combat is terribly illogical and boring, it's a pretty bad game
Well, Planescape Torment had a very bad combat system (that I liked anyway, mostly because it was faster than BG's and you had like 400 HP and you hit on enemies despite of being a Mage), but it is one of the best games ever made, if not the best one (I think PS:T ties BG2:SoA, I have to play IWD yet so I can;t say about IWD).
combat is perfectly logical in ps:t, just not challenging and in-depth enough
however in the banner saga we have several amazing strategies not found elsewhere: - intentionally don't kill enemy units, but leave them on low hp in order to deprive the enemy of an initiative boost - intentionally *do* kill *your own* weaker or weakened units to give yourself an iniative boost - have your units with the *lowest hp* tank and receive early damage (and dish some static-amount armor damage before conveniently dying) in order to save your high hp units for midgame damage dealing (hp and damage in this game belong to the same score, which while interesting creates several ugly paradoxes) - when you do kill enemies, be mindful to deal the killing blow with your weakest character so they could level (feels more like tamagotchi train-your-pet than a viking apocalypse)
Sorry about the zombie thread but I just found this on steam and got it almost immediately. The art and Norse setting caught my eye and it was on sale for 5 bucks. I just got to play it today and I am LOVING it. The atmosphere is a really amazing IWD-type feel, with awesome art and great music. The setting is very interesting and the worlds feels large and complete, like reading a LotR book(though less so). I particularly like the art. I don't really like 3D animated games, and the simple style looks a lot like the fantasy character doodle I draw in my school notebooks. I can understand why the powergamers don't like it. For me it's not about the combat. It really is a lot like PS:T. I'm not reloading and I'm role playing, so the combated is less of the game to me. The combat system isn't great, and it's pretty simple(turn-based ) though I'm still losing about half of my battles, because I'm terrible at tactical combat. You should see me play chess.
@meagloth I was actually about to necro this thread but you beat me to it by a week! I got the game on iPhone a while back but just started playing recently for something to do on my train ride to/from work. I'm enjoying the story quite a bit, and the artwork is very pretty (I particularly like watching the marches across the frozen landscapes. It oddly reminds me of the PSP game Patapon, if anyone's played that). I'd say the combat is my least favorite part of the game, but it's not bad. I'm also not very good at the tactical combat (some of the fights in Divinity: Original Sin are killing me!) but I'm managing to get through with very few party wipes. One thing I like is that you play as different characters throughout the game. Rook is probably my favorite. I identify with him being a dad, and maybe a bit in over his head. One thing I don't like is the complete lack of humor in the game. Sure, it's set in a bleak world, and the characters are in a desperate march for survival, but a little bit of humor here and there would make the story not feel quite as heavy.
Comments
however in the banner saga we have several amazing strategies not found elsewhere:
- intentionally don't kill enemy units, but leave them on low hp in order to deprive the enemy of an initiative boost
- intentionally *do* kill *your own* weaker or weakened units to give yourself an iniative boost
- have your units with the *lowest hp* tank and receive early damage (and dish some static-amount armor damage before conveniently dying) in order to save your high hp units for midgame damage dealing (hp and damage in this game belong to the same score, which while interesting creates several ugly paradoxes)
- when you do kill enemies, be mindful to deal the killing blow with your weakest character so they could level (feels more like tamagotchi train-your-pet than a viking apocalypse)
the worst strategy game i've ever played, frankly
I can understand why the powergamers don't like it. For me it's not about the combat. It really is a lot like PS:T. I'm not reloading and I'm role playing, so the combated is less of the game to me. The combat system isn't great, and it's pretty simple(turn-based ) though I'm still losing about half of my battles, because I'm terrible at tactical combat. You should see me play chess.
I got the game on iPhone a while back but just started playing recently for something to do on my train ride to/from work. I'm enjoying the story quite a bit, and the artwork is very pretty (I particularly like watching the marches across the frozen landscapes. It oddly reminds me of the PSP game Patapon, if anyone's played that). I'd say the combat is my least favorite part of the game, but it's not bad. I'm also not very good at the tactical combat (some of the fights in Divinity: Original Sin are killing me!) but I'm managing to get through with very few party wipes.
One thing I like is that you play as different characters throughout the game. Rook is probably my favorite. I identify with him being a dad, and maybe a bit in over his head.
One thing I don't like is the complete lack of humor in the game. Sure, it's set in a bleak world, and the characters are in a desperate march for survival, but a little bit of humor here and there would make the story not feel quite as heavy.