2005: The Year in Review

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For the third time in a row, we've whipped up a long-winded <a href=http://rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=122>article</a> about why this past year was such awful crap for the RPG genre.<blockquote>But apparently BioWare has gotten tired of catering to the difficult PC market, what with demands for interesting plots, NPCs that aren't a pain in the ass and hey, maybe something without elves in it for a change? No, it's much easier to pander to console kiddies whose idea of RPG gameplay is collecting multicoloured ocarinas or watching twenty hours of FMV cutscenes. BioWare's forthcoming projects are mostly to be released on the Xbox 360 and include a whole trilogy of sci-fi "RPGs" called <i><a href=http://masseffect.bioware.com/>Mass Effect</a></i> (colloquially known as "gravity" to those of us with a clue), which might be interesting if they weren't more FPS than RPG, according to press releases.</blockquote>Read on. We had a lot to whine about this year.

Holy cow.

Spazmo has chronic angst.

That was some good reading.

Do you really think cRPGs are going the way of the Adventure game, Spazmo? At least we got platformers in place of adventure games, "action" RPGs aren't worth the trade.

Yes, in the sense that we're not going to see many traditional RPGs any time soon. But no in the sense that there'll be tons of shit with "RPG" slapped on the box out there. They're just changing the definition of RPG until suddenly Gothic and Oblivion are the old-school hardcore games for RPG grognards.

Gothic was good though, well, at least 2 was. No, it wasn't a totally non-linear and open-ended experience and yes it was a bit slim on the stat bit, but it's better than being served another NWN-styled so-called epic RPG. I'll take what I can get nowadays.

Gothic 3 is going to kick ass and totally beat the crap out of Oblivion.

bank on it

It was a nice read, but it annoys me that he complained so much about KOTOR2, since it's was the best RPG of the year by a long shot (if you don't consider space rangers 2 an RPG, that is) and it's says that Geneforge 3 is a good game.

KOTOR 2 had great NPC's and great character interaction, but of course it's nowhere near a classic because of being so easy. I'd like to know what's so good about the Geneforge series. The game is totally unbalanced, the dialogues suck, and the game forces you speciallize as much as you can (in combat, of course, since there's so much, and it sucks btw).

Anyway, the year sucked, i agree.

WOW! Lots of lies, myths, rumours, hypocrisy, side switching, and plain old fashion bullshit in the article.

All in all, an entertaining read. Good stuff.

First time post (after a few years of skulking in the shadows)...

Interesting read and certainly an accurate characterization of the current lack of solid RPG content available to players who prefer a thoughtful, challenging gaming experience. A few misc. comments below...

1) The action RPG (IMO) is not the single greatest threat to robust single-player RPG gaming. The business model and application of the MMORPG has enticed developers to focus their RPG talent (or lack thereof) on creating and maintaining online worlds where FedEx quests and PHAT loot rule the roost. This strips resources (both financial and creative) previously available to create compelling RPG games. Personally, I loathe online gaming. I don't want to search for another lost EPIC cave of PHAT loot with a 11 year old from across the globe. I don't want to have my gaming conversations truncated with acronyms. I want a rich story with extensive dialogue that forces me to assume a role and make decisions that affect the progression of the game. I want to take my time and give thought to my actions and travels. I also prefer combat that requires thought and tactical strategy. Turn-based (preferred) or real-time don't matter as much as difficulty and strategy. I fondly recall spending about 6 hours trying to kill that damn lich in BG2 (or was it BG1?). Or trying to kill the dragon right after the start of MM6. Tough, tough fights. I miss character development that is diverse and meaningful. I want to develop a character and then be motivated to create more and more characters because the skills I assigned didn't quite mesh with my role playing objectives. I want leveling up to have significant meaning, not just .5% increase to my lightning damage (DSII). These are dark days indeed.

2) With the above being said, I don't mind a mindless action RPG now and again. I actually enjoyed the DS series for what they were. Both Diablo’s kept me up late and I also enjoyed Spellforce, Divine Divinity, and the like. I believe the action RPG and "true" single player RPG experience can coexist and hope they will going forward.

3) I'm glad Troika is dead. I hate both them and Atari for selling unfinished dung.

4) Think I'll give Gothic II a try.... haven't played any of the series. I'm currently playing Deus Ex II... Though it is very linear, the dialogue and exploration are decent. Worth the $10.00 I paid for it.

That should be interesting...

" I fondly recall spending about 6 hours trying to kill that damn lich in BG2 (or was it BG1?). "

You suck. 6 hours to beat one monster? You, fool, shouldn't be able to play games at all. You just plain old fashion suck.

Probably not a good thing to say as your first post in RPGCodex.

But, then again, so did certain members* of your staff.




* - Cough.
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Anyway, great article. T'was an interesting read.

When you first stumble across the lich, it is at a significantly higher level than your party. True, I could have chose to come back later but games that offer me the chance to kill an advanced foe long before I should be able to always grab my attention. IIFC, my mage (I'm always a mage) only had 1 key spell I needed to bring down the lich’s defenses (breech?). Anywho, winning the battle once the spell was successful was an enjoyable challenge.

And Volourn I spend some time trying to overcome an enjoyable gaming challenge, you have made 6000+ posts. Guess we just have different preferences in what we do with our time.

Oh, and I wasn't attempting another Troika good/bad flame war. Merely adding my 2 cents to the 2005 summary which mentioned Troika. I did enjoy their combat system in TOEE.

"And Volourn I spend some time trying to overcome an enjoyable gaming challenge, you have made 6000+ posts. Guess we just have different preferences in what we do with our time."

Codexian Demons are much more challneging and entertaining. Worthy of the time wasted here. 6 hours to kill one of half a dozen liches in one particular game is not.

You simply suck to take 6 HOURS to defeat one enemy. Heck, I didn't even need breach. If it took you 6 hours to beat him that means you likely died aagianst him like 100 times. WOWSERS!

P.S. While I feel it's a bad thing that Troika is no longer; I do agree that their failure to succeed is 100% their fault.

"I don't want to search for another lost EPIC cave of PHAT loot with a 11 year old from across the globe." hahaha no kidding, but I doubt online games have had that much of an effect except that realtime and first person makes it easier for games to go online.

Overall, I liked some of the points made. I disagree with the Kreia assement, thought the Sith Lords was alright... considering the restrictions they had to work with (18 month development cycle, engine, expectations from sequel, etc.). It was sort of Planescape: Torment's deformed, inbred cousin. Yet, its the only game that has even attempted Planescape like mechanics, and I never cared for the Star Wars lisence that much so messing around with it didn't bother me as much.

I also thought the commentary on action "RPG" was pretty spot on. Companies just want to keep on trying to imitate the success of Diablo, but that just won't happen. There is a market crying out for a good old RPG, and nobody is stepping forward. That might explain why I liked the Sith Lords. On a fundamental level I just love RPGs, and it was all there was this year.

Spaz, you should have bashed VD for going grahphics whore on us and delaying AoD. Otherwise it was a great read. I couldn't help laughing loudly when getting to Saint's bit at the end...