| |
Site Navigation
Main
News
Forums
Games
Games Database
Top 100
Release List
Support Files
Features
Reviews
Previews
Interviews
Editorials
Diaries
Misc
Download
Gallery
Music
Screenshots
Videos
Miscellaneous
Staff Members
Privacy Statement
|
|
|
RPGDot Game Rating Machine |
|
| |
|
Jinx
has rated the following games:
|
Black & White: 9/10 points |
All I can say is I agree fully with Jacko's review, except that I cannot bring myself to give *maximum* marks for originality alone.
---
Not one of Molyneux's greatest, but considering the absolutely outstanding quality of his other games, that really isn't too harsh a criticism. |
Diablo 2: 6/10 points |
First of all, I doubt Blizzard ever intended this to be considered an RPG. It's a hack and slash, aimed at the sort of powergamers who like to get characters to level 50 before finishing the Baldur's Gates of this world, and who then complain that the final boss was too easy.
I also personally approve of the decision to make saving the game (without exiting) impossible. Your mistakes stay with you, which isn't too bad, since you aren't punished too harshly for dying.
The trouble for me was that there was no real incentive. It's all very well trying to collect the nice items, but in the time I spent doing that (far too long!), I could have been doing something I really *enjoyed*, rather than merely felt compelled towards.
'Addictive' isn't always a compliment. |
Fallout 2: 9/10 points |
Although I prefer Planescape: Torment, I was seriously tempted to give this 10/10. It's a very original RPG concept (well, besides being a sequel, anyway!), and the funniest game I've played since Monkey Island.
The problem, which has been mentioned here already, is the *phenomenal* amount of bugs evident, even on a single journey through. Though a lot are fixed by the official patch, it still leaves an annoying amount, and those without access to the patch may run afoul bugs of game-ruining proportions... not something that'll please you much, if you've just put 30+ hours into it.
That, and the slightly suspect AI on your NPCs prevent it getting top marks. Too many times, I had to reload because one had just shot another to pieces, by accident or on purpose, and they do tend to gum you up while following you around.
If you can cope with these problems, this is about as close to gaming perfection as you can get, though. |
Grandia 2: 5/10 points |
I have to admit, the version of this game I played was the Dreamcast one. That said, I haven't heard of any significant differences between the two.
IMO, console RPGs rarely compare well to PC ones, despite invariably being more polished. Grandia is a lot like the FF series in many ways - overlong, with a plot that feels like it's been wrung for every single *drop* of mileage. It's not awful... some of the characters seem a little more interesting than your average run-of-the-mill ones. Sadly, by the end, they all realise the 'error of their ways,' and become boring little yes men.
Oddly, the game designers show a certain awareness of some of the more tiresome aspects of console RPGs in particular, but their idea of parodying them tends to be so indistinguishable from the genuine article that they'd have done better not to have bothered.
I started out quite liking this, but by the time it ends, every original, clever, or interesting aspect has been drowned by a veritable tidal wave of sentimentality.
Worth playing for *real* RPG nuts, if you can find it going cheap, but otherwise not really worth wasting time with.
Oh, and in all fairness, the soundtrack contains some pretty impressive tunes, though it has its fair share of clunkers, and I've certainly heard better. |
Planescape: Torment: 10/10 points |
Admittedly I'm an RPG fan in general, but this stands head and shoulders above any others I've played (with the possible exception of Panzer Dragoon Saga on the Sega Saturn).
Why? It's written far more intelligently than any others, with a degree of black humour rarely evident, and is brilliantly voice acted by a surprisingly high profile cast (including Homer Simpson, and the X-Files' own Assistant Director Skinner). |
System Shock 2: 10/10 points |
I wouldn't say this is *the* best game I've ever played, but it's certainly among them. Calling it an RPG is dubious, but it's hard to call it anything else justifiably.
Regardless, it's definitely the single *scariest* game I've ever played, well above the Resident Evil series, and significantly more so than Alien vs Predator, which would be the next. The level design is brilliant - it really feels as though you're in a real place, rather than a collection of corridors for a change, and the plot is pretty clever, as games go. |
Ultima Online: 6/10 points |
From what I gather, this is still the most open-ended MMORPG to date. It's combat leaves a bit to be desired, as do the graphics, and there are certainly balance issues.
For all that, though, the biggest problem is simply that the GMs don't seem to *care* about us little people any more. Reasonable, proveable requests for compensation for the numerous bugs are routinely ignored, rules are made apparently on whim, and on top of the £7.50 per month fee, we're expected to fork out for semi-regular updates that seem to cost as much as an all-new game would, *and* an additional £10 or so on a 3rd party interface upgrade if you want a *hope* of ever getting serious.
It's a shame, because in some ways, it's still a really fun game that's quite relaxing to play, in a way no other RPG I've tried is. But the callous attitude of OSI, and their distinct lack of effort in keeping the rest of us involved makes me lose interest at regular intervals. |
|
|
