Ixyroth said:
Brother None said:
Iozeph said:
Actually, Drakensang was pretty damned good, IMHO.
It's testament to the state of the RPG industry that one can call Drakensang pretty damned good with a straight face.
Comparatively Drakensang is pretty damn good. If it were released in a more healthy time for RPGs it'd be instantly forgettable.
Drankensang was a really bland NWN 2 clone, with virtually zero party interaction, except for Dranor's and Rhulana's sidequests. The premise of the story was interesting, shapeshifting reptilians in disguise as humans, etc., but it wasn't executed very well.
I'll agree that it's a testament to how bad CRPGs are faring that I give Drakensang such praise. On the other hand, when would you not give a game like Drakensang praise? I feel that we're viewing Fallouts 1 and 2(and CRPGs in general) with rose coloured glasses.
Fallout 1 & 2 never let you customise your party members beyond giving them arms/armour and dictating tactics. Which was fine. Dialogue and interaction between party members was limited to non existent and interaction with the player was about the same after you did whatever quests needed doing to bring those characters into your party.(notable exceptions being things like Cassidy's heart attack and Sulik's colour text) BG 1&2 did party interactions better. So? I still love my original fallout games.
Removing graphics and sound, which are just boilerplate anyway, how much of the genre, pre and post Fallout 1&2, wasn't forgettable? How many games adhered to the standards we judge "good" CRPGs by in the last 20-25 years? Several of the Ultimas come to mind, Fallouts 1&2, of course, Torment, Jagged Alliance 2, Darklands, Bg 1&2 etc. But even back in their supposed heyday, these beloved titles still fell into the category of niche gaming when compared to the overwhelming amount of mindless crap that's been shoveled at gamers before and up to now.
Almost all of those titles had flaws or bugs to some degree but the remainder of the body of work was good enough to make me overlook them. I could say the same for many modern games, even if I don't prefer them over my older favourites.
The older I get, and the more this topic gets thrown around, the more I feel as if it's a case of future shock on our part. I find it hard to believe that there ever
was a good old days for CRPGs because bringing good, solid, authentic, CRPGs to computer gaming(regardless of platform) seems to have always been an uphill endeavour. So many of the titles and the companies that changed our gaming lives are now
gone. Some reward they got for all of those good memories, eh?
As a gamer in this niche I can freely admit that I am nearly impossible to satisfy. That's why I've clung to the few "good" games that I've managed to get my hands on, and why I've been known to get defensive/nasty with people on message boards when they threaten to butcher those sacred cows. It's why I've sometimes turned on people I once respected for making some of my favourite games when they've seemingly sold out. After all, you're only as good as the last "good" game you've made or the last quote you've given in an interview that people happen to agree with. I'm fickle that way. We all are to a degree. Yet I'm still playing some of their games. On some levels that definitely makes me a hypocrite.
Guilty as charged. I'm addicted to games. Sue me.
Truth be told, I've all but given up on finding that ideal game. Now, I simply find myself hoping that, periodically, something will be released that I can
tolerate playing. It's that or find a new hobby. I don't like it, but I'm learning to deal with it- even if I'm bitching incessantly as I do so.
