Favorite Infinity Engine games?
DiscoZombie
Join Date: 2003-08-05 Member: 18951Members
Join Date: 2003-08-05 Member: 18951Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">and similar style games</div>So the only Infinity Engine game I ever beat was Planescape: Torment, and it was one of the best games I ever played. Better written than most books I've ever read, such cool settings, and the gameplay was fun too.
I believe I got probably 10% through Baldur's Gate once upon a time, but I was borrowing the game so I never got to finish it.
I bought Neverwinter Nights I think, but I got frustrated at the difficulty when I was getting killed in one of the first battles outside the first town and put that game down. Or was that Icewind Dale? I think that was it. Stupid confusing names. I don't think I ever played Neverwinter Nights, and it wasn't on the same engine either, was it? just a similar look and feel?
I know many people think the games in these series are some of the best RPGs ever, so I'm interested in hearing which one(s) I should consider tracking down and giving another shot.
I believe I got probably 10% through Baldur's Gate once upon a time, but I was borrowing the game so I never got to finish it.
I bought Neverwinter Nights I think, but I got frustrated at the difficulty when I was getting killed in one of the first battles outside the first town and put that game down. Or was that Icewind Dale? I think that was it. Stupid confusing names. I don't think I ever played Neverwinter Nights, and it wasn't on the same engine either, was it? just a similar look and feel?
I know many people think the games in these series are some of the best RPGs ever, so I'm interested in hearing which one(s) I should consider tracking down and giving another shot.
Comments
The only Infinity Engine games were Torment, the Baldur's Gate series, and the Icewind Dale series. Planescape's by far my favorite of the three.
Neverwinter Nights was 100% 3d. Not even a similar engine.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I guess it was just the cold-themed two-word abstract-fantasy-compound-name titles that made me confuse the two series and think they were similar =p
I guess it was just the cold-themed two-word abstract-fantasy-compound-name titles that made me confuse the two series and think they were similar =p
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Nights isn't inherently cold. Arabian Nights, for example, is far from cold.
I thought NWN was pretty boring really :X
In general I actually feel rather sad for the RPG genre in the last many years (imho NWN kinda marked the beginning of the downfall), nearly every RPG atm is either: Hack and Slash, Action-RPG thing (with a boring/generic story), or a Console RPG. Not bashing those genres - I just find it peculiar that the 'classic' RPG genre is scrapped. Some say we've moved on, I just find it sad how old stuff is simply discarded because it's
'outdated' and not 'technologically advanced enough' - which is basically why people don't want turnbased games.
I mean, people still play chess ffs, it's not like everyone is going "LOLCHESSMUSTGOREALTIME" - wait, someone probably said that, anyway point is - <i>it wouldn't be a better game, if it was</i>
Planescape torment was indeed nice, and it had an awesome setting - and guess what? In the regular "truly awesome things must be scrapped/discontinued" philosophy that so many companies seem to run, Wizards of the Coast has discontinued it (there was some AD&D books made for the setting).
I thought NWN was pretty boring really :X
In general I actually feel rather sad for the RPG genre in the last many years (imho NWN kinda marked the beginning of the downfall), nearly every RPG atm is either: Hack and Slash, Action-RPG thing (with a boring/generic story), or a Console RPG. Not bashing those genres - I just find it peculiar that the 'classic' RPG genre is scrapped. Some say we've moved on, I just find it sad how old stuff is simply discarded because it's
'outdated' and not 'technologically advanced enough' - which is basically why people don't want turnbased games.
I mean, people still play chess ffs, it's not like everyone is going "LOLCHESSMUSTGOREALTIME" - wait, someone probably said that, anyway point is - <i>it wouldn't be a better game, if it was</i>
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very good post. I haven't played a *real* RPG with a worthwhile story in ages. I guess that's why I had the urge to look back to the past =p
and the campaign setting was scrapped because it was just silly (and generally broken)
very good post. I haven't played a *real* RPG with a worthwhile story in ages. I guess that's why I had the urge to look back to the past =p
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Anyone who hasn't been able to find real RPGs lately hasn't been looking. Spiderweb Software's stuff, Gothic 3, Neverwinter Nights 2, Jade Empire, and stuff like that have been coming out all over, not to mention the biggies like Oblivion.
also, my main quarrel is with lack of story and character development, of which Oblivion has nigh-zero.
Oblivion has a lot of silly things that ruins the illusion, the illusion it pretty much requires to work. Another way of saying it(well, I guess it's an entirely different 'problem' though somewhat related), is that it replaced the old way of rolling dice and whatnot that tradional Pen and Paper RPGs (and thus traditional computer RPGs) had with a more 'action-oriented' 3D thing - but when said thing is horribly bugged/flawed/lacking, then it falls apart.
And don't get me started on the dialogue, GOOD GOD. "LOL MUDCRAB" "ORLY!?" "YARLY!" "BE CARFUL, PLZKTHX?" "RGR"
Gothic I know next to nothing about, except it's similar in scope and overall design as Oblivion - my geeky senses tell me it suffers from similar things as oblivion.
From my knowledge then Jade Empire is also quite action RPG styled. Can't say anything about the story though, I miss the good story/character development and the old-school dice-rolling method.
Neverwinter Nights 2, I don't know I never tried it, given my distaste of the first game (and how NWN2 was apparently pretty shoddy coded - poor performance and bugs) I'm not particulary eager to try it :X. That said I have heard good things about it, so maybe I'll try it at some point.
NWN2 really the only game on your list that lives up to what I personally am missing from RPGs today - except it might do a crappy job at it, I don't know.
I've been meaning to play jade empire but have been waiting for it to come down in price a bit more. same with Okami, though that's more of an adventure game, right? then again, so is jade empire, isn't it? gothic also, now that I think about it =p
I couldn't have fun with Oblivion because it triggers my min/max OCD. I couldn't level up unless I did so with the absolute best possible stat-ups, and that can be verrry tedious.
I couldn't have fun with Oblivion because it triggers my min/max OCD. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, I liked Oblivion/Morrowind but I put a lot of time into both Collecting things. I play RPG's for the treasure hunt, rare spells, skills, items... I had random houses just filled with stuff I had enchanted/collected. If I was like that in real life I would probably be on medication.
Oblivion sucks the <censored> though.
also, my main quarrel is with lack of story and character development, of which Oblivion has nigh-zero.
Oblivion has a lot of silly things that ruins the illusion, the illusion it pretty much requires to work. Another way of saying it(well, I guess it's an entirely different 'problem' though somewhat related), is that it replaced the old way of rolling dice and whatnot that tradional Pen and Paper RPGs (and thus traditional computer RPGs) had with a more 'action-oriented' 3D thing - but when said thing is horribly bugged/flawed/lacking, then it falls apart.
And don't get me started on the dialogue, GOOD GOD. "LOL MUDCRAB" "ORLY!?" "YARLY!" "BE CARFUL, PLZKTHX?" "RGR"
Gothic I know next to nothing about, except it's similar in scope and overall design as Oblivion - my geeky senses tell me it suffers from similar things as oblivion.
From my knowledge then Jade Empire is also quite action RPG styled. Can't say anything about the story though, I miss the good story/character development and the old-school dice-rolling method.
Neverwinter Nights 2, I don't know I never tried it, given my distaste of the first game (and how NWN2 was apparently pretty shoddy coded - poor performance and bugs) I'm not particulary eager to try it :X. That said I have heard good things about it, so maybe I'll try it at some point.
NWN2 really the only game on your list that lives up to what I personally am missing from RPGs today - except it might do a crappy job at it, I don't know.
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I don't understand how you can make a big long post bemoaning the lack of good RPGs lately and then say mostly "I didn't play that" when I suggest a lot of good RPGs made lately. At the very least Spiderweb Software's stuff ought to be what you're looking for, and it's not liek Jade Empire isn't rolling the dice in the background, considering it already has plenty of story/character development in the foreground.
Elaborate?
Elaborate?
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umm, this is all going off of knowledge from around 10yrs ago...
Basically it was yet another badly done D&D 2.0 campaign setting.
It was sorta designed to give a way to connect all of the different planes of existence a way to interconnect. Lots of rules for crossing between planes and things like that. honestly, I don't remember much currently, just that the rules didn't work all that well, and a lot of the concepts were not all that good.
I didn't know what Spiderweb Software was so I had to google them. I didn't recognize any of the games except Exile, the shareware version of which I had a blast with in the mid 90's. Which are their good modern games?
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I think Geneforge is traditionally thought of to be one of the strongest series-es by Spiderweb.
I don't understand how you can make a big long post bemoaning the lack of good RPGs lately and then say mostly "I didn't play that" when I suggest a lot of good RPGs made lately. At the very least Spiderweb Software's stuff ought to be what you're looking for, and it's not liek Jade Empire isn't rolling the dice in the background, considering it already has plenty of story/character development in the foreground.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->The reason I haven't tried Jade Empire is because it was originally only on the Xbox (which I don't have), and while it's on the PC now, then I'm saving money for other games. Also, I wasn't too keen to try it as from the few videos I've seen and the small list of features I've seen (mainly that it's a 3-stat system) then it seemed to me that it's more or less be an action RPG (not saying that's a bad RPG genre - but it's not an orthodox RPG, which is what I'm missing). Though I have to say I loved KotOR.
Of the ones you've listed only NWN2 seems to be an orthodox RPG, and I've already said my opinion on that part :S About spiderweb games, then, no I haven't taken a closer look, looks kinda interesting though - the graphics however D: not that I'm a graphics ######, <a href="http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/images/geneforge4/GF4houseinwoods.jpg" target="_blank">but really.</a> And sorry for not knowing about, what seems to be, a very small and unknown company <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /> (must admit I completely read over it in your first post).
But yes, I am also ###### to an extent.
Is there any area that your dream RPG can be deficient in, or can you find a reason to reject every possible game I could ever suggest?
EDIT: Or, you could go with Star Ocean 3 or Tales of the Abyss.
Nights isn't inherently cold. Arabian Nights, for example, is far from cold. <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Arabian Nights... like Arabian days?
More often than not, they're hotter than hot, in a lot of good ways?
Arabian Nights... like Arabian days?
More often than not, they're hotter than hot, in a lot of good ways?
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Man, I've heard that song approximately a million times, but for the life of me I can't remember the line that comes next. Just various snippets. It's not a very long song so I imagine the snippets are very nearly the line that comes next, but whatever.
Nights isn't inherently cold. Arabian Nights, for example, is far from cold.
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I think he was referring more to the Never<b>winter</b> part and not so much the Nights part.
I think he was referring more to the Never<b>winter</b> part and not so much the Nights part.
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You mean <b><u><i>NEVER</b></u></i>winter? That's supposed to be cold? Riiiiight.