Spill your blasphemous opinions on CRPGs here

[forgottenlor]

The ability to role-play a character how you see fit is more important than anything else, including advancement mechanics or combat.

 

BG1 is better than BG2.

 

A superhero RPG would be the best concept ever.

Have you played Freedom Force? I know its more of SRPG, but I loved both parts. There was also a Superhero MMORPG, but I no longer play MMOs so I can't say if its any good. I definately agree its an underused genre.

[forgottenlor]

 

forgottenlor & Orogun01: I bought VtM:B on some Steam sale over X-mas, so I have yet to play that game. Your replies certainly gets my hopes up!

As per usual, there is the intro guide to VtM:B (I liked how you wrote it): You shouldn't play Malkavian on your first playthrough, is a very different experience that may confuse if you don't know the story. It also takes some previous knowledge of the story to fully appreciate(translate) the Malkavian dialogue.

 

If you're planning to do more than one playthrough, two suggestions: Try out the Clan Quest mod and put some space between your playthroughs. I don't know why but whenever I restart the game after I completed it I'm still on the mindframe of my previous character which somehow ruins my current one. After I wait for a bit I can get into the game without trouble.

 

PS: I'm kind of jealous that you get to experience the Haunted house for the first time.

 

 

You definately want to have this game patched. I think the community has made 9 or so. Also Vampire is one of those few games where its better not to overly specialize. I had a much more difficult playthrough the first time with my Gangrel close combat/ Thief character than I did in my playthroughs with a Toreodor and Ventrue all-arounder.

[Keyrock]

Some more:

 

• I wish I could punch J.R.R. Tolkien in the face for making elves what they are now
• I would rather Dragon Age 3 went The Full Shepard than back to DA:O style combat or the awful hybrid they created for DA2 (though I'll take DA:O combat over DA2 combat in a heartbeat)
• Contemporary real world setting is much better than the vast majority of settings

[Maedhros]

Pretty much every "beloved" oldschool crpg plays terribly now. Clunky controls, ugly graphics, boring dungeon grinding, etc. Even newer ones like the Kotor games, and NWN 2 are horrible to play now. Jade Empire passed the test of time slightly better. I thought Dragon Age handled controls and combat better than pretty much any crpg released.

 

Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 were horrible games. Waste of my time, both. Same goes for Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege III.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Thingolfin

[NOK222]

 

 

-I almost never bother with an "evil" playthrough any more. Evil in CRPGs always seems to boil down to being stupidly cruel, and rarely make sense in context with the rest of the story. "I'm going to save the world! But first, let me beat up this old woman for her 3 copper pieces!"

 

 

You, I like you. 

[Malcador]

Inventory tetris is best

[Quadrone]

This thread makes me genuinely sad.

 

But maybe I shouldn't be be so surprised to see that the only one with the correct opinion is as always... me.

[IndiraLightfoot]

I've just love-bombed this thread! There are so many nasty and educational replies!

 

forgottenlor and Orogun01: A big thx for the VtM:B-tips!!

[Monte Carlo]

'Deep' NPCs are overrated.

[Sarex]

• I wish I could punch J.R.R. Tolkien in the face for making elves what they are now

 

How is that his fault?

[Keyrock]

 

• I wish I could punch J.R.R. Tolkien in the face for making elves what they are now

 

How is that his fault?

 

Elves, as they first were conceived by whatever Germanic tribe, were very different than what elves are depicted as in popular culture right now.  The current depiction of elves all stem from Tolkien's depiction of them.

[drake heath]

- I prefer Sci-Fi over Fantasy, seriously, I like Fantasy, but I'm tired of it, bring on some more sci-fi.

- Fallout 2 wasn't that good, Fallout 1 was better, and New Vegas was the best Fallout game.

- I enjoyed Fallout 3, but not for the crap story, it was fun to explore.

- I also liked Skyrim, quite a bit.

- I a bit of a graphics snob and I prefer 3rd person games over isometric, but I never expected PoE to be that.

- Old cRPGs have not aged well, especially the ones that use ADnD.

- Which is why I haven't, and probably will never finish Planescape.

- Alpha Protocol wasn't well put together, but I really liked it anyways.

- BioWare hasn't made a good game since DA:O.

- Mass Effect 3 is one of my favorite games... to viciously make fun of and hate, it's one of the dumbest "RPGs" I've ever had the displeasure to play.

- Also Crusader Kings 2 is the best RPG in the way it handles moral decisions.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

And another one: both the much reviled DA2 and ME3 were way better than DAO and ME2.

[Orogun01]

I like this thread.

[alanschu]

I enjoy that blasphemous comments can both be something like:

 

 

- Fallout 1 is better than Fallout 2

- Fallout 2 is better than Fallout 1

[IndiraLightfoot]

Here's another, inspired by Malacador's invo tetris comment:

Most CRPG inventory management is boring as hell. Imagine if CRPG characters could dress themselves for once.

Why not just script them to know what they need/should equip when they find the stuff? And any consumables that can be carried and used in combat should always be accessible, like one click away.

-And speaking of consumables, I almost always hate them: potions, scrolls, rations, you name it!

[HoonDing]

CRPGs suck.

[Monte Carlo]

I enjoy that blasphemous comments can both be something like:

 

 

- Fallout 1 is better than Fallout 2

- Fallout 2 is better than Fallout 1

 

I didn't particularly care for either of them and think Fallout: Tactics is better than both.

 

You may now form a lynch-mob.

[IndiraLightfoot]

CRPGs suck.

Very funny!   I almost couldn't type this after that uppercut!!

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Mages are pretty boring to play.

Paladins are the best class.

Two-Handed or Sword 'n' Board are cooler than Two-Weapons.

It sucks when there is a clear and consistent bias towards one class or style of play.

Arcanum is the biggest piece of crap I've ever played.

[Sarex]

Mages are pretty boring to play.

Paladins are the best class.

Two-Handed or Sword 'n' Board are cooler than Two-Weapons.

It sucks when there is a clear and consistent bias towards one class or style of play.

Arcanum is the biggest piece of crap I've ever played.

 

My brother from another mother.

[Amentep]

• I not only think a non-combat RPG is possible but would actually like to play one.

Oh I agree with this one entirely. Because if combat was what defined an RPG then hack-slash games would be the epitome of RPGs.

• I don't think perspective (1st person, 3rd person, isometric) matters to either being an RPG or to the innate quality of the product
• I don't think TB, RtWP, RT matter either
• I don't think there is an inherent superiority to computer RPGs over Console RPGs or vice-versa
• I don't really care about the setting as long as its compelling; from a practical standpoint video games interpretation of modern, science fiction and fantasy boil down to the same ideas presented in different ways and in their specific context.
• While games have gotten more complex (graphics, storylines, options and input ability), I'm not really convinced they've gotten better since I was playing Ultima and Phantasie and Wizardry.
• Who cares if you put on a piece of plate mail and your character appearance doesn't change?  Its an abstraction in a role playing game, not a computer based medieval armor wearing simulator.
• It is better to be a bad game that is entertaining than a good game that is boring

[213374U]

 

I enjoy that blasphemous comments can both be something like:

 

 

- Fallout 1 is better than Fallout 2

- Fallout 2 is better than Fallout 1

 

I didn't particularly care for either of them and think Fallout: Tactics is better than both.

 

You may now form a lynch-mob.

 

 

I felt some sort of primal feeling of rejection forming in the deepest reaches of my soul when I read your post. Then I realized I have probably replayed FOT more than FO1 and 2 combined.

 

I think now I know how Luke Skywalker felt.

[Tigranes]

What's more interesting is the 'orthodox' that is being presumed in order to describe what's 'blasphemous'. I imagine that in this forum quite a few of these opinions are the majority.

 

If I count 'blasphemous' in terms of 'what other people seem to disagree with me about':

-Mass Effect was unmitigated rubbish, it is embarrassingly terrible in writing, delivery, setting, and I'll stop there before I have to moderate my own posts

-Alpha Protocol is a wonderful RPG and anyone who was willing to give old school RPGs a few hours before they 'became fun' and gave up on AP for its clunkiness are being hypocritical

-'You won't like game x if you played it today' is an argument that should result in an automatic flogging, because it assumes that I dont play / enjoy those games anymore, it assumes people's tastes improve over time, it assumes games improve over time, and it means you prefer meaningless soundbites like 'product of its time' as opposed to actual discussion.

-TB / RTwP / RT are equally valid choices, the only problem is when the execution doesn't know what it wants to do. E.g. Fallout 3.

[Sarex]

Elves, as they first were conceived by whatever Germanic tribe, were very different than what elves are depicted as in popular culture right now.  The current depiction of elves all stem from Tolkien's depiction of them.

 

The things you describe are called faeries or sidhe and they have very little in common with the Elves. Granted that Tolkien drew inspiration from them, but that doesn't make it his fault that people today took inspiration from him and made it in to something else again.