D. JonesWhy We Should All Hate RPGs.
August 7th 2009 05:03
At first glance, I thought that goblin looked kind of inviting (it was really small when I looked this image up). Now I realize that he's just trying to kill me and eat my innards. This is what RPGs do to us. There's a reason that videogames cost money, and it's so that we are more reluctant to buy them and we only get sucked into ones that we can afford.
Well, that's until I went to my public library, around May or June, and I realized that their selection was actually ridiculously good. I had previously played Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 and I had gotten totally sucked into it. Up until I had lost my posse, I had been completely enthralled in the game.
Once I realized that the storyline was equivalent to that show my sister watches, So You Think You Can Dance, I stopped and returned the disc.
That was the only game I actually got from the library, until I spotted the first KOTOR. For a week this summer, I was COMPLETELY incommunicado. If you asked what my gmail and facebook statuses were for the whole week, I would've laughed and then said "Playing KOTOR, please call." I played until I got to the boos battle and there was nothing else to do. I had three hours before I had to start paying for it (late fees and such), and I decided not to risk the effort and long cut scene at the end.
Three days ago (you can tell because I took a break from Orble), I rented Elder Scrolls: Morrowind. This was ridiculous. I was completely obsessed with getting tons of money, becoming a first class thief, and monk, and completing the game. This is when I woke up and said, "Will becoming a Master in the Thieve's Guild really matter in three days?" Then I decided that, yes, it really did.
Role Playing Games are hopelessly addicting, and my advice to anyone would be that you should block off the time you want to spend on that game. If you are like me, and one mission could take upwards of 30 minutes since you want to exhaust all your opportunities and milk it, this game (and by "this game", I mean any good RPG) could take a really, really long time.
I'm going to go play more Morrowind now, because I want to advance in the Thieve's Guild, but you guys out there can have fun doing real things.
I guess.
P. S. Please don't get into a debate over what a real Role Playing game is. If you can change the outcome of the game, it's an RPG. Kingdom Hearts is not an RPG. The Elder Scrolls Series is totally an RPG. urbandictionary definition Wikipedia definition
| 36 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Natalina
My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog
Here's my beef with today's RPGs. I like the old school style of turn based combat, and everything released now (with the exception of a few Atlus games) seems to have gone straight up action. Where's the strategy??
That said, the most recent RPG that sucked the ever living life out of me was Elder Scrolls Oblivion. I finally managed to tear myself away from it when I realized there is an expansion.... I've resisted thus far
P.S. while I agree with your assessment of Kingdom Hearts not being a true RPG, I loved the original anyway.
Comment by Fremen
Tennis
Progressively Worse
Personally, I like the accuracy of turn-based combat, but it is a bit dated, and real combat is simultaneous. Pokemon, to me, was the best turn based action you could ever get, but other than that, not many games can make it work. Knights of the Old Republic got tedious and kind weird in the way that combat was conducted.
To critique the Elder Scrolls, I have no idea whether I'm either attacking or not, and it's REALLY hard to cast spells and use weapons and enchantments smoothly (at least for me, since I just started playing). I liked the knowledge I had during turn-based games.
P. S. I loved Kingdom Hearts as well, and most of my favorite games (SSX, Halo, Burnout, ATV 2) are hardly RPGs at all.
Comment by Natalina
My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog
Elder Scrolls is one of those series that is confusing and yet pretty rewarding when you get the hang of it. I had to put it away though when I became too frustrated.
For me, RPGs are fun, but I really love survival horror, if done well. Fatal Frame is the scariest game ever!
Comment by Natalina
My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog
Comment by Fremen
Tennis
Progressively Worse
I read online that, even though there are levels and items, Final Fantasy isn't a real RPG, since it has a storyline.
True RPGs have some accountability, like Knights of the Old Republic, where you can choose what happens and affect the outcome.
That is why games like Pokemon and Final Fantasy aren't true RPGs, but closer to strategy games, with some RPG elements.
Comment by Natalina
My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog
I would highly recommend giving FF X a try. The graphics are beautiful, the story is great, it is very engrossing, and I think it would appeal to any fan of video games.
Comment by Fremen
Tennis
Progressively Worse
Pokemon was good because it was just a really well made game based on a super successful franchise. I started playing when I was 5 and I kept playing until I was like 15 (on various games). It's got replay value too, which a lot of non-RPG RPG type games don't have.
Real RPGs probably have tons of replay value. Like, if I replayed Morrowind, I'd probably choose a totally different course of action than I did in this game.