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Sod
Guest
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| Wizardry 8 vs. BG II: which is better? |
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I'm thinking about buying W8.
Wondering how the two games compare, particularly in combat. I've heard that W8's combat is great, but I've also heard that it's horrid. I don't mind if the graphics are bad, so long as combat is tactical, challenging, and varied.
Thanks ahead of time! |
Sat Jun 08, 2002 12:06 am |
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Hagatha
King of the Realms
Joined: 10 Feb 2002
Posts: 456
Location: Burnaby, B.C. |
I got very bogged down in Wiz 8 and never finished it. It IS a good game, and I intend to return to it, but I did find the combat difficult to master, which, in the end, was why I stopped. There seemed to be a number of high-level enemies right off the bat, which was not good for confidence-building. It has various plot lines to follow, and the graphics were good (and didn't bog my computer down at all). The game is also BIG and there's lots of room to explore. More like a Might and Magic Game, but a bit more sophisticated in some ways. First person perspective. Very little party interaction although there are party-member directed quests.
BG 2 is a much more linear game in many ways, although I love it. There's a limited number of places you can go, and the plot line drives you basically in one direction all through the game, although you can pick and choose quests and do them in almost any order. Lots of party interaction (one of my favourite aspects of the game), and most characters have a quest or two associated with them. Third person perspective.
My personal favourite of the two is BG II. This being the Wiz 8 board, lots of people wil disagree with me on this, and given that I haven't finished the game I probably missed out on some of the game characteristics that I might have picked up farther along. It just didn't grab me enough to keep me playing, although as I said, I'll be back. |
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Sat Jun 08, 2002 12:54 am |
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Val
Risen From Ashes
Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 14724
Location: Utah, USA |
| Re: Wizardry 8 vs. BG II: which is better? |
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If you are looking for tactical, challenging and varied combat then you came to the right place. Wizardry 8's combat isn't what I would suggest to the faint of heart. The graphics may not be the hottest thing out there, but they serve well.
I don't think you can really compare the combat between BG II and Wizardry though. Of course, I usually chopped everything to bits in BG II while I relied heavily on magic in Wizardry. Of course, there is no wrong way to play Wizardry as long as in the end you win. 
Basically, I wouldn't really recommend this game to a novice player. They'd be too intimidated at first and might quit not knowing what they missed. I know someone who had that exact problem. If you are a veteran RPG player though, then this is a game you should definately not miss. If you do pick it up, then be sure to check out the spoiler-free hints section we have here at RPGDot. It'll save you some time.
I'd also recommend picking up the speed patch as well. The turn based combat can sometimes last a long time and I've heard good things about that patch saving time.
EDIT: Looks like Hagatha types faster than I do.
I'll agree with BG II being the better game. I loved the NPC interaction and the story.
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Sat Jun 08, 2002 1:00 am |
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Danicek
The Old One
Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic |
I loved Wizardry 8, I didnt like BG2.
But I think both are great game / this is just matter of my personal preferences. |
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Sat Jun 08, 2002 9:02 am |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
I didn't buy BG2, but based on BG1 and what I know about the AD&D games, I'd definitely pick Wiz8.
There's one huge factor that really downgrades the AD&D games for me- character development. In BG1, you capped out at level 7. Or was it 6? Either way, you had less than 10 chances to "grow" your character/party. In the M&M series, it's common to make level 40 by the end of the game without "XP mongering". Wiz8 won't get you quite as high in levels, but the increases of skills, usually after each and every battle, give you the feeling your party is constantly evolving and improving. If watching your alter-egos go from 98 pound weaklings to world dominators makes you drool, pick up Wiz8 without a second thought.
If not, BG2 got lots of awards...
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RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Sat Jun 08, 2002 3:29 pm |
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HolyWarrior
Guest
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What is so damn great about the Baldur's Gate series? IMO it is the most overrated series of games that has ever existed. You want combat tedium? BG is MUCH worse than Wiz8 ever was! I haven't even tried BG2 since I was bored to tears by BG1. |
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Tue Jun 11, 2002 6:24 pm |
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Dorkus
Village Dweller
Joined: 09 Jun 2002
Posts: 11
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To HolyWarrior:
I've never played BGI, but BGII had one of the BEST combat systems I have EVER seen in an RPG. In particular the spell system was absolutely fantastic, and there were SOOO many incredibly tough and enjoyable battles that I found myself rushing through role-playing elements to get to the next big fight. It's hard to describe the feeling you get when you FINALLY beat Draconis after 20 tries, each with a different combination of spells to take down his defenses.
I've played Wiz8 quite a bit now; biggest complaints:
1. Party moves together (this reduces the number of tactical possibilities INCREDIBLY -- no flanking, luring, etc.)
2. First-person perspective (limits the degree of control.. this is related to 1, however)
3. Magic/fighting abilities not as diverse or intricate. (no called shots, smiting, GWW, assassinate, poison dagger, etc.)
4. Not as many cool/varied enemies with cool/varied tactics.
5. SLOW battles! Man, even with wizfast, some of these battles take forever.
Having said that, both games are enjoyable. But BGII's combat is definitely better, for the above reasons. Wizardry DOES have a big edge in character development , but for MOST people, this is a downside -- there are just too many statistics for the average gamer to figure out what's going on, or what does what (I'm not the average gamer, so I love it  . |
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Tue Jun 11, 2002 7:39 pm |
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Val
Risen From Ashes
Joined: 18 Feb 2002
Posts: 14724
Location: Utah, USA |
BG II is a major improvement over BG I. I'll agree that BG I definately dragged at times. BG II, on the other hand, doesn't. Quests are more focused. Combat is more focused. The overall machanics, graphics, dialog, etc have seen major improvements. BG II took what BG I did good and made it better. They threw out the boring elements and added better ones. It really isn't a game you should miss.
_________________
Freeeeeeedom! Thank heavens it's summer!
What do I have to show for my hard work? A piece of paper! Wee!
=Guardian, Moderator, UltimaDot Newshound= |
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Tue Jun 11, 2002 7:48 pm |
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Michael C
Black Dragon
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 1595
Location: Aarhus, Denmark |
Wizardry 8 is better than BG2, in many aspects IMHO:
Following complainst on BG2
1) Birds-eye view. Boring gameworld immersiveness. You see the world from above, You send your thief ahead to find traps etc. Or lure monsters one by one to kill them easylier (Boring). No I prefer to see the traps blow up in my face and see monsters right into their eyes when I crawl around the corner with my party, this is immersiveness, not this god-perspektive!
2) Very limited character development system. AD&D rules are simply to simple for PC's. I want a lot more feeling with the development of my characters like W8.
3) Boring battles: Against non-magicians, your party is too strong, and only a matter of seconds before they hit the floor without any necessary tactic. Against Magic-users, it always end up in the opponent using protection spells, making your non-magic users more or less useless, and your magic-users trying to counterspells your opponents protection spells. The diversity is almost non-existing. Backstab, called shots etc. is useless in the real tough battles, and in battles where you can use them, you really don't need them, because the simple attacks will do it anyway.
4) Story in BG2 is way too long, and not really interesting, you just chase this boring magicians all the time, who always escape to another endless realm.
5) BG2 is to liniar. The few side-quests are boring and mostly insignificant both for experience and fun.
6) Many of my friends didn't finish BG2, because of many things, I only did it because I was stubborn not entertained:
- The characters was maxed out in experience way before the end.
- The story twisted endless without bringing anything new!
- Battles was in the end without any diversity!
Okay in the first 60 hours BG2 ammused me, but then it really got bored, W8 did somehow keep me interested all the way through |
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Wed Jun 12, 2002 12:22 pm |
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TheRaven
Village Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2002
Posts: 94
Location: Germany |
I prefer WIZARDRY 8 !!
Baldur's Gate 2 is boring...!
Clicking to move in a isoperspective is for me like moving troups a real-time stragegy game not like adventuring! I can't feel the
combat is also weaker on BG2 |
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Fri Jun 21, 2002 7:18 am |
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TheRaven
Village Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2002
Posts: 94
Location: Germany |
I prefer WIZARDRY 8 !!
Baldur's Gate 2 is quite boring...!
Clicking to move in a isoperspective is for me like moving troups a real-time stragegy game not like adventuring! I feel more drawn into a game if I can move and look around as if I was there in the fantasy world
the AD&D system is boring... fighters, clerics, mages, thiefs, humans, elves, dwarfs and bascically that's it
and the magic system is strange...memorizing spells before you know what you'll need (I have always wondered how that works in a pen&paper session... erase and rewind *LOL*)
combat is also weaker on BG2 for different reasons (focusing spells right is difficult, why not completely turn-based combat if you always have to hit pause etc.) |
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Fri Jun 21, 2002 7:26 am |
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Dominic
Guest
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I love Wizardry 8 because of the huge fights with monsters tougher than yourself it makes the game more challenging using different strageties
to fight mulitple strong magic users I aslo love the fights that have twenty or thirty monsters thats great yeah they could have put more3 monsters in the game like the jelly stingers from #7 etc... but anyone who knows a true role playing game will lije and enjoy Wizardry (any number)
WIZARDRY |
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Fri Jun 28, 2002 12:00 pm |
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