You are viewing an archived version of the site which is no longer maintained.
Go to the current live site or the Adventure Gamers forums
Adventure Gamers

Home Adventure Forums Gaming General Please Recommend Fantasy/Dark RPG


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 04-01-2011, 03:29 AM   #21
BSC, SSC
 
haptsonir's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Finland
Posts: 75
Default

PLAAANESCAAPE. Get the widescreen mod to increase the resolution, and it's suddenly one of the graphically prettiest games as well. http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/ (this is almost necessary now, the maximum resolution in the original being 640x480. The Fix and Tweak packs are good to have as well: http://www.spellholdstudios.net/ie/pst-fixpack)

Vampire: Bloodlines too, as everyone said. There is a block of the kind of filler combat that nowadays counts for CRPG "gameplay" towards the end, but the rest is excellent. Killer writing. There's a great variety in how you can approach the game with different characters. (Unofficial patch: http://www.planetvampire.com/bloodlines/files/patches/, resolution patch if needed: http://www.fileplanet.com/156598/150...lution-Patcher)

The Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion Mask Of The Betrayer is another excellent game by Planescape writer Chris Avellone, if you can handle the initial akwardness of the NWN2 engine. It's often overlooked because an expansion to the mediocre NWN2. Probably want to play the above two first, and then see if you like it.

Last edited by haptsonir; 04-01-2011 at 03:57 AM.
haptsonir is offline  
Old 04-01-2011, 08:51 AM   #22
Stalker of Britain
 
Fantasysci5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Missouri, US
Posts: 4,535
Default

Thanks fellow smeghead!

I'm definitely getting Planescape soon.

Vampire Masquerade: Redemption" is on GOG slightly cheap, is that a good game too, or should I stick with Bloodlines? And I was eyeing "Guild Wars" along with "Neverwinter Nights". Is that any good, also?
__________________
"And everyone's favourite anglophile, Fantasy!"-Intense
Favorite Adventure Games-Lost Crown/Dark Fall 1&2, Longest Journey games, Myst games, Barrow Hill
Favorite Other Games-King's Bounty, Sims 2, Fable, Disciples 2 Gold
Currently Playing-Trine 2
Games I Want-Kings Bounty: Warriors of the North!!!, Asylum, Last Crown, Braken Tor, Testament of Sherlock Holmes
Fantasysci5 is offline  
Old 04-01-2011, 02:16 PM   #23
Senior Member
 
Jannik's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denmark
Posts: 154
Default

You might want to check out Betrayal at Krondor, also on GoG. Haven't played it much myself, but it's praised for its good story, and the combat system seems quite nice. It's turn-based with movement on a grid.

It's an old game, though, so the graphics might scare some people off.
Jannik is offline  
Old 04-01-2011, 02:29 PM   #24
Member
 
larissa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 31
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fantasysci5 View Post
And I was eyeing "Guild Wars" along with "Neverwinter Nights". Is that any good, also?
It's a great game, but it doesn't sound at all like what you want. It's not very dark (well, it's got one dark part in one of the campaigns--NightFall--but the themes are not mature and half the players are young.) It's VERY wide open--there's a main story line but aside from that, it's just a lot of kill stuff/fetch stuff quests. And most of the point of the game is to accumulate stuff/points. Not to knock it--I was (and am) totally addicted to it, but it doesn't sound like what you are looking for.

I'll plug TES games one more time. It's true that Morrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3 are fairly wide open (MW being the most open by far), but all three have pretty defined main quests, and all of the main quests are very, very dark. We're talking flesh-eaters, vampires, irradiated mutant cows, totally insane cultists, etc. etc. And particularly in Oblivion, there are lots of quests that are more puzzle-y than kill-y. You can spend those games dungeon-crawling, but you mostly don't have to unless you want to. And mods let you play the game pretty much any way you'd like.

I'm glad for the reminder about Arcanum and PS:T. The last time I checked these games cost $50 or more . . . glad they're reasonable now.
larissa is offline  
Old 04-01-2011, 03:42 PM   #25
Stalker of Britain
 
Fantasysci5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Missouri, US
Posts: 4,535
Default

Jannik-Thanks for the recommendation. It doesn't really stand out much for me, but it doesn't look bad, so I'll put it on my radar.

larissa-Thanks for clarifying. If Neverwinter Nights is more adultish, I'll probably go with that over "Guild Wars", especially since I know it doesn't need to be played online like "Guild Wars". And I'll try "Morrowind" again sometime.
__________________
"And everyone's favourite anglophile, Fantasy!"-Intense
Favorite Adventure Games-Lost Crown/Dark Fall 1&2, Longest Journey games, Myst games, Barrow Hill
Favorite Other Games-King's Bounty, Sims 2, Fable, Disciples 2 Gold
Currently Playing-Trine 2
Games I Want-Kings Bounty: Warriors of the North!!!, Asylum, Last Crown, Braken Tor, Testament of Sherlock Holmes
Fantasysci5 is offline  
Old 04-01-2011, 05:06 PM   #26
Schattenjäger
 
zane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 572
Default

i'll definitely add my vote for vampire the masquerade: bloodlines. It is brilliantly well designed. We need so many more games like it.

Also, if you have a ps2, i recomend trying out any of the SMT (shin megami tensei) games. They deal with alot of post-apocalyptic themes, and crazy sci-fi interdimensional stuff. You also typically collect and fuse demons together to build your party. The genres of the games vary pretty wildly, but they are all aimed at an adult audience and are very high quality.
__________________
Currently focussing on: Book of unwritten tales
On deck: lone survivor
Recently finished: donna: avenger of blood, machinarium, botanicula, grim fandango, corpse party
zane is offline  
Old 04-01-2011, 07:02 PM   #27
Senior Member
 
Collector's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 775
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jannik View Post
You might want to check out Betrayal at Krondor, also on GoG. Haven't played it much myself, but it's praised for its good story, and the combat system seems quite nice. It's turn-based with movement on a grid.

It's an old game, though, so the graphics might scare some people off.
BaK is not that hard to find at second hand stores or thrift shops. If you do run across it, I have an installer for it.

http://sierrahelp.com/Patches-Update...s.html#Krondor
Collector is offline  
Old 04-02-2011, 12:03 AM   #28
BSC, SSC
 
haptsonir's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Finland
Posts: 75
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fantasysci5 View Post
Thanks fellow smeghead!

I'm definitely getting Planescape soon.
Cool. PST may seem overwhelming or whatever at first, but that's part of the charm of it. It's best taken slow, enjoying the reading and the figuring things out.

Bloodlines might be a more "beginner" friendly start. I don't know if it matters, PST isn't that difficult.

Also, there's nothing wrong with good old Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. The simple straight forward sword and sorcery adventure has never been done better on the computer, and they are a nice introduction to the Infinity Engine.

Quote:
Vampire Masquerade: Redemption" is on GOG slightly cheap, is that a good game too, or should I stick with Bloodlines?
Redemption is difficult to judge. It is badly flawed if you look at it objectively - most of the gameplay is simplistic filler combat grinding through repetitive levels (of course, this is much the same as many A-rated titles today...) and the controls are awkward at first. If you're able to look past that, however, it's got a wonderful atmosphere, excellent setting, great soundtrack, great art, and while the dialogue may not be be good in terms of technique, it's spirited enough to cover for its flaws. I love that game, for what it's worth.

It's probably best to try Bloodlines first, then go for Redemption if the setting catches you.

Last edited by haptsonir; 04-02-2011 at 12:12 AM.
haptsonir is offline  
Old 04-02-2011, 02:12 AM   #29
Senior Member
 
rayvio's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: UK (I miss Belgium!)
Posts: 509
Default

I don't know if the GoG version is fixed, but I've heard that it's practically impossible to get Redemption working in newer versions of Windows
__________________
Playing: Edna & Harvey: The Breakout
non-adv: Oblivion (very heavily modded), Planescape Torment
recently finished: Gray Matter, Alter-Ego, Whispered World
non-adv: Dragon Age: Origins again and again...
Melody Gloucester Pegasus
rayvio is offline  
Old 04-02-2011, 08:17 AM   #30
Schattenjäger
 
zane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 572
Default

redemption has some redeeming qualities (harr harr). But it has a wide range of flaws and its just an entirely different type of game from bloodlines. Bloodlines comes about as close as any videogame to emulating the pen and paper experience. Redemption doesnt really try to do that and focuses on more typical rpg dungeon crawling. Its still pretty good, but its not nearly as cool an experience as bloodlines.
__________________
Currently focussing on: Book of unwritten tales
On deck: lone survivor
Recently finished: donna: avenger of blood, machinarium, botanicula, grim fandango, corpse party
zane is offline  
Old 04-03-2011, 01:43 AM   #31
Stalker of Britain
 
Fantasysci5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Missouri, US
Posts: 4,535
Default

Okay, thanks zane!
__________________
"And everyone's favourite anglophile, Fantasy!"-Intense
Favorite Adventure Games-Lost Crown/Dark Fall 1&2, Longest Journey games, Myst games, Barrow Hill
Favorite Other Games-King's Bounty, Sims 2, Fable, Disciples 2 Gold
Currently Playing-Trine 2
Games I Want-Kings Bounty: Warriors of the North!!!, Asylum, Last Crown, Braken Tor, Testament of Sherlock Holmes
Fantasysci5 is offline  
Old 04-04-2011, 01:45 PM   #32
Senior Member
 
Periglo's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Madrid, Spain
Posts: 340
Default

I also recommend Vampire Bloodlines. It does't get darker and more mature than that in RPGs, I think. (Even if I didn't like the combat that much.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by zane View Post
Also, if you have a ps2, i recomend trying out any of the SMT (shin megami tensei) games.
Those are great, and you do not need a ps2 anymore, I am able to play those on PC with the pcsx2 emulator. (You do need a valid PS2 bios, plus the game of course.) SMT Nocturne is pretty dark, but I think there's lots of dungeon crawling. SMT Persona 4 is not so dark, but I loved it (lots of social interaction, you'll love it if you like the Sims).

KOTOR 1&2: even if you don't like SWs, there are some really twisted characters there.
Periglo is offline  
Old 04-04-2011, 06:14 PM   #33
In an evening of July...
 
kuze's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Germany
Posts: 1,215
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by haptsonir View Post
PLAAANESCAAPE. Get the widescreen mod to increase the resolution, and it's suddenly one of the graphically prettiest games as well. http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/ (this is almost necessary now, the maximum resolution in the original being 640x480. The Fix and Tweak packs are good to have as well: http://www.spellholdstudios.net/ie/pst-fixpack)
I actually like PS:T better in its native resolution. The interaction with the game becomes fiddly on higher resolution; also, I feel disconnected from the world and the characters since it looks like the camera is way higher above the ground than usual. But maybe I'm just used to how it looked when I first played it.
kuze is offline  
Old 04-05-2011, 01:44 AM   #34
BSC, SSC
 
haptsonir's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Finland
Posts: 75
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by kuze View Post
I actually like PS:T better in its native resolution. The interaction with the game becomes fiddly on higher resolution; also, I feel disconnected from the world and the characters since it looks like the camera is way higher above the ground than usual. But maybe I'm just used to how it looked when I first played it.
For me, the short distance of view is bothersome and the art doesn't come to its own when you see so little of it at a time and in low resolution, but I had grown used to BG2 before ever playing Torment myself. So, in consclusion, I guess it might be good to give both resolutions a try when starting out.
haptsonir is offline  
 



Thread Tools

 


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.