IGN "Top 11 D&D Games of All-Time"
Quartz
Member Posts: 3,853
Pretty good article figured you guys might like.
Linky:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/the-top-11-dungeons-dragons-games-of-all-time
(I so called #1 and #2 before even reading it LOL)
I haven't even played Planescape. I have a feeling that when I finally do I'm gonna have a nerdgasm.
Linky:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/05/the-top-11-dungeons-dragons-games-of-all-time
(I so called #1 and #2 before even reading it LOL)
I haven't even played Planescape. I have a feeling that when I finally do I'm gonna have a nerdgasm.
10
Comments
PS:T is stronger on the characterisation and story, but the combat parts of it are a lot weaker.
1) Unless was this fixed in a massive overhaul of a patch, NWN2 remains somewhat demanding even on modern systems as it was never designed for multithreading/multiple processors, which as we know, is the direction computers took shortly after its release.
2) NWN2s toolset was never as widely usable by the average module creator, due in part, I believe, to the superior graphics. I still find the original toolset much easier to work with.
To me, the improvements just aren't worth the trade off of #2 - custom modules are the heart of that series.
I do remember a Dark Sun game that was pretty good, that didn't make the list.
I got to #4, and the author had the audacity to say, "No, not that one" in reference to the old MMORPG on AOL.
RAGE!!!!
How dare you slight one of the greatest and most important games of all time!
RAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sigh... It's okay. It's been 17 years since the greedy bastards at AOL shut it down because it was keeping people from playing their "premium games" (read: AOL's attempt to get people to pay by the hour again after AOL went "unlimited"). I'm not still bitter about it or anything.
But I think it was only mediocre on story, and I never liked the setting. I think great things could have been done with it, but it never quite became great.
It's interesting to me how the list celebrates innovation over polish. So Pool of Radiance makes the list, while Treasures of the Savage Frontier (easily the best Gold Box game, but also the last) does not. Eye of the Beholder makes the list, while Mensoberranzon does not.
I'm not complaining mind you, I actually agree. But its interesting what a rare thing BG2 is, for developing and refining a model so successfully its even more respected than the initial incarnation of the game engine.
Also, no ToEE? Sure it was way buggy, but come on. it was still awesome, particularly with the Co8 patch.
Thirdly, Eye of the beholder came in 8th and UNDER Dark Alliance? Um.....
Still, Points for Pool of radiance (and for NOT including Ruins of Myth Dranor) and champions of Kyrnn. both excellent games and definitely worth the inclusion.
My guess? These two games are a bit more obscure then those on this list. ToEE had terrible bug problems but the fact people who enjoyed the game went as far as the fix the whole thing up should say plenty. IWD2 would have been amazing...if released years before.
Still, not a bad list. I'm a bit miffed Dark Alliance is on there but to be fair thats because when I first found it I was incredibly disappointed it had so little to do with the main series of games, and not because it was in any way a bad game.
I liked IWD2 and played it. For me, it not only suffered from dated graphics (which is only a very minor offense in my book) but also in that it tried to do 3.0 rules, sort of. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed NWN (1 and 2) and played 3.X rules in those games and enjoyed them. It just felt like IWD didn't do a full implementation (limited class choices and very few (if any??) prestige classes). I'd still rate it above Dark alliance.
I'd also rate all of the gold box games higher. I remember with great fondness, taking a party from Phlan all the way through the Pools of Darkness. My personal favorite was 'Secret of the Silver Blades', but I thought they all had merit. Shame about the Hillsfar game being such a dud.
I also really enjoyed the gold box Krynn games and played all three games and really had a great time. I'd think they should also be on the list.
Everyone was pushing 3D even though the 2D games genuinely looked better. A dark time, to be sure. Neverwinter Nights is one of the most hideous games I have ever laid my eyes on. Oh, and pretty much every N64, Saturn, and PS1 game was atrocious as well. Crash Bandicoot looked decent somehow. Legend of Dragoon looked amazing because ... OOPS guess what, pre-rendered superior yet again!
I could rant about that 3D transition in the gaming industry for ages to be honest I should probably just shut up xD Let's just say I think it produced a lot of mediocre games, and I mean a lot, because everyone felt like they *needed* to make their games 3D.
I'm sure no one's surprised to hear a 3D transition rant from a known Sonic fan, however. Heh
However, seems to me that the original Unreal looked pretty amazing at the time, and really did blow away the 2D isometric perspective (for graphics alone). I'm not making any comment on the Quality of the game or game play, merely that the graphics were pretty stunning for the time.
And I'm not one to say that, so long as it doesn't impact game play, that there really is no excuse for NOT having a pretty game considering the technology.
As a side note, anyone else here see the Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon found an emulator that ran Zork?
However, the one thing that makes this list awful? Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance????????????? Whaaaa?
That's almost as bad as putting the Baldur's Gate "novels" on a list of Top One Million D&D Books
As for NWN2, I think NWN2 has some definite improvements over NWN in several areas. The expanded race selections was certainly welcome, as were the deity selections and new classes. Want to be a Tiefling? Sun Elf? deep Gnome? Go ahead. It was quite liberating IMO to get the chance to customize your character that much more. Now granted, it was rather alarming how infrequently npcs seemed to notice when you were playing something like a *Drow favored soul of Lloth* but it was still a welcome addition in terms of customization after so many D&D games that didn't let you choose subraces or let you choose from a small set of deities (and usually only for clerics).
The camera was irredeemably horrible though in NWN2, that much is certain.
Personally I want an Infinity engine game with the depth of customization in race/class/deity that NWN2 gave. IWD2 came closest I think.
It's all a point of view in any case and therefore highly subjective. No harm done.
Seriously though, I could not figure out where to go to save my life. I searched for buttons to press, secret doors, monsters to kill, wandered around in circles for hours, and...nothing. Finally decided it was a stupid game and tucked it in the corners of my library for all eternity.
Typical middle-school-aged mentality. "This game's too hard! It's stupid!" XD