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RPGDot Game Rating Machine |
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Kranky
has rated the following games:
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Asheron's Call: 10/10 points |
AC is the only MMORPG to date that has had partial success in keeping the RPG with the MMO. ;-) Borrowing from many popular stand-alone RPGs, you can find ancient text everywhere and in the game's best years, there was a large fan fiction community. History plays a large part of the AC universe and the monthly updates were always a great contribution with the tides of battle constantly changing. I saw cities blown to craters, uber bad guys controlled by Turbine (the game's programmers) walk into cities to cause havoc, seasonal events to reflect the holidays, fantastic dungeon designs that put MMORPG competitors to shame -- this game has to be one of the most underrated MMORPGs ever, especially considering it never gained the same community size UO and EQ did. AC2 looks to be a financial failure and AC1 probably doesn't have the community it once did but for those of us that played AC1 in its best days, it was truly a unique gaming experience. |
Baldur's Gate: 7/10 points |
Had a lot of fun elements but one thing that really got me with this game was it was too much random roaming. Now I know some people absolutely love that but I buy RPGs to get into the story first, not cover three screens of trees and grass waiting for something to happen. Still, when you were in critical areas or plot changing points of the game, it was one great adventure. My advice though is to buy the sequel which improved on everything that was lacking in the original. BG1 is still a fun game though today and can compete with most of today's newest releases. |
Baldur's Gate 2 - Shadows of Amn: 10/10 points |
In can't tell you how many RPGs I've played through that bored me to death by the time I was half through. Don't get me wrong, I love an in-depth story and as much detail as possible but it has to be done right. And this game was done right in everyway possible! Probably the best story I've ever played through in an RPG. Left me wanting more which is nice considering I usually want a break from a title after weeks and weeks of play. I'm still waiting but I have yet to see an RPG in the last 2-3 years as good as this one. |
Baldur's Gate 2 - Throne of Bhaal: 6/10 points |
With the Throne of Bhaal expansion, Baldur's Gate suddenly became Icewind Dale, a combat heavy, less story-driven RPG. I played the original game twice but the expansion only once, it just wasn't as good. It's a nice wrap-up though for the BG series, which is what Bioware claims it to be, but I for one wish Bioware would make a third Baldur's Gate. :-( Classic characters, terrific voice acting, great stories, a super RPG gaming engine, this game had it all. |
Deus Ex: 10/10 points |
I'm going to go ahead and call this game an RPG because half of the games on today's market that call themselves an "RPG" don't have half the story contained in Deux Ex. After all, it is R-O-L-E-P-L-A-Y-I-N-G, putting yourselves in the hero's shoes, making decisions that affect the story going on in the game and in your own head as you roleplay your character. If you have problems with first-person shooter mechanics, you're really missing out because Deus Ex was one of a kind! I admit, sometimes the entire futuristic conspiracy angle came off a little cheesy, but it was one heck of a fun game! I'm ready to be disappointed with the sequel, seems like the successors are never as good as the originals. |
Dungeon Siege: 4/10 points |
First off, this game is NOT an RPG. LOL Ever since the huge financial success of Diablo, companies everywhere have discovered that less dialogue and more clicking and killing equals more money for their RPG. :-( There is no use in reading the occassional dialogue or stories you receive in this game because they don't mean anything. This game is about clicking and killing and slowly upgrading your equipment. Not that that's bad, all RPGs do that, but they also throw in a thrilling story, epic quests with numerous ways to solve them, many skills and leveling options, and everything else that makes an RPG a great RPG. To be fair, I actually had some fun with this game. But I never could complete it. :-( Eventually.... all that mundane clicking gets to you. It can be a fun game for a few hours but when you spend four hours fighting the same creature over and over with no story, it gets old fast. An that's not just for someone that doesn't like "action RPGs," that's for anyone. More power to anyone that can endure this click fest to the very end. |
Elder Scrolls 3 - Morrowind: 7/10 points |
With ES3, all I can say is -- What could have been! Mind you, when I first purchased this game, I played it like a zealot on steroids for the first two weeks. What an absolutely beautiful world and many of the things that became redundant after reaching a higher level were still fresh during my rookie adventuring years. There are a few problems with ES3, the quests and roleplaying elements really only consist of "FedEx Quests." You go steal something, kill someone, escort someone, etc. and then report back to your boss and get promoted. That's pretty much how it works for all guilds and factions. It seems cool at first because there are soooo many choices for your character's career but after awhile they all feel the same. What's worse is considering it's a game that revolves around this concept, you'd think they would implement a better journal system to keep track of your many quests. I ended up using old fashioned pen and paper even though there was a nifty computer option to chart my quests because it ended up as a big unorganized pile of quest dung. Another problem was no practical NPC fun. After a few times, I refused any opportunities to allow an NPC to follow me because the game had some of the worse pathfinding I've EVER seen, especially considering that the game is still a very recent product. Not only were NPCs a useless companion tool but the NPCs in the regular world itself became more and more boring as I travelled the land and realized everyone said the same thing and after a certain level of uberness, about 90% of them were useless. Speaking of uberness, did I tell you how easy it is to level in ES3? We're talking Zeus Almighty after one week of play! Now granted I followed a more mischievious path and had no qualms stealing things in the game but can you blame me? Let's see...I can toil on the CPU for hours and hours hoping I get just 1/2 the gold I need for that awesome glass sword, OR I can simply cast invisibility, steal it and walk out and start having fun! Needless to say, it wasn't a difficult decision. |
Gothic 2: 8/10 points |
After playing Gothic 2, I realized how much Morrowind lost in its attempt to become so open-ended and non-linear with its gameplay. You could say Gothic 2 is very similar to Morrowind only on a smaller scale and with a somewhat messy interface. It uses the same action oriented combat system that games like Morrowind employ which I think rubs some people the wrong way. I don't mind this system of "arcade combat" in RPGs but I wish the game had done a better job with its interface. Easy-to-use hotkeys on the screen, a more reliable enter & exit battle mode, and smoother character movement all would have helped the combat system immensely. The story is good but I recommend you play the first Gothic because unlike some sequels which you can play and not lose anything, Gothic 2 focuses back on a lot of the central characters and events from the first game although you can still play without knowing about them, it's just more enjoyable knowing the history of the Gothic world. Considering this game was made by a small company, it's an excellent product, and it won't get the hype and press a Neverwinter Nights or Warcraft will but it's a nice gaming experience for RPG fans. It has a very simple attribute system but you still find yourself compelled to level up your character and discover the menace facing your newly adopted city. The inventory system is horrible, and basically an example of some of the things in this game that just feel unpolished but all in all, it's a pleasant game that kept me playing. Sometimes there was too much random roaming and killing which I had to do to level up so I could stand a chance against some of the more powerful enemies, but that's just me, I enjoy the stories and quests more than the hacking and leveling. ;-) |
Neverwinter Nights: 5/10 points |
Here's an idea -- take out everything that made Baldur's Gate 2 great! Include a subpar story, no henchmen, terrible camera angling, less inventory control, and anything else you can think of that makes a game less fun, and you have what the designers at Bioware were thinking. I give credit for their toolset because it was fun to mess around with but I usually don't mess with toolsets and had no idea how to script so the easy cookie-cutter mechanics of the toolset were lost on me as sadly I could only place houses and monsters. In NWN's defense, it can be a fun game if you find a good online community and almost treat it like a miniature version of Everquest or another MMORPG. It was a great idea in theory but has to be one of the most overrated games of all time. It's just not that much fun - plain and simple. That's the first thing I want in an RPG, fun! Has a great online community though if you want to try out mods and other custom content. |
Planescape: Torment: 8/10 points |
Unfortunately I played this game years after its release and maybe the limited graphics and technical options rubbed me the wrong way. But considering its disadvantages to modern-day games, it was a gem and a half! What a bizarre world which made it even more satisfying! Actually, I'm glad the graphics were outdated when I played it because I probably would have become sick to my stomch in a quick sec after some of the dialogue and actions in this game involving a quasi-undead world. Even though it borrowed a license from D&D, still one of the more original RPGs to me just because it was a spin on your typcial wizards and dragons theme. |
Planescape: Torment: 8/10 points |
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Pool of Radiance: 10/10 points |
What a shame to see this game's overall rating lowered because people are too ignorant to realize that Pool of Radiance TWO (Or rather Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor.) is a different game. Man, let me tell ya, there are only three games I remember as a kid on my dinky Radio Shack computer. One was the Sierra adventure series, another was the Ultima series, and the final one was the entire line of SSI's D&D games. The beauty of turn-based combat to the nth degree! I even bought the gold-silver-platinum-whatever-they-were-called collections a few years back just to replay these glories. Loved the entire line but Pool of Radiance will always be my favorite just because it was the first. |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: 10/10 points |
With so many inferior RPGs these days or the unfortunate tendency of game makers to concentrate on MMORPGs or Diablo clones, sometimes it's nice to find a good ol' fashioned RPG that makes you remember why you fell in love with the genre. SW: KotOR is one of those games. I was shocked at how fantastic this game was. The story is top notch, one of the best stories I've EVER played in a PC game, and I've been gaming since the early 80's. The D&D rules surprisingly fit in nicely with the Star Wars universe and the game even follows the same mechanics that made Bioware's previous classic RPG, Baldur's Gate, so great yet they do it with a new engine. It combines turn-based RPG strategy (i.e. Arcanum & Pool of Radiance 1) with a smooth movie/action atmosphere in a way I've never seen in a PC game. Bioware brings back the fun mini-quests and henchmen interaction that made you feel like you were in a movie in BG2 and I think the story in this game may be better than the Star Wars Prequel stories. ;-) Truly a unique game, only avoid this game if you hate the George Lucas' Star Wars creation because otherwise you're missing out on one of the best RPGs in recent years. |
Ultima 4 - Quest of the Avatar: 10/10 points |
Honestly, the entire Ultima history is a blur to me these days. I blame it on my extracurricular activities in college, but I do know that somewhere inbetween Ultima 3 to Ultima 5, I was introduced to the wonderful world of the Avatar, Lord Blackthorne, Lord British, Iolo and all the other trademarks of the Ultima series. A game WAY ahead of its time. This type of game is standard fare now but no one was trying to make RPGs as ambitious as the Ultima series in the 80's and early 90's. The great days of having to make a bootup floppy for your game to work and having a huge collection of disks because the game was so large compared to the inferior storage technology of the day. What a great game, it was the first time I'd ever played a game where I could get killed for stealing things. Ahhh... the memories. |
Ultima 5 - Warriors of Destiny: 10/10 points |
Honestly, the entire Ultima history is a blur to me these days. I blame it on my extracurricular activities in college, but I do know that somewhere inbetween Ultima 3 to Ultima 5, I was introduced to the wonderful world of the Avatar, Lord Blackthorne, Lord British, Iolo and all the other trademarks of the Ultima series. A game WAY ahead of its time. This type of game is standard fare now but no one was trying to make RPGs as ambitious as the Ultima series in the 80's and early 90's. The great days of having to make a bootup floppy for your game to work and having a huge collection of disks because the game was so large compared to the inferior storage technology of the day. What a great game, it was the first time I'd ever played a game where I could get killed for stealing things. Ahhh... the memories. |
Ultima Online: 10/10 points |
The MMORPG that started it all! While many MMORPGs lose the RPG in their name, Ultima Online was a truly unique experience and I wish everyone could have played it when it first came out and you'd see why Everquest and some of the other more popular titles are overrated pieces of dung. I remember playing it for the first time and simply being in awe as I could check out all the cities I remembered from the Ultima series but only I was in the same world with hundreds or thousands of online gamers. In its first days, people even took the role-playing elements serious. I was always confronted with a "Hail thee sir." or other typical RPG lingo. Corny? Maybe. But it was great at the time. The only game since that has even come close to the same giant role-playing online experience is Neverwinter Nights with its custom mods and online communities. Unfortunately, Ultima Online was also the first title in which I found how the anonymous world of the internet could bring out the wierdest, most anti-social dorks in our colorful world. The "PKs" quickly ruined the game for me as I really had no desire to not be allowed to randomly roam the great expanse of land without acting like I was in a minefield where the PKs were the mines. Was a fun game but there were only so many times I could take some 15 year old kid ganking me, stealing my hard earned equipment and then laughing about it all the way to the bank. This has to be the first video game to spawn online marriages, funerals and all the other interesting tidbits we read or hear about today. It will go down as one of the most revolutionary games ever. |
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