Are Action RPGs Dull?

[Jack Dandy]

I don't even consider shit like Diablo as an ARPG anymore. They're nothing but boring clicking simulators.

You want a good ARPG? Try the Souls games, or Ys series. At least they demand some sort of skill or thinking.

 

[aleam iacis]

Most of them are boring! I liked Dark Messiah and Dead Island(much more action than RPG), but I only mean that I played each for quite a while and enjoyed it(kicks are so satisfying), but I stopped playing after ten hours or so. If you include games like Fallout 3 and New Vegas, same deal, (more action than RPG), or Morrowind/Oblivion (more misc/RPG than action) then I liked those too (except raise the bar to 100ish hours). All games get boring once the combat (or whatever the main focus of the game is, inventory management/exploration/rp a douchebag) gets boring. Action rpgs tend to get boring quickly. Some of them start out boring! Those are clearly the ones that represent the genre best. Fable 3 for instance.

Diablo 1 and 2, and Path of Exile are fun for a few hours, or fun with a friend, or possibly fun on your first playthrough if you aren't used to action RPGs. I wonder... does Guild Wars count? It feels like an aRPG, same with a bunch of other games that were boring.

 

[Wilian]

Question should really be "are game types I don't personnaly like boring?"

Why? Because there will always be games you don't like and there's higher chance that they are usually the type of games you like, but don't this time around due to reason X, that could be or would not be valid. RPG is such an huge label it could simply encompass almoust every game in the market right now, depending on from who you ask. The most typical answer is "I'm playing a role of X!". Especially if you ask from marketing department.

What you really wanted to ask is probably "Is the RPG that probably goes beyond my narrow standards good or not?"

Overall, the question you put up is just another form of "what is an RPG and what is not?".

Edit: re-reading it it makes not much sense but that what's alcohol does to person.

 

[DragoFireheart]

Are Skyrim and Oblivion action RPGs?

No, they're hiking simulators.

 

[Jasede]

That's kind of insulting to Morrowind.
Now that's a hiking simulator.

Skyrim (and probably Oblivion as well) seems like one at first, but let's be frank here: what's the point in going out hiking when everything you discover looks the same?

 

[DeepOcean]

Question should really be "are game types I don't personnaly like boring?"

Why? Because there will always be games you don't like and there's higher chance that they are usually the type of games you like, but don't this time around due to reason X, that could be or would not be valid. RPG is such an huge label it could simply encompass almoust every game in the market right now, depending on from who you ask. The most typical answer is "I'm playing a role of X!". Especially if you ask from marketing department.

What you really wanted to ask is probably "Is the RPG that probably goes beyond my narrow standards good or not?"

Overall, the question you put up is just another form of "what is an RPG and what is not?".

Edit: re-reading it it makes not much sense but that what's alcohol does to person.

This is not a problem of definition, the problem is that most developers look to the name "action RPG" and think that is a good idea to make eveything involving killing shit and don't even put thought in how to make killing shit fun.

 

[Crooked Bee]

That's kind of insulting to Morrowind.
Now that's a hiking simulator.

Skyrim (and probably Oblivion as well) seems like one at first, but let's be frank here: what's the point in going out hiking when everything you discover looks the same?

Exactly.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Dark Souls
R1 Right-to-left horizontal swing.
R2 — R2 Heavy overhead chop into overhead chop.
Roll — R1 Fast overhead chop.
Backstep or Run — R1 Fast running chop.
Forward + R1 Kick. Useful for breaking guard.
Forward + R2 Jumping overhead chop.
L1 (left hand) Guard.
L2 (left hand) Left-to-right horizontal swing.
+ Fast Roll
Then you've got same again on 2-handed, but what you do as the Player is the same.

C64 Barbarians

= kneel
= jump

= roll to the left/right
= Sword defense (horizontal)
= Sword defense (vertikal)
= Kneeling sword blow, knee height
= Standing sword blow, neck height
= Sword blow in chest
= Player rotates, sword blow at neck height (can be fatal)
= Sword blow on the head
= Kick
= Sword defense (sword swinging)
= Head butt


Keeping in mind we're talking a C64 game here, and the moveset lists for the genre soon exploded.

But what I said was apples and oranges are being compared here. Action games aren't about having a deep moveset list and lots of animations to describe that moveset. You don't memorize large movesets in an action game, or have various states like crouched or cat stance that cause your character to act completely differently. They're twitch games, with very little separating you from the action. That's their goal, to give you that immediate sense of action and power. Click->kill.

Exploration and basic combat. That's pretty much the definition of action gaming. From Diablo to The Witcher to Dark Souls. Whether the end results are challenging and fun, that is a separate issue.

The moment I read 'C64 Barbarians' I immediately thought 'Eee-etch! Hahahahaha'