gave it an 8/10 and sounded really positive about it. There was a lot of praise for the setting and story, the characters, and the leveling system. Surprisingly, the reviewer seemed to be most impressed by the level of detail in the environments.

Edited June 11, 2011 by Bendu

[brandysnap]

only review place ive heard of so far is game informer, but even then i only know them by name and havent related to their scores before.

 

ill await some more reviews from other places that ive actually heard of before forming my opinion.

although im angling towards purchase even if their are some 6/10 scores. i like arpgs

[Flouride]

Finnish magazine Pelit gave the PC version 87/100 and a recommandation. Which is pretty good...

 

Now that I finally have the time, here's a short summary of the review:

 

- Story is sorta of cliche at the beginning, but later on turns out to be pretty good one.

- The game seemed hard at first, but once he learned the mechanics and got used to the controls he really enjoyed the game mechanics.

- He thought some of the "bought" abilitity and skill bonuses weren't as "visible" as he would have liked. 4% more dmg seems nice on paper, but leaves you guessing in reality how much use it is in reality.

- He liked the 9 "special powers", though they are quite fast seen and used.

- Choices you make during the game matter and the game differs from Torchligt and Diablo with it and dialogue&story elements. He liked how the story&dialogue kinda balanced the game since there's a lot of combat.

- Liked the level design and mentions the levels usually change before you get bored of the location.

- Not much of replay value if you compare it to Diablo/Torchlight since the maps aren't random, though the multiple different endings are a reason to play it through more than once.

- Technically the game is good, looks good enough, music creates an expected atmosphere/feeling and the interface/gui that is made (in his opinion) for consoles works on PC as well.

- He didn't like the camera. Says the closer camera is completely useless and would have personally preffered a camera angle from further away to get a better view on what's happening around you.

 

In conclusion he says the basic elements are working, story stays intresting until the end, but with even deeper character building and with more vary in content the game would have been excellent. In it's current state the game is "only" good light roleplaying entertainment. His copy didn't have multiplayer feature, so no comments about that.

 

87% and a recommendation stamp.

 

Sorry subliminal, no scans. Though I doubt you would understand Finnish anyways... I guess you will just have to trust me.

[Cyn!c]

Awesome, sounds a lot like what I felt from the demo. Ugh, still can't decide on which platform...

[Alpha]

Good to know the game is being well received by reviewers.