Review RPG Watch previews Nethergate

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Nethergate: Resurrection; Spiderweb Software

<a href=http://www.rpgwatch.com>RPG Watch</a>'s Brian Turner has posted his <a href=http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/article?articleid=60&ref=0&id=273>review</a> of <a href=http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/nethergateres/index.html>Nethergate</a>, a Spiderweb's latest remake.
<br>
<br>
<blockquote>So, exploration. As it turns out, this is Nethergate’s greatest strength. Despite the basic graphics, Spiderweb has created a large, detailed and believable world overflowing with little touches and hidden corners. Shadowvale is brimming with unusual encounters, abandoned guard towers, burial grounds, standing stones with sacrificial altars, civilisations hidden in caverns and hermits in secret alcoves. Some of these are merely cryptic oddities and others lead to side quests or major dungeons. As an example, I encountered a man tied to a stake near the river, close to death. Freeing him, he was too weak to speak but dived into the river - and never reappeared. It wasn’t immediately obvious what had happened and it was quite a while later that I discovered the bigger story. These stories and odd encounters can be found all through Shadowvale.</blockquote>Sounds pretty good, I'll give it a try today.
<br>
<br>
<br>

 

[cardtrick]

I played this on my Mac a couple of months ago. Actually, I only played the demo, and I didn't even finish that. It was my first Spiderweb game, and I think that they're just not for me. On the one hand, I liked the setting quite a lot. On the other, the combat was really unfun (for me - but from what I understand, it's virtually the same as in Vogel's other games, so if you like those it won't be a problem). There didn't seem to be much in the way of dialog-based roleplaying, so that the game largely boiled down to exploration, character development, and combat. I strongly disliked the combat, and the character development was nothing special. The exploration aspect was enjoyable at one level, because the setting really struck a chord for me, but I couldn't quite get past the graphics . . . I'm a bit of a g-ho (my new shorthand for graphics whore . . . I think it has legs). I think I could only accept graphics like that if they were made up for with lots of text descriptions (I seem to remember there being some flavor text on entering a new area for the first time, which was great, but there wasn't enough of it).

Anyway, this is all to say that if you already like Spiderweb games, this is probably going to be fantastic for you, since all that has really changed is the setting and the plot, both of which seem strong. If you don't like Spiderweb games, and thought that this one might just be different enough to be acceptable for you, I think you will be disappointed.

At any rate, there's a huge free demo, so it can't hurt to give it a try.

 

[Amasius]

Great review, but why is the thread titled "RPG Watch previews Nethergate"? Anyway, I really like the setting and try the demo when I'm done with my current Might & Magic VI replay.

 

[OSK]

I'm quite a ways in on the Roman side. I stopped playing when my school work started building up.

If you've ever played Exile/Avernum, you pretty much know what to expect. What sets it apart from those games, however, is the unique setting. I love exploring this large world and stumbling upon strange encounters.

 

[cardtrick]

Well, I just actually read the linked article. Based on my experience, it seems to be an extremely fair and thorough review, definitely worth taking a look at if you're interested in the game.

For context related to my earlier post, I was playing a Roman party; it's possible that combat would have been more interesting with a Celtic party (they have more access to magic). I also didn't get too far in the game; the examples of choices and consequences cited by the review are really intriguing, but I didn't see anything of that caliber in what I played.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Dhruin is a good reviewer. I always enjoy his articles.

 

[Edward_R_Murrow]

I'm all in support of indie games, but somebody needs to light a proverbial fire under Vogel's ass. There are so many indie games that are more polished and less...well...dated. I think he's hampering the indie movement and making it look like a joke ( the whole "serious" stories contrasting with Foglio illustration doesn't help much either...). And it's not just the graphics...Avernum/Exile's setting is old and rehashed out of Ultima Underworld and hundreds of sci-fi/fantasy novels. The interfaces are cumbersome and could really use streamlining. And the gameplay boils down to dungeon-crawling oftentimes, though Geneforge (2...I think) seemed to not have it that bad.

I wish Vogel would stop rehashing games and selling them at ridiculously marked up prices and make something "good". I'm sure he can, but he doesn't. Ah well.

 

[Lurkar]

I'm all in support of indie games, but somebody needs to light a proverbial fire under Vogel's ass. There are so many indie games that are more polished and less...well...dated. I think he's hampering the indie movement and making it look like a joke ( the whole "serious" stories contrasting with Foglio illustration doesn't help much either...). And it's not just the graphics...Avernum/Exile's setting is old and rehashed out of Ultima Underworld and hundreds of sci-fi/fantasy novels. The interfaces are cumbersome and could really use streamlining. And the gameplay boils down to dungeon-crawling oftentimes, though Geneforge (2...I think) seemed to not have it that bad.

I wish Vogel would stop rehashing games and selling them at ridiculously marked up prices and make something "good". I'm sure he can, but he doesn't. Ah well.

I dunno about that. From what I remember, he's almost gone out of buisness a few times, and Avernum 4 saved his ass.

 

[Dhruin]

I played this on my Mac a couple of months ago. Actually, I only played the demo, and I didn't even finish that. It was my first Spiderweb game, and I think that they're just not for me. On the one hand, I liked the setting quite a lot. On the other, the combat was really unfun (for me - but from what I understand, it's virtually the same as in Vogel's other games, so if you like those it won't be a problem). There didn't seem to be much in the way of dialog-based roleplaying, so that the game largely boiled down to exploration, character development, and combat. I strongly disliked the combat, and the character development was nothing special. The exploration aspect was enjoyable at one level, because the setting really struck a chord for me, but I couldn't quite get past the graphics .

I'd say these are all fair comments, apart from not having a problem with the graphics.

The combat definitely needs more depth, but I still enjoy it - I'm probably just a sucker for turn-based, party-base combat. Avernum 5 will introduce Battle Disciplines, by the way. Character development could use some improvements as well.

This isn't as good an RPG as Geneforge or Geneforge 4; it's linear, doesn't have the depth of dialogue, doesn't have factional choices and doesn't have options like stealth. It's a classic case of an adventure with stats (and TB combat) but I still rather enjoyed it more in the end because I just loved the gameworld and exploration.

@Edward_R_Murrow, I disagree but I'm tired of having this debate over and over so I'll be quick: Geneforge 4's interface is pretty good and the gameplay isn't reliant on dungeons. That he likes to do some different styles (Avernum is more "dungeon crawly") is simply not a bad thing. Some fans play AV only, others like only Geneforge.

I'm certainly not aware of "so many" more polished indie games in this genre and that's all I'm interested in. It looks like Eschalon and AoD and TBH might lift the bar but none of those are full-time, time-proven studios and none of them have a product out, let alone 10 or whatever titles Vogel has.

Where are all the indie games I've missed, or are they all in other genres?