What is the Greatest Rpg that you have ever actually played

[Constipated Craprunner]

Well my choice for best RPG ever would have to be Fallout 1.

Wise choice, you will do well here.

I'd say Planescape Torment. The story of that game rocked and I never had a similar gaming experience with any other game. Though I have to add that combat was a bit sucky.

I've played Fallout, but only as a enforcer...i.e I just shot everything. Now, I've found out on the BIS boards that instead of shooting you can use words as well. So, I have to replay this game to see how this works. Maybe after that I might change my vote.

This is the part where you run. Fast.
Do not ever, ever say that anything save Geneforge or Wasteland is better than FO.

 

[Rayt]

I'd say Planescape Torment. The story of that game rocked and I never had a similar gaming experience with any other game. Though I have to add that combat was a bit sucky.

I've played Fallout, but only as a enforcer...i.e I just shot everything. Now, I've found out on the BIS boards that instead of shooting you can use words as well. So, I have to replay this game to see how this works. Maybe after that I might change my vote.

This is the part where you run. Fast.
Do not ever, ever say that anything save Geneforge or Wasteland is better than FO.

Have you played Planescape Torment?

 

[ShadowLurker]

I've noticed that in most polls where Fallout is on a "Favorite RPG" poll, it comes out on top, dominating all other games.

 

[Constipated Craprunner]

It is a truly amazing game.
But no Fallout.

 

[Rayt]

It is a truly amazing game.
But no Fallout.

Heh, well I already said I didn't play Fallout like it was meant to be. I never tried to beat the game in an evil way. Or to talk my way out of everything.
I guess I have to reinstall this thing again; it has been 3 years since I last played it.

 

[Constipated Craprunner]

Ouch.
Life without Fallout.
Dont you go blind?

 

[Spazmo]

I try to play FO1 and 2 at least once a year. But lately, I can't muster the will to finish them. Recently, my fifth playthrough of FO2 has failed in the face of brand new copies of Morrowind and Battlefied 1942.

 

[Mad_Dog]

Play Planescape; much better than BG2 and even rivals Fallout.

PS:T is much better than BG2, but I don't think it rivals Fallout in more than a couple of areas. It's much more linear and uses that awful Infinity Engine combat. I also think the dialogue was a bit too one sided. A lot of the dialogues were the kind where the NPC would talk for a long time, and then you'd be presented with the choices of, "Go on." or "Let's stop talking now."

But PS:T is still, by far, the best use of the Infinity Engine and one of the best D&D games ever made.

Not as interative as Fallout for sure, but the plot was far superior IMO. I look at it as more of an interactive novel. No other game has affected me so much though...

 

[Talavar]

I've got to weigh in for Torment. Fallout is a great game, and Fallout 2 a good game, but the story and themes of Torment are enough to push it ahead of the many features in Fallout , like turn-base combat, classless system, etc., that I prefer to what exists in D&D and the IE games.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I've got to weigh in for Torment. Fallout is a great game, and Fallout 2 a good game, but the story and themes of Torment are enough to push it ahead of the many features in Fallout , like turn-base combat, classless system, etc., that I prefer to what exists in D&D and the IE games.

Well, Fallout's big feature was that it was largely open ended. Story most certainly doesn't make up for open endedness in a CRPG.

 

[Mad_Dog]

I've got to weigh in for Torment. Fallout is a great game, and Fallout 2 a good game, but the story and themes of Torment are enough to push it ahead of the many features in Fallout , like turn-base combat, classless system, etc., that I prefer to what exists in D&D and the IE games.

Well, Fallout's big feature was that it was largely open ended. Story most certainly doesn't make up for open endedness in a CRPG.

In Planescape I though it did. Maybe I just read too much as a child, but I'm a sucker for good plots.:p

 

[Talavar]

"Well, Fallout's big feature was that it was largely open ended. Story most certainly doesn't make up for open endedness in a CRPG."

It does for me. Now, I don't like speaking against Fallout because it's one of my favourite games ever, but I'll take quality story and writing over open endedness. The extreme of open endedness is the MMORPG, which bore me to tears.

Fallout had a very good story and very good writing, of course, so I'm not really speaking against it. I just believe that Torment had a more personal and compelling story. For many, that degree of closeness with the story was a turn off. I can remember when it came out, so many IE fans were like "I have to play that creepy scarred guy? I can't pick the same generic fantasy stock characters I always play? No thanks."

 

[HanoverF]

Planescapes story was pretty good, but it falls hard into the boobies and lewt category, and was nearly as linear as a clock...

 

[Spazmo]

Planescapes story was pretty good, but it falls hard into the boobies and lewt category, and was nearly as linear as a clock...

What? That's not true. Torment was an extremely story-driven game.

 

[HanoverF]

What? That's not true. Torment was an extremely story-driven game.

It was extremly linear and the females fell into the Pamela Anderson/Dolly Parton/Russ Meyer catagory, what about that isn't true?

 

[Spazmo]

Yes, it was hopelessly linear, but to me, the goal of the game wasn't staring at boobs and finding the most +5 items. I, like most people who got the point of PS:T, played for the very deep and well-written story.

 

[HanoverF]

I never said that was the goal of the game, but it detracts from it. As does the fact there is almost 0 replay value. And I'm not sure how deep the story was, I pretty much figured out where it was headed during the first act.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

It does for me. Now, I don't like speaking against Fallout because it's one of my favourite games ever, but I'll take quality story and writing over open endedness. The extreme of open endedness is the MMORPG, which bore me to tears.

You can still be open ended and have a point to the game, it's just that you're allowed to get to that point on your own terms. Sure, they're open ended, but MMORPGs really have no other point than to just ride the level treadmill.

That's much different from Fallout's open endedness. You're free to go where you want and when you want, though you may cross in to areas you can't handle. You still have a purpose in doing this, though.

The problem with PS:T is that before the game is even installed, your legacy, barring a couple of choices at the end, is set for you. This is because that story gets in the way of what freedom you have in the game. Any progression you make in the story is linear. You go through one area to the next in a set fashion. Sure, there's sidequests, but even BG had those. Any time you play PS:T, you'll be going through the same areas in near the same sequence.

Like I said, the story gets in the way.

Fallout had a very good story and very good writing, of course, so I'm not really speaking against it. I just believe that Torment had a more personal and compelling story. For many, that degree of closeness with the story was a turn off. I can remember when it came out, so many IE fans were like "I have to play that creepy scarred guy? I can't pick the same generic fantasy stock characters I always play? No thanks."

I would have perfered more choices in character development at the beginning as well, but one thing PS:T does well is that it allows you a great deal of development through the course of the game itself.

It's still leaps and bounds above the other IE games, but most of the aspects that make it better were taken from Fallout's mechanics and adjusted to fit AD&D.

 

[Walks with the Snails]

It was kind of funny how every woman in PS:T had DD's. Not just Annah and Grace, but all the townsfolk, too. The NPC pictures were even funnier. I don't know why they did it, it did get pretty silly.

I don't think PS:T really had phat lewt syndrome. Most of the items were fairly modest and also had really interesting backgrounds. Really it could have used some more attention in the item area IMO; it's tough to play as a fighter without dying every 2 seconds because there were hardly any good AC raising items for fighters, mages had a better selection really. Also, the stat situation is harder for a fighter, since having good mental stats is almost required, plus you need to build up the physical ones. You also generally didn't go around killing monsters to get treasure, it was usually to accomplish something.

I have to agree it has poor replay value, but the first time you play it is such an experience it's worth it to me. I'm usually big on replay value, too. Really I loved the story, and they couldn't have pulled it off as well if it had to be that non-linear. I can enjoy non-linear games too, but if they had tried to make PS:T too non-linear, it would have lost a lot of what made it so good. I thought the backstory of the Nameless One's past was one of the most interesting parts of the game, if they just let be some generic character so you could be anything you wanted to be that part would have been lost. I wouldn't want every game out there to be like PS:T, but I'd like to have some games like it every once in a while. Most of the problem with all the really linear games is that the story is crap. If it's good, it can be worth it, though.

 

[Mad_Dog]

It was kind of funny how every woman in PS:T had DD's. Not just Annah and Grace, but all the townsfolk, too. The NPC pictures were even funnier. I don't know why they did it, it did get pretty silly.

All the breasts were HUGE, but Annah and Fall-From-Grace were two of the best female characters in any game. The idea of the love affair, although it was enver consummated, and you being able to 'choose' between the two of them was great. They certainly didn't fall into Pamela Anderson/Russ Meyer territory, except for the size of their breasts. (I think Annah and Grace had the smallest in the game maybe...) Annah was more like the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist, and Grace as a celibate succubus was a great idea. Of course, this is just my opinion. I thought the April in the Longest Journey was very badly done, but thats only because I have some good friends in art school, struggling to make ends meet. April was more of a cliche of all of them...

As for linearity... Until you go to Ravel's garden, it is very unlinear. You have a huge city to wander around in, and the fact that so many quests can be solved without combat means you won't wander into the wrong cave, and get your ass handed to you by some obscenely strong monster. After you meet Razel though, it is pretty much on rails..

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

As for linearity... Until you go to Ravel's garden, it is very unlinear. You have a huge city to wander around in, and the fact that so many quests can be solved without combat means you won't wander into the wrong cave, and get your ass handed to you by some obscenely strong monster. After you meet Razel though, it is pretty much on rails..

Okay, how do you get to the Lower Ward without going through the Teniment of Thugs? How do you get to the Clerk's Ward without dealing with the Great Foundry? How do you get to the Tomb of the Nameless without going through the Dead Nation?

You move from area to area in PS:T in a set and linear fashion. There's only one way to get new areas in the game, and that's all in a linear series of progressive steps. You have to complete several steps, all of which are linear in nature, just in order to get a new area open to you.

Therefore, PS:T is linear.

 

[Walks with the Snails]

They did still give you options. I remember the first time I went to the Dead Nations, I just wiped them all out. I heard "Ugh, feels like I've been strained through someone's bowels" more times than I care to remember, but I did do it. Just saw a bunch of undead, one of them saying "Join us or die", and I guess my twitch mode kicked in from playing too many other stereotypical RPGs and I never really considered any alternatives to giving the undead the second death. Your experience in the Tenement of Thugs will be pretty different if you choose to fight or sneak through, too. Most games require some degree of linearity, try beating Fallout without getting a water chip and seeing to the end of the Master, for example.

I still don't see why linear is used as a curse word, though, really there are good linear games and poor non-linear ones, it's all in how it's done.

 

[SexExitium]

 

[JJ86]

I like open-endedness to a degree but there should still be some sort of story. The game has to have a goal or goals and an ending. What I would really like to see are goals that change depending on your path. In Fallout2 you always had the final goal of confronting Horrigan in the same room at the Enclave. Why couldn't that change depending on your character's level or even if you had allied with certain NPC's? So if your level started to get too high or your reputation was changed, what if Horrigan moved to a different location or became more difficult? Maybe if you played an evil character you wouldn't fight Horrigan at all but would have to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel leadership.

Time should be important because if you spend 20 years wandering the wastes before finishing the final goal obviously that should make a difference. Your character will be older and may not have as good of perception or agility. Maybe the Enclave will move to a more heavily fortified location over that time period. Or some cities will be abandoned or created if goals are not satisfied at such and such a date.

 

[Insane-Lark]

Fron my first sight of Scrapheap I knew I wanted to play this & was hoping that the full game would live up to my expectations, it hasn't let me down yet. We bought Fallout upon release & I have spent the time since trying to recruit my family & friends to play. Results have been mixed in that department, but as something of a fanatacism of mine, I haven't stopped trying.

On FO 2 I enjoyed the larger worldmap & the car but have some reservation on the main quest. Game was enjoyable for me but didn't deliver any driving need to finish my goal. I spent literally years walking in the wasteland (Damn, we forgot to buy extra bb's in NCR. Let's head on back!" "Where the hell did that Caravan go guys?").