Felipe's cRPG Book - Open call for reviews

I guess Dark Sun 1&2 are already taken? If not, I'd like to take those.

Is there a comprehensive list of what reviews are already written?
 
Is there a comprehensive list of what reviews are already written?
[ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1t-49SyrsdP0M5re68sDH9cB2MrPqVKwQQiFF_54VibI/pubhtml ]
(also linked to in the first post).


Felipepepe, I noticed that the games list mostly includes western style PC RPGs, with only a few JRPGs thrown in (I'm guessing only exemplary ones that had a PC release, given that most JRPGs were only available on consoles). Maybe it would be good to have a section in the book explaining the differences of both genres and their divergence, or at least generally give a reason for why JRPGs are underrepresented in the book. I'm sure it would theoretically be possible to come up with a second 400 page book that focuses mostly on JRPGs, but let's not go there. ;)

IIRC I read a fairly comprehensive article about the topic once, but can't find it back. There's a paragraph about cultural differences in CRPGs on Wikipedia.
 
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Felipepepe, I noticed that the games list mostly includes western style PC RPGs, with only a few JRPGs thrown in (I'm guessing only exemplary ones that had a PC release, given that most JRPGs were only available on consoles). Maybe it would be good to have a section in the book explaining the differences of both genres and their divergence, or at least generally give a reason for why JRPGs are underrepresented in the book. I'm sure it would theoretically be possible to come up with a second 400 page book that focuses mostly on JRPGs, but let's not go there. ;)
JRPGs are a tricky subject... I went to japan once and have a friend that live there, what we see in the west is less than half of what actually gets released in Japan. It would be impossible to make a comprehensive book on JRPGs without living in Japan and having access to these games... not to mention the developers, which are much more evasive than the western ones.

But I do intend to have a section dedicated to JRPGs, even if only an article talking about them, followed by a timeline showing the most important releases.

Another problem talking about them is how "JRPG" is really just a gross generalization. Sure, many japanese RPGs are turn- and party-based games, with random encounters and linear plots, but many others aren't. So an article bundling them all together must be very carefully written. :/
 
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Hah, yeah, but then it's always been like that, hasn't it? Even some of the Final Fantasies were missing from the Western World originally, IIRC, or got relabeled. But yeah, huge subject.
 
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Not just the Final Fantasies... just remember that Phantasie IV was a sequel to a western series, yet never made to the west... not to mention all those Wizardry games...
 
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hey felipepepe, can you post a list of games that still have no one doing reviews for? I am getting back into writing (slowly…) and would like to consider writing an Oblivion review, as well as possibly others if they are games I have played. Please let me know. Thanks,

Fluent

Edit - I see the list now. Cool. My friend Madeline would like to write a review for Mandate of Heaven. Can she have it?
 
NEW VERSION IS OUT!

The 5th release of the book is finally here, now with 450 pages, over 250 RPGs, hyperlinks, bookmarks, the origin of JRPGs and a 1975-2015 timeline on the video game industry:

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Grab it here: https://crpgbook.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/crpg-book-preview-5.pdf
 
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I would like if someone reviews the Inquisitor (http://inquisitor-rpg.com/). Not an excellent one, but IMO should be in your project.
Why you think that?

I played Inquisitor, and while the idea of judging people was cool, the combat and moment-to-moment gameplay is just soooooo bad... I couldn't even finish it :/
 
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Inquisitor

Why you think that?

I played Inquisitor, and while the idea of judging people was cool, the combat and moment-to-moment gameplay is just soooooo bad… I couldn't even finish it :/

Exactly!
While the idea and setting seemed good, the game became repetitive and boring even before I could finish half of it. I think the encounters became unbalanced in the later portion of the game.
 
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For me, inquisitor was one chapter repeated 3 times in the same game. The first chapter was okay, but not great, and then they didn't have any new ideas and repeated it two more times two more times :D
 
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so if its a bad RPG it doesn't qualify?

Good review of NWN on the book fp. As much as you can squeeze into two pages. My two writeups of it went four pages and I threw them both out intending to start again. That's the real story of why I disappeared.

I think Maximus' Neverwinter Vault is worth mentioning - because without it the game would not have been the success it was. Also worth mentioning are some of the important mods such as the CEP, NWNx, the free camera hack, Hardcore Ruleset, etc.
 
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so if its a bad RPG it doesn't qualify?

A bad RPG according to whom, though? I greatly enjoyed Inquisitor, as it was something 100% unique compared to similar old-school styled RPGs. The combat wasn't anything stellar but I loved the unique and enthralling atmosphere, the religious lore with demonic presences and a twist on Christianity and the investigative section of the game, i.e. you never knew who was telling the truth, who was lying or who was actually possessed by a demon. :p The exploration was my style, too, where you explore maps and find interesting, hand-placed things and encounters around every corner. The game had no hand-holding at all so you naturally explored and followed trails of intrigue to solve quests, and with the isometric style and interesting maps it was right up my alley.

But again, it's not my book, so do as you wish. :)
 
There are waaaaaay more RPGs than we can hope to cover, so it's really a combination of factors.

For example, Ruins of Myth Drannor is a shitty game but is also a very interesting one. It's a D&D game, it shows other companies trying to do Infinity engine-like RPGs and failing, it's a "gold box sequel" and has on of the most infamous bugs of all time - destroying your Windows installation.

As for Inquisitor, I just don't see that... "bad diablo clone with good atmosphere" isn't that interesting, there's a lot of games like that.

I think Maximus' Neverwinter Vault is worth mentioning - because without it the game would not have been the success it was. Also worth mentioning are some of the important mods such as the CEP, NWNx, the free camera hack, Hardcore Ruleset, etc.
We didn't mention any mods because there will be 2 more pages just about the Aurora Toolset and mod recommendations. :)
 
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I loved Ruins of Myth Drannor, and the patches fix that infamous bug, so go for it if you like HUGE dungeons and crazy diverse looting and more importantly turn-based play.
 
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We didn't mention any mods because there will be 2 more pages just about the Aurora Toolset and mod recommendations. :)

Exactly the kind of thing I ran into when I tried to tackle this for you! Plus you can write up another 2 pages on the controversies of which only two were addressed: a) Interplay/Black Isle ripped them off and they were holding the game hostage and; b) the actual game sucks - which turns out to be related to a).
 
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