Obsidian's new and totally non-Aliens rpg!

[afewhours]

"A modern day espionage focused action/RPG that takes you on a suspenseful ride in the vein of James Bond, Jack Bauer, and Jason Bourne. Take a wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn agent up through the ranks to become a bona-fide super spy."

Oh god. I love Obsidian as much as the next fanboy, but I hate James Bond and his ilk. 'tis ego stroking bollocks only one step removed from harem anime. This has enough pedigree behind it to make me pay attention, but the concept makes my stomach churn. Third-person real-time action-RPG? Gah.

Patrick McGoohan is the only super spy worth mentioning.

Anyhoo, I'll try and remain positive. No point in complaining yet. I guess I'll still buy the thing when it comes out.

 

[MetalCraze]

was deus ex initially developed for PS2?
plus that's not the point as we're speaking about 2008-2009 now, not about 2000 - when even the most money-grinding devs tried to make the best game evar. even EA self-developed Undying - which would've been impossible for EA of today.

but really:

"Main character is Michael Thorton, a fully trained but inexperienced young operative"

somebody said James Bond? Bond always was a badass cliche spy in his mid 30s - and that's why we loved him (I'm not speaking about the hollywoodish shit produced in the past 10 years of course). Bauer and Bourne are guys in their 30s too. and here it will be a young inexperienced guy... sega is a japanese publisher remember? so I have this one 'anime' fear...

"Third person perspective, action orientated gameplay"
don't like

"-The game will suit all play styles from the run and gunner to the stealth assassin."
also don't like. somebody tried to do the same in hitman2 and hitman3. which means that if you will fail at stealth - you won't be punished for this as you can still gun everything down - because it's possible. plus as stated in the preview - no skills will affect your shooting precision. kinda brings bad thoughts.

"Extremely in depth dialog system that is a mix of Mass Effect and Indigo Prophecy"
well I've already said that this is a joke in itself.

"Lots of girls and romance subplots. You'll meet tons of different girls on missions and yes you can bag them all."
too much of something could be retarded too. but they've decided to go further than bioware with their "you can bang just 1 at a time" (well not exactly - you can bang 2 in JE) - to please basement dwellers maybe?

and all these smileys instead of dialogs... don't know
it really sounds to me like some japanese game about young superspy who bangs everything that moves + smileys. which is gay.

 

[afewhours]

"Extremely in depth dialog system that is a mix of Mass Effect and Indigo Prophecy"

Ack, I didn't notice this the first time. Indigo Prophecy was Fahrenheit in the UK, isn't it? NO game needs to take cues from Fahrenheit. That was a truly distressing experience.

Though I'll admit the first QTE section where you start imagining all those bugs was kinda funny.

 

[Fez]

Do your homework. There is a PS 2 version of Deus Ex. Releasing a game on consoles doesn't automatically mean dumbing down on all levels. To hell with it, I can name at least two excellent games that were released on consoles first: Psychonauts and KotOR 2. Have faith, skyway. Bashing a game with nothing but several bulletpoints at hands is a bit premature.

The console version came much later and was a conversion from the PC. That isn't the same as developing with both in mind from the start. These games you mention - are the good despite being developed on consoles or because of it? There are more games that suffer for it than benefit.

And KOTOR 2 was unfinished and crappy.

 

[MetalCraze]

"Extremely in depth dialog system that is a mix of Mass Effect and Indigo Prophecy"

Ack, I didn't notice this the first time. Indigo Prophecy was Fahrenheit in the UK, isn't it? NO game needs to take cues from Fahrenheit. That was a truly distressing experience.

Though I'll admit the first QTE section where you start imagining all those bugs was kinda funny.

but calling Fahrenheit and Mass Effect dialog systems - extremely in-depth? the dialog systems of both games are awful. but now that they will use smiling faces instead of words... at least in ME you remotely knew what Shep will say according to those three words.
now imagine this game's dialog system:

"oh, agent Thorton - that was amazing!"

1.
2. :D
3.

 

[afewhours]

"oh, agent Thorton - that was amazing!"

1.
2. :D
3. :wink:

By the Goddess! Which one of those options is 'Let's go again'?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

was deus ex initially developed for PS2?

Oops, it was ported two years later. The irony of my comment is evident.

plus that's not the point as we're speaking about 2008-2009 now, not about 2000 - when even the most money-grinding devs tried to make the best game evar. even EA self-developed Undying - which would've been impossible for EA of today.

Good multiplatform games are still made. I cited two examples.

"Main character is Michael Thorton, a fully trained but inexperienced young operative"

somebody said James Bond? Bond always was a badass cliche spy in his mid 30s - and that's why we loved him (I'm not speaking about the hollywoodish shit produced in the past 10 years of course). Bauer and Bourne are guys in their 30s too. and here it will be a young inexperienced guy... sega is a japanese publisher remember? so I have this one 'anime' fear...

Nothing wrong about RPG characters starting out young and inexperienced. Gaining experience is a part of the fun. And I sincerly doubt that Obsidian will go after anime art style. I just can't imagine it. I wouldn't mind seeing an Evil Genius-style art direction and tons of tongue-in-cheek humor, but it's unlikely.

"Third person perspective, action orientated gameplay"
don't like

True, but combat isn't everything.

"-The game will suit all play styles from the run and gunner to the stealth assassin."
also don't like. somebody tried to do the same in hitman2 and hitman3. which means that if you will fail at stealth - you won't be punished for this as you can still gun everything down - because it's possible. plus as stated in the preview - no skills will affect your shooting precision. kinda brings bad thoughts.

Skills are likely to limit your arsenal, not your shooting prowess. This may restrict going Rambo to specialized characters only.

"Extremely in depth dialog system that is a mix of Mass Effect and Indigo Prophecy"
well I've already said that this is a joke in itself.

Yeah, it's pretty funny.

"Lots of girls and romance subplots. You'll meet tons of different girls on missions and yes you can bag them all."
too much of something could be retarded too. but they've decided to go further than bioware with their "you can bang just 1 at a time" (well not exactly - you can bang 2 in JE) - to please basement dwellers maybe?

Depends on how it is done. If it isn't there just to titillate horny teens, and can actually provide you with alternate ways to reach your objectives, or useful information, I'm all for it.

and all these smileys instead of dialogs... don't know

It worked in The Bard's Tale. Kinda.

it really sounds to me like some japanese game about young superspy who bangs everything that moves + smileys. which is gay.

Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I am right. It's hard to tell, since we haven't seen the actual article yet. Thing is, both an incredibly shitty and a mind-blowingly cool game can be created with those bulletpoints as a base. It's really too early to judge.

 

[Lumpy]

"oh, agent Thorton - that was amazing!"

1.
2. :D
3. :wink:

By the Goddess! Which one of those options is 'Let's go again'?

 

[MetalCraze]

I thought my keyboard would die while playing it
adventure? - button smasher it is. at best.

 

[Suchy]

There's a cheat that makes those retarded action sequences go like cutscenes. The game might get playable then.

 

[Lesifoere]

There is? I should very much like to find out how, then, because there's a lot in Indigo Prophecy that I liked and the story seemed intriguing. Just, the gameplay. So consoletastic.

 

[Szioul]

I wonder if they've taken any cues from Covert Action.
http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=236

 

[Texas Red]

very, very hard

That's what your sister liked about it.

 

[MetalCraze]

the story seemed intriguing.

you're right. until the last 1/3 of that story where it got totally stupid and fucked up the previous 2/3 and turned out to be another retarded shit for lollipop kids.

 

[afewhours]

There is? I should very much like to find out how, then, because there's a lot in Indigo Prophecy that I liked and the story seemed intriguing. Just, the gameplay. So consoletastic.

you're right. until the last 1/3 of that story where it got totally stupid and fucked up the previous 2/3 and turned out to be another retarded shit for lollipop kids.

QFT. The final part of Indigo/Fahrenheit/whatever is just as bad as the "ZOMG, WERE ALL FROM THE SAME ORPHANAGE' scene in FFVIII. Don't bother with it. It was so spectacularly awful, I was grinding my teeth in anger. It's that insulting.

Think of all the games you hate for being facile and childish, all the JRPGs, NWN2, blah blah. Now listen to this: none of those games are as retarded, juvenile, embarrassing, inexplicable or as godawful as the final part of Fahrenheit. NONE of them.

A couple of you codexy people may have picked up that I'm quite lenient when it comes to pulpy-emo-silliness in games. If I can't stomach something, then you know something's wrong.

 

[fastpunk]

Oops, sorry! I seem to have stumbled upon what seems to be a new bashing campaign. Who's the target? Oh, Obsidian eh?

Skyway, could you be more melodramatic? "Oh noes, I'm losing my faith in Obsidian!" You haven't seen so much as a single screenshot, let alone a video or detailed info about this game. So take it easy, your started the bashing campaign a tad early.

Yes, the dialog system doesn't sound too good... but if Obsidian is good at something then that something is writing. I don't fuckin care if they put colored bubbles instead of dialog lines, there's a very good chance writing will be at least solid.

And of course, could this game turn out to be something similar to Bloodlines? Is that a bad thing?

Also, there is no "Bioware's Mass Effect engine". Bioware used Unreal 3 Engine to make Mass Effect, the same engine half this industry is using. So tech-wise, they got a solid foundation and they don't need to write everything from scratch or take 5 year old tech and upgrade it.

What I'm ultimately trying to say is wait for it. If you're gonna bash, wait till you get some videos or screenshots, to know what you're bashing.

 

[slipgate_angel]

sega is a japanese publisher remember? so I have this one 'anime' fear...

Ohh yeah, and the Condemned series had such cute characters.

Sega is actually a good publisher, don't confuss them for Team Sonic, who now a days make such crappy games.

 

[afewhours]

And of course, could this game turn out to be something similar to Bloodlines? Is that a bad thing?

That's why I'm trying to remain optimistic. I looked at Bloodlines and thought "Gah! They finally make another V:tM game, and it's a fucking FPS! FUCKSTICKS."

I then bought the game anyway and loved it. The same may happen here.

 

[Herbert West]

That sounds intriguing, I'm hopeful. It will obviously be cliche to a degree, but I'd very much like to see some autoirony that appears in some Bond movies and is a saving grace oftentimes.
And about romance- I'd preffer few fuckable NPCs but with character comparable to best "bondgirls". Not something like in the witcher: "AnotherUnnamedFemale: Nice flowers, let's fuck".

 

[VonVentrue]

A Deus Ex-ish game written by Avellone and Mitsoda? I'm sold.

I would have wholeheartedly agreed if I hadn't read the '(...)and consoles' part. Still, sounds promising enough to spark my interest.

 

[Lesifoere]

Not something like in the witcher: "AnotherUnnamedFemale: Nice flowers, let's fuck".

Hoo yeah. Some of the sex in Witcher is wtfish as hell. "We shall now speak in Elvish gibberish--let's fuck!" Then "blah blah dryads... let's fuck!" I don't actively seek out fuckable NPCs in that game, but it sounds like every woman and dwarf wants a piece of Geralt's ass and will stop at nothing to have it, including deploying some of the most bizarre pick-up lines ever.

 

[Futile Rhetoric]

Not something like in the witcher: "AnotherUnnamedFemale: Nice flowers, let's fuck".

Hoo yeah. Some of the sex in Witcher is wtfish as hell. "We shall now speak in Elvish gibberish--let's fuck!" Then "blah blah dryads... let's fuck!" I don't actively seek out fuckable NPCs in that game, but it sounds like every woman and dwarf wants a piece of Geralt's ass and will stop at nothing to have it, including deploying some of the most bizarre pick-up lines ever.

Geralt uses a special pheromone spray. There's alchemy in the game for a reason, you know.

 

[Gnidrologist]

I wanted to add something about not making premature conclusions at so fucking early stage, hell it's not even any stage yet, but...
oh my, is this an appropriate thread to post this pic yet again or what.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

I'm excited about this game. Especially because they've announced it for the PC too.

 

[Alex]

I do think it is too early to make conclusions. However what I have read "smells" bad. It rubs me in the wrong way, and seem to indicate something I won't like. Of course this initial perception may be wrong, and since I don't like Bond movies, this is probably not a game for me. Still, I just wished we got some real rpgs to go with all those action ones.