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RPGDot Game Rating Machine |
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Coffin Joe
has rated the following games:
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Baldur's Gate: 8/10 points |
I hold a special place in my heart for this game. Countless of hours go into the BG series. Eventhough I think there are better games (PS:T), I always return to the BG series. |
Baldur's Gate 2 - Shadows of Amn: 9/10 points |
I don't get involved with the areguments over if this is a "true CRPG" or not, turn base vs. real time, and open endness vs. linear, yada yada yada. All that jargon doesn't mean shit, and is a waste of time. My score is based on personal enjoyment. |
Baldur's Gate 2 - Throne of Bhaal: 6/10 points |
Too short, and not enough to do. I hated feeling like that I had to rush to the conclusion after dealing with Yaga-Shura. Everything just went totally bland after that. If the entire expansion was written with the same depth as the Yaga-Shura/Saradush quests, then this would have been trully excellent. |
Black & White: 5/10 points |
This is an RTS. To actually play this game felt like a chore to me, but I will go half way since I enjoyed throwing large boulders, crushing people's homes, smashing and throwing people into the water. Smaking the monkey around and forcing it to eat members of the population was fun. Of course, that would only last for an hour before I had to turn it off. |
Deus Ex: 10/10 points |
It sucked when I finnished. The game was done before I was! I hated to leave this game world. |
Elder Scrolls 3 - Morrowind: 9/10 points |
I hould have gotten sone sleep before writing this. I know I'm going to leave out details that I want to touch base on, and not make a lick of sense in parts, but anyway...
For the longest time, I put off getting this game. For some reason or another, I wanted nothing to do with this game, and I wanted to hate it (and is the reason for writing such an unusually long and boring review). Probably because I've been so stuck in the 2D isometric world for so long, and found most of the 3D CRPG's to be rather sub-par. I didn't want to risk wasting money on another game that would fail at capturing my interest, thus sit on my shelf and collect dust. I spotted the GOTY edition, which came with the Bloodmoon and Tribunal expansions sold for a reasonable price, and figured it was time to try it out. I'm glad I did.
I feel this has one of the best (smartest) approach to character progession I've seen yet. Everything is based on how you use your character. You don't just "click" a slot on your favorite weapon to get better at wielding it, you actually have to "practice" to get better, which makes perfect sense. Ditto for spellcasting and thief skills. I like that you are not restriced by any means on how to build your character. Are you a swordsman who later wants to cast magic? Sure! Just practice (or seek trainers)! Combinations are endless with plenty of features to pick from. Makes perfect sense to me.
The game is a lot of fun. Tons of stuff to do. While the main quest is linear (understanably), the bulk of the game isn't. Infact, can be very "breakable". The freedom offered in this game was very surprising, and refreshing. For the most part, there isn't really anything you can't do. You can almost do whatever you want, however you see fit. The world of morrowind is vast. lots to explore, and plenty of towns and cities to visit. The graphics, while not the pretiest, are good. Especially for a game with such minimal system requirements in an age where developers seem to believe everybody can afford the latest and greatest. At first I didn't like how the dialog was handled, but I grew accustomed to it. While a lot of it is just picking "links" in text from the NPC, an actual response does appear once in a while where it matters. I appreciate the keyword sidescroll list, which is something I would like others to pick up on. I've heard a few time people stating that the NPCs a dull and bland, but I fail to see that they are any worse than any other NPC from other games.
Why I give this game a 9/10 and not a 10/10-
The combat is fun, but I found the AI to be rather lacking in the NPCs, making combat a little too easy with their constant delayed reactions, sometimes not reacting at all. Guess I could ramp up the difficulty.
Powerful weapons and artifacts are good, but too many can pose a problem, as it seems that this game begs to be power gamed. Should we talk of the ability to enchant your own weapons and armour? Nah!
The magic system seems a bit cumbersome, too. The spellcasting failure ratio and heavy mana (magica) demmand of the more powerful spells makes playing a primary spellcasting character undesireable. My favorite approach is to combine a good melee based fighter complimented with one the more useful school of magic, Ateration. There is a few annoying bugs. Most notably, there is a clipping bug that makes you occaisonally fall through floors. It is especially most annoying traveling through Vivec, a city that rests on a body of water. One minute you're walking, the next minute you will find yourself swimming. Another problem I find the game just crashing to the desktop. Since I have a habit of saving often anyway, most of the time it is just a minor nuisance.
The music in Morrowind is good, and fits the game well. Although it does get rather repetitive, but that is true with most games anyway, so it doesn't detract from it's overall quality. The sound effects are decent, not the best but they work well enough.
Overall, despite some of the minor problems, this is a really fun game. There are not many games I find that I can run through over and over before they get stale. I've already been through this game about six times, every time discovering something new. Initially, I was going to give this game an 8/10 for the aformentioned problems and it's steer towards power gaming (my opinion of course), but I find this game imensily enjoying, nonetheless. Kudos to Bethsoft. I tried to hate your game, but only suceeded in loving it. Job well done.
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Fallout - A Post Nuclear Adventure: 6/10 points |
I am by far from being a connoisseur for CRPG's. Maybe it is all the hype I've read from the fan base that praises this as the CRPG of CRPGs, which may have raised my expectations to a rediculous level. I wasn't impressed with much of the dialog, nor the NPC's. the AI sucks (Supermutant patrols? Ha! easy as pie since they shoot themselves). Dog Meat = No big deal, so it would be nice if people would shut up about the mutt. The positives are that I do like the post-nuclear setting, and the basic premise of the story. Other than bad AI durring combat, the Turn-Base style I find fun. I will also add that there is something about this game that makes it feel hollow. |
Icewind Dale: 8/10 points |
Hard to believe that IWD2 gets a higher rating here. Oh well. Hack & Slash all the way, and linear as hell, but it's a lot of fun. Some of my most memorable quests are from this game like the Severed Hand and Dorn's Deep. I didn't find the story to be half bad either. The music is also very well done. Nice and atmospheric. The music while in Kuldahar seems to stick with me. |
Neverwinter Nights: 6/10 points |
Eh, it's OK. Aribeth can be a little anoying, but I blame that on the dialog, which feels like it's written for five year olds. In general, I had fun playing a wizard, but the overall gameplay gets a little stale. I like the graphics. Since I usually play games with less impressive graphics anyway, this was a rare treat. |
Planescape: Torment: 10/10 points |
The beginning is a little slow, but the last half of the game well makes up for it. Not to mention the story is great. |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: 8/10 points |
First things first.
****May Contain Potential Spoilers?!?!?****
This is the first Starwars game I've played, and being from Bioware, I was reluctant to get this after with what I felt was the disasterous Neverwinter Nights. So put it off for a while. The core of the story and some gameplay elements IMO seems to be a basic rip from PS:T, or at least it highly reminds me of that game, just not half as involving or detailed (It may seem like I'm slamming this game, but note my rating). All of the core elements are there. While you don't wake up with amniesia, there are a lot of hints throughout the game that clues you in that you are not what you seem, later discovering that you were the biggest arse of the universe who endured a mind wipe before your journey began (as good as death- Hello TNO!) . The story turning to self discover to redemption. The way character interaction is handled in the same way, which gives you access to initiate the dialog- asking questions and learning more about the NPC (with a lot less dialog options, of course). not really fair to compare this, as I'm sure someone out there can tell me that character interatcion is handled in this manner in a lot of games, but I just can't help seeing PS:T's signiture all throughout this game. I'm sure it could just be my imagination (or wishful thinking), but I don't know... If so, I'm glad Bioware is moving forward and not backwards like I feared when they released NWN.
When I think about it, I can compare gameplay with other games as well, such as having to participate in a race to advance the story. I remember Giants: Citizen Kubuto well. but all this just as variety and helps keep the game interesting.
In conclusion, it felt like a similar story with a different set of twists. The main drive to play this game was in the environment. The graphics were a delight, the atmosphere beautiful. The music is well done (loved the Dantoine theme). Last but not least, beating ass with a double light saber couldn't have been more fun. While there is nothing new or innovating about this game, it is still a good game. I just wished it to be a little longer, and a lot less linear and predictable. I'll recommend this based on fun and variety. |
System Shock: 10/10 points |
In my opinion, I don't believe this to be an RPG. Other than that, this is one of the best games I've played. I rank this up their with Deus Ex. it saddens me to think that Doom overshadowed a much more superior game. |
Thief - The Dark Project: 10/10 points |
Not an RPG, but since it is on the list... one of my favorites. |
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