Help a fussy old sod find the perfect RPG

The Mega drive version was very different (it is not the same game, the only thing they have in common is the shadowrun licence). I did not like the mega drive version though, I found the controls clumsy, and the story to be rather bland.

Originally Posted by bussinrounds
I heard the Sega Genesis (Megadrive) version was actually better.

You're right, the Sega Genesis version is the one to play. I wasn't quite awake while typing that. I edited my post above for correctness.

(The Emulator and Rom links point to the Sega Genesis version)

Sounds like the topic creator is more of an action rpg player. What about a game like Arx Fatalis or one of those Might & Magic games ? I heard one of them had some decent first person action combat. (better than Oblivion)

maybe try nehrim, king's bounty, mount and blade?

Check out Fallout: New Vegas, it fits most of your criteria.
It´s time for you to make that one step and submerge into setting a bit out of your comfort zone .
(Alphas can be appeased, but Betas will be angered by this approach)

Originally Posted by Jimmay
Thanks for the informative replies.

Probably should have mentioned that I'm not a huge fan of group-based RPGs. I have tried Dragon Age and liked it quite a lot. Especially the story and quests. But I prefer to focus on one character. There was also just a bit too much dialogue in DA.

Baldur's Gate 2 I've tried many times but I really don't see the appeal. The erratic movement of the characters and the combat just make me frustrated.

Diablo II is indeed a great game and I've played it a lot. I love it's simplicity and how addictive it is. Very much looking forward to the 3rd game later this year.

I tried both Drakensang games very briefly and they seemed ok. My first impression was that they seemed really generic in terms of style though. I thought they lacked a bit of soul. I only tried them very quickly though, so I might give them another go. Although being another group-based RPG I'm not sure.

The things I look for in an RPG are:
- A huge open world to explore and find cool and interesting stuff.
- Lots of loot and good character progression. I like the feeling of taking a character from zero to hero.
- Interesting quests and not just go play fetch.
- A half decent story with interesting characters.
- Nice visuals or at least good artwork.
- Good controls, interface and polished presentation.
- Voiced quest dialogue. I read enough books!

Based on the comments/feedback so far I think I've got a few options:

- Play Risen again and make a point of getting past C1!
- Try out Two Worlds 2. Seen and read about it but not tried it. Certainly 'looks' nice.
- Wait it out until Skyrim or Diablo 3 get here.
- Keep looking…

The Gothics are the games you are looking for, you can remap some of the keys to better suit your play style, it will take some time to get used to but once you do you will realize these games have it right and all the rest have it wrong. It's like driving a forklift, at first the forklift is a separate massive mass of steel you are trying to control and then an hour or two later, it is an extension of your mind and can be operated instinctively.

From what you describe you are looking for, the Gothics and Risen will satisfy you the most imo. The learning curve is so worth it. I Bought Gothic 1 when it first hit the shelves and like you i shelved it because of the controls. My son loaded it up 2 years later and kept saying how awesome it was and gave me the same advice concerning the controls. Man am i glad i listened.

There are alot of games i can't play because i'm one of those gamers that lacks the brain to fingers coordination to even operate a gamepad which is why i'm limited to pc games. If i can handle Gothics controls, anyone can. lol

From a gameplay standpoint Risen is very similar to Gothic and G2. So you can delay a decision for or against Gothic's steep learning curve until after you've tried Risen again.

There's a fan patch for it and the visuals can be tweaked quite a bit beyond the conservative settings available in the menu.

G3 is closer to the Elder Scrolls games. G4 doesn't exist.

For more actiony fantasy stuff also Sacred 1 and 2 should be mentioned.

Yes, Sacred would be a good choice, too, imho.

Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader,Dungeon Lords, Spellforce 1, Dark Tower Conspiracy witch remined me of Diablo when I played it for the first time. I would recommend to try as each of them are different in a way.

The OP has listed some great RPG's there, Gothic II in particular is the beez knees in my opinion.

But when I just can't be arsed wrapping my mind around an in depth game world then I play Just Cause 2 (or 1), which is like an RPG stripped of all but the open world and action mechanic. You can do simple quests if you want, the graphics are amazing, and the gameplay just makes me smile.

Also the Deep Shadows games are an option for something different:

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42

Originally Posted by bkrueger
For more actiony fantasy stuff also Sacred 1 and 2 should be mentioned.

If he's going to go the action-RPG route, I'd highly recommend Divine Divinity. Far superior to the Sacred games, imho.

Dungeon Siege 3 is pretty good, though it doesn't really have a big, open world to explore.

The best "open world RPG" beyond Gothic/Risen is probably Fallout: New Vegas, but F: NV isn't classic fantasy, which seems to be what you wanted.

Have you tried Morrowind? It's better than Oblivion.

The Gothic games are horrible in my opinion. They are routinely showered with praise here, but the controls are terrible… people here will say that you have to learn them and get used to them, which may be true if you want to slog through an annoying experience.

I'd recommend Oblivion or Morrowind. Morrowind takes some patience with the graphics, but I found it to be the best realized fantasy game ever in terms of setting and story. If you go Oblivion again, just stay away from the Oblivion gates and pretend they don't exist. You won't "finish" it this way but it's a better experience.

Originally Posted by JDR13
If he's going to go the action-RPG route, I'd highly recommend Divine Divinity. Far superior to the Sacred games, imho.

Of course you are right….

but Divine Divinity may be far too near to a real RPG, which the OP obviously doesn't want…

The thing to keep in mind when trying Gothics 1 or 2 is that developing your character is as much part of getting past what one might consider clunky controls as simply getting used to them. Swinging a branch at level 1 is hard *because* your player is clumsy, as soon as you invest some Learning Points into handling weapons you'll notice the difference.

Ah, yes Gothic.

Where you have to learn a weird-ass control scheme just to get good at branch swinging. Then get one-shotted by an ostrich.

That's called realism. An uneducated man fights like a pawn, not like a knight. Even if he has a fantastic sword. And without an armour to absorb damage even a big bird is a serious danger.

It really must have been too much for many players to hold the LMB to indicate you want to fight and then use ASDW to determine the direction of the blow. Add precise timing for the combos learned during the game and you have the whole "weird-ass control scheme". Oh how demanding.
Not bothering with a decent tutorial or an at least half-way solid manual was a terrible error though. Ignoring standards + bad communication == bad.



That aside, there's no reason to go back to the Gothics, although they're the closest to his preferences. Risen is easiert to handle and should give him a clear hint whether ot not it's worth bothering to go back to 2001.

Ah yes, the realism of a weird-ass mouse/keyboard control scheme. Reminds me of my days back in branch-swinging school.

People here love to defend the bad control scheme of these games. I find the Gothics to be pretty bad for many reasons.

It's called a "learning curve," and all it takes is just a little bit of simple patience (2-3 hours at most) to get the hang of it. You act as if it's utterly unplayable when really it's just a series that requires some effort to get into, and if given that chance, the Gothics are incredibly rewarding. I can certainly understand why someone wouldn't like Gothic, but it's not terribly difficult to play after the first few hours…