30th May 2010, 10:54 AM
Playing now:
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura - Troika's second RPG and one of the few steampunk RPGs ever. It suffers from many of the same problems that have plagued both post-Black Isle devs, in that it's a bit rough around the edge and has various glitches and bugs. Fortunately, there's a dedicated fanbase that has plugged most the holes with fan patches and other mods. Also, it's a deep, well-written RPG that allows a great deal of choice and freedom, which certainly doesn't hurt.
Tomb Raider: Underworld - Actually the only Tomb Raider game that I've ever purchased or played for more than five minutes. I'm not sure why, but the series has never really done much for me, however I really like Underworld. It looks great, for one thing, and it's got a big focus on puzzles and platforming over Gears of War-esque gunplay against waves of enemies.
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines - On several occasions I've made a valiant attempt to complete what I consider to be one of the best Western RPGs of the past ten years, but the greatness of the first two-thirds fades quickly in the final stretch and I'm left with little desire to continue. As with Arcanum, there are numerous problems here, many of which are fixed by the fans but far from all, that are thankfully overshadowed by greatness elsewhere. It's also probably one of the best pieces of vampire fiction this side of Bram Stoker.
Atelier Annie - An entry in Gusts long-running alchemy-based RPG series that focuses on resources gathering, sidequests, and item creation, more than anything else. There's combat and "dungeons", but neither are anything special and really only exist to give resources-gathering even the most minor degree of difficulty. There's also a metric ton of dialog scenes between characters, most of which are meant to be amusing rather than dramatic or insightful.
Soon to be playing:
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Alpha Protocol
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura - Troika's second RPG and one of the few steampunk RPGs ever. It suffers from many of the same problems that have plagued both post-Black Isle devs, in that it's a bit rough around the edge and has various glitches and bugs. Fortunately, there's a dedicated fanbase that has plugged most the holes with fan patches and other mods. Also, it's a deep, well-written RPG that allows a great deal of choice and freedom, which certainly doesn't hurt.
Tomb Raider: Underworld - Actually the only Tomb Raider game that I've ever purchased or played for more than five minutes. I'm not sure why, but the series has never really done much for me, however I really like Underworld. It looks great, for one thing, and it's got a big focus on puzzles and platforming over Gears of War-esque gunplay against waves of enemies.
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines - On several occasions I've made a valiant attempt to complete what I consider to be one of the best Western RPGs of the past ten years, but the greatness of the first two-thirds fades quickly in the final stretch and I'm left with little desire to continue. As with Arcanum, there are numerous problems here, many of which are fixed by the fans but far from all, that are thankfully overshadowed by greatness elsewhere. It's also probably one of the best pieces of vampire fiction this side of Bram Stoker.
Atelier Annie - An entry in Gusts long-running alchemy-based RPG series that focuses on resources gathering, sidequests, and item creation, more than anything else. There's combat and "dungeons", but neither are anything special and really only exist to give resources-gathering even the most minor degree of difficulty. There's also a metric ton of dialog scenes between characters, most of which are meant to be amusing rather than dramatic or insightful.
Soon to be playing:
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Alpha Protocol
Sometimes you get the scorpion.