Rank the Geneforge games.

[Kem0sabe]

They are good games but have a fundamental flaw, Vogel is incapable of programming a game that allows the import of previous save games, so you are stuck with his version of events no matter how many choices you make, starting fresh every single fucking sequel.

 

[Johannes]

They are good games but have a fundamental flaw, Vogel is incapable of programming a game that allows the import of previous save games, so you are stuck with his version of events no matter how many choices you make, starting fresh every single fucking sequel.

That "flaw" has obviously nothing to do with programming.

 

[Severian Silk]

The GF games are all very same-y. I may continue the series some time later, but the gameplay is too simple and dumb, and the graphics look like shit.

I enjoyed Avernum though.

 

[HoboForEternity]

i've only played 1-4, and will start 5 soon after i cleared more backlog

1 is the best
2 is kinda meh, but great improvement mechanically, and streamlining (like automatic use of living tools to pick lockl, etc)
3 is great, good C&C and i like alwan + greta character development, but hated the map that's separated by islands
4 is pretty great and improve some stuff on 3

 

[PatataFamilia]

5. Five has a wonderfully complex interplay between the different factions, and some great writing at the end. There are lots and lots of different paths to success which I enjoyed.
1. One has a great feeling of exploration, and the way the cannisters work is great (even if they could have warned you more). I get the feeling it's fairly uncommon for a first time player to not become a canister-addicted sociopath. I would tie it with five, if I was not emotionally attached to the series by then.
2. Two has much of the exploration of the first, and more developed factions, but the exploration isn't quite as interesting or mysterious.
4. Four also has interesting exploration, but keeps a lot of the bottlenecks of the third. The Fens of Azripah is a great example of this, (but more interesting for the contrast between old and new shaper technology).
3. Three is by far the worst, because of the way the faction system and map works. Basically you don't see the rebellion for the first couple islands and walk around underpowered, and then the reverse happens. This is especially true if you are a shaper who isn't wholeheartedly committed to the cause.

 

[animlboogy]

I'm playing through 1 for the first time in years. Compared to my re-play of 5 a couple years back, it doesn't have the same level of enjoyable C&C going. Vogel did a better job with the multiple path layouts in G5, too. There tended to be more than just the binary, "here's a row of mines, or you can fight stuff" thing that G1 has going for much of the content.

Normally I appreciate a slow burn, exploration heavy RPG, but G5 is just so much more engaging with all of the factional conflicts in full swing from the word go.

If you have to play one, play 5 and be done with it.

 

[HoboForEternity]

playing trough 5 now. kinda disagree that you could just skip to 5 after 1.or just play 5 and ignore the other 4 games. you need to know what happened in 2, 3 and 4 to appreciate the full conflict that is shown in 4. they really did a good job developing the world, how the rebellion came into being, how the ideas spread, and the blunders shapers made that lead it to this point

 

[animlboogy]

playing trough 5 now. kinda disagree that you could just skip to 5 after 1.or just play 5 and ignore the other 4 games. you need to know what happened in 2, 3 and 4 to appreciate the full conflict that is shown in 4. they really did a good job developing the world, how the rebellion came into being, how the ideas spread, and the blunders shapers made that lead it to this point

I really do mean the "if you have to play one" part. 5 is exciting and detailed enough on its own that I think it's a good experience even without the others. Ideally, you play them all.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I only played the first one and enjoyed it very much...until (there's always an "until" isn't there?) I experienced some type of bomb going off or explosion that gravely wounded all my characters on the field of battle, even those that were far from its AOE. This was a scripted event, which meant that even if you could have magically teleported out of the area 10,000 light years away, BEFORE the bomb went off, you still would have gotten blowed up, as the rednecks like to say. I never played another Spiderweb Software game ever again since I dislike contrivances to this extreme degree.

 

[Correct_Carlo]

1. 5
2. 2
3. 4
4. 1 (a very good game on its own terms, only suffers in comparison with the others)
5. 3

Geneforge 3 often gets shit on, but I do think it has interesting characters and writing. People often bitch about the game forcing you to chose between 2 awful choices in terms of the faction system, but I thought this was an interesting change of pace within the series (it'd suck if all 5 made you do that, but having just one do it wasn't bad) and perhaps necessary as far as setting up the stakes of the plot in G4 and G5. To me it mostly just sucks because of its overly linear structure.

 

[animlboogy]

Yeah, linearity kills Vogel's games. The combat itself is fairly mind-numbing. Doing it without the reward of the game doing some other thing in a very special way leaves you with... well, an Avadon-type experience.

G3 is the black sheep mainly because it has the worst pacing in the series. The choices, from a story-perspective, were actually unique and the sort of thing that, as you say, has a place in a story this large.

 

[HoboForEternity]

5 suffers from enemy HP bloat imo (even moreso than before), especially for non-mechanics and stealth characters.

but story wise, i think it's the best.

but then again, only fools and masochist plays geneforge without investing in mechanics

 

[Nim]

5 suffers from enemy HP bloat imo (even moreso than before), especially for non-mechanics and stealth characters.

but story wise, i think it's the best.

5 has a story ? Where ?