Suggest a game (exploration-based)

The way to play Bioshock is to set it to easy and just enjoy the scenery of the first two thirds of it.

Dart's summed up Two Worlds quite well. I kept expecting more of it, and it never quite delivered.

Originally Posted by Menigal
The way to play Bioshock is to set it to easy and just enjoy the scenery of the first two thirds of it.

Yep. Mow every map and just immerse yourself in the atmosphere.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Personally, I think the world of Two Worlds is bland and mostly empty. I wouldn't recommend it at all.

But as an action RPG with amusing progression mechanics, it's not bad. The loot system, as gamey as it is, can be quite entertaining.

I would say exactly the opposite!
The first part of the game (maybe 10-20 hours) is a sandbox more or less and indeed bland and empty. After that it becomes very linear and the dialogues and story take a bigger part (about 50 hours). The first part was boring, the game mechanics are bad (melee fight feels bad, and with magic everything is a piece of cake) but the story and the dialogues are fun.

That however is only true for the english version. The German version hasn't such a great voice actor and I doubt I would have finished it if I only had the German version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JnLiaH_id8

Originally Posted by Elel
The mere thought of playing as a childish cartoon superhero makes me feel extremely embarrassed…

I had the same silly bias until I actually gave Arkham Asylum a try. I ended up feeling embarrassed that I had dismissed it until that point.

Originally Posted by Kordanor
I would say exactly the opposite!
The first part of the game (maybe 10-20 hours) is a sandbox more or less and indeed bland and empty. After that it becomes very linear and the dialogues and story take a bigger part (about 50 hours). The first part was boring, the game mechanics are bad (melee fight feels bad, and with magic everything is a piece of cake) but the story and the dialogues are fun.

That however is only true for the english version. The German version hasn't such a great voice actor and I doubt I would have finished it if I only had the German version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JnLiaH_id8

I have to agree with DArtagnan. To me the beginning (as with most RPGs) was the most fun, because later it suffered from (in my opinion) bad story-telling, unbalanced mechanics and boring exploration. Two Worlds 2 was in that regard much improved, but had still some of those issues.

Ah, I was talking about the second part, as anyone suggested that one.

Two Worlds 2 was better - but I don't think exploration was all that interesting. But I never finished it.

You said you dont find Fallout 3 to be appealing but the world, characters and quests will pull you in real fast. It is not to be missed.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Two Worlds 2 was better - but I don't think exploration was all that interesting. But I never finished it.

I agree that TW2 was better … yet I ended up liking TW1 more anyway, and in spite of being able to tick off a dozen significant flaws … oh well, I guess I enjoyed getting overpowered and roaming the world killing everything in sight

I'm right there with Fallout New Vegas, yet I am plodding on to complete all quests and visiting all areas even though they are easy. Good exploration keeps us completionists happy.

While not really exploration based i would recommend Dishonored if you haven't tried it allready. Brilliant game and open enough to to feed those explorative urges.
Would also reccomend Fallout New Vegas (with lots of texture mods). Easily my favorite game of the last decade.

Yeah, I keep forgetting about Dishonored…. Need to check it out and see if I can get through it without killing any person (I guess dead rats are ok).

So far instead of looking at the Two Worlds I looked at Kingdoms of Amalur, and oh my god, the camera! It's not over the shoulder, but right behind the character, as if focusing on the feet and there's no way to bend its angle a bit upwards. Moreso, the camera distance to the character isn't fixed like it should be, so the camera keeps moving backward and forward all the time. I guess this was designed for masochists, I can't believe such a camera even exists! Well, I'm going to pass on this game until there's nothing alike left anymore.

It's great that Dishonored matches the description, too. I love stealth games and was going to get it eventually.

Originally Posted by txa1265
I agree that TW2 was better … yet I ended up liking TW1 more anyway, and in spite of being able to tick off a dozen significant flaws … oh well, I guess I enjoyed getting overpowered and roaming the world killing everything in sight

Actually, with shame, I quite enjoyed that aspect of TW1 as well

In terms of sheer mindless fun, TW1 IS the better game.

I found TW2 to be a better game in many ways - but it just wasn't all that good OR fun for me.

Originally Posted by txa1265
I agree that TW2 was better … yet I ended up liking TW1 more anyway, and in spite of being able to tick off a dozen significant flaws … oh well, I guess I enjoyed getting overpowered and roaming the world killing everything in sight

I'm actually somewhat schizophrenic in that regard. While I like to min-max my character and hate it if I waste potential, I equally hate it when I then end up being a demigod who just steamrolls everything he encounters. I just wish there's a game where gold/resources are scarce and useful from beginning to end, where min-maxing is somewhat required, and where exploration actually pays off.

Originally Posted by abharsair
I'm actually somewhat schizophrenic in that regard. While I like to min-max my character and hate it if I waste potential, I equally hate it when I then end up being a demigod who just steamrolls everything he encounters. I just wish there's a game where gold/resources are scarce and useful from beginning to end, where min-maxing is somewhat required, and where exploration actually pays off.

I'd say the first two Gothics fit that description reasonably well

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I'd say the first two Gothics fit that description reasonably well

Unfortunately not for me. In both cases if you allocated your skills and stats well enough, the later stages were kind of a cakewalk. Plus, gold/ore lost most of its value at the end. The same applies to Risen and Risen 2, which I just finished. What's the use of finding the upteempth goblet or jade idol if you already buy skills just for fun, because you carry around gold like Fort Knox?

Originally Posted by abharsair
Unfortunately not for me. In both cases if you allocated your skills and stats well enough, the later stages were kind of a cakewalk. Plus, gold/ore lost most of its value at the end. The same applies to Risen and Risen 2, which I just finished. What's the use of finding the upteempth goblet or jade idol if you already buy skills just for fun, because you carry around gold like Fort Knox?

What crpg isn't like that though? I honestly can't think of a single modern RPG where you don't have an excess amount of money by the time you approach the endgame.

Originally Posted by JDR13
What crpg isn't like that though? I honestly can't think of a single modern RPG where you don't have an excess amount of money by the time you approach the endgame.

I know, and I dislike that. Maybe I'm alone with that opinion, but I want my games challenging and their economies not totally screwed up. I would rather have an RPG where finding/buying a weapon made from decent steel is a big deal, than having one where I smash a barrel and find my 18th Longsword of Doom +5.

Originally Posted by abharsair
Unfortunately not for me. In both cases if you allocated your skills and stats well enough, the later stages were kind of a cakewalk. Plus, gold/ore lost most of its value at the end. The same applies to Risen and Risen 2, which I just finished. What's the use of finding the upteempth goblet or jade idol if you already buy skills just for fun, because you carry around gold like Fort Knox?

Risen was reasonably challenging right until the end for me, and I'm no slouch when it comes to min-maxing.

Gothic was challenging way past the mid-game, but it's true that it became easy towards the end.

That's why I said they fit your desire in a reasonable way.

It's all but impossible to provide a sufficiently rich set of mechanics and retain strong balance throughout a really big game.

I don't think I've ever seen a game that pulls it off perfectly.

That said, I much prefer feeling the sensation of power and I love reaping the rewards of min-maxing. I'd say the ideal balance for me is:

First 1/3 of the game is hard and punishing.
Second 1/3 of the game is challenging.
Last 1/3 of the game is mostly easy.

That's how I like it