Lemmibl said:
I'm looking for something new to play, looking for advanced/complex RPGs. I've already played everything from Bioware. Something like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights. For the PC. Not JRPGs.
By advanced / complex I mean they've got a lot of different classes or stats and stuff to min/max and all that, not just like 3 different skills like DA:O or ME2. :I
Any suggestions?
Well, advanced RPGs are something of an Anathema nowadays given that ease of use has caused gaming to become mainstream, bringing more kids and casuals into the hobby than ever before, and those people (due to their numbers) are who the game companies are catering to, as opposed to serious/advanced gamers.
That said people have listed some good ones already, though most of them are fairly dated (lack of production is part of the problem). There are a few that were missed, that I will suggest:
#1: "Drakensang" (The Dark Eye), it's a pretty deep CRPG based on the same german RPG rules set that was used for the old "Realms Of Arkania" games. It was released under the radar with little fanfare it seems, and while it's garnered a bit of a following it's hardly mainstream.
Being a foreign development though you will notice that the voice acting is not exactly top notch. What's more while a good game, it's also very slow to get moving.
This game is probably the "best bet" given what you've mentioned your tastes are like. It should keep you busy for a while until something else comes out, and it's also pretty cheap.
#2: "Planet Alcatraz" to my knowledge the only place to get this is to pay to download it from Gamersgate (site). It's a science fiction RPG that is heavily inspired (look, playstyle, game engine) by the old "Fallout" games. The basic plot is that your a goverment agent dropped onto a prison planet to conduct a mission under cover... and it's actually pretty cool.
I will warn you though that this game might very well be a cantidate for "worst voice acting ever", and it's also got some graphics issues, namely when it comes to some very bad animations and the tendency for characters in cut scenes to clip their arms through each other or whatever.
Still, it's quite playable. Pretty much something I only recommend to fairly hard core RPG players because it's yet another game from overseas (this one from Russia, like the above game is from Germany) and while they are making some admirable efforts, I don't think Russian developers are quite "there" yet.
#3: "Star Wolves 2 & 3" two seperate games. The first Star Wolves is very lite on the RPG elements so I recommend avoiding it.
This is a space mercenaries game that combines an RPG with a sort of mild RTS element. You basically manage a squadran of fighter pilots and a mother ship/light carrier that gets caught up in affairs of galactic importance. The skill/customization system is deeper than it might first appear, and you wind up having a decent amount of choices as the plot progresses that can influance how things turn out.
I think these games were not as popular as they might otherwise have been because for one they are (again) Russian, and while the voice acting can be painful it isn't as bad as some of the other games I mentioned here. But also because I think it mostly attracted RTS players and this is really more of an RPG where you need to do a bit of grinding to level up characters, equip their ships properly, and so on.
The biggest problem with the game IMO is that while it includes some sandbox elements allowing you to trade cargo, and take on non-plot related mercenary jobs, you spend a LOT of time flying through warp gates, and even speeding things up this can become VERY annoying. About the fourtieth time you've had to plug through six sectors to whack some aliens and then plug back through the same six sectors (fighting space pirates, or galactic patrol type guys all the way, depending on whom your allied with) it starts to get a bit annoying.
#4: While somewhat old, "Spellforce" is an interesting compromise between an RPG and an RTS game. It involves creating a character, and there are enough skills to allow for a good number of differant builds. Though truthfully the meat of the game involves using that character and your recruited/resurrected companions in conjunction with armies as part of an RTS game. Still it winds up being a lot deeper than say the hero units in the "Warcraft" games. They did 2 installments of thise franchise, no idea if they ever plan on doing a third.
"Risen", "Mount and Blade: Warband", "Gothic" and other games are all pretty good, though I will say they might not be deep enough for your tastes. "Risen" for example is a very good game, but it's an action-RPG hybrid, and while there seem to be a lot of options truthfully you wind up picking one of three "types" of characters basically a Pure Mage, a Pure Warrior, or a Hybrid between the two. Plenty of stuff to do and explore though. The "Gothic" series is the same way, Risen basically being the latest version of that game engine (same team). I'm reluctant to actually recommend "Mount and Blade" base on what you've said because really it strikes me as being more of a sim than an RPG despite the trappings. Basically you make a character and set out to see how big you can get, there really isn't much in the way of a plotline, and the quests for the most part are generic and seem to be randomly generated. As the game progresses you'll eventually wind up getting into management elements, putting henchmen in charge of portions of your fief and so on. It also tends to quickly come down to a matter of recruiting and maintaining armies of troops (this isn't just Warband, Warband is simply an improved version of Mount and Blade with more content). I mean sure, in most cases you'll be able to charge right in and do tons of damage, but it's also a game where after a point you can technically just sit back and twiddle your thumbs while your invincible armies roll over anyone who annoys you until you get bored (and "until you get bored" is the end of the game, since as I said, there is no real storyline... and by that I mean not 'a bad storyline' or a 'trivial storyline' but literally no overarching plot at all... it's all about getting big until your done seeing how big and bad you can be ).
