Skip to content

IGN "Top 11 D&D Games of All-Time"

2

Comments

  • golingarfgolingarf Member Posts: 157
    If only there were a game with the story depth and non-combat focus of P:T but a less off-the-wall setting. I think the latter was probably responsible for its poor sales. Personally I just couldn't get into a game about a zombie-guy who wants to know why he is one and a talking skull named Morte.
    atcDavebooinyoureyesQuartzCrucades
  • NecomancerNecomancer Member Posts: 622
    golingarf said:

    If only there were a game with the story depth and non-combat focus of P:T but a less off-the-wall setting. I think the latter was probably responsible for its poor sales. Personally I just couldn't get into a game about a zombie-guy who wants to know why he is one and a talking skull named Morte.

    Can't say I agree with that. Half the fun is the off the way setting of the game. I think the poor sales was mostly due to the hefty amount of reading you had to do, that and possibly poor advertising. The sales of this game honestly confuse me, I have met very few people who played it and did not enjoy it. Those few who have...Well, truth be told they simply said they couldn't get into it. So possibly its the setting or the sheer amount of text. Either or.

    Personally, I liked being a zombie man with fluttering memories of his past and a wise cracking floating skull for a companion.

    KamigoroshijackjackFardragonQuartz
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    edited February 2014

    Quartz said:

    Is that Eye of the Beholder for the GBA...? I always got stuck on the second floor of that game and never gotten past it.

    @Nonnahswriter That's ... Pretty hilarious that we both had the GBA version and got stuck in the same spot.
    Oh the Fates! They toy with us!

    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
    Lol, I was the same way with difficult GBA games, ( I never had one but my cousin did, and I used it a lot when she stopped using it. She also introduced me to Diablo II, that was what took me to the BG series, so it's all her fault :P) I remember being stuck at a Pokemon battle in one of the games, then I played it again when I really knew english and I got over the entire game in ~4 days. Strangely I never thought this with BG despite of thinking that it was TOO hard (I was 7 years old and wanted a hack and slash like Diablo II, BG looked like Diablo II in a graphical way and it was about swordcery too, I know Diablo II isn't for a 7 YO kid, well, nowadays my dad still refuses to let me play Diablo II... I mean, 8 years passed!!!), I always felt that I needed to know english to play it, and to read everything in the game, I remember that my favorite part in the PC creation was picking the colors XD :P I think I don't even re-rolled and picked the class that sounded better, so I was like 40% Druid, 40% of the time Mage and 20% of the time a Bard, only one PC survived Shank and Carbos (I thought that you had to kill all the enemies in the area like in Diablo II, just to pass the mission, but I was shocked that I could kill two dudes (Carbos and Shank) in a pacific area (Diablo II way of thinking), anyway I died because of a wolf and thought Shiellagh was the best spell ever because I thought that it insta killed. I had learned to Rest so I always got my Shiellagh for my Druid after resting, thinking that you had to sleep to recover Mana to cast the spell again... Then I attacked the Gatewarden in the Candlekeep doors thinking that he was evil and that I had to get into that Castle that was that so-talked-about FAI. But I was wrong, but I also couldn't exit the area because the weird game asked me to change the CD, but, WTF, changing a CD while the game is running! I never reached the FAI until the EE...

    Edit: I know I sometimes ramble a little much...
    NonnahswriterjackjackAristilliusJuliusBorisov
  • golingarfgolingarf Member Posts: 157
    I should probably give it a second chance. When I got it as a kid, I was not too enthusiastic about the main character and definitely not too enthusiastic about the Mortuary, and my CD was defective, preventing me from leaving the mortuary, so that's as much of the game as I saw. I didn't bother looking for another copy.

    I will tell you one thing, though: if I do ever play it again, Morte will be killed on sight. No matter how many times I have to see him.
    JuliusBorisov
  • NecomancerNecomancer Member Posts: 622
    golingarf said:

    I should probably give it a second chance. When I got it as a kid, I was not too enthusiastic about the main character and definitely not too enthusiastic about the Mortuary, and my CD was defective, preventing me from leaving the mortuary, so that's as much of the game as I saw. I didn't bother looking for another copy.

    I will tell you one thing, though: if I do ever play it again, Morte will be killed on sight. No matter how many times I have to see him.

    Dude. If you're going to do that at least hire him a prostitute first as way of making his last moments on earth bearable.
    CrevsDaakjackjackAristillius
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,146
    golingarf said:

    If only there were a game with the story depth and non-combat focus of P:T but a less off-the-wall setting. I think the latter was probably responsible for its poor sales. Personally I just couldn't get into a game about a zombie-guy who wants to know why he is one and a talking skull named Morte.

    I think this is exactly right. PS:T didn't excite me for exactly the reason I never bought into Plane Scape as a PNP setting either, its just too strange, too outre for me. I like lower fantasy, especially more historically themed stuff. And I want to be a hero I can relate to. Too odd, and too much naval gazing puts me off.
    HeindrichbooinyoureyesBelgarathMTHAristillius
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870

    Can't say I agree with that. Half the fun is the off the way setting of the game. I think the poor sales was mostly due to the hefty amount of reading you had to do, that and possibly poor advertising. The sales of this game honestly confuse me, I have met very few people who played it and did not enjoy it. Those few who have...Well, truth be told they simply said they couldn't get into it. So possibly its the setting or the sheer amount of text. Either or.

    Personally, I liked being a zombie man with fluttering memories of his past and a wise cracking floating skull for a companion.

    I wholeheartly agree with you. The advertising for Planescape: Torment could have been handled much more effective at that time. In fact, the only advertisement I saw in Germany about Planescape: Torment was a short trailer packed on one of the Icewind Dale CD's. Nothing else. It's also a shame so many youths back then hadn't the patience to read the story of this masterpiece either, which no doubtly also reflects on its poor sale.

    Personally, I enjoyed the Planescape campaign setting far more than any other AD&D campaign settings (Darksun being the exception). I simply fell in love with its anthropo-philosophical questions, the numberless facetes of its multiverse and the daily life of its alien-looking denizens, as well as its darker gaming world ambiente. My fondest memory was when I played that cRPG for the first time: everything about Planescape: Torment story was so compelling that I couldn't stop reading this visual novel at all. I would read it over and over again and never tire of it, especially when listening to its outstanding music tracks.

    Indeed, it was such a radical dfference of the usual hero-in-shiny-armor kind of RPG (which I never was much of a fan of, mind you) that I'm still after all these years enthralled with P:T. Hopefully the upcoming Torment: Tides of Numenera will spellbind me once again, just like it's spiritual predecessor did.
    jackjackMoradinCrevsDaakQuartz
  • TwaniTwani Member Posts: 640
    Another problem with PS:T- and this might seem unnoticable to most of you guys, but I know it turned quite a few woman off- was that you were stuck playing a guy. Not even an attractive guy, either, but an ugly, gross, scarred zombie guy. Considering BG and IWD allowed you to play a female character, PS:T was a major letdown in that area.

    There are tons of games out there which force you to play males, but Black Isle and then Bioware has always had a pretty sizable female fanbase. I've talked to many of my female friends, who said they just couldn't get in to playing a male character with the maleness of the character being a definite point rather then say, Mario, where it could be anyone jumping around on mushrooms heads.

    For me, personally, I love the Planescape DND setting, so Planescape: Torment is probably my favorite game of all time. But I too probably would have liked it better if I played a badass manipulative Deionarra who lead a broken hearted Nameless One to his death.
    CrevsDaakgolingarfDelvarianAristillius
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    Twani said:

    Another problem with PS:T- and this might seem unnoticable to most of you guys, but I know it turned quite a few woman off- was that you were stuck playing a guy. Not even an attractive guy, either, but an ugly, gross, scarred zombie guy. Considering BG and IWD allowed you to play a female character, PS:T was a major letdown in that area.

    I'm male AND feminist, so I understand what you feel.

    And yeah, it bothered me that you could only play a male character, I even think that the story could have been more interesting if The Nameless One was female (I'm not saying this just because she'll be running around topless with undead boobs...), maybe many people might think I'm wrong and disagree with me, but this is what I think. But letting you play female would need a 90% of the game remade/updated 90% of the game. I think that you'll be giving the game more re-playing possibilities, imagine all the different new banters... Back into the topic: The Nameless One as a woman might be much more interesting because of her actions, men and women think and act in different ways, and TNO's way of acting is clearly that of a man (I'm not saying that a woman wouldn't act that way, just that they tend to act different), thinking that by making himself immortal he can fix all of his mistakes, instead of admitting his mistakes, he tried to fix them, I know that being female or male don't changes your personalty completely, but if TNO were female, she'll surely won't be good at my point of view (from my point of view TNO is evil all the time, his intentions might be good but making oneself immortal ins't a joke, he caused more trouble that what he could fix form his past actions, I mean, he couldn't even regret making those mistakes/crimes, he just went to find a way to fix them! Isn't that *evil*? And regretting them was a way to fix them!) since TNO wasn't good most of the time, but as a women he could have done things (...that you people don't even imagine, C-beams glittering near Baldur's Gate, attack ships burning over Gorion's shoulder...) that he wouldn't do as a male. I'm sure that she won't have a reason to take Annah for the entire game, Fall-from-Grace knows a lot, so she might be helpful, but Annah-of-the-Shadows? TNO takes her with him because she's a hot tiefling that looks like to wish him the for the entire game, I don't see any reasons why a female TNO could go with her, unless she wants to use Annah as a "tool". Morte might seem annoying for her at the first glance, a talking skull that his a total pervert and turned as a monk for a women and then turned back... Why would she like him? I'm sure Morte would try to seduce her more than one time, and I don't think she'll like a talking skull that is unknown to her to try to seduce her. And then we have Dak'kon, I don't imagine a female TNO enslaving him for all the eternity, but, well, knowing the softness of human nature and the temptation of power this isn't easy to refuse, having a Githzerai fighter/mage under your command is like a big +4 for your power counter, I don't think she'll tell him to go away if he made such promises, I think that she'll go with Dak'kon on her journeys for sure. Nordom, this walking cube is cute, obeys you and it's useful and powerful, why not to take him? Ignus seems like the NPC that a female TNO won't even think of traveling with, there are women that teach in a very evil way (see my profile picture, Darth Zannah, she killed Darth Bane and took his apprentice as her own, and I don't think that Sith would forgot telling that "pain is normal, learn to suffer it. Pain is for the weak, learn to resist it. Pain is what you give when you don't have hate", so...) in fantasy/scifi books/comics/games, but this ins't something common either, and Ignus was a kid when TNO taught him magic, so I don't know what to say here. Vhailor; an undying spirit that searches for you since hundreds of years ago, you made him and become and undying spirit of Justice, I think that a female TNO would convince him that she already payed for her crimes (lie) and that he can find peace at least, a good ending for Vhailor's fate.
    Then, when it comes to forgive Trias, why would she forgive him? All the things Trias did were intentional, so... WHY? As a men you don't regret what you did nor think much of that, but as a women you won't like another foolish men with so much power alive, dangerous and he didn't respect the first promise, so, why would him follow the second one? Just kill him and you'll have much less trouble and he won't make cities shift towards other planes full of demons (devils too IIRC) anymore. And Ravel... this is why it might be completely impossible to adapt it to a female TNO; Ravel loved TNO and that's why she agreed to turn him immortal, but, maybe our female TNO was a friend of Ravel and they've made and agreement to turn her immortal, but, why would she try to kill Ravel? I don't think Ravel would want her near so she'll send her directly to the Outlands of Curst to search for the Fallen Deva, or to search for the Baatezu Fhjull Forked-Tounge, there isn't a reason to make her stop from leaving if TNO is female. And then about Pharod, I don't think this could have changed much, maybe she told the truth to him the first time and told him that the Bronze Sphere will make her help him in the future, another twist only possible because of different genders. We also have to remember Lothat, the Master of Bones that traps Morte, let's say that she had him around until that moment, but she did not like Morte much because of the things that I've mentioned before, would she rescue Morte? Would she even care about a floating skull that smells of Baator? It's probable that she was in her Tomb, so she've read the "don't trust the skull", so, why to carry him anymore? PS:T could have been better if it were made with a female TNO, but as it haven't been made with a female TNO we'll have to change a big part of the story and banters.
    JuliusBorisov
  • golingarfgolingarf Member Posts: 157
    Actually that's definitely part of what turned me off to it. I rarely make male characters, and I didn't like having my character picked for me at all.
    atcDaveBelgarathMTH
  • ArchaosArchaos Member Posts: 1,421
    edited February 2014
    As I commented on the IGN comment section, Temple of Elemental Evil and NwN2 deserve a spot absolutely.
    I would remove Shadows over Mystara and Dark Alliance, also.

    SoM is a japanese arcade beat 'em up. You could call it Warriors and Wizards: Shadows over What's-her-face and it would still work awesome as a game.

    Dark Alliance is a console hack-and-slash Diablo clone. It's barely a DnD game, except the setting, Drizzt and the name of some spells.

    Not saying these are not good games, because they are. But seriously, they're barely DnD games. That's the problem.

    I would put ToEE and NwN2 on top five along with PsT, BGII and either BGI or Icewind Dale II. Probably IwDII.

    DDO is actually quite good for a DnD MMO and I enjoyed it for a year. First DnD video game set in Eberron?
    That takes balls for lack of a better word and it's quite good. Better than the Neverwinter MMO, for me.
    booinyoureyes
  • LoubLoub Member Posts: 471
    edited February 2014
    NWN2 main game is pure ordure, MotB, however, is certainly of the best DnD games in existence, rivaling Torment in its deconstructive presentation, fresh setting and psychological themes - I truly cannot believe the team that made the OC is the same behind MotB.
    jackjackKamigoroshibooinyoureyes
  • MitchforkMitchfork Member Posts: 390
    Quartz said:

    IWD2 dated graphics ... lol. Dated engine, maybe. Like OK I understand that the whole industry was busy doing that whole 2D to 3D transition and everyone who wasn't going 3D was ridiculed, but still, the pre-rendered isometric 2D looked waaaaaay better than all of the 3D games for like a decade before 3D finally started to look half-way decent. Notice how Myst only started looking dated fairly recently? Pretty crazy stuff.

    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.

    Well, keep in mind- new technology has to go through growing pains. Raycasting 3D looked pretty awful when it was first used on Atari racing games in the 70's and 80's, but the concept evolved enough to birth really important games like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Marathon, etc. later on in the 90's. True 3D graphics were exceedingly horrible in games like 1992's Alone in the Dark (and the gameplay wasn't top-notch either) but you have to have games like that to pave the way for 3D gaming as a market that publishers will fund for. No doubt that there were some extraordinarily mediocre games that resulted from the tech transition, but N64/PS1 had some really fun and fully-3D games that still hold up. Star Fox 64, the N64 Zelda games (Marjora's Mask honestly has a really great visual style with a lot of its environments), Super Mario 64, Metal Gear Solid, etc. (I almost included Paper Mario but that's not really 3D in the same way these are). These are also games that all used 3D graphics to add new/interesting gameplay mechanics that just weren't possible in a 2D game- stuff that may not apply directly to most RPG's, but stuff that was nevertheless really important.

    But yeah, NWN was an ugly game with a boring visual style. Even earlier games like Unreal at least had really creative and memorable settings.
    Quartz said:

    I'm sure no one's surprised to hear a 3D transition rant from a known Sonic fan, however. Heh

    I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so sorry.
    Quartz
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    Fardragon said:

    CrevsDaak said:

    Twani said:

    Another problem with PS:T- and this might seem unnoticable to most of you guys, but I know it turned quite a few woman off- was that you were stuck playing a guy. Not even an attractive guy, either, but an ugly, gross, scarred zombie guy. Considering BG and IWD allowed you to play a female character, PS:T was a major letdown in that area.

    I'm male AND feminist, so I understand what you feel.

    And yeah, it bothered me that you could only play a male character, I even think that the story could have been more interesting if The Nameless One was female (I'm not saying this just because she'll be running around topless with undead boobs...), maybe many people might think I'm wrong and disagree with me, but this is what I think. But letting you play female would need a 90% of the game remade/updated 90% of the game. I think that you'll be giving the game more re-playing possibilities, imagine all the different new banters... Back into the topic: The Nameless One as a woman might be much more interesting because of her actions, men and women think and act in different ways, and TNO's way of acting is clearly that of a man (I'm not saying that a woman wouldn't act that way, just that they tend to act different), thinking that by making himself immortal he can fix all of his mistakes, instead of admitting his mistakes, he tried to fix them, I know that being female or male don't changes your personalty completely, but if TNO were female, she'll surely won't be good at my point of view (from my point of view TNO is evil all the time, his intentions might be good but making oneself immortal ins't a joke, he caused more trouble that what he could fix form his past actions, I mean, he couldn't even regret making those mistakes/crimes, he just went to find a way to fix them! Isn't that *evil*? And regretting them was a way to fix them!) since TNO wasn't good most of the time, but as a women he could have done things (...that you people don't even imagine, C-beams glittering near Baldur's Gate, attack ships burning over Gorion's shoulder...) that he wouldn't do as a male. I'm sure that she won't have a reason to take Annah for the entire game, Fall-from-Grace knows a lot, so she might be helpful, but Annah-of-the-Shadows? TNO takes her with him because she's a hot tiefling that looks like to wish him the for the entire game, I don't see any reasons why a female TNO could go with her, unless she wants to use Annah as a "tool". Morte might seem annoying for her at the first glance, a talking skull that his a total pervert and turned as a monk for a women and then turned back... Why would she like him? I'm sure Morte would try to seduce her more than one time, and I don't think she'll like a talking skull that is unknown to her to try to seduce her. And then we have Dak'kon, I don't imagine a female TNO enslaving him for all the eternity, but, well, knowing the softness of human nature and the temptation of power this isn't easy to refuse, having a Githzerai fighter/mage under your command is like a big +4 for your power counter, I don't think she'll tell him to go away if he made such promises, I think that she'll go with Dak'kon on her journeys for sure. Nordom, this walking cube is cute, obeys you and it's useful and powerful, why not to take him? Ignus seems like the NPC that a female TNO won't even think of traveling with, there are women that teach in a very evil way (see my profile picture, Darth Zannah, she killed Darth Bane and took his apprentice as her own, and I don't think that Sith would forgot telling that "pain is normal, learn to suffer it. Pain is for the weak, learn to resist it. Pain is what you give when you don't have hate", so...) in fantasy/scifi books/comics/games, but this ins't something common either, and Ignus was a kid when TNO taught him magic, so I don't know what to say here. Vhailor; an undying spirit that searches for you since hundreds of years ago, you made him and become and undying spirit of Justice, I think that a female TNO would convince him that she already payed for her crimes (lie) and that he can find peace at least, a good ending for Vhailor's fate.
    Then, when it comes to forgive Trias, why would she forgive him? All the things Trias did were intentional, so... WHY? As a men you don't regret what you did nor think much of that, but as a women you won't like another foolish men with so much power alive, dangerous and he didn't respect the first promise, so, why would him follow the second one? Just kill him and you'll have much less trouble and he won't make cities shift towards other planes full of demons (devils too IIRC) anymore. And Ravel... this is why it might be completely impossible to adapt it to a female TNO; Ravel loved TNO and that's why she agreed to turn him immortal, but, maybe our female TNO was a friend of Ravel and they've made and agreement to turn her immortal, but, why would she try to kill Ravel? I don't think Ravel would want her near so she'll send her directly to the Outlands of Curst to search for the Fallen Deva, or to search for the Baatezu Fhjull Forked-Tounge, there isn't a reason to make her stop from leaving if TNO is female. And then about Pharod, I don't think this could have changed much, maybe she told the truth to him the first time and told him that the Bronze Sphere will make her help him in the future, another twist only possible because of different genders. We also have to remember Lothat, the Master of Bones that traps Morte, let's say that she had him around until that moment, but she did not like Morte much because of the things that I've mentioned before, would she rescue Morte? Would she even care about a floating skull that smells of Baator? It's probable that she was in her Tomb, so she've read the "don't trust the skull", so, why to carry him anymore? PS:T could have been better if it were made with a female TNO, but as it haven't been made with a female TNO we'll have to change a big part of the story and banters.
    For someone who claims to be a feminist, you have a lot of sexist ideas about the differences between men and women.

    As a scientist, I am aware that the differences between male and female human brains is minimal, thus differences are almost entirely learned behaviours. Given that the Nameless One grew up in an environment that is so utterly alien from our own, learned behaviours could be completely different.
    Yes, I'm aware I could be wrong, those are my ideas, not reality.
  • BlueSorceressBlueSorceress Member Posts: 84
    If it were possible I'd say that the BG series (taken as a whole) and PS:Torment should be tied in the number one spot because they're equally good games, and the stories are two sides of the same coin.

    Torment is about how people and the world can influence and change the nature of a single person, and the BG series is about how a single person can influence the nature of the people and the world. The Nameless One's development is shown through and fueled by self-examination, whereas in contrast Charname's development is shown through the way that others react to and are changed by his actions. One is an introspective story, the other is an extrospective story, and both are effectively interactive novels told through a digital medium.

    I think that's part of the reason that The-Novels-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named are such a source of irritation for so many fans of the BG series: we already wrote that story ourselves, and through playing the game we all developed our own interpretations of the protagonist, his companions and the story's antagonists. The game and the characters that populate it are rich enough that each player can use them as a springboard to develop an intricate and emotionally complex individual canon, making it almost a personal affront to have "your" story contradicted.

    I also enjoyed the IWD series and was sorry to see that IWD2 wasn't on the list, although as a whole I on't think the series is as good as PS:T or the BG games. Unfortunately, the dialogue options weren't varied enough in either IWD or IWD2 to really develop a story to the same degree. The lack of joinable NPCs left it just a little too wide open for my tastes. Some of what made the BG series so engrossing was the NPCs interjections and banters. What would a character like Viconia, for example, have had to say to the antagonists in IWD2? What about a tiefling like Haer'Dalis? The plot of the IWD games wasn't quite robust enough to stand on it's own without more fully fleshed out characters to illuminate parts of it through their actions and reactions. That said, I would still place both games above NWN in terms of both story and game play.

    I can't comment on the other games on the list, never having played them. I will say that I'm not surprised that TOEE didn't make the cut. The turn-based system seemed like a step backwards in terms of gameplay, and the story was, as in the PnP game, a pretty limp framework on which a particularly brutal old-school dungeon crawl had been draped. I've never much minded bugs so long as they don't make the game utterly unplayable, but even I found TOEE too buggy to be very enjoyable. It's good to know that they did manage to patch it, but I lost interest in before that happened.

    -Blue
    NecomancerLoub
  • NecomancerNecomancer Member Posts: 622
    @BlueSorceress For the most part I agree with you and honestly find your comment to be insightful as to the nature of PS:T and BG...Though I'd like to note that the reason I dislike the novels isn't how they portrayed the main character so much as how they portrayed the other characters. There is a difference between having a interpretation of a character and completely changing the character to fit what *you* want the story to be. The author did much of the second, from what I've heard.
  • ajwzajwz Member Posts: 4,122
    deltago said:

    Two words on why NWN2 never made this list: The Camera.

    Or 2 letters: A and I

    Casavir stopped moving entirely sometime near the start of act 2, and never moved again for the rest of the game.
    CrevsDaakjackjack
  • CatoblepasCatoblepas Member Posts: 96
    ajwz said:

    deltago said:

    Two words on why NWN2 never made this list: The Camera.

    Or 2 letters: A and I

    Casavir stopped moving entirely sometime near the start of act 2, and never moved again for the rest of the game.
    I have had that glitch. It seems sometimes the game changes the AI of party members and you have to manually reset their AI options. Real pain in the butt.
  • CrucadesCrucades Member Posts: 36
    Have you seen that Minsc is the 11th greatest character of all time? The Nameless One is 4th in the list btw .

    http://www.empireonline.com/features/50-greatest-video-game-characters/default.asp?film=11

    Big guy just misses the top ten, now that shows what legacy really is.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    @Crucades Boy, I should write up more flat, unimaginative characters if Minsc makes #11.
    jackjack
  • CrucadesCrucades Member Posts: 36
    @quartz you really think Minsc is flat and unimaginative? He is more Ham than Shatners Kirk. Whats flat about a half insane ranger berserker with a hamster from outer space familiar and some of the best comedic gold from the greatest RPG of all time? Surely you jest sir.

    After a decade I still remember most of his dialogue, I couldnt recite 2 words Link or Mario said, hell half of the 50 characters mentioned are dubious enough.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    Link and Mario are in that list too? Gawd. Sounds like a terrible list. Flat characters all around.

    Minsc is good for comic relief but beyond that he is not interesting in the slightest. It really is that simple.
    CrevsDaakjackjack
  • NecomancerNecomancer Member Posts: 622
    To be fair, if you want characters filled with depth and complexity you really shouldn't be looking towards video games. Don't get me wrong, characters *can* have depth and complexity in video games, but its generally not the rule.
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    Quartz said:

    Link and Mario are in that list too? Gawd. Sounds like a terrible list. Flat characters all around.

    Completely agreed, I really don't know how in the Nine Hells The Namelss One is under Mario, MARIO! I'm not talking about someone with personalty like Minsc, MARIO! I mean, he lacks all personalty, Minsc may want to kick all the vil in the butt, but does Mario want something?
    You can have truly good done characters or just flat characters, but The Nameless One deserves more than a #4. Anyway I think that MANY GOOD CHARACTERS are missing, if we say most famous I'll shout "DOOMGUY!!" I mean, that guy didn't had a name, but he was known by EVERYONE! And why the hell are Lemmings in the second place? Nathan Drake is after Koopa? It is much more a most famous characters, not the greatest characters from games, certainly not many companies would like to have indie characters over them, it's money-based, I'm sure!
  • MitchforkMitchfork Member Posts: 390
    Quartz said:

    Link and Mario are in that list too? Gawd. Sounds like a terrible list. Flat characters all around.

    Minsc is good for comic relief but beyond that he is not interesting in the slightest. It really is that simple.

    And #1 is Gordon Freeman. I mean I love the Half-Life series but Gordon Freeman is literally a faceless character, so... I dunno. This is definitely not the list I would have made.

    I mean Cloud? Really?
    Quartzjackjack
  • BlueSorceressBlueSorceress Member Posts: 84

    @BlueSorceress For the most part I agree with you and honestly find your comment to be insightful as to the nature of PS:T and BG...Though I'd like to note that the reason I dislike the novels isn't how they portrayed the main character so much as how they portrayed the other characters. There is a difference between having a interpretation of a character and completely changing the character to fit what *you* want the story to be. The author did much of the second, from what I've heard.

    Oh, I agree completely @Necomancer. I probably should have ordered the elements of my list a little differently there for the sake of clarity. The biggest sore spots are definitely the portrayal of the established characters, although from what I've read about these non-existent tomes - "unbooks," if you will - the protagonist is pretty obnoxious too.

    The novelizations were probably also a bad example to choose because there's so much so wrong with the way that they deviate from pretty firmly establish characterization that it's not a matter of interpretation, but a matter of them being simply and objectively wrong. A better example would have been the sort of blow ups that crop up in this and other fan forums when someone expresses a negative opinion of one character, and then ends up in an argument with other posters because each one of them has told themselves a different story through the game.

    -Blue
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    edited February 2014

    To be fair, if you want characters filled with depth and complexity you really shouldn't be looking towards video games. Don't get me wrong, characters *can* have depth and complexity in video games, but its generally not the rule.

    I dunno. They're getting better and better at it every year. I mean 2013 had BioShock Infinite and The Last of Us ... 'nuff said. I realize I'm mentioning exceptions, I'm not saying your point is moot; rather, it's well taken. But still, video games are getting more and more complex characters every year and it's a good trend. :)
    Mitchfork said:

    Quartz said:

    Link and Mario are in that list too? Gawd. Sounds like a terrible list. Flat characters all around.

    Minsc is good for comic relief but beyond that he is not interesting in the slightest. It really is that simple.

    And #1 is Gordon Freeman. I mean I love the Half-Life series but Gordon Freeman is literally a faceless character, so... I dunno. This is definitely not the list I would have made.

    I mean Cloud? Really?
    Yikes. Gordon Freeman #1? I absolutely adore Half-Life too (my favorite sci-fi universe hands down), but that's not the right list for him to top. :P

    @TJ_Hooker Yep, I would happen to agree completely.
    Necomancer
Sign In or Register to comment.