PoE looks promising but!

[Inviolable]

BG2 was one of the best games I've played, just last year an enhanced version came out and proved to be very popular.PoE tried to mirror some aspects of BG2, such as combat mechanics, but after buying the game and playing, I felt there were more misses than hits. I applaud the effort but I hope to see better changes to come. Although BG2 was great, I hope to play a different game that is better.

 

1) Too complicated combat mechanics, in BG2 it was all kept simple with hits/misses/resistances/saving throws. In PoE they overdid it by adding way too many combat mechanics. Simplify it so that the formulas are kept minimal and simple, nobody likes to play maths games when trying to enjoy a computer game.

 

2) Story in PoE is uninspiring. Playing as a god's child was awesome in BG2, the story was immense, complicated with many characters and organisations being involved. PoE dark and mysterious atmosphere is great but it's just not as exciting. The Forgotten Realm's legacy has always been a hit, and definitely it played a party in making BG2 such a success. PoE could too but they tried to put too many things into one.

 

3) Party members interaction was really interesting in BG2, more so because they actually felt REAL. My good party of Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc,they all made a good mark in my memory. I particularly love my evil party comprising of Vicionia, Edwin, Kagain, they were really powerful and their evil sayings made me grin.  PoE tried to copy that but the characters so far have been really dull and didn't really leave a mark in my memory. There were times when I played PoE and nearly fell asleep!

 

4) Items are really boring as well. BG2 had so many remarkable items, Celestial Fury, Foebane, Flail of the Ages, Ring Of Gaxx,Crom Faeyr... not so in PoE. Need a huge improvement in that. 

[Frond]

Just to point out something for your number 4 -

 

I think Pillars is supposed to be like Baldur's Gate 1 in the item department. There were only 2 +3 items in the entire game, I believe. As we get to a higher level in Pillars (expansion, sequel) I'm sure there will be epic level items.

[Hebruixe]

Unfortunately PoE doesn't excel at making great first impressions. But it's got depth. And it's got some truly inspired content, tucked away like buried treasure. If you race through the world like it's Azeroth (God forbid, seriously), you're gonna miss a ton of mysterious and exciting lore. 

[Althernai]

BG2 was one of the best games I've played, just last year an enhanced version came out and proved to be very popular.PoE tried to mirror some aspects of BG2, such as combat mechanics, but after buying the game and playing, I felt there were more misses than hits. I applaud the effort but I hope to see better changes to come. Although BG2 was great, I hope to play a different game that is better.

In my opinion, PoE is not that game, but it is still quite good and probably better than BG1.

1) Too complicated combat mechanics, in BG2 it was all kept simple with hits/misses/resistances/saving throws. In PoE they overdid it by adding way too many combat mechanics. Simplify it so that the formulas are kept minimal and simple, nobody likes to play maths games when trying to enjoy a computer game.

AD&D 2nd edition mechanics were not particularly simple. Once you play through PoE once, it should be about as complex (in fact, perhaps a bit less so since there are many fewer spells). 

2) Story in PoE is uninspiring. Playing as a god's child was awesome in BG2, the story was immense, complicated with many characters and organisations being involved. PoE dark and mysterious atmosphere is great but it's just not as exciting. The Forgotten Realm's legacy has always been a hit, and definitely it played a party in making BG2 such a success. PoE could too but they tried to put too many things into one.

The story gets slightly better as you learn more of it, but yes, it's not quite as good.

3) Party members interaction was really interesting in BG2, more so because they actually felt REAL. My good party of Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc,they all made a good mark in my memory. I particularly love my evil party comprising of Vicionia, Edwin, Kagain, they were really powerful and their evil sayings made me grin.  PoE tried to copy that but the characters so far have been really dull and didn't really leave a mark in my memory. There were times when I played PoE and nearly fell asleep!

Give the PoE companions a chance. I thought they were pretty boring at first, but they become more interesting as you get to know them better.

4) Items are really boring as well. BG2 had so many remarkable items, Celestial Fury, Foebane, Flail of the Ages, Ring Of Gaxx,Crom Faeyr... not so in PoE. Need a huge improvement in that.

No argument there. PoE has a few items that are better than the rest, but honestly, you're not going to find anything half as exciting as what you got in BG2.

[Voss]

Unfortunately PoE doesn't excel at making great first impressions. But it's got depth. And it's got some truly inspired content, tucked away like buried treasure. If you race through the world like it's Azeroth (God forbid, seriously), you're gonna miss a ton of mysterious and exciting lore. 

Disagree entirely.  There is a ton of mindlessly derivative nonsense unrelated to anything at all, but nothing inspired or interesting.  Or hidden, particularly.  Just click on anything that passes by, nod at the infodump, shrug and move on.  Azeroth sadly has a lot more hidden and interesting secrets. 

 

My first impression was actually pretty good.  It even stayed pretty steady over the course of the sidequests in chapter one.  Chapter two lowered it immensely, the end of chapter 2 broke my opinion entirely, and chapter 3 impressed me immensely (in a bad way) by having the game/story devolve even further into railroad nonsense, bad even worse storytelling and nothing interesting to see or do, except witness writers regurgitate the same stale palp they've done a half-dozen times before.   All the while the game became less challenging, less interesting and less interactive. 

Edited May 3, 2015 by Voss

[Nakia]

I like the fact that you are not some god's essence or off spring.  Just a simple adventurer caught up in something you do not understand.  I loved Planescape/Torment and its theme of searching for  who you are.     This is exactly what I hoped OE would do when I made my first Kickstarter pledge.    I think OE has done an excellent job with this.

 

As for combat I am by no means a master fighter and I play on Normal difficulty.  I find this gives me sufficient challenge without frustrating me.    From posts I have seen on the forum I am beginning to suspect that some people feel they have to play on Hard or even PotD to prove something to themselves.  I play games for fun and entertainment and I am not in competition with anyone but myself.  I don't find the fighting complicated but it does take some strategic thinking.

 

I like the companions provided by OE.  The interaction is not as complicated as BG2's was but neither is it as intrusive in my opinion.  I have more control over it and I like that.

 

It is true that you do not get the epic weapons and armour you got in BG2 or even some of the fun items.  Remember that talking sword?  You can enchant weapons and armour and make them more powerful.  Also BG2 was a sequel to BG!   Your character started at level eight if I recall correctly.     

 

I think the game has a great deal of depth and raises questions and opinions that are very controversial and thought provoking.   I find that I need to stop and think about my dialogue questions and answers at times. The background of my character influences my response.  Who my character is and has been is important to me.

 

I have a great many of choices right from the Character creation on into the game.  This makes the game my game and not just a game I play in a certain way because I have no choice.  I do have choices and they matter in the game.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Nakia