Elwro's Eschalon 2 Evaluation

Review - posted by Elwro on Wed 18 August 2010, 10:10:28

More info on Eschalon: Book II

While travelling through the world of Eschalon: Book II, Elwro learned the hard way that if you love a puppy, you must let it go and not sell its pelt to unscrupulous shopkeepers.

There are a few well done locations (Port Kuudad has its fair share of secrets) and quests. For example, to cut a long story short, a dwarf asks you to steal a puppy from a big wolf. You are told to bring exactly one puppy and leave the rest in the den. You will be tempted to take more than one, because they are valuable and you could certainly use the cash. You are told that something bad will happen if you take more than one puppy... and let me just tell you that it does happen. You have to weigh this consequence against your heavier purse. A real choice, a good quest.

Read on for his full review.

Annie Mitsoda's (nee Carlson's) Zombie Baby

Interview - posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 12 July 2010, 15:56:04

More info on DoubleBear Productions - More info on Annie Carlson

Annie Carlson, formerly of Obsidian Entertainment and currently of DoubleBear Productions, took some time out of her busy two-job schedule to answer us some questions. She speaks of DoubleBear, babies, Zombies:

Can't go into details about our stage of development, but that focus question is a good one so I'ma address that. Functionally speaking, I'm going to say we have to get the combat working on a solid model, because it's tied into a lot of basic character creation skills. Also it's a common adage among designers that "if the combat sucks, your game is fucked," so we want to get the basics of that working well before we get the survival/management aspects ironed out. I'd say they're of equal importance, but perfecting the functionality of the combat I think is a little higher priority, but also easier to do at the early stages and will require fundamentally less polish and tweaking than the management aspects will.

... and turds:

I recall being fantastically pissed-off at Dark Cloud - not only because at the time I had no money for games and my computer would play basically nothing at all, but because you could get trapped in an attack combo that could break your weapon right in the middle of it. Since you didn't really gain levels but your weapon did, that meant you were suddenly fucked. Also you had to eat and drink, which was implemented particularly shittily. It's not that I can't handle food in an RPG, it was just really terrible in that game. It was poo topping on a crap sundae.

Read the rest here.

Mass Effect 2: A Narratological Review

Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Fri 11 June 2010, 04:47:57

More info on Mass Effect 2

TNO follows up from his earlier escapades of looking at the story side of things in Mass Effect by casting his eye to the aptly named sequel in: Mass Effect 2: A Narratological Review.

The real problem is the titanic catastrophe of the plot itself. There are lots of little niggles with ME2 (“Why do I start looking like the terminator if I pick nasty options in dialogue?” “If the Collectors go through the O4 relay, why don’t people notice this/why not just blockade it or blow up the relay?”) but these are sufficiently minor that you assume some semi-plausible explanation can be fan-wanked in. The main plot of ME2 careens from the simply sloppy (reliance on plot coupons and McGuffins), to the irredeemably bad ‘oh-god-I-hope-this-gets-retconned’ stupid (the human Reaper).

[...]

Jetting off half-way across the galaxy to lift emotional baggage for the party made them less a crack team of elite specialists and more an angst battalion.

Fan-wanking commence! Your angst battalion has been attacked!

RPG of the Decade - Developers' Choice

Article - posted by DarkUnderlord on Fri 16 April 2010, 06:02:24

It's been 10 long years of RPGs. In our RPG of the Decade - Developers' Choice we take a look back at the decade that's just been and go over some of the more notable events. We then asked a bunch of better-known developers in the RPG field what their RPG of the decade was:

I mentioned earlier that "choice and consequence" is a catch-cry here on the Codex. Well, choice and consequence is not an ingredient in a Bethesda game. In your typical Bethesda game, you get to role-play everyone. You get to make every choice, typically without any consequences.

And by God does that make their games hugely successful.

[...]

Tim Cain: There were so many good RPG’s released in the last decade that it is hard to choose the “RPG of the Decade”. I am embarrassed to say that I haven’t played some of them, and I only want to nominate a game that I have played. And that list is still large: Baldur’s Gate 2, Icewind Dale 2, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age (Bioware is on a roll in my list, you can see), Fable, Deus Ex, Fallout 3, Geneforge. So I am going with a game that captured my imagination and that I played for many many hours, and that I think about when designing my own games. And that game is…

Read the rest to find out!

We're also running a competition. Let us know what your RPG of the decade is and we'll give a random entrant a free GOG game of their choice. Competition closes 30th April 2010.

Mass Effect: A Narratological Review

Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 05 April 2010, 09:11:26

More info on Mass Effect

TNO decided to take a look at Mass Effect but not from the usual game point of view, instead by taking an in-depth look at its story (He originally posted this in our forum but why just leave it there?). Here's what he came up with:

These are good subversions, but they aren't pulled off properly. Humans are still 'special', and one of the endings of the game lets you put them wholly in charge. Whatever choice you make humans become the top dog, as all of the other species get mauled by the terminators. The reveal of the real big bad (the 'Reapers') does set them up as nasty villains ("slaughtering all life in the galaxy? peh. We've done that repeatedly for millions of years.") But no explanation is ever offered for why they bother doing this - Bioware hides behind alien inscrutability (you can't possibly understand, beyond your comprehension etc. etc.) Maybe sequels will satisfy this, but I don't hold my breath for this explanation being any good.

[...]

One thing that deserves a rant are the SPECTREs (Special whatever and Tactical Reconassaince, or whatever the backronym was.) Another part of Bioware's formula is having a leet crew of kewl people who have absolute power to protect the established order by any means necessary (see the Grey Wardens). This trope is rammed into the game with barely any justification. Intelligence services? Sure. Black ops? Fine. But mankind has never done this 'special dudes who are cool and answer to no one' as the best way of doing these things. Why would wider alien community (of multiple species) agree to this sort of thing? What if one of them discovers a plot device of doom and goes crazy?

Crazy is good.

2009: The Year in Review

Editorial - posted by DarkUnderlord on Thu 18 February 2010, 12:35:33

In the time-honoured tradition of reminiscing about the year just gone, we take a look at 2009:

Another thing that didn't happen in 2009 was Obsidian's much talked about RPG set in the Aliens universe. Josh Sawyer's run of bad luck heading up projects that get cancelled continued. Rather than being released or even having development continue at a merry pace, it was cancelled in early February... or later in June depending on who you want to believe. Staff were laid-off, assets may have been disposed of and children may have been harmed in the end of production.

2009: The list of things that didn't happen.

Venetica

Review - posted by JarlFrank on Sat 06 February 2010, 02:35:41

More info on Venetica

Venetica is the first RPG of a German adventure game developer. You're playing the daughter of Death and have to stop the Undead Lord who tries to enslave nations with necromancy.

The game is very action-focused and has a good story with interesting characters, but the RPG elements are light and the game suffers from a multitude of bugs and performance problems.

Read our review here.

Risen – probably the strongest deja-vu you’ll ever experience

Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Sun 13 December 2009, 14:39:33

More info on Risen

Darth Roxor takes a look at Risen, Piranha Bytes spiritual successor to the Gothic series. Is it all it's cracked up to be?

Now that we’re done with the background, I believe it’s time to focus on the meat of the game. Risen is divided into four chapters, and saying that they’re a mixed bag is an understatement. In the first one, you’ll need to swear allegiance to one of the factions, and generally, this one is the best from the ‘roleplaying’ perspective. I believe it has the most sidequests, and many of them have a few ways of approaching and finishing. Basically the whole Harbour Town is an exercise in choosing sides – the major quests found there are possible to finish in two ways, either for the inquisition or the Don. They mostly arise from a common problem, but then have multiple ways to do them, two ways to finish and different outcomes. For example, five pieces of valuable ceremonial armour have been misplaced somewhere. Both the inquisition and the rebels are looking for them, but only one man associated with the rebels knows where they all are. Three different people have the pieces, and you can either steal them, if you have the skill, beat them up if you feel capable, or buy them for insane prices. After you have them all, you can take the armour either to the inquisition or to the rebels, which yields you reputation, gold (the rebels usually pay better) and utility items (potions, scrolls). Depending on who you choose to support in these quests will also unlock new quests and teachers – for example, aiding the rebel Delgado not only gives you another, otherwise unavailable, quest, but he’s also the only person in the game who can teach you the third level of pickpocketing.
[...]
If you join the inquisition, you’ll end up in the monastery, where you’ll need to finish your basic training first. The monastery is also home to some of the most interesting quests in the game. For example, the first test you’ll have to pass, is the test of combat. You’ll need to beat three recruits first, and in the end challenge Master Aric, the combat trainer. You can approach Aric in two ways – if you grasped Risen’s combat really well already, you can try beating him fair and square, but it’s a tough fight. However, if you get beaten once, you can ask the other recruits for advice, and you’ll be able to drastically tip the scales in your favour by getting Aric drunk and replacing his fancy sword with a weak one. Another well done quest is the murder investigation – you’ll feel like in The Name of the Rose, gathering clues about the murder, interrogating witnesses, and eventually pretending to be a weed trader to lure out the murderer, who’ll turn out to be, well… someone you probably didn’t expect.

Read the rest here.

NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate Review

Review - posted by baby arm on Sun 17 May 2009, 01:58:05

More info on Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate

Our dear Ubersturmfuhrer Vault Dweller plunked down his ten bucks to get a crack at Ossian's Neverwinter Nights 2 adventure pack, Mysteries of Westgate.

Here's his review.

Andhaira finds out about Knights of the Chalice

Interview - posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 11 May 2009, 11:32:00

More info on Knights of the Chalice

Local Codexian Andhaira sent some questions to Knights of the Chalice creator Pierre Begue. Here's what Pierre said about his upcoming indie RPG:

Knights of the Chalice is a traditional 2D RPG where you create a party of heroes and embark on a series of adventures in a fantasy world. The game features tactical turn-based combat, a good AI and user-friendly interface. It is based on the Open Game Content 3.5 from Wizards of the Coast.

If that sounds like something you might be interested in, be sure to read the rest.

A Long Hard Look at Mount & Blade

Review - posted by DarkUnderlord on Tue 21 April 2009, 18:30:48

More info on Mount & Blade - More info on TaleWorlds - More info on Armagan

The final retail release of Mount & Blade has been out for a while now, so what better time than now to give it a long hard look:

Yes, it seems that despite all the trade caravans running about the place, you are the single driving force behind the entire economy. Of course the trade skill helps reduce purchase prices significantly but as you really need money to get the decent equipment (which unlike most games, you'll have to buy rather than find from killing stuff) you need a lotta cash. Where do you get cash from in a world that has none? How am I supposed to make that kind of money if I can't sell any of my expensive goods to anyone? More to the point, how can an item be worth 80,000 denars if no-one on the planet even has that much cash to pay for it? It's like selling a loaf of bread for a gazillion dollars. It's asinine.

[...]

That leaves you pretty much making your own story up. You'll join a Faction and decide that the Rhodoks will pay for defeating Lord X in battle and so after them you go. You'll gain the support of your Khan and get elected as War Leader. You'll call the other Lords to your aide and you and groups of other War Parties will ride into enemy territory to lay waste to all before them. This is the meat of Mount & Blade and it's quite fun. However your battles will almost always result in victory and with a bit of luck, the Khan may even reward you with a Town, Village or Castle for your efforts.

... and like all rewards in Mount & Blade, they're entirely worthless too.

Read the rest (and there's a lot of it) here...

Lingwe talks to some modders about modding

Interview - posted by DarkUnderlord on Mon 02 March 2009, 02:46:53

In some cases they're the people who make the extra content, the new quests or total conversions we enjoy. In other cases, they're the ones who fix the bugs the developers left behind. We're talking about modders. Lingwe interviewed a swath of modders on behalf of the Codex. He spoke to them about their motivation, the technical challenges they faced, community reception, their expectations and experience. Here's a bit of what they had to say:

Killap: 2005 was the year I started modding Fallout 2. I honestly don’t recall what truly pushed me to modify the game, but I do remember having a craving to play Fallout 2 again at that time. I remember coming across an unofficial Fallout 2 patch by a modder named Seraph. He had fixed quite a number of bugs in the game and was still actively working on it. It was at this time that I also came across the amazing Nearly Ultimate Fallout 2 Guide by Per Jorner. Not only did this guide list everything that one could possibly do in the game, but it also had quite an extensive list of unfixed bugs. Seeing that these bugs were still not fixed in the unofficial patch by Seraph, I decided to sit down and have a go at it. Programming was something that always interested me and seeing an opportunity to put it to some practical use, I began to create my own unofficial patch. And thus began my quest to make Fallout 2 into the game it should have been from the very beginning.

[...]

Wesp: I would do it all over again and the result is worth the effort! I have a lot of fun doing the patch and obviously a lot of people have fun using my patch and it keeps a very old game alive or maybe, more fitting, undead wink ! Looking back I would probably have created a basic and plus version right from the start to avoid any of the conflict that arouse because of the patch/mod issue, if I only had known that people had it in the first place.

There are 10 interviews in all thrown together in one great big article for those of you who may wonder what it's like to mod your favourite game. From the Fallouts and Infinity Engine games to Neverwinter Nights, ToEE, Bloodlines and Oblivion. In order of appearance:

1. killap - Unofficial Fallout 2 Patch 
2. Quarn - Unofficial Oblivion Patch and Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch 
3. Agetian - Circle of Eight
4. Shiningted - Circle of Eight
5. Gaear - Circle of Eight
   
6. Vaernus - Deception 
7. Camdawg - BG2 Fixpack, BG2 Tweak Pack, Divine Remix, Icewind Dale Tweak Pack, Icewind Dale 2 Tweak Pack, Planescape: Torment Tweak Pack 
8. theacefes - Auren Aseph NPC, Sarah NPC, Banana NPC, Skooter NPC 
9. Wesp - Unofficial Vampire Bloodlines Patch 
10. Adam Miller - Neverwinter Nights Downloads, Neverwinter Nights 2 Downloads

Going Down to Hinterland

Review - posted by baby arm on Thu 01 January 2009, 23:21:45

More info on Hinterland - More info on Tilted Mill