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GoG D&D Sale - advice please

mjsmjs Member Posts: 742
edited August 2013 in Off-Topic
GOG's weekend sale is on, of the ones on offer, I've already played or own BG1/2, Torment, NWN, IWD 1/2, so that leaves NWN2, FR: Demon Stone, D&D: Dragon Shard and The Temple of Elemental Evil to potentially choose from

What would you recommend? NWN 2 is the most recognisable to me having played NWN, but i didn't ever get that much into NWN, because i found the plot a bit boring.

Post edited by Jalily on

Comments

  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    NWN 2 is one of the best games I've ever played. Comes higly recommended if your like BG 1 and 2!
  • mjsmjs Member Posts: 742
    Astafas said:

    NWN 2 is one of the best games I've ever played. Comes higly recommended if your like BG 1 and 2!

    did you play NWN too? which do you think is better?
  • ReadingRamboReadingRambo Member Posts: 598
    edited August 2013
    I really enjoy ToEE, but it requires the Circle of Eight mod to become more stable and complete, and has some good added content as well.

    Edit: NWN 2 plot is much more in depth than the original, but some people get put off by its interface. I personally enjoy it, and its two expansions are interesting, while being quite different from one another. In addition, it has two fan made modules that replicate BG 1 and IWD, as well as many other excellent fan creations. Quite a bang for the buck IMO
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  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    edited August 2013
    NWN2's main campaign story is decent. It gets better once you get to Neverwinter. I would recommend the game though as @ReadingRambo pointed out its interface can be somewhat annoying at times. Mask of the Betrayer is a great expansion though I wasn't a fan of Storm of Zehir. SoZ had lots of potential but it didn't deliver.
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    Hmmm... I've been tempted by this sale too. But it's quite a dilemma... I already got BG 1 and BG 2 of course, and u only get 75% off if u buy everything.

    Of the rest, I've only heard of IWD, Planescape and NWN. As far as I'm aware, the others were not so highly rated. Also I'm kinda put-off by the graphics for Planescape (which has an ugly interface) and NWN (WoW-like and cartoony... also camera angles makes me dizzy). So on first impression, IWD is the only one that really appeals to me, cos it looks like BG 2! lol
  • moody_magemoody_mage Member Posts: 2,054
    You don't by them for their graphics. You buy them for the story. Icewind Dale has the least engaging story out of the main one sin the bundle.
  • rdarkenrdarken Member Posts: 660
    Some people dislike the main campaign for NWN2, but I really enjoyed it, especially near the end. Some great characters, great drama in there.
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    decado said:

    You don't by them for their graphics. You buy them for the story. Icewind Dale has the least engaging story out of the main one sin the bundle.

    Of course I understand that. But I think you misunderstand what I mean. I'm not put off because the graphics are basic, but rather because I don't like the style of them. For example I played and loved the Avernum series, where the graphics are even more basic, but it wasn't 'ugly'.

    Of course this is a totally subjective thing. WoW is extremely popular and successful, and some people might like the Planescape UI. I'm just debating whether it'd be worth it for me to buy these games and give them a chance for me to get over the initial dislike of graphics/style.

  • BanexBanex Member Posts: 127
    I bought IWD last weekend.Not as engaging as any of the BG games storywise but very playable.It's more of a change of pace basically,a hack and slash,you reload a lot with your very early levels.It's a nice change though from BG and quite enjoyable.Great soundtrack and though the graphics are simple,they are very well done.One thing i did miss though was the choice of kits.I suppose i've been spoilt with BGEE and BG2
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    It really depends on what you want out of the game.

    If you want an indepth single player game with an engaging story line, the closest you are going to come in the games you haven't played is NWN2. I personally found the original campaign to be interesting and enjoyable, but still no where near on the order of BG or PS:T. However, Mask of the Betrayer took it up a notch absolutely. And there are dozens (or more) of custom content adventures that other players have created and posted, some of which are very engaging. You do get the party atmosphere that was missing in NWN and the graphics are slightly better (assuming that has any bearing on your choice).

    And there is Multi-player. If you are into Multi-player at all, or persistent worlds, NWN2 still has a vibrant (ish) communty of persistent worlds to play on. There is a lot of role playing to be had. there is even a relatively good MMO style world based on the Baldur's Gate series.

    I personally also enjoyed ToEE very much. I found it to be the most true implementation of the turn based combat that we have seen in a PC game. keep in mind that it is simply a dungeon romp on the order of Icewind Dale series and doesn't have a lot of real role play depth in comparison to a game like PS:T. But if you want turn based combat, level advancement, a party that you can fully customize and a fun adventure, Temple of Elemental Evil is a very enjoyable game.

    Admittedly the game as is was not complete and has a bunch of game breaking bugs. But if you are interested in the game, simply download and apply the Co8 community made patch (as has been mentioned above).
  • O_BruceO_Bruce Member Posts: 2,790
    If you are native english speaker, then you can buy them, because it will be probably worth it. I believe that GoG.com never gave a damn about if certain game was ever released in multiple language versions. Hence, I won't buy anyhing DnD related from them.

    Then again, the timing is very curious. Just as Overhaul dealt with recent problems...
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,317
    I just noticed that Gog.com now has Mac games (and some games have been made to work on macs). Excellent :D

    But yea Icewind Dale 1/2 are solid choices. NWN and NWN2 are alright. Planescape is great. I've never played Temple of Elemental Evil (I heard most of its bugs have been solved with fan patches but I didn't have much interest in trying it).
  • AstafasAstafas Member Posts: 448
    mjs said:

    Astafas said:

    NWN 2 is one of the best games I've ever played. Comes higly recommended if your like BG 1 and 2!

    did you play NWN too? which do you think is better?
    NWN is playable whilst NWN 2 is very good. A huge difference. I especially like the NPC:s of the sequel, they are far more interesting than in the first game. But storywise as well, I'd say NWN 2 is closer to the BG series. Also, as many have already pointed out, the expansions are great!
  • kabkab Member Posts: 75
    NWN had a great engine for modding and DMs, the main campaign was awful and boring.

    NWN2 was more of a Baldur's Gate style story with party. The story is OK, it's not great and it's not bad, it does have banter, romance, etc. but it's not the quality of BG2 in my opinion.

    As with others, MotB is awesome, SoZ not so much.
  • FredSRichardsonFredSRichardson Member Posts: 465
    edited August 2013
    Another plug for ToEE: it's basically IWD with NPC's that join your party. Unlike IWD, there are actually decisions that effect the outcome, but this RP aspect is pretty thin compared to other games. ToEE has by far the best combat system I've ever seen in a turn-based D&D crpg. OTOH, the path finding is among the worst (watch your party blithely walk into an unexplored areas...). You have to micro manage your party's movements a bit more.

    But as others have said, it's unplayable without the co8 patch (and the co8 additional content is very good).

    I liked the NWN games and played alot online. Single player only the NWN2 game is really worthwhile. The biggest problem I have with these games is the generic feeling of the environment. I feel like there is a loss of artistic detail going form BG/IWD to NWN. I thought this was due to going from 2D isometric to 3D, but then Morrowind which is 3D and about the same vintage doesn't have the same problem for me (it does have other problems...).

    I bought Dragon Shard and it was really buggy (constant crashes). It might have gotten better. I also don't really like the concept. With D&D I'd like to emerse myself in creating one or more characters. Dragon Shard is more of a legion building RTS with some D&D style leveling.
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    Personally, I find NWN2 hideous. The interface is fugly and not at all ergonomic, the new Aurora engine is faulty as hell, not to mention that even BG1 is much more aesthetically appealing than those crudely-rendered characters and areas of NWN2. And the story... well, I'm tired of the 'simple villager becomes a hero, awesome and all!' thing that I witnessed in too many scenarios already. There might be some twists and twits but that's not enough to make it entertaining, at least for me. Besides, just looking at the game makes me think of a forgottenrealm-y Mass Effect or something. Ugh.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    God said:

    And the story... well, I'm tired of the 'simple villager becomes a hero, awesome and all!' thing that I witnessed in too many scenarios already.

    Me too. I'd much rather play BG, where I play as a simple ward to an academic who becomes awesome and all. Much more fun that way.

    (joke. no offense intended. It was just too good to pass up on).
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    edited August 2013
    the_spyder said:

    God said:

    And the story... well, I'm tired of the 'simple villager becomes a hero, awesome and all!' thing that I witnessed in too many scenarios already.

    Me too. I'd much rather play BG, where I play as a simple ward to an academic who becomes awesome and all. Much more fun that way.

    (joke. no offense intended. It was just too good to pass up on).
    None taken. As you noticed, BG is yet another example of the genre I mentioned, though I probably should have expressed myself more precisely. I generally find the "rags to riches, gods to bitches" ascending type of gameplay excessively overused, and therefore boring. BG is no exception and I enjoy it solely for sentimental reasons (that, and my game is vastly modded, offering many more storyline options than vanilla).
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    I wish I could find the graph that someone published about all of the 'Black Isle' (and off-shoots) story lines and how they follow the same basic premise. I wish I could because everything from BG through KoTor (the game not the mmo) to Mass Effect to Neverwinter and quite a lot in between have (according to this graph) the same plot. The problem isn't RPGs it is the Developer (purportedly). It's just that "Most good RPGs" come out of that house these days.

    (Joke)
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