Arcania - E3 Hands-on @ GameBanshee

Dhruin

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GameBanshee was able to attend E3, which hopefully means we'll get some good coverage of RPGs. Here's a snip from their Arcania article, after 15 minutes of hands-on time:
Combat has been "streamlined" (an RPG enthusiast's favorite buzzword), with the game's combos being pulled off with various combinations of three buttons and abilities being triggered with up to eight player-selected quickslots. More powerful attacks can be performed by holding down the necessary button and watching as a number of red dots begin to glow in succession. When all of the dots are lit up, your charged melee/ranged/spell attack is at maximum power. Bow/crossbow and spell attacks have to be aimed at an opponent with a thumbstick or mouselook, though you can lock onto an enemy with the press of another button (a trigger on the Xbox 360, for example) to make precise aiming much easier. Each attack drains a certain amount of your character's stamina, though stamina regenerates by default, and you can increase its regeneration rate by allocating points to certain skill trees or by wearing certain equipment. Health does not regenerate by default, though I'm told that some items are imbued with health regeneration properties. Eating food, using bandages, or quaffing a healing potion will also restore lost health.
More information.
 
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Thanks for the heads up. That preview contained a lot of new information (at least to me).
 
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... despite being labeled as an "open world" RPG, I'd actually call it a "gated world". Not far into the game, you'll discover that higher level areas are inaccessible until you've unlocked them via the main quest or side quests.

While I like what I read in the article, the above quote is a big 'boooooo!'

Funny they chose this design because you can really achieve the same result by making the monsters impossibly difficult until you are at certain levels and have certain gear and abilities without using artificial alternatives. Ah well.
 
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I didn't like what i read and this was the worst :
"though armor is only comprised of two pieces - the suit itself is one piece, and then you can pair a helmet with it"

Archery with power ups will be interesting , i guess
 
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I didn't like what i read and this was the worst :
"though armor is only comprised of two pieces - the suit itself is one piece, and then you can pair a helmet with it"

Archery with power ups will be interesting , i guess

Same as the rest of the gothic games. Armor in gothic means status, and this approach works well.
 
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Not sure what to think of this game yet, I keep getting mixed feelings. Some of the videos I've seen have looked really good, but then I read about the "gated world", and things like the "lock on" function for archery. :-/
 
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I will hazard a guess, that Arcania will be a glorified hack-n-slash oriented game trying to please all denominations - consoles and pc - mature and schoolboys - this is why Risen had such wide varying reviews.
"Gated-world" player limitation is an out-of-date method of hand-holding, is is restrictive to advanced player requirement and explorative (read: initiative) progression - it is indeed for schoolboys with consoles - so that counts me out! :lol:
 
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Let's see a pathetic publisher who would steal an independent developer's much beloved and cherished IP.

Rather than paying the Developer for the completed and much need patch of about 1gig, they chose to steal an IP and pay ANOTHER developer not in anyway associated with the IP to make a patch and a sequel.

Let me rephrase that, DESPISED and PATHETIC.
 
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Well, honestly, I never quite understood why english-speaking so often use the term "pathetic", because it is rarely used in the german language - an appears to me to have a slightly different meaning as well, despite its (the word's) look is the same.
 
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Well, honestly, I never quite understood why english-speaking so often use the term "pathetic", because it is rarely used in the german language.
That might have to do with the point that it's not the German language and the meaning of the word is different :p.
 
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Well, it's one of those things one begins to ask oneself if one iis learning other languages, actually.

And yes, it is *definitively* overused !
 
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Well, honestly, I never quite understood why english-speaking so often use the term "pathetic",

"Pathetic" conveys contempt for how crappy something is. It makes sense that it would be a favorite word on game forums, since that is what a large percentage of posts mean to convey (contempt for game X or Y).

That would be my explanation, anyhow.
 
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Okay, thanks :)
 
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No doubt Germans would have their own favorite words for conveying contempt.
 
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This explains a lot.
 
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Let's see a pathetic publisher who would steal an independent developer's much beloved and cherished IP.
Sympathies or antipathies aside, said developer actually wasn´t independent, you know, thus - no thievery involved, just a contract resolution.
With the release of Gothic 3, the beloved and cherished IP took a nosedive anyway (and no patch can redeem such things as half-assed story and characters).
Fresh restart on Piranha Bytes´ side now seems rather beneficial for both company and player base. Risen was understandably a very safe and not really all that spectacular new beginning, but it was a solid and polished product delivered by company that knows its limitations. Whether PB are really able to fan a creative spark from their best times is yet to be proven, but I´m fairly confident that chances their next title will be of G1/G2 quality are now better than ever.

As for Arcania, the premise is interesting, visuals good, haven´t noticed any heart yet so I remain cold :).
 
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Risen was understandably a very safe and not really all that spectacular new beginning, but it was a solid and polished product delivered by company that knows its limitations. Whether PB are really able to fan a creative spark from their best times is yet to be proven, but I´m fairly confident that chances their next title will be of G1/G2 quality are now better than ever.


I agree, Risen was a step in the right direction. Hopefully they'll build on the things they got right (atmosphere, combat), and learn from what they did wrong (endgame).
 
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