Arkane Studios - "Dishonored" Revealed

[txa1265]

That's the same logic that doomed DNF. I have no problem since I know what I'm purchasing. Its the same argument used for the witcher and Gothic series. Yes there male-centric and make no apologies about it.

I always tell everyone research before you buy. Then you cant complain on what you bought.

There is a big difference between 'male centric' as in The Witcher & Gothic meaning 'you play a male character and the story is appropriately set up in that regard ... and DNF and DMoMM - where humor = 'boobies', plot = 'boobies', and there is an absolutely lazy and immature dependence on base responses in lieu of any actual substance.

 

[Nerevarine]

You are right - a good game is a good game. Arx Fatalis I really liked, and even (to CouchPotato's point) liked the spell casting system. That said, it is a ~80% game - solid but flawed in several ways. Certainly not in the top 25 of the RPG genre.

DMoMM, on the other hand I consider to be mediocre *at best*. I gave it a 40% in my RPGWatch review (two stars) - and that is honestly how I feel. It is (IMO) not even debatable that it is shallow and demonstrably immature and male-centric through the middle-school mentality shown throughout. The balancing is awful … and on and on.

So if Arkane finally makes a truly GREAT game … I don't care if it is a Match 3 game!

Fair enough, now that you've explained why you dislike Dark Messiah, it makes more sense than a "it's not enough of an RPG, therefore it can't ever possibly be a good game" type of argument. I never really thought the game's story was even close to being as bad as a Duke story (which I realize are intentionally over-the-top absurd and mostly tongue in cheek), but I realize that it's a subjective topic - I just didn't feel like it was that sleazy. Immature and perhaps cringe-worthy, but not nauseating.

I think that the main focus for DM was gameplay though, and my own opinion is that while it was far from being a great all-around gameplay experience, it was still better and more creative than the majority of real-time melee combat games out there - assuming that the player avoids abusing the kick mechanic . Arkane really should have made kicking take up more stamina, because it is a mechanic that most players probably did abuse.

 

[zakhal]

I enjoyed both Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah but I liked Arx better because in Arx you played in a world while in Messiah you played only certain situations in the world. However I still think the world in UUW was better than in Arx if comparison is made.

DM sleazy? Sounds like somthing that feminists might think. As for the necro stuff I found it interesting and not just graphically. What I read from the ingame books was interesting insight into their world. Made me wish there was a crpg where you could play a necro.

 

[txa1265]

DM sleazy? Sounds like somthing that feminists might think.

Personally I never called it sleazy - I would use that term for Duke Nukem Forever. DMoMM I would use immature, puerile, base and shallow, with totally obvious 'middle school boy' usage and characterizations.

To be clear I am not on some crusade, I personally love Postal 2 because at least there it is all in context. DMoMM pretends to be something it is not, and DNF thinks showing boobs and implying BJs makes it edgy ... it is wrong. Nor even funny. And it is being rewarded with crappy sales.

 

[vurt]

DMoMM was almost cheesier than the first Two Worlds, but i didn't mind it, it was quite decent and had nice combat, Arx Fatalis is obviously the better game though.

 

[Dark Phoenix]

103 comments on my review here … I don't think I want to wade into that one again. Suffice to say that I considered DMoMM DRAMATICALLY inferior to Arx Fatalis, and it wasn't a RPG anyway … so Arkane just isn't a RPG company anymore. Shame.

I strongly disagree. I loved Arx Fatalis and DMoMM. They were Both RPG's just different kinds of RPG's.

I was eagerly awaiting The Crossing by Arkane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crossing_(video_game) and watching the Arkane forums for news when they ran into financial trouble and started working for Zenimax on Boishock 2. I suppose this was the catalyst for Zenimax to purchase Arkane Studios. I do hope they get back to The Crossing and finish it.

Dishonored sounds really promising. My one big fear is that it will suck being a game made essentially for Games for Windows which is nothing but xbox conversions. What ever happened to standard made for Windows games? ( like Stalker - designed only for windows) Every time they make a game for Xbox then convert it to windows there is always many deep aspects of windows gaming missing. All devs should make games for windows first then convert them to xbox. It will make a richer game imo. So Dishonored has a great team, but if they have to work within the narrow confines of the xbox platform this game could really suffer.

Somehow they didn't screw up Oblivion. Fallout 3, Fallout NV came out o.k. Bioshock seemed to work well but I didn't care for it. Haven't played Bioshock 2. Nothing else on Games for Windows even comes close to good playability for me. Wolfenstein (2009) was a nightmare compared to Return to Wolfenstein for example because it was designed around the Xbox platform.

This game could truly be EPIC if they get it right. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Side note. OMG you live in Corning NY. I lived there for 6 months. I bet you know my ex girlfriend I lived with. ( yes, folks the town Is that small LOL.. Or was)

 

[Gorath]

It seems you're for some unknown reason under the impression ZeniMax was involved in Bioshock.

------------------------------------

I've read a long portrait of ZeniMax / Bethesda on a German site a few months ago. Their business is big budget AAA mainstream games. Nowadays this means console development followed by a PC conversion. If a game can't be sold in mass volume they're simply not interested.
So forget about PC-first from Bethesda. These times are over. The company is now worth close to 1B$, and they're thinking BIG.

 

[Dark Phoenix]

It seems you're for some unknown reason under the impression ZeniMax was involved in Bioshock.
.

Er.. good catch.. hang on a sec... Mom.. you forgot to put my meds in my cornflakes again! Sheesh! I swear I don't beat that woman regularly enough.. and you'd think 5 times a day would suffice.. but I digress.. yes, That was a mistake on my part. I'm sure it did happen that way just not in this universe. I guess I don't know how Arkane got involved in ZeniMax but I suspect it did have something to do with ZeniMax seeing them out for hire working on things like Bioshock 2. ZeniMax acquired a company who had not had a completely in house finished game since Arx Fatalis. Arkane had done a lot of work for other people in the years since. It's amazing to me they did not go under sooner, but I'm glad ZaniMax took a chance on them so they could survive.

 

[Gokyabgu]

What of Arx Fatalis 2? Damn!

 

[Dark Phoenix]

What of Arx Fatalis 2? Damn!

I would have loved an Arx 2 if they made it. I understand they started working on it then dropped it to make DMOMM in partnership with Floodgate Entertainment. Multiplayer was yet made by someone else. If Zenimax would let them, they could still do an Arx 2 now that would be tons better and rival Oblivion in many ways. There's no denying that Arkane has talent.

 

[Gorath]

Won't happen. Not enough mass market potential.

 

[Pessimeister]

@ Gorath. Are you making this statement with actual proof, or more just making a realistic projection based on generalised economics?
Can we rephrase the "won't happen to a more hopeful could happen, but...?"
Let's not crush the hearts of Arx fans just yet. We can dream, can't we?

 

[DArtagnan]

An Arx Fatalis 2 could be quite profitable given a reasonable budget and a 10-man team. No need to aim all that high. Just focus on a decent engine and strong gameplay. Don't spend millions on cutscenes, dialogues, or explosions.

That said, they might want to change the name

Still, it's not exactly music to suit-ears - so it's not likely to happen.

 

[txa1265]

@ Gorath. Are you making this statement with actual proof, or more just making a realistic projection based on generalised economics?
Can we rephrase the "won't happen to a more hopeful could happen, but…?"
Let's not crush the hearts of Arx fans just yet. We can dream, can't we?

I think that at Dark Messiah it was clear that Arx 2 was a dead issue ... but hey, if you've been holding hope for this long why stop now!

 

[txa1265]

An Arx Fatalis 2 could be quite profitable given a reasonable budget and a 10-man team. No need to aim all that high. Just focus on a decent engine and strong gameplay. Don't spend millions on cutscenes, dialogues, or explosions.

That said, they might want to change the name

Still, it's not exactly music to suit-ears - so it's not likely to happen.

I completely agree with you on all counts - and it makes me sad. These companies are leaving so much money on the table by chasing only the 'home runs'.

 

[DArtagnan]

Yeah, it's kinda strange to me that they don't want to try these relatively safe investments on the side. I mean, even if they're not profitable - they're building a reputation with the enthusiast audience - if they allow the developers the freedom to pursue their vision.

Eventually, such a franchise would be profitable just by way of fan-appreciation alone.

But I guess these modest long-term plans are not what they were hired for.

It's all about short-term results.

 

[Pessimeister]

I think that at Dark Messiah it was clear that Arx 2 was a dead issue … but hey, if you've been holding hope for this long why stop now!

Well in all seriousness, I always thought that Dark Messiah was more an executive decision/provision of Ubisoft's, given they made the cynical money grabbing decision to slap the Might and Magic name on the game for no principled reason.

It's unfortunate that at the time, Arkane couldn't seemingly get any takers for Arx 2 publishing wise. But never say never, right?

DArt's line of thinking is agreeable to me as well.

I don't think Raphael Colontonio or the guys at Arkane have ever come out and said that Arx Fatalis 2 is a...dead issue. Or have they?

Particularly now that they have some solid financial backing in Bethesda, I would have thought that it's reasonable enough to maintain a filament of hope!

 

[Thrasher]

Nothing wrong with being optimistic, but you'll have to change your name.

 

[Gorath]

@ Gorath. Are you making this statement with actual proof, or more just making a realistic projection based on generalised economics?
Can we rephrase the "won't happen to a more hopeful could happen, but…?"
Let's not crush the hearts of Arx fans just yet. We can dream, can't we?

Just my opinion, without any inside knowledge. Bethesda makes mass market games. Having a team work on a B product simply wouldn't be worth the effort for them because they could as well work on something big instead.

Of course I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not optimistic.