Full Version: Guild wars and other stuff.
I have some spare cash right now, but there really not anything out that I want to buy that I don't already own. I've glanced and Age of Empires III and Civ IV but neither really grabs my attention especially since my next RTS will be the next Dawn of War expansion. Still I was looking around and saw Guild wars factions and considered giving it a try. I don't love MMORPG's but my biggest problems are paying a monthly fee for endless level grinding. No monthly fee means I can take as long as I want to level grind. Still I'm wondering if anyone here has played this or the original and could tell me if it's worth it. Or failing that if anyone else can suggest something worth getting for a PC, Mac, GC, or PS2.
Next Dawn of War expansion you say? Of course, you should have played the REAL Winter Assault before you do. Take a look at this mod. About 79,3 times more balanced and more interesting than the original Winter Assault.
http://s14.invisionfree.com/DOWPRO
And join me for a game on the associated IRC channel.
Other than that..
Get Samurai Shodown 6 for the PS2. Only available in japanese as of yet, but I would gladly jump underneath.. er.. something big and heavy that one generally wants to avoid getting on top of oneself for it.
+ 40 characters to choose from, + some hidden joke characters.
+ Choose between 6 different "Modes" that closely resemble the style of each Samurai Shodown game system.
+ It is Samurai Shodown!
+ It has at least 4 different ninja in one game!
- No 3D, fancy-schmancy graphics you say? Silence, cur! Fighters like this need no such materialistic, superficial noncense!
And no, I am not biased or anything..
http://s14.invisionfree.com/DOWPRO
And join me for a game on the associated IRC channel.
Other than that..
Get Samurai Shodown 6 for the PS2. Only available in japanese as of yet, but I would gladly jump underneath.. er.. something big and heavy that one generally wants to avoid getting on top of oneself for it.
+ 40 characters to choose from, + some hidden joke characters.
+ Choose between 6 different "Modes" that closely resemble the style of each Samurai Shodown game system.
+ It is Samurai Shodown!
+ It has at least 4 different ninja in one game!
- No 3D, fancy-schmancy graphics you say? Silence, cur! Fighters like this need no such materialistic, superficial noncense!
And no, I am not biased or anything..
1. Don't have much acess to DOW right now anyways but yes I like DOWPRO and I'm hoping Dark Crusade or the next patch will fix some of the balance issues such as Fire prism spams. Granted hopefully it won't be replaced with imba necrons or tau.
2.I love SS. I'm attempting to get 6. I heard no more fatalities which made me a little sad since the random ones were what originally drew my eye to number 1.
2.I love SS. I'm attempting to get 6. I heard no more fatalities which made me a little sad since the random ones were what originally drew my eye to number 1.
QUOTE(Eji1700 @ May 5 2006, 10:04 PM) 
1. Don't have much acess to DOW right now anyways but yes I like DOWPRO and I'm hoping Dark Crusade or the next patch will fix some of the balance issues such as Fire prism spams. Granted hopefully it won't be replaced with imba necrons or tau.
2.I love SS. I'm attempting to get 6. I heard no more fatalities which made me a little sad since the random ones were what originally drew my eye to number 1.
2.I love SS. I'm attempting to get 6. I heard no more fatalities which made me a little sad since the random ones were what originally drew my eye to number 1.
1. I have lost confidence in the Relic balance team over time, as they seem to be unable to give out patches. As soon as Dark Crusade comes out, I will look to the DOWpro team to fix the imbalance that seems to be inevitable. Looking forward to being able to field railguns though.
2. They removed all blood and fatalities from the game. While it does reduce the touch of style a tad, it does make a lot of sense that the want to make it more family friendly. But then again, Samsho is a far too advanced fighter genre for young kids to excel in.
The special effects have been boosted, as well as the effect sounds. The new voice acting is rather bland in my opinion though. I currently "play" it on a PS2 emulator at 15 frames per second, and I must say I like most of the changes.
1. I'm hoping that after dark crusade comes out they can focus more on patches. With the current one they have a semi public beta which is nice, and I think some of the changes in the new expansion should fix some of the more general problems (please god pathing and spamming).
2. Exactly. Samsho is all about frames, traps, zoning, etc. Hell I'm 19 and I have trouble with it. The causal kid is not going to ever get anywhere near the level where the game shines.
2. Exactly. Samsho is all about frames, traps, zoning, etc. Hell I'm 19 and I have trouble with it. The causal kid is not going to ever get anywhere near the level where the game shines.
I know a few people who played Guild Wars and did not like it.
I apologize in advance - I'm tired, so this is going to be probably the most incoherent write-up I've ever done of the game, and a lot of it boils down to "I like it a lot" which might not not be the most helpful thing. Therefore I hope my links are worthwhile. Anyway...
Just ask around the online communities, read reviews. It usually gets at least 8/10. Also, Tycho of Penny Arcade likes it, which probably counts for something since those guys are good about heaping praise onto only games that are genuinely decent. I own it, and I still feel it was worth $50. If you do get it, get Factions, and maybe Prophecies later. Factions is sort of like everything upgraded, which I guarantee from my time in the preview event.
Good points:
- Completely epic and exciting to just explore, very pretty visuals
- skill system reminds one of a CCG, and offers lots of interesting strategic gameplay
- gameplay is fast-paced, and I think quite satisfying
- fully soloable through the use of henchmen, but becomes two to three times more fun with human allies
- pvp is ridiculously fast-paced, and seemingly well-balanced. I haven't really gotten into it, but it's good and arena.net keeps improving it, and there are a lot of just random battle arenas that are fun to pop into for a bit. It is not at all reliant on equipment. In general the only reason to get expensive armor in GW is to look cooler.
- IMHO, it is all the good points of an MMORPG with none of the bad points. Which is, a big world to explore with epic quests (the game is more like a single player game, since there is an over-arching story line to the campaign) and other people to do them with, along with a very engrossing "collection game" when it comes to getting new skills, but no monthly fees, no level/equipment grind, none of the dozens of heroes running around killing fields of monsters that may as well be cattle grazing. (I honestly found WoW kind of frustrating and boring.)
- Factions adds a ton of excellent new features. Also, the petrified forest is damn cool, as is the Jade Sea.
Some criticisms that are often leveled against it:
- it's boring because you end up killing a lot of the same monster over and and over again.
- not a true MMORPG
And my response:
- I think the base "action" of the game is pretty fun, and you do feel a sense of progression because the terrain and visuals are really exciting to explore, and because missions tend to be linear and are instanced you don't get monsters respawning next to you (my number one WoW complaint). For the most part, the missions do a good job of setting up differing encounters through terrain and enemy placement.
- Honesly I think "real" MMORPG's are terribly-designed games. GW is like what an MMORPG would be like without all the nonsense. (It can also be likened reasonably to Diablo 2 in terms of setup, though the gameplay is not the same.) I know there's something to be said for seeing other people around, but IMHO the towns are good enough, and I actually get just as much of a thrill out of bringing my party out of the bustling town and into the wilderness where we are quite alone with the rolling terrain and the charr patrols as I do with seeing other people on the roads in a game like WoW.
It is just a very well-made and enjoyable game, IMHO. I much prefer the skill system to a traditional MMORPG. There's more variety, faster, better-balanced and more strategic action, and it just has that CCG addictive flair. And that's just the prophecies campaign; Factions is better.
Finally, here is some more discussion on the subject, since apparently I'm the only one on the AWB who has played it: http://www.penny-arcade.com/forums/viewtop...hp?t=1073822020 In an around the talk about guilds there is a lot of very good discussion of the merits of the game, and how it compares to something like WoW. Just skim for a while and you'll start finding the info.
Some screenshots to amuse you:
My main character
The assassin I made in the Factions Preview Event
Waiting for the 2005 Christmas event to start
One of the funniest things I've seen in the game yet
A Pyromancer, in intensely-Christmas-themed hydromancer armor
Just ask around the online communities, read reviews. It usually gets at least 8/10. Also, Tycho of Penny Arcade likes it, which probably counts for something since those guys are good about heaping praise onto only games that are genuinely decent. I own it, and I still feel it was worth $50. If you do get it, get Factions, and maybe Prophecies later. Factions is sort of like everything upgraded, which I guarantee from my time in the preview event.
Good points:
- Completely epic and exciting to just explore, very pretty visuals
- skill system reminds one of a CCG, and offers lots of interesting strategic gameplay
- gameplay is fast-paced, and I think quite satisfying
- fully soloable through the use of henchmen, but becomes two to three times more fun with human allies
- pvp is ridiculously fast-paced, and seemingly well-balanced. I haven't really gotten into it, but it's good and arena.net keeps improving it, and there are a lot of just random battle arenas that are fun to pop into for a bit. It is not at all reliant on equipment. In general the only reason to get expensive armor in GW is to look cooler.
- IMHO, it is all the good points of an MMORPG with none of the bad points. Which is, a big world to explore with epic quests (the game is more like a single player game, since there is an over-arching story line to the campaign) and other people to do them with, along with a very engrossing "collection game" when it comes to getting new skills, but no monthly fees, no level/equipment grind, none of the dozens of heroes running around killing fields of monsters that may as well be cattle grazing. (I honestly found WoW kind of frustrating and boring.)
- Factions adds a ton of excellent new features. Also, the petrified forest is damn cool, as is the Jade Sea.
Some criticisms that are often leveled against it:
- it's boring because you end up killing a lot of the same monster over and and over again.
- not a true MMORPG
And my response:
- I think the base "action" of the game is pretty fun, and you do feel a sense of progression because the terrain and visuals are really exciting to explore, and because missions tend to be linear and are instanced you don't get monsters respawning next to you (my number one WoW complaint). For the most part, the missions do a good job of setting up differing encounters through terrain and enemy placement.
- Honesly I think "real" MMORPG's are terribly-designed games. GW is like what an MMORPG would be like without all the nonsense. (It can also be likened reasonably to Diablo 2 in terms of setup, though the gameplay is not the same.) I know there's something to be said for seeing other people around, but IMHO the towns are good enough, and I actually get just as much of a thrill out of bringing my party out of the bustling town and into the wilderness where we are quite alone with the rolling terrain and the charr patrols as I do with seeing other people on the roads in a game like WoW.
It is just a very well-made and enjoyable game, IMHO. I much prefer the skill system to a traditional MMORPG. There's more variety, faster, better-balanced and more strategic action, and it just has that CCG addictive flair. And that's just the prophecies campaign; Factions is better.
Finally, here is some more discussion on the subject, since apparently I'm the only one on the AWB who has played it: http://www.penny-arcade.com/forums/viewtop...hp?t=1073822020 In an around the talk about guilds there is a lot of very good discussion of the merits of the game, and how it compares to something like WoW. Just skim for a while and you'll start finding the info.
Some screenshots to amuse you:
My main character
The assassin I made in the Factions Preview Event
Waiting for the 2005 Christmas event to start
One of the funniest things I've seen in the game yet
A Pyromancer, in intensely-Christmas-themed hydromancer armor
Well since my biggest problems are level grinding and monthly fees I think i'll give it a shot. Looks unique enough to warrent it.
It is definitely true that GW lacks the level grind. And while you can waste a shit-ton of time farming for gold and rare items, you don't really need that stuff to be successful. In Prophecies the first 20 hours or so are annoying because you don't have enough worthwhile skills to get any interesting setups going (my primary has only really started being interesting to play after about 60 hours, but that's 'cuz I do all the side quests rarely touch the main story until I can find people to do it with), but I get the idea that they fixed some of that slow start aspect in Factions. I never was bored though.
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