What was your favourite isometric-era RPG?

[LookingGlass]

Due to a lack of funds in the late 90s and early 2000s (I was school-aged), most of my gaming at the time was split between a few N64 titles, and I missed out on all the great pre-3D RPGs of the time.

Thanks to GOG, I'm remedying that these days. I've played Fallout 1 and 2, and I'm on the last chapter of Baldur's Gate, and I've loved them all. The golden age of PC gaming strikes again.

I'm really looking forward to trying Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura and Planescape: Torment (I only heard about these from tihs forum), and of course Baldur's Gate 2.


So what else is worth playing? They don't have to be PC games. What were your favourites from this era? What do you think made these games special (if you think they are)? Are there any great ones that aren't available anymore that you're hoping show up again?

 

[Sangnz]

Icewind Dale series: Made by Black Isle (same team as Baulders Gate) but goes for full party creation straight away instead of making a protagonist and adding NPCs to your group as you go.

Temple of Elemental Evil was buggy when it first came out but has patched up nicely, best representation of the D&D ruleset in a crpg I think I have seen. Very tactical and can be tough to get into at first but gets + coolness for allowing chain wielding warriors.

 

[Yureina]

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Honorable mention goes to Fallout 1/2 :3

 

[StBishop]

You list in the OP with the addition of the Icewind Dale games is pretty comprehensive.

Diablo 1 and 2 are awesome and a very different beast to what you've been playing.

Temple of Elemental Evil is fine, but I never thought it held a candle to BG.

Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (spelling?) is ok.

I also recommend Knights of the Chalice. It's a newer indie game in the style of the games you've mentioned with a much heavier D&D influence.

EDIT: Oh yeah in answer to the question in the Thread title: Baldur's Gate. I've bought it about 5 times now and I still think it's the best game I've ever played.

 

[Tragedy's Rebellion]

Well, many of the isometric-era RPGs are considered classics; Icewind Dale series, Baldur's gate series, PLanescape torment, Arcanum, Fallout 1 and 2 etc and for some reason ALL of them are great games in their own right, with a different setting between them.

I can't actually choose which one was my favorite, they all had their different charm and aesthetics, and stories. Too bad they don't make RPGs like they used to, but that's mostly because of graphics having come a long way.

 

[octafish]

PS:T is my favorite, closely followed by Arcanum. Baldur's Gate 2 is the most polished, and I only play BG in the BG 2 engine now. It steps away from the traditional isometric view, but the original Neverwinter Nights is worth a look. The original campaign is pretty lackluster but Shadows of Undrentide is great (it has Deekin!) and there are sooooo many user built campaigns to play, as well as LAN multiplayer possibilities..

 

[AD-Stu]

I don't know if it's the right era or not, but Ultima VII gets my vote. I'm replaying it now for the first time in about 15 years and it's holding up very well.

 

[thelastmccabe]

Those are some great games you listed. I recently played PS:T for the first time and loved it for the story and characters.

Definitely also try Diablo 2 if you haven't; it's a fantastic game albeit very different from the games you listed.

 

[Brawndo]

Jagged Alliance 2. I love the humor, the open-ended gameplay, the attention to detail, and the multitude of interesting characters. The only bad part was the lack of character models.

 

[Savagezion]

Arcanum. The variety offered by Arcanum makes it win out for me. I still manage to find new quests and routes through the main story. Definitely don't try to see all the content in the game on your first playthrough because it is impossible. Saying yes to Bill, botches Ted's quest. This is the game that got me out of "talk to everyone and do everything" mode from previous RPGs. There is so much to experience, I just make up a character decide who he/she is and then go and decide everything based on that.

 

[Wayneguard]

Temple of Elemental Evil was buggy when it first came out but has patched up nicely, best representation of the D&D ruleset in a crpg I think I have seen. Very tactical and can be tough to get into at first but gets + coolness for allowing chain wielding warriors.

Very, very difficult game. Still haven't gotten far past the first town (damn frogs).

 

[LookingGlass]

The Icewind Dale games intrigue me... mainly because of the developer. I've heard they're more linear than games like Baldur's Gate and Fallout. Are there still multiple ways to solve quests (i.e. only the order of what you do is linear) or is it just straight do as your told? Either way, I probably need to check them out when they're next on sale.

If Diablo 2 is like Torchlight I can probably safely skip it. Torchlight was fun for a few hours but was repetitive as hell and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.

Temple of Elemental Evil sounds interesting too... mainly the Troika connection. I loved me some Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and so I'll probably check it out once I'm done with the rest.

Speaking of V:TM, has anyone played Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption? I don't know much about that, except that it wasn't Troika who made it.


Whilst not quite the same, I do have Ultima VII, the original X-COM, and Jagged Alliance 2 all waiting to be played also.

 

[LookingGlass]

Also, is it my imagination or do these games always seem to get ridiculously difficult in the final act (or last couple of hours)? I had that with the final bosses in both Fallout games, and now as I finished Baldur's Gate (the last few areas were very slow going with lots of resting).

 

[BreakfastMan]

Gods, Baldur's Gate II was brilliant. One of the best combat systems in any RPG. Story wasn't too bad either.

And since no one has mentioned anything but PC games yet... Final Fantasy 6, Earthbound, and Crono Trigger each have a place in my heart as some of the greatest RPGs ever made. The SNES was such a good console for JRPGs. Makes me sad that we don't get nearly as many good ones nowadays...

 

[Imbechile]

has anyone played Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption?

I did back when it was released(damn, never find time to replay it). The last time I've played it was about 8 years ago. I was about 13 back then, so I can't really judge whether or not It's great or not. Back then I thought it was fantastic.

I suggest you pick it up on GOG and try it yourself. It certanly is an above average game. The game is diffrent from Bloodlines though.

OT: Combat-wise: Temple of Elemental Evil(why haven't they released official modding tools?????)
Story-wise: Planescape Torment
Overall: probably Fallout

 

[Tanakh]

has anyone played Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption?

I did back when it was released(damn, never find time to replay it). The last time I've played it was about 8 years ago. I was about 13 back then, so I can't really judge whether or not It's great or not. Back then I thought it was fantastic.

It's a good game, the story is a little cheesy, but only what you might expect from a Vampire game who's protagonist is a templar and has "redemption" in the title. Overall the combat felt right, good story, the cities felt less empty than in bloodlines, but had less ways to complete the quests.

OT IWD is my favourtie Black Isle series, not my favourite isometric but whatever, bear in mind that is much more of a "D&D combat simulator" than a true RPG, but at lest that (the combat and gameplay) is much better than the other Black Isle titles IMO.

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

Cadaver, on the Amiga. Well, it was a Bitmap Brothers game, and they were always great. It was more puzzle-based than combat, and I'm not sure it even counts as an RPG, since you only played as Karadoc the dwarf. But I bloody loved it.