Drakensang - Reviews @ Digital Spy, Bit-tech, VGR

Dhruin

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A trio of Drakensang reviews via GameBanshee - all of them with mediocre outlooks. Here's a list:

An example from Bit-tech:
The party-based combat system is more akin to an RTS than an RPG though. You can select any one of your party members to use a specific spell or you can group your forces however you want, focusing or dividing attacks however you want. Combat is pretty slow, to the point of almost being truly boring, with enemies and allies taking ages to go through the right motions. Indeed, many people that watched the combat remarked on its mundane pace.

In the early stages of the game we felt the combat also lacked tactical depth too. Few of the spells intermingle with one another such as debuffs, bleed effects or spells that make an enemy susceptible to a particular type of magic. Instead, you're left with the feeling that it’s a case of ‘cast spell x for x amount of damage’ or case ‘spell y for x amount of damage’ but with a different animation. This simplistic nature, coupled with the slow pace and way battles are spattered with inane auto-responses that your characters say as you issue a command, makes the whole process pretty dull.
More information.
 
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Well, it seems the common theme in all the reviews is the use of "tried and true" (i.e., tired) races, plot lines, etc. What they don't seem to understand is that the world of Aventuria (at least, from the little I know of TDE) IS very "tried and true," as is the Forgotten Realms and most other high-fantasy settings. In other words, they are deducting points based on the underlying game-world and setting (which Radon Labs have no control over, short of not making a game in that setting). Granted, the story would've been a lot better had they steered away from "the Chosen One" plot-line, but I don't find the plot and setting to be the most problematic issues with the game by a longshot. For me, it is bad pacing and poor design choices that hinder the game the most.

I also think this game suffers from being a bit of a dinosaur, as low- to mid-budget single-player RPGs simply don't show up on the PC much anymore. When we do get an RPG, it is always some kind of high concept "hybrid" title, like Mass Effect or Fallout 3. I wonder what the scores for Drakensang would be had the game been released 10 years ago, albeit with graphics more inline with what was possible at the time. If I remember correctly, Shadows over Riva received pretty favorable reviews in PC Gamer and other gaming rags at the time.
 
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Of course the "tried and true" setting makes up much of TDE, and if you want to stay true to that, your game will have a bit of that naviety. It doesn't mean that reviewers just have to accept it. If they don't like it, they can criticise it, it's their job.

I have different complaints, thogh. Sometimes I wonder how much reviewers even touched the game. The Digital Spy "random labs" review for example provides no evidence that the author did more than skim some other reviews that are out there. There is no depth howsoever in his review. He lists the praise and criticism that you see elsewhere, but provides no real reason why something works well or not.
 
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At least the review has words in it, not just a fairly meaningless score. I know that it's got squad-based tactical combat. That pretty much sells me. :)
 
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Those reviewers are NOT RPG players; they represent the mass market. Read only for a laugh. IMNSHO!! :)
 
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I dunno why game reviewers so often bash a game when it does things more or less like done before. WHY must every game be a revolution or its put into the trash can? Why cant we just appreciate a game as good entertainment and be fine with it. Its COMPUTER GAMING godsakes, not Nobel Prize writing!

TDE is a Pen and Paper game originally, so what do they expect? Didnt every D&D based game follow the same tried and known rules either? Those guys just wank on their own self-implied importance. Go out and make better!
 
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Why shouldn't someone be condemned for regurgitating the same crap that's been done over and over for the last decade?

Those guys just wank on their own self-implied importance. Go out and make better!

They're being paid to write reviews. I think they're doing a lot better than, say, you are.
 
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Why shouldn't someone be condemned for regurgitating the same crap that's been done over and over for the last decade?

Well, because noone does so with a Rolling Stones Album or a Oliver Stone Movie - both tend to be the same and same again.

Everybody loves them for doing so, why shouldn't trusted concepts be reused if they prove successful and artistically promising?

Look at NWN2 vanilla and MotB. MotB was a artistical triumph in an reused engine and a very often used ruleset. Point proven.
 
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Props for "artistical". But enough yapping about the how generic is too generic because obviously the CRPG hardcore posse is defined by our endless appetite for the same old tropes. So what. Instead, I challenge the players of this game to address the point raised in the excerpt:

Is combat in this game a tedious snoozefest?
 
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There is WAY too much tedious and repetative combat in some areas, but then I'd say most games fall into that category; it's easy to do!!
 
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I really like the game, it's the best time i've had since the Witcher. And it's great to play with a party again. The slow running speed is a bit annoying but otherwise it's a nice game. Lots of numbers and stats, which is nice since that has been getting slimmed down in recent years. And a grid based inventory! That's always a plus. They did lots and lots of things right with this game but fell short in a few small areas. Reviewers are coming down on it a bit too hard if you ask me.
 
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I really like the game, it's the best time i've had since the Witcher. And it's great to play with a party again. The slow running speed is a bit annoying but otherwise it's a nice game. Lots of numbers and stats, which is nice since that has been getting slimmed down in recent years. And a grid based inventory! That's always a plus. They did lots and lots of things right with this game but fell short in a few small areas. Reviewers are coming down on it a bit too hard if you ask me.

And you can confirm that when reviewers give a game a score of 60 to 70 and when you see the "players' score" it's between 80 and 90.
 
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