Of the Baldur's Gate series, I enjoyed BG2 the most, but the overwhelming memory I have of it is the ungodly length of the game when you factor in all the possible quests, which of course as an anal completist, I always do and get totally bogged down in the myriad sidequests. My hat's off to anyone who's finished this game through ToB.
lol, then you'd be amazed to know I have had finished al possible quest in SoA and ToB (since I've played it like 50times? tried all different classes etc).
I think closest thing to bg2 I've played so far is Daggerford and NWN2 OC. Don't think I will play it through more than once though. I'm rather lost in daggerford at the moment coz I cant find thing/place/person for the quests and nwn2.... camera modes really piss me off atm.
And you mentioned the length of bg2... but I thought most of games are that lengthy anyway? I found nwn1 vastly bigger with more side quests than bg2. Ofcourse, I could be wrong since I've never finished the game.
I'm speaking *soley* from the perspective that ToEE's combat model is superior to the IE model. I'm making no claims of superiority based on game content.
I found that in BG2, it was the same patterns over and over again with spell "tactics". The IWD games offered more diversity in how one approached a combat scenerio in regards to which spells and which class strengths and abilities were used. I actually liked the spartan spell selection of IWD more than the smorgasboard of magic in BG2, maybe I found it more accessible and less aggrivating.
Now, IWD2 was the more successful in the criteria I'm using here. IWD wasn't quite as diverse, but still I found the combat grittier and more engaging.
Yes. But that's not the point of the cartoon, which is what I was commenting on.
lol, then you'd be amazed to know I have had finished al possible quest in SoA and ToB (since I've played it like 50times? tried all different classes etc).
BG2 was the only game that was interesting enough for me to complete game multiple times. I have played number of cRPGs but most of them were abandoned before I've even reached the end of the game or played through once and never ever thought of playing it again.
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*Bows down in awe to the magnificence that is purpleblob*
Now THAT is impressive. As much as I love BG2, it is the length that keeps me from replaying it as much as I would like. I also can not bring myself to play any single game that much, in fear that I am missing out on too many other games.
So, while I got many enjoyable hours of play from the game, I find it to be too sandboxy and non-linear in the long run to hold my interest. I can understand those who put it at the top of their lists, though. It probably comes closer to fulfilling the term 'epic' than most cRPGs.
*Bows down in awe to the magnificence that is purpleblob*
Now THAT is impressive. As much as I love BG2, it is the length that keeps me from replaying it as much as I would like. I also can not bring myself to play any single game that much, in fear that I am missing out on too many other games.
I would never complain that the game I liked was too long. For me it's like a good book - I just don't want it to end
In my opinion the best solution wouldn't be more linear, but rather a non-linear game with many more mutually exclusive paths and choices, which would add to replay value.
I understand, and that's how I felt with Gothic, The Witcher, Arcanum, and even ToEE (despite the stuttering and lags in the nodes at the end that drug the game out) I wanted more. Hey--I still want more.
And Zaleukos wrote:
Linear is another one of those words that carry a lot of meanings--I like your idea of mutually exclusive paths and choices, but at some point I want my next move in a game to be pretty clear. I like to wander around and check out the NPCs and their back stories and travel the map looking for this or that for awhile, but I can't do it indefinitely... Maybe I enjoy semi-linearity.
Oh, and salute to you as well for finishing four times. You guys obviously have more self discipline than I do.
I feel exactly the same. It is beyond me that somebody can complain, that a game is too long (except it is bad, of course, but then there is no reason to play it till the end).
I thought it was the fault of the console-kiddies with the short attention span that shooters last only ten hours today, but if even RPG-fans start to complain about games being too long
Oh, and I never finished Morrowind, either.