Could you recommend a game until BG2:EE?
sivistojko
Member Posts: 30
Hello everybody, I am completely unfamiliar with games other than BG in this genre. I played BG2 back then 12 years ago and I just can't wait for BG2:EE. I tried playing vanilla BG2 on 800x600pix but it's just unplayable on 23" screen.
I'm already kinda getting tired of replaying BG:EE. Hell, I even boosted attributes on one char beyond 30 by importing the same char over and over again.... (Doing speed runs in little less then 2 hours all 7 chapters)
So if you have a game to recommend that is like BG please do so.
Thanks
I'm already kinda getting tired of replaying BG:EE. Hell, I even boosted attributes on one char beyond 30 by importing the same char over and over again.... (Doing speed runs in little less then 2 hours all 7 chapters)
So if you have a game to recommend that is like BG please do so.
Thanks
Post edited by Jalily on
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Planescape: Torment
Temple of Elemental Evil (with the Co8 patch)
Neverwinter Nights 1-2
Arcanum
that should get you started.
If you aren't tied to Swords and Sorcery, Fallout 1 & 2 fit the bill. And if you like the turn based strategy from top down perspective, Xcom (the original three games) are also highly recommended.
If your computer can run it and you're up for a challenge, Temple of Elemental Evil is the most accurate to PnP DnD based RPG ever made. You need the Circle of Eight fix-pack before you attempt it however, as the company who made it went out of business before all it's bugs could be officially addressed. It however is an extremely difficult game that doesn't pull any punches, and if you try to play it like you would BG you are going to die fast and often (though if you found BG to be a bit boring or easy combat-wise, you'll probably enjoy it). The story is fairly boring in places, but that's cause it's a direct port of the Grey Hawk PnP module of the same name. (I'm not very fond of Grey Hawk, it just seems so generic at times) The game though is worth playing, since it proves that PnP could be easily ported to a CRPG almost 100% intact.
Arcanum is pretty neat in the early game, but gets a little bland and rushed feeling towards the end. It's definitely worth playing at least once however, since it shows a lot of potential for what could've been if Troika had been able to continue the IP and is an entertaining mix of fantasy, Victorian society, and steam-punk.
NWN is pretty bland. The 2 expansion packs a major improvement over the original campaign, but NWN and it's Sequel are more for their tool-set and playing in User created adventures or on Persistent worlds, which play similar to small scale MMOs and can be extremely fun and entertaining, depending on how well supported they are. Ravenloft: Prisoners of the Mist for NWN1 is an extremely well done and supported world, especially if you like the Ravenloft setting.
Icewind Dale uses a very similar combat system, and is a more combat-oriented game than Baldur's Gate. The storyline is minimal, and you create all six party members right off the bat. Combat can get quite interesting, though, with more of a focus on hordes of enemies than single powerful foes. Definitely get the Heart of Winter expansion and the freely downloadable Trials of the Luremaster expansion, as they're both excellent.
Icewind Dale 2, like IWD1, is a linear and combat-oriented game where you create all six characters. It uses third edition rules, instead of the second edition rules of the BG series. I personally prefer them: Freedom in multiclassing allows for unique combinations of classes that 2nd edition doesn't offer. For example, my personal favorite character in IWD2 is a Drow rogue1/ranger1/paladin2/mageX. Combat, like in IWD1, often involves massive swarms of enemies rather than individual powerhouses.
Planescape:Torment is on the other end of the spectrum. The game is all about the progression of the story and uncovering various secrets. Combat is based on DnD 2nd edition, but the stakes of the fights are quite low and they aren't particularly challenging. Rather, it plays more like an interactive book than an actual video game, though there are several tactical challenges to be had. The story is uniquely wonderful, and is likely the best-told tale in any video game I've ever played.
Yes its old, a little clunky, and would look awkward on a big screen, but, and its a big "but", its simply a fantastic game.
To be more specific, the story is engaging and well thought out. The combat, whilst initially awkward due to the hex/turn based nature of it, soon becomes tactical and solid, and is balanced a little on the hard side just to keep you on your toes ( though the learning curve dips toward the end, making combat less challenging ). Character interaction is engaging and fun, with some truly great moments ( anyone remember Bob? - "Jealous? His names Herbert. I talk to him when I get lonely. . . Heh heh. Just kiddin' . . . His name's Bob." ), making the NPC's seem that little bit more believeable.
Combine all that with a game world that is well rounded, solid, immersive and, at times, hilarious, and you have the makings of a fantastic game.
Icewind Dale 1 is good, but I really don't like not having npcs to choose from. IWD2 is not very good and feels rushed.
Planescape is good but the combat is horrible. It's more like an interactive novel.
Fallout 1 & 2 are both excellent. You can't control your party, but these two games really are awesome and better than IWD and PST as far as I'm concerned.
Fallout New Vegas is a different genre, but is an excellent rpg as well.
NWN2 is bad, but I hear that Mask of the Betrayer is excellent.
There are many many mods out there. An Icewind Dale mod for example.
4 official expansions, if I'm not mistaken...
And there is a thing I wished was in BG series - more party slots mod.
And you can play the drow race!!! :-)
Good story. Great classes and kits.
It's a good game - something like if you combine Baldur's Gate series with Dragon Age series.
I would say that DA:O would be good choices for the OP as well. But not DA2, which was little more than a platformer/consoler dressed up to look like an RPG.
In short...no I don't like NWN2 AT ALL. It's a black greasy spot of failure at what could've been if they had went through and fixed what sucked in NWN1, brought in all the features that fans had added to NWN1 over the years, took advantage of a new engine to fix a lot of the lazy hack-jobs in NWN1's mechanics (most of which had already been corrected by fan-mods) etc etc...but no...they managed to re-release NWN1 with a slight graphics update, and break everything NWN1 did well, while introducing a crap-load of new problems.
Especially after all the stuff that was promised to have been fixed, they did a 180 before release and brought out a unplayable, buggy PoS. That took almost 3 weeks of patching before people could actually beat the game.
Have a look here: http://www.spidweb.com/ - I'd recomment Avadon and the modern version of Avernum, as the older titles are even less graphically pleasing
It's a shooter-RPG with a good plot, interesting characters, some great voice acting (and some less than great, but that's not the norm), can go from wacky to really twisted on a dime, and has the multiple dialogue branches that Tim Cain does so well so the re-playability is very high. Ocean Side Hotel was the scariest freaking level I had ever played in a video game growing up.
Plus, how can you not love a game where Bender plays a Vampiric Biker-Pirate?!
http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=174&Itemid=122
any from the Final Fantasy series - particularly 12 since that to me is the closest you can get to BG, I think you can play 7 on PC though
both Kingdom Hearts - I hear Chain of Memories is out on the PS2 as well
Rogue Galaxy - action RPG, kind of like Kingdom Hearts, but with a similar ATB style of later FF games
both Valkyrie Profiles - combat system is unique and very fun
Nier - underrated awesomeness, especially the music
Xenosaga - great science fiction JRPG. I'm very sad that they ended the series at 3, it was supposed to go to 7
Lost Odyssey - another great JRPG
and if all else fails, there's always SkiFree
As earlier stated, the Icewind Dale NPC mod makes the game very enjoyable as the NPcs have voices, banters, and moderate stats/ variety (all have 16 con regardless of class and they provide thief, paladin, cleric or Druid, bard, Ranger). They aren't totally optimized like a full custom made party, but I had more fun with their above average but not perfect stats then any party of optimized classes.
Turn-based tactical JRPG but with a much more serious and medieval-like theme, unlike most JRPGs.
It involves politics, religion, demon-worship, false prophets, betrayals etc.
Plus, you can make your own team with NPCs you find or "merceneries" you hire and train, choose their classes and "multiclass" them (basically combining abilities of other classes).
You can have a small army with you, plus spares. Lots of secrets to find like sidequests, secret NPCs to join your party etc and challenging battles.
It roughly combines elements from Final Fantasy and Baldur's Gate and it's one of my favorite games of all time.
First Person Shooters / First Person Roleplayers
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Doom 1&2 (Steam)
Fallout: New Vegas (Steam)
Unreal Tournament (GoG)
Wizardry 7-8 (?)
Might and Magic IV: The Mandate of Heaven (GoG)
The Elder Scrolls 3-5 (Steam)
Borderlands 1-2 +all expansions (Steam)
Real Time Strategies / Turn Based Strategies
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Warcraft III (Blizzard store)
Heroes of Might and Magic 2-4 +all expansions (GoG)
Civilization 3-5 (Steam)
Warlords: Battlecry II (GoG)
Majesty 1 +expansion (Steam)
Starcraft I +expansion (Blizzard Store)
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (Blizzard Store) [expansion will be out soon]
Roleplaying Games
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Diablo 1 (?) [Download 'The Hell' Mod for extra goodness
Diablo 2 +expansion (Blizzard store)
Icewind Dale +all expansions (GoG)
Fallout 1+2 (GoG)
Torchlight 1 (GoG or Steam)
Torchlight 2 (Steam)
Mass Effect Trilogy (?) [I know for sure it's on consoles, possibly PC)
Dragon Age: Origins (PC)
Hope this helps!! xD
For my token other-genre recommendation, I picked up Sins Of A Solar Empire when it was first released and loved the innovative 4X strategy, especially with the ability to go from a macro, empire-level view to a micro-level view all in realtime. I hadn't played it in a few years and recently picked up Rebellion, a stand-alone expansion with all of the previous features and fixes, which I would definitely recommend as the best place to delve into the series if you're looking for a strategy fix.