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RPGDot Game Rating Machine |
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DarkFencer
has rated the following games:
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Baldur's Gate 2 - Shadows of Amn: 10/10 points |
Hands down, this was the best game I've played in almost a decade. The story was incredible. The gameplay, especially the dungeon crawls and combat made the game hard to put down. The voice acting (especially by the villian Jon Irenicus played by excellent actor David Warner) was very well done.
When you add in the fact that you can carry over your character from the first Baldur's Gate, and its expansion and to its inevitable conclusion in Throne of Bhaal (the BG2 expansion), it is a fantasy journey well worth taking (and more then once as well). |
Bard's Tale 2 -The Destiny Knight: 5/10 points |
This came out in the golden age of RPGs, but I didn't really think it ranked as highly as others do. I think the SSI Gold Box series, as well as the Might and Magic and Ultima series were much better examples of the era in my opinion.
You had to spend too much time fighting random battles just for the sake of being able to survive the later areas. The experience was not paced well enough. |
Betrayal at Krondor: 10/10 points |
I have played the majority of CRPG's over the past 15 years (and many older ones), but there are none I have thought better then Betrayal at Krondor. The game has it all. It gives an incredible story, a strong combat system, a full 3D world, a rousing musical score, and strong graphics (for its time). Playing this game will inevitably (as it did with me) make you want to read Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar novels just to continue the story. The game is now freely available online. The only challenge is getting the DOS game to work on today's advanced Windows PCs, but well worth the trouble. |
Betrayal in Antara: 4/10 points |
This game, created with the same engine, and by the same company as one of the greatest RPGs of all time, Betrayal at Krondor is a dull, boring game. The game world has none of the richness of Krondor (nor is it a sequal, just the same engine), and the story was bland. Not worth your time. |
Dark Age of Camelot: 8/10 points |
This game kept me playing for too many hours then I'd like to admit in its first few months of release. I probably would have kept playing it if I had more time.
The only qualms I have about the game, is the EXTREMELY slow levelling after 40 (the game lets you go to 50), and the class/realm balance.
The balance between classes/realms is perhaps worse after their nerfing then it was at release. My main class (Eldritch) still has three spell lines that do not now have any effect, and many built their characters around these.
If the balance improves, I may go back, but otherwise, it is a fine game. |
Death Knights of Krynn: 8/10 points |
Possibly the finest in SSI's "Gold Box" Series. |
Final Fantasy VII: 6/10 points |
Really good for a console RPG, so so compared to some of the great PC RPGs listed here. |
Gateway to the Savage Frontier: 5/10 points |
Not a bad game, but not as good as the other gold box games in my opinion. |
Heroes of Might & Magic 4: 8/10 points |
As a long time Heroes of Might and Magic fan, I admit I was a bit skeptical about Heroes 4 when I heard the description of it beforehand.... Less towns? No creature upgrades? Well those fears were soon put to rest. The game not only lives up to but surpasses the previous games. Most imporantly is the SIGNIFICANT change in how heroes are used in the game. The are no longer static stat enhancing, magic casting units, but take full part in combat. You can have anywhere from 0 to 7 heroes in an army at once, and the skill system makes what they bring to the table much more important then before.
There are some disappointments. The campaigns are not as compelling as they were in Heroes 2 and 3. There are no video interludes before, during, or after the campaigns, and the stories themselves are not as strong in my opinion, but tactically, they are better. |
Icewind Dale: 8/10 points |
I had doubts about this game before I played it, advertised as just hack and slash without much story, but I was won over by this game. Basically just a linear dungeon crawl, nevertheless this game keeps you playing with its great combat system. The battles are challenging, but not too much so that makes it frustrating, and really make you plan things out.
The music is one of the best points. The Jeremy Soule (also doing Morrrowind) soundtrack was amazing! The art (both the world, and especially the character portraits) is stunning.
This game was definately worth it in my opinion. |
Icewind Dale - Heart of Winter: 8/10 points |
Though a great addon to a great game, I found Heart of Winter to be a little short. This was remedied by the FREE expansion pack add-on from the developers "Trials of the Luremaster". With these two together, it is a worthy add on to IWD that any fan of the original game will enjoy! |
Menzoberranzan: 3/10 points |
One of the many lackuster D&D titles in the Dark Age of Computer RPGs.
This was one of the worst D&D games created, and along with Decent to Undermountain and the Ravenloft games, gave doubts as to whether or not there would ever be another good Dungeons and Dragons game again (and there wasn't until years later in Baldur's Gate). |
Might & Magic 1 - Secret of the Inner Sanctum: 10/10 points |
This game was my first RPG, and it was what got me enthralled in the genre. Oh, it took me months to beat it (I was 7 years old then), but it was well worth it. My jaw dropped when I finally beat the game and realized what the Secret of the "Inner Sanctum" really was. A true classic!
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Might & Magic 2 - Gates to Another World: 9/10 points |
I remember waiting years for this game. It was even worse that it came out for the Apple II long before it did for my poor old Commodore 64. It was well worth the wait though! One of my favorite games of all time! |
Might & Magic 4 - Clouds of Xeen: 10/10 points |
My extremely high rating of this game, is dependent on whether or not you also have its counterpart, Might and Magic 5. The two together combine to become "Worlds of Xeen" and is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. The game world is massive, the dungeons are great, all I could have hoped for.
The cutscenes (especially the one you see when completing the "Darkside of Xeen" is the climactic finish to the saga of Corak and Sheltem that started in Might and Magic I: Secret of the Inner Sanctum.
I still go back to it every once in a while to play it again.
If you haven't played these games yet, pick up one of the bundle packs of all the early M&M games, and if you can get it to run (with a dos boot disk), you will be pleasantly surprised! |
Might & Magic 5 - Darkside of Xeen: 10/10 points |
My extremely high rating of this game, is dependent on whether or not you also have its counterpart, Might and Magic 4. The two together combine to become "Worlds of Xeen" and is one of my favorite RPGs of all time. The game world is massive, the dungeons are great, all I could have hoped for. The cutscenes (especially the one you see when completing the "Darkside of Xeen" is the climactic finish to the saga of Corak and Sheltem that started in Might and Magic I: Secret of the Inner Sanctum. I still go back to it every once in a while to play it again. If you haven't played these games yet, pick up one of the bundle packs of all the early M&M games, and if you can get it to run (with a dos boot disk), you will be pleasantly surprised!" |
Might & Magic 6 - The Mandate of Heaven: 7/10 points |
Might and Magic's first foray into full 3D. This was a great game that I just couldn't put down. Fans of the Might and Magic series, or classic RPGs in general deginately should play this if they haven't by now.
A great game, but not as good as 4&5, or 7 in my opinion. |
Might & Magic 7 - For Blood and Honor: 9/10 points |
I've been a fan of the Might and Magic series a long time (Might and Magic I one on my Commodore 64 was my first RPG of any sort), and M&M 7 is one of the best. It builds on everything M&M6 established, and improves on it, both in story, gameplay, and graphics. It is also better then the two that follow it, (SIGNIFICANTLY better then the drab, boring M&M9). If you are a fan of the Might and Magic games of old, this will be fun game that will keep you at it for hours. If you are not a fan of Hack and Slash RPGs, then you might want to avoid this one. |
Might & Magic 8 - Day of the Destroyer: 6/10 points |
I've long been a fan of the Might and Magic series, but this entry into the series is lacking compared to the others. Most of the complaints about the game are about its graphics - It still uses the engine of the previous two games, but it is not that bad. The problem is that the quests were horribly bland and boring, as was the game world itself. It really didn't compare to the last two games, but was still fun for fans of the series. |
Might & Magic 9: 3/10 points |
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Pool of Radiance - Ruins of Myth Drannor: 2/10 points |
A TRAVESTY to compare this game to the original Gold Box Pools of Radiance game. This game was a horribly buggy, boring game with a bad combat system, a bad class system, and so many things left out (like a decent plot) that this game taints the memory of the late 1980's early 1990's SSI Gold Box series of AD&D games. My only saving grace was that my local software store let me return the game. Shame on UbiSoft for forcing such a buggy, half finished game to be released. |
Temple of Apshai Trilogy: 7/10 points |
Just seeing the name of this game brings back memories. I used to play one of the games in the trilogy (don't remember which) on my Commodore 64 (I must have been 6 years old).
It was probably my first RPG, but I didn't even know what an RPG was then. |
Thief 2 - The Metal Age: 8/10 points |
All that made Thief I a great, revolutionary game and more.
If you were a fan of the previous game, then you definately want to pick this up. |
Ultima 4 - Quest of the Avatar: 8/10 points |
A revolutionary RPG, but also one that does not age well.
When Ultima IV came out, it was amazing. One of my favorite games of the time. It had features, and ideas that still influence RPGs today. I tried going back to it a few months ago, and found that the game really didn't age well. For all the morality choices that make the game great, the combat can drag on, as can searching for magic reagents. For those looking to re-live this classic though, you may actually consider the Nintendo (NES) version. Either the cartridge or with an emulator. |
Ultima 8 - Pagan: 3/10 points |
Ultima 8, also known as "Super Avatar Brothers". A horrible game design, the gameplay was awful, and this is coming from a fan of the series. The story also is very inconsistent with the Avatar and how he/she would act. |
Ultima 9 - Ascension: 8/10 points |
This game, especially a couple years after release deserves a second look. Now that the bugs have been fixed, and people (in general) have faster machines capable of smoothly running the game, it is really a great game.
The story is a worthy end to the Ultima saga, that started over 20 years ago with Ultima I. Even a couple years after release, you can admire the graphical and aural qualities of the game, which would stand even with and better then many recent games.
Find the game in a bargin bin somewhere and give it another chance. It might not be the same calibur of games like Ultima VII, or Ultima IV, it is well worth your time.
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Wizards & Warriors - Quest for the Mavin Sword: 4/10 points |
The game was touted as the "spiritual sucessor" to Wizardry 7, but did not come close to living up to the legacy. The game is bland. That is the best word to describe it. The dungeons, the wilderness, the combat system, all drab. The 'towns' are only AVI files that are advanced back and forth while you are in them. I saw towns 10 times better in games 15 years ago (and with better graphics too).
The only bright point is the character generation/advancement system, but you can see basically the same thing in Wizardry 7 & 8.
Avoid this game and pick up the REAL successor of Wizardry 7, Wizardry 8. You'll be much happier for it.
Oh, and it is NOT compatible with Windows 2000/XP unless you edit the AVI files and change their format with VirtualDub or a similar program |
