Nerevarine
Keeper of the Watch
- Joined
- November 18, 2010
- Messages
- 1,022
You can count me as one who is pleasantly surprised at the enjoyment I've had with Venetica through the first 20 hours. This isn't a game that necessarily breaks new ground, and it's certainly not the deepest rpg around, but as Gorath put it, it's an "inspired" game, meaning that it doesn't feel like a half-baked effort from the developers. There seems to have been a good amount of passion put into the development of Venetica, and it has enough personality to immerse me into its world. The combat, while simple, keeps the player involved and avoids being so easy that you can beat the game in a sleep-walking state where button-mashing is enough to win every battle (which differs from, for example, Fable 2 and 3). The pacing also seems pretty solid.
It's a real shame that early English reviews are so negative, as it seems like the low scores are not very objective; reviewers of Venetica are, as always in certain markets, too focused on the size of the budget and the quality of the visuals and sounds rather than the quality of the actual gameplay and the overall experience. This is especially frustrating to me because despite the modest budget, Venetica still looks and sounds reasonably solid, so I'm not sure why there is so much nit-picking on the part of reviewers. Visuals and sound quality are complimentary in my opinion, so these aspects can only make a game better, not worse. For example, Arcanum is probably one of the ugliest games I've ever played, but that did not hinder my enjoyment of what was an incredible game; better graphics would have merely enhanced the enjoyment of the game.
As is the case with most games created by small developers, Venetica can be very enjoyable if it is approached with an open mind and a willingness to look beyond the low budget and slightly rough edges. Those looking for a deep and complex rpg will not find it here, but it is an enjoyable experience featuring a lovingly crafted game world with a unique personality. Venetica is similar to the Fable series, but it differs in that it does not insult the intelligence of players by becoming ridiculously easy or by holding the player's hand too much. My only big complaint is that I wish Venetica had a larger game world with more "wilderness" to explore; I've never been crazy about being in cities in rpgs, and Venice, being the central part of the story, is obviously very heavily featured.
It's a real shame that early English reviews are so negative, as it seems like the low scores are not very objective; reviewers of Venetica are, as always in certain markets, too focused on the size of the budget and the quality of the visuals and sounds rather than the quality of the actual gameplay and the overall experience. This is especially frustrating to me because despite the modest budget, Venetica still looks and sounds reasonably solid, so I'm not sure why there is so much nit-picking on the part of reviewers. Visuals and sound quality are complimentary in my opinion, so these aspects can only make a game better, not worse. For example, Arcanum is probably one of the ugliest games I've ever played, but that did not hinder my enjoyment of what was an incredible game; better graphics would have merely enhanced the enjoyment of the game.
As is the case with most games created by small developers, Venetica can be very enjoyable if it is approached with an open mind and a willingness to look beyond the low budget and slightly rough edges. Those looking for a deep and complex rpg will not find it here, but it is an enjoyable experience featuring a lovingly crafted game world with a unique personality. Venetica is similar to the Fable series, but it differs in that it does not insult the intelligence of players by becoming ridiculously easy or by holding the player's hand too much. My only big complaint is that I wish Venetica had a larger game world with more "wilderness" to explore; I've never been crazy about being in cities in rpgs, and Venice, being the central part of the story, is obviously very heavily featured.
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2010
- Messages
- 1,022
