1Up - Top Ten Most Wanted PC Games of 2008

magerette

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Amidst the other genres in this short article on PC games to look forward to this year, 1Up devotes a paragraph to two RPG's on the Watch list, Dragon Age and Fallout 3:
Here are the short game descriptions:
Dragon Age
What is it? A medieval-themed RPG that Bioware has described as "the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate." Oh Bioware, you do know how to push our buttons.
Why should I care? You mean, aside from the fact that the folks behind it are calling it the successor to one of the greatest PC RPGs ever made? How about the fact that the game is aiming for a grittier, more realistic approach to medieval fantasy? Or how about being to play through your character's own back story as a sort of prequel to the main story? Or how about your battles taking place in cinematic, painstakingly animated -- almost choreographed -- style? If none of that grabs you, well, you have no soul.
What's the prognosis? Doubting BioWare's RPG cred is like doubting the sun will come up tomorrow. Our only concern now is the fact that the game didn't make it out last year. But we'll take late over rushed any day.

Fallout 3
What is it? The sequel to one of the most innovative and highly regarded RPG franchises on the PC. With a decade having elapsed since the last real Fallout game (Tactics and Brotherhood of Steel are dead to us), it's also a pretty dramatic re-imagining of the Fallout formula.
Why should I care? Fallout and Fallout 2 were so exceptional that they still enjoy a large, enthusiastic fan base today. But Fallout 3's technological lineage is just as solid, since it's using a modified version of the Oblivion engine.
What's the prognosis? We're looking forward to exploring a ruined Washington, D.C., and blasting away at mutants in gory detail. We're also curious how the game will manage to balance its action and RPG elements; Bethesda is aiming for a stat-based system that can also work for run-n-gun players. That could prove to be a delicate balance.
More information.
 
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Some interesting stuff on my three platforms (PC, DS & PSP) ... though perhaps I should be concerned that of the PSP stuff, one game is already out and the other is a mega-multi-platform release ... says 'not enough PSP to fill 2 pages' to me ...
 
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How about the fact that the game is aiming for a grittier, more realistic approach to medieval fantasy? Or how about your battles taking place in cinematic, painstakingly animated -- almost choreographed -- style?
How about The Witcher, which had both? I've just finished playing the game and it was absolutely marvellous. I seriously doubt, however, that sold-out BioWare can follow in its footsteps.
 
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How about The Witcher, which had both? I've just finished playing the game and it was absolutely marvellous. I seriously doubt, however, that sold-out BioWare can follow in its footsteps.

Witcher is marvelous, but don't overprize it. It has lots of technical flaws (crashes, loading times), NPC models are too few, battle system is mediocre and character stats never affects otherwise brilliant quest dialogue options.

It actually is some sort of miracle that it's a great game with all that drawbacks.

Bioware, on the other hand, is sure to deliver something solid. Maybe not a masterpiece like in old times but why don't keep our hopes up?
 
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I don't see why you couldn't expect a masterpiece. Well, you'd be setting yourself up for potential disappointment, of course, but that's life. ;)

I mean, this is the first BioWare RPG aimed at the PC in a long time. KotOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, etc. did get PC ports, but BioWare can get crazy this time from design on. And it's their own IP, too, which they can manage pretty well if Mass Effect is any indication.

You can yell "SELL-OUT!" as much as you want, but the talent in BioWare is still there and you don't know the specifics of the EA deal. So how can you judge them?

I hope I'm not proven wrong, of course.
 
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I don't see why you couldn't expect a masterpiece. Well, you'd be setting yourself up for potential disappointment, of course, but that's life. ;)

I mean, this is the first BioWare RPG aimed at the PC in a long time. KotOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, etc. did get PC ports, but BioWare can get crazy this time from design on. And it's their own IP, too, which they can manage pretty well if Mass Effect is any indication.

You can yell "SELL-OUT!" as much as you want, but the talent in BioWare is still there and you don't know the specifics of the EA deal. So how can you judge them?

I hope I'm not proven wrong, of course.

I think people now seem to expect too much from games these days and the hype around it doesn't help much. I personally think it will be good but I doubt it will be ground breaking or move away from the bioware formula that rpg fans are familiar with.
 
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Witcher is marvelous, but don't overprize it. It has lots of technical flaws (crashes, loading times), NPC models are too few, battle system is mediocre and character stats never affects otherwise brilliant quest dialogue options.

Get the latest patch (1.2), which addresses crash- and loading times-related snags. The battle system is MEDIOCRE??? WTF? It's the best and most intuitive in ages, man. Lots of more models and gestures in the coming EE version. No effect of character progress/stats on dialogues? I don't mind, as Geralt has a most sarcastisc attitude that no character development could emulate anyhow. :)
 
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That's a nice list, but I'll bet a testicle that Starcraft 2, Dragon Age, Borderlands, and Rage will all not make it out this year. I give Fallout 3 about a 75% chance of being pushed back to 2009.
 
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They did make Dragon Age sound good, didn't they? I wonder who came up with that "spiritual successor" thing. Probably some guy who got caught cheating with a younger woman. "But honey, she's your spiritual successor!"
 
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With Fallout 3 made with the engine of Oblivion and the same people... it's hard for me to expect much good from this game.

For Dragon Age... well, I might be surprised here and a lot of things I read about this game seem great. I have been on Dragon Age forum for a while and I something worries me. One of the main designer arguing about how characters shouldnt die anymore : ie, the NWN2 way.

Bioware havent produced anything excellent for PC since a long time (Kotor? NWN?) and I fear they have lost their way working on console titles. But who knows...
 
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For Dragon Age... well, I might be surprised here and a lot of things I read about this game seem great. I have been on Dragon Age forum for a while and I something worries me. One of the main designer arguing about how characters shouldnt die anymore : ie, the NWN2 way.

Yeah, that was one thing that I REALLY didn't like about NWN2 (and I guess NWN1 since your henchmen couldn't die). I can see how not allowing certain characters to die, as it would prevent the story from progressing in certain places. Of course, I would have preferred the "Ohh crap! I need XXXX, where the hell did I leave their body!"

I'll admit that in the Infinity games, I always turned permanent death off, but I felt by eliminating death, and allowing the player to just rest after the battle and be back to full health, it made certain parts to easy.

I think it was Ultima VII where you had to physically pick up the dead character and carry them to a healer. I loved that! Made it more challenging and realistic.
 
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I haven't heard that Dragon Age is the spiritual successor to Baldurs Gate as much as that it's a spiritual successor to all of Bioware's games, and they are going to incorporate everything that they have learned into it. I'm not surprised that Baldurs Gate comes up so often, since that is probably Bioware's old fan base's favorite game. I like that idea, but I fear that it's going to be about 95% Kotor and NWN and maybe 5% BG.
 
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You call clicking the mouse button when an icon tells you to "intuitive"?
You have to watch Geralt's swordplay and click in accord, which I indeed find intuitive, not to mention the different figthing styles and swords used. There's no icon telling you when to click during battle.

That is, unless you play at lame-a$$ "difficulty".
 
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Actually, I'm stunned Grimoire isn't on the list!! :)
 
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