The Gamespot review

[Bryy]

 

Reading the review, a lot of it rang true to me.

 

He gave Dragon Age Inquistion a better score with its laughable story and cartoonish world.  That's the point.  For that matter he gave Divinity: Original Sin a better score despite again having a vastly inferior story and vastly inferior world.  Dude has bad taste, or simply doesn't play these kinds of games for the story and setting which is just bizarre. 

 

Well... on a technical level, both games are better than PoE.

[Stun]

Reading the review, a lot of it rang true to me.

It's actually quite a good read, as far as gamespot reviews go. Here's a link to it, btw, since no one else bothered to post it:

 

http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pillars-of-eternity-review/1900-6416091/

 

If anything, he was excessively generous, praising the stronghold (for example), when he could have very easily, (and legitimately) bashed the stronghold as the sticks-out-like-a-sore-thumb, facebook-game-wannabe that it is. And he took the Double click bug in stride, not letting it affect his review of the game itself, which is more than we can say for some of the fans, who spammed Metacritic with 0's because of it.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Stun

[Atheosis]

 

 

Reading the review, a lot of it rang true to me.

 

He gave Dragon Age Inquistion a better score with its laughable story and cartoonish world.  That's the point.  For that matter he gave Divinity: Original Sin a better score despite again having a vastly inferior story and vastly inferior world.  Dude has bad taste, or simply doesn't play these kinds of games for the story and setting which is just bizarre. 

 

Well... on a technical level, both games are better than PoE.

 

 

I don't really agree.  Not that I even see the point one way or the other.  Better story, better world, better lore...it should be obvious which game is the better RPG.

[Wulfram]

 

Reading the review, a lot of it rang true to me.

 

He gave Dragon Age Inquistion a better score with its laughable story and cartoonish world.  That's the point.  For that matter he gave Divinity: Original Sin a better score despite again having a vastly inferior story and vastly inferior world.  Dude has bad taste, or simply doesn't play these kinds of games for the story and setting which is just bizarre. 

 

 

Well, I liked DAI too.  Both games are good enough to justify a 10 and flawed enough to justify a 7, depending on subjective taste.

 

But I don't really think the score matters too much.  I was commenting on the text of the review, which I think contains valid and well explained criticisms while acknowledging the game's strengths.

[ratoa]

This type of game are made for certain audiences 

 

Not everyone likes to spend precious minutes reading text.

 

is a Niche game that was only possible with us backing on KS

 

with that been said DA:I is full of bugs as well reason on why I haven't even bothered to buy it....maybe after patch 12 

[Stun]

Better story, better world, better lore...it should be obvious which game is the better RPG.

No it's not Obvious?

 

If we only rated RPGs on story, lore and world, maybe you'd have a point. But last I checked, Gameplay matters in a game too. And I imagine someone from Gamespot who experienced Divinity Original Sin's combat and environment interaction (for example) would probably argue that on those points alone we suddenly go from Obvious, to not-so-obvious at all.

 

Also, I've yet to meet anyone who's played Both DA:I and PoE and came to the conclusion that PoE did its stronghold better (for example again)

 

Personally, I think DA:I is damned for its 100 hours of collection quest tedium and its carpel tunnel syndrome-inducing PC controls... Divinity Original Sin, on the other hand, has enough endearing qualities to compete on equal footing with PoE, and perhaps even beat it out.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Stun

[View619]

It's one reviewer with his own opinion. Why is this even a topic?

 

8/10 isn't even a bad score, and if somebody gave DA:I a higher score so what? 

Edited April 7, 2015 by View619

[Katarack21]

 

No it's not Obvious?

 

If we only rated RPGs on story, lore and world, maybe you'd have a point. But last I checked, Gameplay matters in a game too. And I imagine someone from Gamespot who experienced Divinity Original Sin's combat and environment interaction (for example) would probably argue that on those points alone we suddenly go from Obvious, to not-so-obvious at all.

Environment interaction, yes. But PoE has combat that is so much deeper and more tactical. The environment interaction gives a sensation of strategy in D:OS that isn't really present; mostly it's very simple turn-based combat with occasional environment improv. The environment interaction in D:OS rarely get's more complex than anything you ever saw in Bioshock, or even Doom. It just looks so pretty, and is the first time it's really been integrated like that in an RPG.

 

PoE's combat involves much more tactical and strategic analysis and reaction. There's a *reason* so many first-time and casual players complain about the difficulty; it's because this kind of deep and complex tactical combat hasn't really been seen in a long time.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Katarack21

[Atheosis]

 

Better story, better world, better lore...it should be obvious which game is the better RPG.

No it's not Obvious?

 

If we only rated RPGs on story, lore and world, maybe you'd have a point. But last I checked, Gameplay matters in a game too. And I imagine someone from Gamespot who experienced Divinity Original Sin's combat and environment interaction (for example) would probably argue that on those points alone we suddenly go from Obvious, to not-so-obvious at all.

 

Also, I've yet to meet anyone who's played Both DA:I and PoE and came to the conclusion that PoE did its stronghold better (for example again)

 

Personally, I think DA:I is damned for its 100 hours of collection quest tedium. Divinity Original Sin, on the other hand, has enough endearing qualities to compete on totally equal footing with PoE, and perhaps even beat it out.

 

 

When everything else is good to great in each game in question, yeah the story and setting are most important and PoE >>>>>> those two games in that area.  Honestly I don't mind the 8 score.  I wouldn't even mind a 7 or a 6.  Van Ord has his own personal tastes.  The issue for me is that I find his taste in games in consistently bad with him consistently underrating my preferred games while overrating many games I find to be tripe.  Again this is an issue of personal taste of course, and I find Van Ord's taste in games to be horrible.

[Bryy]

It's a game.

 

A game you play.

 

Gameplay is the most important thing.

 

I'm not going to shell out $44 for story.

[Atheosis]

Honestly I just don't think Van Ord is a real CRPG player.  He gets saddled with them as Gamespot's resident RPG reviewer, but the dude gave ME 3 a 9 too.  He just really prioritizes shiny graphics and action combat over good writing and quality setting creation.  And no I didn't hate ME 3, I just thought it was an action game with uneven writing and RPG elements.  My favorite thing about it was the MP in fact, which I found very telling.  It just wasn't a 9 as far as I'm concerned, but it fits Van Ord's track record as a reviewer.  I think he liked Divinity: Original Sin more because of the flashier spell effects and nothing more.  It's just who the dude is, and I tend to ignore his reviews because of it.

[Atheosis]

It's a game.

 

A game you play.

 

Gameplay is the most important thing.

 

I'm not going to shell out $44 for story.

 

The gameplay is awesome too though.

 

Also are you an avid CRPG fan?  I'm just curious, because I feel like saying that is just weird when talking about this genre.  Fallout 3 and Skyrim were heavily undermined by their poor writing and story.  So was Mass Effect 3 when the end hit.  So are the Dragon Age games.  I just don't get how a person can rate a game in a story-driven really highly when the story part falls flat.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Atheosis

[Katarack21]

It's a game.

 

A game you play.

 

Gameplay is the most important thing.

 

I'm not going to shell out $44 for story.

It's entertainment. I want story and characters; I'm not going to shell out 45 bucks for very pretty crap. I don't go see Michael Bay movies, either.

[huang]

The only thing that's more superfluous than numbered ratings for games is talking about those numbered ratings. :D

[Bryy]

The point being that neither can overtake the other. And ultimately? Gameplay will always trump story in a design sense.

[Katarack21]

The point being that neither can overtake the other. And ultimately? Gameplay will always trump story in a design sense.

Depends on what kind of game it is. Some games are designed from story on up, and they can and do sell well if done properly. Nobody lost money on Planescape: Torment.

[Atheosis]

 

It's a game.

 

A game you play.

 

Gameplay is the most important thing.

 

I'm not going to shell out $44 for story.

It's entertainment. I want story and characters; I'm not going to shell out 45 bucks for very pretty crap. I don't go see Michael Bay movies, either.

 

 

^ This.  And again PoE's gameplay is very good.  It has it's flaws but so do the other games in question.

[Katarack21]

Exactly. I don't demand that every game I play has 800,000 lines of text, but there is a certain minimum standard of story I need to get. I'm the guy who *would* play the CoD solo-player game, and would probably ignore the multiplayer entirely.

[Bryy]

 

The point being that neither can overtake the other. And ultimately? Gameplay will always trump story in a design sense.

Depends on what kind of game it is. Some games are designed from story on up, and they can and do sell well if done properly. Nobody lost money on Planescape: Torment.

 

Read the original design doc for Torment. It was very much designed with gameplay as a huge factor, moreso than what we actually ended up with. Being able to rip off limbs and use them as clubs? Yes please.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Bryy

[jacktors]

Just - wow. I can't believe the score Kevin van Ord gives PoE. 8/10, when he gave Dragon Age : Inquisition 9/10. AND Divinity Original Sin?!! Is he for real?

 

PoE is not perfect, but 8/10?

 

Something is definitely up here. Did the devs p*ss Van Ord off??

 

How can he say D:OS is a 'glimpse of the future' but PoE is treading the fine line between clone and homage? I lost interest in D:OS pretty quickly, the world is just too fairytale and garish, and everything is covered in either slime, fire or ice!!

 

I'm shocked by this review. Genuinely shocked.

[Atheosis]

 

 

The point being that neither can overtake the other. And ultimately? Gameplay will always trump story in a design sense.

Depends on what kind of game it is. Some games are designed from story on up, and they can and do sell well if done properly. Nobody lost money on Planescape: Torment.

 

Read the original design doc for Torment. It was very much designed with gameplay as a huge factor, moreso than what we actually ended up with. Being able to rip off limbs and use them as clubs? Yes please.

 

What is your point?  Both it and PoE were built story first and gameplay second, but in both cases gameplay was also a priority and came out quite good as well.

[jacktors]

So, 10/10 is flawless, no bugs, phenomenal graphics, gameplay, story, combat.

9/10 is almost perfect, with extremely minor flaws, top notch graphics, combat, ganeplay, story...

8/10, is a great game With above average graphics, story, combat, gameplay. But a few bugs, glitches and small things that could be fixed.

 

I see no problem with this review score. Very few games should warrant a perfect 10/10 score. And 9/10 score should be just as stingy a score to give. An 8 is a great score for this game imo.

[sparklecat]

...you think P:T's gameplay was good?

[Atheosis]

...you think P:T's gameplay was good?

 

It's been a really long time, but I don't recall it being bad.  Not that it much matters since that game's story made it great all on its own.

[Byeohazard]

People still read Gamespot? That said, I think 8/10 is fair. DA:I should never have gotten a 9, however.

Back in the late 90's early mid 2000's Gamespot use to be my go to review site. I rarely visit any longer. If I were to compare it to a city these days Las Vegas comes to mind.