got the demo, but is the game good?

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:42 pm

Oh, one other thing: yeah, you can search on "atari newer," but it defaults to "Atari" OR "Newer." There's no way to use Boolean operatives to find posts that contain both. That's what I meant, and probably didn't express well.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:43 pm

Originally posted by kellinjar
Well i'm sure if we wanted, we could find a log of the chat. No one contradicted it (including other people who were in the chat I'm sure and read the threaD)
Very rarely do such chats happen and there not be a log created. I will dig around and see if I can find one.

Thanks! That's going above and beyond the call of duty. Good luck in this.

kellinjar · Post by **kellinjar** » Tue Jan 20, 2004 12:43 pm

Ah okay, I'll check that out. I know I only got 16 results searching for atari newer

Skuld · Post by **Skuld** » Sun Jan 25, 2004 10:39 pm

Someone mentioned getting items identified by a merchant. This is pretty obvious, but is there a merchant in the demo? and if so where?

silverdragon72 · Post by **silverdragon72** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:12 am

.

I also played the demo - not bad - but also not worth the € 50.-

some reasons why I think so:

- it doesn't seem to be better then the much older BG2/TOB

- you are restricetd to level 10 !!! the death of every RPG if there is no sequel

- seems that magic items never have a description what they really do !

- most of the difficulty results from the permanents attacks while you try to rest - even with your really weak group in the demo - the moathouse was not a real challenge !

- and most important: I don't trust Atari games...

- I don't trust Atari games before there are at least two patches out...

- I don't trust Atari games before an independant forum says the game runs fine !

my (personal) solution:

...I will start with IWD2 (meanwhile available for € 10.-) after finishing KOTOR (a nice popcorn-CRPG but much to easy...)

...and wait until TOEE runs fine, a sequel (at least with level 20) is available and the game is at about € 20.- !!!

.

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 10:40 am

- it doesn't seem to be better then the much older BG2/TOB

Graphically, it's much improved, and the combat system is an in-depth delight. But as a vehicle for roleplaying, IMO, it's pretty poor. The quests seem like they were designed by a ten-year-old (and my apologies to ten-year-olds; there are some very imaginative ones out there), and the NPCs are cookie cutter types without depth. The environment is actually a helluva lot less interactive than Divine Divinity. There are also all the bug issues, which sound like they really haven't gone away even after two patches.

So it comes down to what really makes a CRPG work for you, personally. Is it combat? TOEE's got the real thing. Quests and roleplaying? Forget it. TOEE isn't one game for all. It's a different game, of differing quality, depending upon what you prefer to play.

Personally, I'm really curious about Enlight's Joan of Arc RPG, which is due out in another week, and Beyond Divinity, which is due out in April.

silverdragon72 · Post by **silverdragon72** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 10:55 am

Originally posted by fable
- it doesn't seem to be better then the much older BG2/TOB

Graphically, it's much improved, and the combat system is an in-depth delight. But as a vehicle for roleplaying, IMO, it's pretty poor. The quests seem like they were designed by a ten-year-old (and my apologies to ten-year-olds; there are some very imaginative ones out there), and the NPCs are cookie cutter types without depth. The environment is actually a helluva lot less interactive than Divine Divinity. There are also all the bug issues, which sound like they really haven't gone away even after two patches.

So it comes down to what really makes a CRPG work for you, personally. Is it combat? TOEE's got the real thing. Quests and roleplaying? Forget it. TOEE isn't one game for all. It's a different game, of differing quality, depending upon what you prefer to play.

Personally, I'm really curious about Enlight's Joan of Arc RPG, which is due out in another week, and Beyond Divinity, which is due out in April.

I could live with the BG2 graphics - and I don't think TOEE is so much better - in TOEE is a much higher resolution possible - but if you use it - you don't see anything

combat seems to be good - but is it much better then IWD2 ? (I will start this next)

but it's still:

- to expensive (for what you get)
- has this damned level 10 cap
- to buggy
- and last but not least an Atari Game...

...especially deadly in combination with buggy - and bugs seams to be a feature for Atari !

so I will wait and see what happens...

...buying it in half a year seems to be the better deal

.

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 11:22 am

Is combat much better than IWD2? There's more detail to it, IMO. IWD2 is a better-made game, with an air of having been finished--both in a technical (IE, relatively bug-free) and gameplay (balance, dialog, characterization) sense.

I first got a glimmer for the potential of computer-driven RPG combat systems in the GURPs-based Knights of Legend, published in 1989 by Origin Systems. I mean, targeted body shots? Great stuff.

But personally, I put the RPG world--NPC depth, dialog, internally consistent logic, an interactive environment universe--first.

If you're like me, you might want to consider checking out Planescape; Torment, which I've seen selling on eBay and Amazon for very little. Or for a real drill-down, in-depth and different experience, look for King of Dragon Pass: a mixture of RPG and strategy, as you lead a barbarian tribe and deal in each new game with a variety of events drawn from 500+ plots.

But if you want in-depth combat and a game that plays well, I'd say IWD2 will please. It's very linear, but well-designed. Just my POV.

Greywulf · Post by **Greywulf** » Thu Feb 12, 2004 3:33 pm

I love it

I love the game - it reminds me of the Icewind Dale games with the graphics, and Pool of Radiance with the turn-based combat. Like POR had the 3E rules first (I think), this game is the first with the 3.5E rules, and like POR, it's getting some criticism - POR got lambasted for being boring, and TOEE is catching heat for technical problems.

Not for nothing, I just bought it, and I don't have any problems - I use the current Atari patch and also the Circle of Eight patch, and between the two of them I have no crashes and I have yet to encounter any bugs (I've haven't gone through the temple itself yet though).

My only critique of the game is this: too short! For the money, I'd like to have more adventures. You basically have two towns (one is relatively small), a moathouse (a simple one level dungeon), and the temple itself. But it is very well-done, and I love how it looks and how it plays. As a D&D fan, it is a must-play.