Incline RPG Codex's Top 50 cRPGs - Results and Reviews

[Bubbles]

Alpha Protocol is still underrated imho. Lots of games in the top twenty have horrid combat/stealth gameplay (every IE game, every Troika game except ToEE, every Gamebryo game, NWN2, the KOTORS) , and that's AP's only weak spot.

 

[VonVentrue]

4. BG2
5. Arcanum

What...

7. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (!)
8. Fallout: New Vegas (!!)
...
10. Wizardry 8
16. Betrayal at Krondor
18. Darklands
20. UU: The Stygian Abyss
...
29. Alpha Protocol (!!!)
30. Star Trail
31. Dark Sun: SL
33. U7: Black Gate

... is the meaning of this?
The once prestigious magazine has gone to the dogs, one can't solely blame the point-based system for such nonsense.

 

[DwarvenFood]

The codex has a hard on for "rough gems", and Arcanum is the ultimate rough gem (its edges are so rough, it's practically round). It won't budge from the top list, its butt is fastened to the seat with superglue.

If it's practically round, wouldn't that make it smooth, as opposed to rough ?

 

[felipepepe]

Aw fuck, just noticed that System Shock 2 date on the excel is 1994 instead of 1999....

It's a good game so who the fuck cares.

It heavily impacts the cool graph of Incline... it will make the late 90's graph even higher, and decrease the early 90's.

 

[evdk]

felipepepe you rascal

Your final spreadsheet seems to omit all my votes. By accident, I am sure.

 

[Sceptic]

The Bayesian ranking is pretty over the normal one even though the top 10 doesn't change.

Brofisted OP because that photoshop is awesome and WOX and MM6 are sooooooooo visible at the corners

 

[DragoFireheart]

It heavily impacts the cool graph of Incline... it will make the late 90's graph even higher, and decrease the early 90's.

It's still pre-2006. Not a huge data integrity issue.

 

[Tigranes]

People would have voted differently with an averages system, so you can't retroactively do that and say that is the better graph, for obvious reasons.

E.g. I voted 5 for Alpha Protocol because I honestly believed it deserves a place somewhere in the top 50, but I don't believe it's in the top 10, so I would have voted differently, etc.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

Developer ranks based on Bayesian average?

 

[Declinator]

The Bayesian ranking is pretty over the normal one even though the top 10 doesn't change.

Top 10 - points:
1 Planescape: Torment
2 Fallout 1
3 Fallout 2
4 Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
5 Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
6 Vampire: The Mascarade - Bloodlines
7 The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
8 Fallout: New Vegas
9 Gothic 2
10 Wizardry 8

Top 10 - Bayesian:
1 Planescape: Torment
2 Fallout 1
3 Fallout 2
4 Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
5 Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant
6 Jagged Alliance 2
7 Ultima Underworld I: The Stygian Abyss
8 Realms of Arkania II: Star Trail
9 Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
10 Wizardry 8

No changes?

People would have voted differently with an averages system, so you can't retroactively do that and say that is the better graph, for obvious reasons.

E.g. I voted 5 for Alpha Protocol because I honestly believed it deserves a place somewhere in the top 50, but I don't believe it's in the top 10, so I would have voted differently, etc.

This just means that you didn't vote properly.

 

[Shannow]

felipepepe dunno if I missed it, but did you do lists comparing pre-decline-codex members (joined before 2010 simply because the "decline" meme started around that time, IIRC) and post-decliners? Not that I really consider old fags to be much different. Lotsa morons there too. I'd just be interested if there are significant differences.

 

[V_K]

It'd make more sense to divide not by join date but by presence of popamole titles among the games one voted for.

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

felipepepe I think You really shouldn't count M&B and M&B: W as different games. I mean one plays it only for it's gameplay mechanics. I think everyone who chose one of those really meant both as everyone who chose G2 and G2:NoR really chose the same game. It would mean that M&B gets into the top 50.

 

[Ravel myluv]

It'd make more sense to divide not by join date but by presence of popamole titles among the games one voted for.

That makes no sense.
What conclusion would you make except that people who voted for popamole tend to like popamole and people who didn't don't?

 

[Metatron]

So basically this list traded Icewind Dale for Wizardry 8 for extra kodex edginess. Nice to see a blobber in the top 10 but maybe next time we should upvote one that doesn't suck brutally. Then again, it's probably the only one 75 % of the youngfags here actually played.

Get the fuck out of here heathen!

BEHEAD THOSE WHO INSULT WIZARDRY 8!

Cause we all love tedious, endlessly repetitive battles with trash mobs that respawn within 5 minutes right?
Games like Arcanum or TOEE are deeply flawed but at least they get a couple of things completely right, Wizardry 8 is mediocrely executed even at what is supposed to be its core aspect.

 

[V_K]

It'd make more sense to divide not by join date but by presence of popamole titles among the games one voted for.

That makes no sense.
What conclusion would you make except that people who voted for popamole tend to like popamole and people who didn't don't?

We'll have a Top-something list free of popamolers' votes. Isn't it a good thing to have?

But in fact I just find it offensive to be put into one group with someone who thinks Dragon Age (for example) is a good game.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

felipepepe dunno if I missed it, but did you do lists comparing pre-decline-codex members (joined before 2010 simply because the "decline" meme started around that time, IIRC) and post-decliners? Not that I really consider old fags to be much different. Lotsa morons there too. I'd just be interested if there are significant differences.

You assume that all oldfags were members before the decline. Technically I am an oldfag that is a cdex newfag.

This is why I asked for the average age of the members, which is believed to be 25-30 years old. People will tend to vote for games they played and the likelihood of a 25 year old playing games of the early 90s is probably slim enough. It would be interesting to see what hose 40+ vote for versus those 30 and under. I suspect significantly different, more monacled results.

 

[bussinrounds]

Best/Worst Cover Art: DISCUSS!

(Worst: Obviously Geneforge or Anachronox...)

I'll go with 4 each.
Add World of Xeen and MotB to Anachronox & Geneforge for worst.

For best, I'll go with M&M 6, Daggerfall, Ultima 4 and Wasteland.

 

[Brzęczyszczykiewicz]

I have even better list:

Counted by amount of votes.

I'm sure it won't be controversial.

 

[felipepepe]

K', fixed the System Shock 2 issue and updated the lists & graphs on the OP. Now 1999 is even more ahead of every other year.

Also added the Bayesian Average to the developers rank. It changes almost nothing, so I left it ranked by points.

felipepepe I think You really shouldn't count M&B and M&B: W as different games. I mean one plays it only for it's gameplay mechanics. I think everyone who chose one of those really meant both as everyone who chose G2 and G2:NoR really chose the same game. It would mean that M&B gets into the top 50.

We had a huge discussion about this. Gothic 2 is grouped with Night of the Raven because it was released as so outside of Germany. World of Xeen is grouped as well because they were made to be played together from the start, and there's vast ammount of extra content only accessible this way.

Games like Mount & Blade/Warband or Ultima 7/Serpent Isle are separate releases, and will be counted as so.

felipepepe dunno if I missed it, but did you do lists comparing pre-decline-codex members (joined before 2010 simply because the "decline" meme started around that time, IIRC) and post-decliners? Not that I really consider old fags to be much different. Lotsa morons there too. I'd just be interested if there are significant differences.

I'm not gonna do that, too much trouble for a retarded thing. The voting is public, there you can see various newfags that had just registered with very monocle votes, while A LOT of the old fags gave lame votes.

If someone wants to add the register date of all 244 posters, then make a VBA macro to check for correlation, I'll give him the voting files, but I won't do that.

 

[V_K]

Best/Worst Cover Art: DISCUSS!

(Worst: Obviously Geneforge or Anachronox...)

Yeah, right. Because we totally need another list.

Best: Black Gate
Worst: more than half of them really. But Bloodlines' one is particularly annoying.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I have even better list:

I'm sure it won't be controversial.

 

[Scroo]

No Fates: Gates of Dawn.

RPGCodex, I am disappoint.

 

[tuluse]

Best/Worst Cover Art: DISCUSS!

(Worst: Obviously Geneforge or Anachronox...)

Worst: Witcher 2

Best: I like a lot of them, but I'd put M&M VI, Darklands, and KotC as the best

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I always liked the box for Ultima7: The Black Gate. The box is an ominous black gate. ToEE cover art is nice as well IMO.