Just finished one of the best games i've ever playd, 13 years too late.

[prophecy2514]

thief 1 and 2. brilliance, utter brilliance

 

[keiji_Maeda]

My friends did try to get me into NWN, but it never really gripped like BG II or Fallout I&II. But if you say NWN is a good game i'll give it a swing. Just two Questions.

I) is NWN II vanilla THAT bad that i don't want to play it just to get a MC into MotB?

II) have you played a dance of rogues, if so. is it as good as i've been led to believe?

Spoiler: Spoilered as it's pretty long, but click for answers to both questions if interested

To answer your first question, no, it's not really that bad. NWN2's original campaign is alright but also not nearly good enough to be a draw for the game in and of itself. I remember it semi fondly but I've also never felt the urge to replay that campaign either, which is pretty unusual from a person with a penchant for replaying every rpg at least twice. Too much filler for my tastes before it got to the genuinely good stuff. Still that good stuff *is* there, so the OC shouldn't be written off entirely.

So in the end worth a playthrough and it's got its high points, but one can be forgiven if they decide to skip it as well. The story of the original campaign is also only slightly related to that of Mask of the Betrayer, so while you might find yourself confused by a few references that show up for the most part you can play Masks without having played the OC.

And for what it's worth Mask of the Betrayer is a fantastic experience and one beyond doubt worth playing for anyone who's enjoyed Planescape: Torment and wants more game in that sort of vein. Add to that access to a massive library of fan campaign out there, some of which are genuinely brilliant and quality expansions in their own rights, and getting NWN2 'complete' (As well as NWN1 for that matter for much the same reason) is great value for any rpg fan.

As for A Dance with Rogues, I have actually played it. Not really my thing but when it's one of the highest rated NWN mods out there I figured I'd give it a shot and, surprisingly, it's actually quite good. That said it's also dirty and immature as all hell which I found to be a major turn off, go figure, but the actual gameplay and rpg mechanics are damned solid especially for what's essentially a smut game. Not something I'd generally recommend but if that's what you're looking for, hey, enjoy.

I can however think of much better modules for both Nevewinter Nights and Neverwinter Nights 2 (Linked one of my favourite modules for each game, although there are many more), but if you're really keen on the whole XXX rated rpg thing, hell, give it a go. You can find it on the same website as both the modules linked above.

I feel i need to vindicate myself in this matter. I'm not really drawn to a dance with rapscallions on a account of the tre tripple rated stuff. It's jsut that whenever i keep seing NWN 2 mentioned, i usually see a dance with rogues mentinoed in the same thread. That's why i'm wondering if it's worth taking a gander at (a fowl joke sirrah!) but from what i've seen in this thread it seems pretty "meh" i'm not really against games, and particulary RPG's taking "Adult themes" into my gaming experience, but it takes some pretty rare skill to make it mesh naturally and getting it to work.

seeing form your response it may be worth throwing down with the NWN II campaing at least once, and if bored. Dive straight at the jugular of MotB.

Thanks for the tip, also, sweet avatar. "But a gentleman never would and all that jazz"

 

[keiji_Maeda]

How 'bout it escapists, anyone else played a game way,WAY after it was released? And not really mind the graphics being dated, the gameplay being a tad flat due to age? If not, then dust of that ol' title on the shelf (you KNOW you have one) and rock it, heck, blame me if anyone gives you grief about it.

it's on the house.

I hardly play anything that isn't really old these days because I'm only now getting around to actually buying a lot of games that slipped me by during the years when my PC either wasn't up to snuff or I couldn't buy it due to release or money issues.

Case in point: I only recently bought Portal and played it for the very first time on Monday. And due to Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales I've bought a lot of classic games (Planescape: Torment being one of many) that are now waiting to be played. In fact, the sole reason I got myself a Wii all those years ago is because their Virtual Console would allow me to finally get my hands on those games that I couldn't back in the '90s like Ogre Battle.

About 10 years ago I had a similar experience to you when I finally decided to man the fuck up and finally Finish my very first Final Fantasy game (that is, the very first one I owned) Final Fantasy Legend II.

Seeing as i was one of the few people around my part of the world who actually enjoyed their PSP by getting it to run all the old ps1 classics i never got to enjoy (i'm looking at YOU silmeria) i'd reccomend "Tactics ogre let us cling together" i loved it

 

[Duck Sandwich]

I've only played a total of 4 Mega Man games (on emulators) before they were re-released in the Mega Man Anniversary/X/Zero Collections. They are now my among my favourite series.

My first Devil May Cry game was Devil May Cry 4. I bought DMC3 shortly after getting 4 for the PC, and I won't play DMC 1 (11 years old) until sometime around Christmas if I can find the DMC HD Collection on sale.

 

[Genocidicles]

I only finished the first Soul Reaver this summer.

I have fond memories of going to the shop with my dad to buy it, and many hours spent watching him play it or trying (badly) to play through it myself.

I was digging through my PS1 games for FFVII I think, and I found that instead. Still pretty good, although the platforming took a little getting used to.

 

[Haefulz]

I was about six years late playing Portal.

oh my gosh, is Portal really 6 years old? jeez that makes me feel old.

Exactly what I was thinking! I read that and thought, "Oh, he made a typo." Then I realized.

 

[thesilentman]

It's been stated, but Chrono Trigger. Dat combat system... Such awesome times... It's one of the only games that I honestly cannot poke holes in.

EDIT- And the runner-up award goes to The Elder Scrolls Arena and Morrowind. Graphics be damned, those games were awesome, especially Arena. I heard wonders about Morrowind, but Arena was... something else. And it was fucking awesome. :-D

 

[LordLucan375]

Only just finished Bastion. Wow, just amazing.

 

[Starik20X6]

I'm still not finished my playthrough of Chrono Trigger. I think I'm going to have to start it again, I can barely remember what part I'm up to.

 

[bananafishtoday]

Just played through System Shock 2 over the past few days. Game was amazing. Creepy atmosphere, really challenging, and holy hell that reveal when you get to the 4th floor blew me away. (I still haven't played Bioshock yet, so I went into System Shock 2 "fresh.")

 

[The Madman]

I feel i need to vindicate myself in this matter. I'm not really drawn to a dance with rapscallions on a account of the tre tripple rated stuff. It's jsut that whenever i keep seing NWN 2 mentioned, i usually see a dance with rogues mentinoed in the same thread. That's why i'm wondering if it's worth taking a gander at (a fowl joke sirrah!) but from what i've seen in this thread it seems pretty "meh" i'm not really against games, and particulary RPG's taking "Adult themes" into my gaming experience, but it takes some pretty rare skill to make it mesh naturally and getting it to work.

seeing form your response it may be worth throwing down with the NWN II campaing at least once, and if bored. Dive straight at the jugular of MotB.

Thanks for the tip, also, sweet avatar. "But a gentleman never would and all that jazz"

Thank you. And the rogue module is actually for the original Neverwinter Nights, not 2. I also didn't realize that module was so popular, by and large the NWN custom module community is pretty insular and niche.

And that sounds about what I'd recommend for NWN2's OC. It's not terrible and you should definitely give it a chance, but if after a few hours you're still not feeling anything don't feel bad for skipping either.

 

[-Dragmire-]

Around 2009-2010 I was looking through the dlc song list in Rock Band and saw a free title there, it was a weird terrible song, sung by a synthesized voice. In a cheerfulish tone this voice would sing about being killed and yet being fine, it was a very disjointed weird and frankly bad song. I went to my coworker the next day and told him about this crappy ass free song("who the hell would pay for that crap?"), he gave me a momentarily annoyed face then stopped and said, tonight go on steam and download and play the game Portal, don't worry it's cheap. Utterly confused about the strange reaction to a comment on a stupid Rock Band song, I bought, played and finished Portal that night, during the credits was this freaking amazing song that worked so very well with the excellent game I had just played.

It's hard to think of a time I had felt so stupid, it's also amazing what context can do for a piece of music.

 

[Mr.Philip]

I just played Yoshi's Island this year, and now it's my favorite game ever. I had played Yoshi's Story a lot when I was a kid, but Yoshi's Island, it's amazing in every way, the gameplay, the aesthetic, the music (THE MUSIC) it's all perfect. It's 17 years old, and possibly the best game ever made.

 

[Vuavu]

I've been playing my SNES a bit lately. I'm going through Secret of Mana and finding myself rather underwhelmed. The translation is very shoddy, and the story is bare-bones RPG cliches. I also played a bit of Deus Ex this summer. I didn't get around to beating it, but holy hell was that game ahead of its time.

I really enjoyed Secret of Mana. All the Mana games were pretty good. I can't stand the music in the Dwarf place close to the start of the game though. Worst video game music I have ever heard in my life.

On topic, I think my best example would be Rune. Got that on Steam when it came out and loved it. Not sure if it counts but I guess when the Dark Souls port came out was when I started playing that and it amazed me. Aaaaand I bought the first Fable years ago and haven't gotten around to playing it yet. Also, loved Dragon Age: Origins. Still haven't played more than an hour of DA2. Not because of anything I don't like about it, mind you... it just feels like too much of a commitment to start a game like that sometimes I guess haha

Hm, I actually thought the music was one of the strongest points in the game, even the dwarf theme (yes, it is kinda obnoxious, but I also found it catchy). I think one thing that is making it harder for me to like the game as a whole is I'm a huge fan of Secret of Evermore. Being American-made, there are no translation issues, none of the enemies are cute fluffballs, so I don't feel like I'm raping the wilderness as I go from point A to B, the hero has a better story and motivation than just being "the chosen one", and the graphics and music (done by Jermey Soule, no less) are very atmospheric and grim. To this day I can still go back and play it on a whim and have a blast.

I have never heard of that game, thank you. I am reading about it right now and it sounds really interesting. Is the magic system as cool as it sounds?

 

[Signa]

I've been playing my SNES a bit lately. I'm going through Secret of Mana and finding myself rather underwhelmed. The translation is very shoddy, and the story is bare-bones RPG cliches. I also played a bit of Deus Ex this summer. I didn't get around to beating it, but holy hell was that game ahead of its time.

I really enjoyed Secret of Mana. All the Mana games were pretty good. I can't stand the music in the Dwarf place close to the start of the game though. Worst video game music I have ever heard in my life.

On topic, I think my best example would be Rune. Got that on Steam when it came out and loved it. Not sure if it counts but I guess when the Dark Souls port came out was when I started playing that and it amazed me. Aaaaand I bought the first Fable years ago and haven't gotten around to playing it yet. Also, loved Dragon Age: Origins. Still haven't played more than an hour of DA2. Not because of anything I don't like about it, mind you... it just feels like too much of a commitment to start a game like that sometimes I guess haha

Hm, I actually thought the music was one of the strongest points in the game, even the dwarf theme (yes, it is kinda obnoxious, but I also found it catchy). I think one thing that is making it harder for me to like the game as a whole is I'm a huge fan of Secret of Evermore. Being American-made, there are no translation issues, none of the enemies are cute fluffballs, so I don't feel like I'm raping the wilderness as I go from point A to B, the hero has a better story and motivation than just being "the chosen one", and the graphics and music (done by Jermey Soule, no less) are very atmospheric and grim. To this day I can still go back and play it on a whim and have a blast.

I have never heard of that game, thank you. I am reading about it right now and it sounds really interesting. Is the magic system as cool as it sounds?

Yes and no. Like SoM, you level up your spells the more you use them, but the increases are confined to that one spell, and you can only have 8 at a time. It does make it far more tactical to choose which spells you take along, because there are instances like flash and fireball where the fireball is twice as powerful as flash, but by the time you get fireball, you probably are dealing twice the damage with flash.

As for casting spells, it effectively runs on your money instead of mana points. You just need to stop at alchemy shops to stock up whenever you can, and be careful to not overcast the spells that you don't have access to the ingredients to. Otherwise, it's exactly like SoM, where you have a spell ring, and you choose your spell to cast. However, you have a remaining casts count instead of a MP consumption rate. Since some spells will take the same ingredients as another spell, that number isn't always fixed to the actual number of times you'll use it

Take for example Cure (remove poison) and Heal (restore HP)
Heal: 1 Root, 2 water
Cure: 3 Root, 1 oil

If you say had 5 roots, 10 water and 5 oil in your inventory, the game would tell you you can cast Cure 1x, and Heal 5x. If you cast cure though, you will only have 2 more heals.

Much later in the game you will find some spells take feathers as components, and it's hard to justify using those because feathers are fucking expensive, and hard to find at that point. Sometimes it's worth it though.

I forgot to add in about your dog. If he's set to a low aggression mode or there's no enemies to kill, he will sniff out random locations on the land that are holding ingredients. It's effectively just an invisible chest to open, but the game is well designed where you will find water near puddles and lakes, and ash near fireplaces. The dog does get bored sometimes, so he will go on a random sniffing spree and lead you on a wild goose chase. Having played it as much as I have, I can usually tell when the dog is bored, and I've noticed the places on the ground that contain ingredients are constant from playthrough to playthrough.

 

[Fijiman]

Knights of the Old Republic(still haven't finished), Red Faction 1 and 2, Beyond Good and Evil, and the first Half-Life. Just to name a few.

 

[Racecarlock]

I played rebel assault last week. Despite being a rail shooter, it's probably one of the most exciting games I have ever played.