- Joined
- September 16, 2011
- Messages
- 791
So these are the three major old-school isometric RPG's to come out recently. I would imagine most of us that frequent RPGWatch are very keen on these games. I haven't seen a thread that specifically compares and contrasts the three mid-size developers' juggernauts, so I figured I would start a thread specific to what you liked most about what each game did, where each could be improved (perhaps by borrowing on concepts from one of the other titles), your impressions of each, which you liked most overall, etc.
Full disclosure here. I have liked what I have played of all of them but have not taken any of them past the finish line. I am playing Pillars of Eternity right now and am really digging it, but I will try not to let the "what have you done for me lately" bias slip in too much. According to Steam, I have logged 56 hours in D:OS, 51 hours in WL2, and 26 hours in PoE so far.
Divinity: Original Sin
I was pretty blown away by D:OS when I first started it. To me, it has the best combat system of the three. Very inventive and unique way to include the environment and elements to make things that much more interesting. I love that everything is so interactive and there are so many unique solutions to issues, it feels like the most flexible and realistic in how NPC's react to what I do. I think Larian also innovated more with D:OS than was done in the other titles, specifically with the "co-op" implementation and dialog system and, as mentioned, with the combat. The world did not seem that huge to me, but it is brimming with content, and according to howlongtobeat.com, it is the longest of the three games (main+ extra content lasting an average of 80.5 hours per user). I ended up getting stuck somewhere in the game and then eventually migrated over to WL2 when it came out, which is why I have not yet finished the game. Original Sin appears to be the best Larian product to date, with all due respect to Divine Divinity (which I loved, but felt sputtered near the end), and Divinity 2: DKS, which I also enjoyed but never completed. Also, I really enjoy the light-hearted humor and writing that is a staple of their products. However, one drawback I had comes with the story, where it seemed like it was losing steam or becoming convoluted near the mid-way point of the game. I'm not really sure what my purpose is in the game anymore and am just roaming around killing things and completing quests and am sort of stumbling to the end. As I mentioned, I felt like this happened to me in Divine Divinity as well. That they are refining the story for a later date reinforces this thought to me as well.
Wasteland 2
Fallout 1 and 2 are my favorite games of all-time, so to say I was excited for WL2 would be an under-statement. And you know what, it has not disappointed me. Despite the complaints of some of people here, I quite like the tactical combat. It is constantly challenging, although not as strong and/or innovative as D:OS was in that regard. Wasteland 2 also features very strong writing. One element I really like from the game is that it really feels like you are in control of your squad of individuals. Whereas PoE streamlines a lot of party control (your character best at lock-picking will automatically go to pick the lock), WL2 takes a traditional (some may say archaic) approach that I feel sort of makes you get to know your party more personally. A lot of people might see this as a negative, but it certainly feels like I am more attached to my party than I am in the other two titles. Tied to that is the freedom and ownership WL2 gives us when creating our party. I had more fun coming up with the back story of my characters here than in the other games and putting together their personalities and tying them together with applicable skills (which WL2 gives you a lot of options of). I don't believe I have put in enough into the game to fully experience the promised level of C&C so I will not yet comment on that aspect. The graphics in WL2 appear to be a little rougher than the other games, and coupled with some of its adherence to old-school mechanics makes it appear like the least-polished of the three. I think WL2 is probably the most polarizing title for these reasons, but considering my vast preference for post apocalyptic, sci-fi settings, and my love for C&C and reactivity, I could see this being the game that ends up being my favorite (and the one that I can see revisiting over and over again with my over-powered party after completing the game). According to howlongtobeat.com, main +extra takes an average of 65.5 hours, so it certainly is not lacking in content either. I'm currently waiting for the GOTY enhancements before jumping back in.
Pillars of Eternity
Ah, my most recent infatuation. PoE certainly feels like the most polished of the three products to me, and in some ways is a stark contrast to the feel of WL2. So far, I find that I am pretty obsessed with decking my party out with phat lewt. A lot of people have said that the stronghold does not feel fully fleshed out, but I am enjoying that aspect of the game. PoE also feels like the most sprawling and epic of the three games. I love the writing, even though I get impatient with reading every soul's back-story, I think it is all lovingly crafted and beautifully written. Out of the three games, each containing what I feel is very high-class writing, PoE strikes me as the best in that regard. I enjoy the combat, though I also find that I prefer the turn-based approach and that this is the weakest title in that regard. Some of that is made up by the splendid variety of spells and skills to choose from. Aesthetically speaking, I am not really sure which I prefer more between this and D:OS as both are very beautiful in vastly different ways. Oddly, while this feels like the biggest game and I feel that I have barely scratched the surface during my 26 hours, so far, the average playthrough is the shortest of the three on howlongtobeat.com, clocking in at an average of 62 hours per playthrough for main story +extra.
So there you have it, those are my thoughts on the three games. I won't be giving out any sort of ratings until I have finished them, but right now I think all three games are worthy of 9/10 on my rating scale. That will undoubtedly change later, but these are three great games so far for me. It definitely feels like that new golden age that people keep mentioning to me.
Full disclosure here. I have liked what I have played of all of them but have not taken any of them past the finish line. I am playing Pillars of Eternity right now and am really digging it, but I will try not to let the "what have you done for me lately" bias slip in too much. According to Steam, I have logged 56 hours in D:OS, 51 hours in WL2, and 26 hours in PoE so far.
Divinity: Original Sin
I was pretty blown away by D:OS when I first started it. To me, it has the best combat system of the three. Very inventive and unique way to include the environment and elements to make things that much more interesting. I love that everything is so interactive and there are so many unique solutions to issues, it feels like the most flexible and realistic in how NPC's react to what I do. I think Larian also innovated more with D:OS than was done in the other titles, specifically with the "co-op" implementation and dialog system and, as mentioned, with the combat. The world did not seem that huge to me, but it is brimming with content, and according to howlongtobeat.com, it is the longest of the three games (main+ extra content lasting an average of 80.5 hours per user). I ended up getting stuck somewhere in the game and then eventually migrated over to WL2 when it came out, which is why I have not yet finished the game. Original Sin appears to be the best Larian product to date, with all due respect to Divine Divinity (which I loved, but felt sputtered near the end), and Divinity 2: DKS, which I also enjoyed but never completed. Also, I really enjoy the light-hearted humor and writing that is a staple of their products. However, one drawback I had comes with the story, where it seemed like it was losing steam or becoming convoluted near the mid-way point of the game. I'm not really sure what my purpose is in the game anymore and am just roaming around killing things and completing quests and am sort of stumbling to the end. As I mentioned, I felt like this happened to me in Divine Divinity as well. That they are refining the story for a later date reinforces this thought to me as well.
Wasteland 2
Fallout 1 and 2 are my favorite games of all-time, so to say I was excited for WL2 would be an under-statement. And you know what, it has not disappointed me. Despite the complaints of some of people here, I quite like the tactical combat. It is constantly challenging, although not as strong and/or innovative as D:OS was in that regard. Wasteland 2 also features very strong writing. One element I really like from the game is that it really feels like you are in control of your squad of individuals. Whereas PoE streamlines a lot of party control (your character best at lock-picking will automatically go to pick the lock), WL2 takes a traditional (some may say archaic) approach that I feel sort of makes you get to know your party more personally. A lot of people might see this as a negative, but it certainly feels like I am more attached to my party than I am in the other two titles. Tied to that is the freedom and ownership WL2 gives us when creating our party. I had more fun coming up with the back story of my characters here than in the other games and putting together their personalities and tying them together with applicable skills (which WL2 gives you a lot of options of). I don't believe I have put in enough into the game to fully experience the promised level of C&C so I will not yet comment on that aspect. The graphics in WL2 appear to be a little rougher than the other games, and coupled with some of its adherence to old-school mechanics makes it appear like the least-polished of the three. I think WL2 is probably the most polarizing title for these reasons, but considering my vast preference for post apocalyptic, sci-fi settings, and my love for C&C and reactivity, I could see this being the game that ends up being my favorite (and the one that I can see revisiting over and over again with my over-powered party after completing the game). According to howlongtobeat.com, main +extra takes an average of 65.5 hours, so it certainly is not lacking in content either. I'm currently waiting for the GOTY enhancements before jumping back in.
Pillars of Eternity
Ah, my most recent infatuation. PoE certainly feels like the most polished of the three products to me, and in some ways is a stark contrast to the feel of WL2. So far, I find that I am pretty obsessed with decking my party out with phat lewt. A lot of people have said that the stronghold does not feel fully fleshed out, but I am enjoying that aspect of the game. PoE also feels like the most sprawling and epic of the three games. I love the writing, even though I get impatient with reading every soul's back-story, I think it is all lovingly crafted and beautifully written. Out of the three games, each containing what I feel is very high-class writing, PoE strikes me as the best in that regard. I enjoy the combat, though I also find that I prefer the turn-based approach and that this is the weakest title in that regard. Some of that is made up by the splendid variety of spells and skills to choose from. Aesthetically speaking, I am not really sure which I prefer more between this and D:OS as both are very beautiful in vastly different ways. Oddly, while this feels like the biggest game and I feel that I have barely scratched the surface during my 26 hours, so far, the average playthrough is the shortest of the three on howlongtobeat.com, clocking in at an average of 62 hours per playthrough for main story +extra.
So there you have it, those are my thoughts on the three games. I won't be giving out any sort of ratings until I have finished them, but right now I think all three games are worthy of 9/10 on my rating scale. That will undoubtedly change later, but these are three great games so far for me. It definitely feels like that new golden age that people keep mentioning to me.
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2011
- Messages
- 791