14th August 2004, 2:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 14th August 2004, 3:45 PM by A Black Falcon.)
OB1, are you joking or do you have a serious point? Because I know I've liked every single one of Bioware's games (sure, I haven't played SHattered Steel in years, but I'm sure it's a decent giant robot sim...). Yes, I have some complaints about NWN. But not so much that when the thing gets a bit cheaper I won't get it... it certainly looks like it'd be worth $20 or $30...
Anyway, what in the world is your point? So I hadn't played KOTOR. So?
You also forget one more thing about this list. 'Most Wanted' doesn't mean games I'll get as soon as they are out. So I well might wait until KOTOR 2 is cheaper until I get it, but that doesn't change its status on my list...
As for KOTOR... I've just started. Would you like some first impressions? ... well, I'll tell you either way. :)
KOTOR... as I thought, given that it's primarially a console game, takes the d20 rules but simplifies them. A simple light/dark alignment system, only three classes, etc... oh, it's still got a lot of depth for sure, but compared to a Bioware PC D&D RPG the system has been noticably simplified. This isn't awful (most of the d20/D&D 3 system is here and intact), but it's what you get with it being a console game.
Yes, I'll get used to the control and display systems. But on first glance I see a bunch of small annoying things that I have to mention.
First. INVENTORY. This is the biggest thing that they seem to have changed. Can you max out your inventory? Do you have limited inventory slots? Do you even have that basic D&D thing of a WEIGHT LIMIT? And WHY IN THE WORLD DOES IT HAVE A SHARED PARTY INVENTORY??? That is so, so stupid! I want seperate inventory screens for each character and I want a normal inventory display where I can see small images of each item on the screen at the same time! Oh yeah, and I want the descriptions to appear on a right click, not on a left click, because that means a big box on the side of the screen has to be devoted to that description... one of the many ways this game panders to consoles, hurting its PC playability.
Yes, in Baldur's Gate II you get various 'bags of holding' to hold stuff, so it'd be nice to have them have early on (and easily accessible) things like a power pack holder (weapon energy), potion holder, etc... but you realy should have a obviously limited inventory that is seperate for each character and that has a weight limit based on their strength, like the d20 rules say you should.
Oh yeah, and It's pretty dissapointing to see that you can't choose your character's voice set... this is minor, but it's still annoying. At least the default seems decent.
As for the game itsself... seems good. One pretty annoying thing is that when you click on your other party member(s) on screen (in combat, specifically) it doesn't select them. I'm used to it doing that in most PC RPGs so the fact that it doesn't, and you have to either hit 'Tab' or click on their portrait, is pretty annoying. Most of my other complaints are similar interface issues, about how I like the Infinity engine (or other similar systems that all the Interplay-style PC RPGs have) better than this console-styled one. Like, items. Okay, so it's nice that you can switch between the items in your quick item spots with the little arrows, but I'd prefer to be able to drag items there from my inventory and configure it as I wish! Oh wait, the inventory is not that well designed... right...
More? Hmm... oh, right, combat. I mean in addition to forcing you to use tab instead of the obvious clicking on the other character to switch to them during combat. (that may not work in the console version but it REALLY should have been in the PC!) As you can probably guess, I want a normal combat system, not those little boxes which I have to scroll through... by 'normal' I mean 'either a rightclick popup ring of options or a row of buttons on the screen'. Given this game's interface, I think the rightclick ring would work better. Though that's more a Black Isle thing, not Bioware, I think it'd be perfect for this game... you know, where you move the mouse onto the screen and then right click and the options pop up. Attack, Skills (click to get a listing), Force (if you're a Jedi), Items (like the grenades), etc... I definitely think that a system like that would work better for a mouse control system.
On a similar note, I know OB1 will think I am crazy, but (just based on a couple hours of gameplay) I can't help but find myself thinking that I'd rather this game had a more normal topdown perspective. Seriously. And this isn't for performance reasons... the game runs surprisingly well on my PC, at 800x600 anyway. I just think that PC-style RPGs are more fun from that perspective. Especially combat, that'd definitely be better if it was from a more overhead perspective (and with a action choice system like I detailed earlier)... yes, the game has nice 3d graphics. But I'd love to see what this game would look like with great high res images instead... :)
Now, don't get me wrong. It's a very good game. Probably a great game, even. I just wish that it had been made more focused for the PC. Not a game-killing set of problems by any means, but enough to be worth mentioning.
Anyway, what in the world is your point? So I hadn't played KOTOR. So?
You also forget one more thing about this list. 'Most Wanted' doesn't mean games I'll get as soon as they are out. So I well might wait until KOTOR 2 is cheaper until I get it, but that doesn't change its status on my list...
As for KOTOR... I've just started. Would you like some first impressions? ... well, I'll tell you either way. :)
KOTOR... as I thought, given that it's primarially a console game, takes the d20 rules but simplifies them. A simple light/dark alignment system, only three classes, etc... oh, it's still got a lot of depth for sure, but compared to a Bioware PC D&D RPG the system has been noticably simplified. This isn't awful (most of the d20/D&D 3 system is here and intact), but it's what you get with it being a console game.
Yes, I'll get used to the control and display systems. But on first glance I see a bunch of small annoying things that I have to mention.
First. INVENTORY. This is the biggest thing that they seem to have changed. Can you max out your inventory? Do you have limited inventory slots? Do you even have that basic D&D thing of a WEIGHT LIMIT? And WHY IN THE WORLD DOES IT HAVE A SHARED PARTY INVENTORY??? That is so, so stupid! I want seperate inventory screens for each character and I want a normal inventory display where I can see small images of each item on the screen at the same time! Oh yeah, and I want the descriptions to appear on a right click, not on a left click, because that means a big box on the side of the screen has to be devoted to that description... one of the many ways this game panders to consoles, hurting its PC playability.
Yes, in Baldur's Gate II you get various 'bags of holding' to hold stuff, so it'd be nice to have them have early on (and easily accessible) things like a power pack holder (weapon energy), potion holder, etc... but you realy should have a obviously limited inventory that is seperate for each character and that has a weight limit based on their strength, like the d20 rules say you should.
Oh yeah, and It's pretty dissapointing to see that you can't choose your character's voice set... this is minor, but it's still annoying. At least the default seems decent.
As for the game itsself... seems good. One pretty annoying thing is that when you click on your other party member(s) on screen (in combat, specifically) it doesn't select them. I'm used to it doing that in most PC RPGs so the fact that it doesn't, and you have to either hit 'Tab' or click on their portrait, is pretty annoying. Most of my other complaints are similar interface issues, about how I like the Infinity engine (or other similar systems that all the Interplay-style PC RPGs have) better than this console-styled one. Like, items. Okay, so it's nice that you can switch between the items in your quick item spots with the little arrows, but I'd prefer to be able to drag items there from my inventory and configure it as I wish! Oh wait, the inventory is not that well designed... right...
More? Hmm... oh, right, combat. I mean in addition to forcing you to use tab instead of the obvious clicking on the other character to switch to them during combat. (that may not work in the console version but it REALLY should have been in the PC!) As you can probably guess, I want a normal combat system, not those little boxes which I have to scroll through... by 'normal' I mean 'either a rightclick popup ring of options or a row of buttons on the screen'. Given this game's interface, I think the rightclick ring would work better. Though that's more a Black Isle thing, not Bioware, I think it'd be perfect for this game... you know, where you move the mouse onto the screen and then right click and the options pop up. Attack, Skills (click to get a listing), Force (if you're a Jedi), Items (like the grenades), etc... I definitely think that a system like that would work better for a mouse control system.
On a similar note, I know OB1 will think I am crazy, but (just based on a couple hours of gameplay) I can't help but find myself thinking that I'd rather this game had a more normal topdown perspective. Seriously. And this isn't for performance reasons... the game runs surprisingly well on my PC, at 800x600 anyway. I just think that PC-style RPGs are more fun from that perspective. Especially combat, that'd definitely be better if it was from a more overhead perspective (and with a action choice system like I detailed earlier)... yes, the game has nice 3d graphics. But I'd love to see what this game would look like with great high res images instead... :)
Now, don't get me wrong. It's a very good game. Probably a great game, even. I just wish that it had been made more focused for the PC. Not a game-killing set of problems by any means, but enough to be worth mentioning.
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