RPG of the Decade - Developers' Choice

[ElectricOtter]

"that's pretty much a fact."

L0L0L0L0L0L0LLIPOP

Hilarious. LMFAO R00fles!


As the guy above me stated, your line of 'just because you like it doesn't mean it is the best' can fit your opinion as well. With that reasoning, I can retort that just because you hate NWN doesn't mean it isn't the best.

btw, It's not my opinion here so you can't just wave your magic wand and say it's 'proof' that i'm crazy since it was two others who prolcaimed NWN the 'best of decade'. It's funny that people tried to claim NWN was a DOA game, BIo's worst, etc.,e tc., yet no other BIO game was picked as 'best of decade'. Then againm, a few devs picked TOEE. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

NWN is the best CRPG because it is the only CRPG that actually allows you to role-play as close to pnp style as you can get (abrring that crappy Vampire game that went nowhere).

LONG LIVE NWN DEATH TO ALL OTHERS!!!

thank you for giving me a timely look into your opinions on RPGS. I think a few choice lines will make it into the codex ZZT world i'm making

PM me if you want to add anything else

 

[FeelTheRads]

That's why some people think he may be trolling. "Do everything in one playthrough" and "live with the consequences".... umm... yeah...

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

let me just say that if that was a troll by Tim Cain, it is even more genius than Fallout.

let me also say that if it is not a troll by Tim Cain, he is now George Lucas to me.

 

[Paula Tormeson IV]

That's why some people think he MAY BE trolling.

Yes, he is trolling. So would you if you had to name the best game when everything you've tried has been hopeless shit. If his paragraph doesn't make people realize what crap Oblivion was, then nothing will. Sad but true.

 

[Pseudofool]

I had to live with the consequences of my actions. I became a vampire (and got cured later), I joined every guild and reached leadership status in them (and I loved the Dark Brotherhood the most), I did every Daedric shrine quest, and I explored most of the continent.

He's clearly not serious. I've helped you see that I hope.

 

[MasPingon]

In what way Arcanum is better then Fallout, VD?

 

[Mastermind]

I had to live with the consequences of my actions. I became a vampire (and got cured later), I joined every guild and reached leadership status in them (and I loved the Dark Brotherhood the most), I did every Daedric shrine quest, and I explored most of the continent.

He's clearly not serious. I've helped you see that I hope.

It doesn't help at all because vampirism really does have consequences (primarily, you have to drink blood or the sun starts hurting you). Yes, you can get cured but you have to work for the cure and the cure itself has the consequence of not allowing you to become a vampire again. I'm not sure what being able to join every guild or doing every daedric quest have to do with having to live with the consequences of your actions, but whatever.

 

[FeelTheRads]

I'm not sure what being able to join every guild or doing every daedric quest have to do with having to live with the consequences of your actions, but whatever.

Well, it wouldn't take a mastermind to see that the answer is right there in the question. Whatever you do doesn't mean fuck all if you can everything. Coupled with level-scaling, Oblivion has the dubious honor of being an RPG with no RPG at all.

has the consequence of not allowing you to become a vampire again.

Oh, wow. So why the fuck would you cure yourself if you want to become a vampire?

 

[Dark Matter]

My top 5:
Baldur's Gate 2 - most well-rounded RPG I've ever played
Arcanum - C&C at its finest + interesting setting + deep character creation system
Morrowind - massive sandbox world with great atmosphere and deep lore, and just lots of stuff to see and do
Mask of the Betrayer - fantastic story/setting/characters + plenty of C&C
Icewind Dale - great combat, very replayable, and excellent presentation (art design, music, voice acting etc.)

I haven't played Wizardry 8, and I'm not considering hybrids like Deus Ex.

 

[Mastermind]

Well, it wouldn't take a mastermind to see that the answer is right there in the question. Whatever you do doesn't mean fuck all if you can everything.

The guilds and daedric princes have no real relationship with each other. There's no logical reason to prevent people from doing all of their quests. Complaining about doing all of the quests is like complaining that you can do a major quest in each area of Fallout. Stealing the water purifier from Necropolis won't get your ass kicked in the hub because nobody in the hub gives a crap. Likewise, stabbing some old bag for the dark brotherhood doesn't mean shit to the guild of mages (nevermind that they won't even know it's you if you do it right). An argument could be made that the individual quests more often than not don't have branching objectives, but that's a completely different thing, and tbh I don't give a crap about branching objectives or not. If the quest is interesting, I'll do it.

Coupled with level-scaling, Oblivion has the dubious honor of being an RPG with no RPG at all.

Level scaling or the lack thereof has nothing to do with RPing. I also don't really give a shit about level scaling. The stronger enemies don't bother me at all and since I actually understand how the game works I know how to dispatch most of them in a matter of seconds, even when I'm level 60 and their health is in the high hundreds (and goes over 1000 in the case of some goblins IIRC). TES spoon feeds you enough information and story to make the game playable for any retard, but if you want to get the best out of it you have to work on it yourself.

Oh, wow. So why the fuck would you cure yourself if you want to become a vampire?

Because you got tired of it? The need to feed and sun damage can get pretty annoying.

 

[Mastermind]

I had to live with the consequences of my actions. I became a vampire (and got cured later)

This sentence is epicly fuck up man. How did he possibly manage to contradict himself so perfectly in points constructed THAT CLOSE TOGETHER? Is he deliberately trolling? How does "I contracted vampirism, but yeah, it was no big deal" in any way validate "living with the consequences of my actions"? Possibly the stupidest thing I've seen a developer say in a LONG LONG time.

Where did he say it wasn't a big deal? Have you actually played the game? Vampirisim is annoying and a bitch to cure.

 

[FeelTheRads]

The guilds and daedric princes have no real relationship with each other. There's no logical reason to prevent people from doing all of their quests.

Then there should be. Based on what character you have.

But of course, the character is completely unimportant in Oblivion because of level scaling.

Level scaling or the lack thereof has nothing to do with RPing.

It has EVERYTHING to do with role-playing, because there is no fucking point in developing your character if every little fucking creature in the world goes up in level with you. All sense of accomplishment if lost.

Unless you consider accomplishments picking up all the flowers in the game or whatever the fuck else Bethards think role-playing is.

Because you got tired of it?

Why would you want to get back to it once you're cured, then?

Vampirisim is annoying and a bitch to cure.

Why would you want to become a vampire, then?

You're just running in circles.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

It doesn't help at all because vampirism really does have consequences (primarily, you have to drink blood or the sun starts hurting you). Yes, you can get cured but you have to work for the cure

Correct. Just because a bad situation can be reversed doesn't mean it wasn't a problem at all.

and the cure itself has the consequence of not allowing you to become a vampire again.

Er...if you were pissed off enough with vampirism to seek the cure, then you probably aren't going to want to become one again.

I'm not sure what being able to join every guild or doing every daedric quest have to do with having to live with the consequences of your actions, but whatever.

example: At one point in the thieves guild questline you're asked to steal the staff of one of the big guys in the mages guild. Iirc, the questgiver didn't really bother to check if you're a mages guild member, and their membership isn't exactly a secret (unlike membership of the thieves guild). A guild specialized in gethering information should notice (and be worried) that their newest member may have conflicting loyalties.

 

[Michael Ellis]

Great article.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_does_the_decade_end
Discuss!

 

[Elwro]

let the list be PC-only.

and how would that exclude the PCs known as macs?

Eh, sorry. "Windows".

 

[Morkar Left]

The best RPG of the decade is BG2 for me. Sure, there are rpgs with better combat, more c&c, better world exploration and better story. But there is no rpg that combines all this things together as flawless as BG2. The world was detailed, enemies had a reason to be where they were, lots of different places etc. and basically the ultimate Forgotten Realms experience. It was an old-school partybased rpg up to date to the modern times. Wizardry 8 would have been similar good but the ridiculous number of fights against 100 monsters every 2 steps ruined the experience totally.

The second place is Gothic for me. Yeah right, Gothic not Gothic 2. The atmosphere and scope of Gothic 1 was perfect for a 3D game. It was more an action-adventure with some rpg-stats and less a rpg for me but the rpg-elements were well done (exploration, getting better, c&c).
The atmosphere was unique and reminded me a lot of the movie Escape from New York transferred in a fantasy setting.
Gothic 2 expanded the rpg aspects but the setting was a bit less believable. The whole island was just fourfold the size of the mine valley with just one city and a couple of huts.

The third place is Morrowind for me. A huge strange island to explore with lots of interesting lore and factions. It was easily a cheap but equal replacement for a cultural holiday trip for me :shock:

 

[-=DarlSephiroth666=-]

Posting this here for VD.

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk ... hp?t=58875

if developers focus on gameplay instead of graphics for a change.

I don't know why, but this sentence: makes me unjustifiably angry. Is it wrong to say that's a kind of technological ludditism?

It's kind of ironic he says that because his game was originally going to be 2D and sprite based like Fallout and then when a few people out of many said it looked outdated, he switched to that shiny, pretty 3D engine he's using today. I wouldn't be surprised if that was one of the bigger reasons why it's taken them so long to finish it.

He/they were using 2d sprites that were captures of animated 3d models, which I think is similar to what Geneforge and a lot of similar RPGs do. The game did look like Geneforge or Avernum back then, but the guy behind it (the giant douchebag) was really sensitive to the little criticism it got (most people thought it looked fine) and then got offended and quickly got to work on the pretty graphics it has today. I don't really care. It's just funny given all of his whining about developers focusing on better, prettier graphics.

 

[Radisshu]

In what way Arcanum is better then Fallout, VD?

Yes, I'm curious about why you seem to think Arcanum is superior to Fallout too.

 

[Scruffy]

Great article.

My pick is without a doubt Dungeon Lords. Most of the codex will likely select some boring rehashed bioware infantry engine shit like Balder's Gates, or perhaps Fallout 2, but these are very stale games for the aforementioned reasons that I will explain to you.

Firstly, Dungeon Lords is fresh, and made by renowned developer D.W. Bradley, maker of Wizardry 5-7 of which are certainly the best Wizardry games to hit worldwide shores here, 8 being a relatively weak sequel to good previous good installements of Wizardry franchise. Its fresh because of its very many different features of which a minimal amount of titles possess in these years, as most games are led by large marketers that do not allow innovation in today's games anymore.

Graphics in dungeon lords are perhaps lacking for console generation, but they are good for time period they came out (~2005). Gameplay and story, however, are through roofs. Dungeon lords features very unique never-before-seen caster system that is more than just right click of today's generation, and you had to combine various things to create new spells -- very unique. Many races and classes were available for the get-go, and combat was available against many seperate enemies of very interesting natures.

You can also do weapon combos via mouse movements, not unlike mouse gestures on Macs, and Black and White. Game has arching storylines and many diverse branches in different arcs.

RPG of the decade?

Dungeon Lords

if arcanum was a great rpg but had several bugs, dungeon lords is just one gigantic bug which doesn't even have the bonus of being a great rpg

 

[Paula Tormeson IV]

Gothic 2 expanded the rpg aspects but the setting was a bit less believable. The whole island was just fourfold the size of the mine valley with just one city and a couple of huts.

Many islands of that size don't have even one city.... The Island of Khorinis has a town only because the island is used for mining magic ore. (Jharkendar used to have a town as well ... but that was a long time ago. Now all it has is ruins and a couple of camps.)

 

[Lockkaliber]

Posting this here for VD.

http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk ... hp?t=58875

if developers focus on gameplay instead of graphics for a change.

I don't know why, but this sentence: makes me unjustifiably angry. Is it wrong to say that's a kind of technological ludditism?

It's kind of ironic he says that because his game was originally going to be 2D and sprite based like Fallout and then when a few people out of many said it looked outdated, he switched to that shiny, pretty 3D engine he's using today. I wouldn't be surprised if that was one of the bigger reasons why it's taken them so long to finish it.

He/they were using 2d sprites that were captures of animated 3d models, which I think is similar to what Geneforge and a lot of similar RPGs do. The game did look like Geneforge or Avernum back then, but the guy behind it (the giant douchebag) was really sensitive to the little criticism it got (most people thought it looked fine) and then got offended and quickly got to work on the pretty graphics it has today. I don't really care. It's just funny given all of his whining about developers focusing on better, prettier graphics.

There seems to be some prime butthurt over there about our prestigious magazine. It's not like it's valid criticism either, just the usual "why don't they like my favourite game oh man I can't take them seriously now."

 

[-=DarlSephiroth666=-]

There seems to be some prime butthurt over there about our prestigious magazine. It's not like it's valid criticism either, just the usual "why don't they like my favourite game oh man I can't take them seriously now."

Not really, people over there are just more... um, liberal in their gaming tastes. So, they don't really get the Codex's "HATE EVERYTHING THAT'S NEW" attitude.

 

[Lockkaliber]

That's a strawman though. The Codex doesn't hate everything because it's new. Most people here just don't like the current paradigm of game design.

Also, I think my original assessment is pretty spot on. There's a lot of "just don't take them seriously" type of comments in that thread without any justification as to why.

 

[Paula Tormeson IV]

The people on that thread are incredibly retarded. It's no secret that I think the Codex is a shit-hole, but threads like that remind me why I post here instead of elsewhere 99% of the time. Mind-melting retardation. Words fail me. Fail. Just fail. Massive fail.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Can anyone please explain to me why is Kotor1 getting so much fucking praise? I don't deny that I liked it and replayed it like twice, but for fuck's sake, it was nowhere near 'game of the decade' material in any fucking way, while I see it praised to the heavanz almost everywhere.