The Epic Column 10.29.07
Posted by Nathan Grayson on 10.29.2007
This week, a king returns, metaphorically speaking, but so does a democracy. Confused? You should be. Some new game releases are also discussed, and a lack of news is lamented. So read on!
Hello everyone! I presume those of you who weren't literally crushed flat by the mass of your own depression due to the lack of last week's installment of the Epic Column are quite elated at the column's return. But I bet you're wondering, "Where was that wonderful writer of that which I consider most sacred?" Well, I brought you back a postcard. Here, read it:
I'm feeling wonderful. This all expense paid vacation to Ivalice was exactly what I needed. There's some pretty wild stuff happening, though. First, I encountered someone named Ramza in a fairly non-descript field; I was lost, so I tried to ask for directions. Before I knew it, the sky had turned to a strange gray/brown color and "Let the Battle Commence" was superimposed over it. Ramza and his group of warriors, mages, and mathematicians were too much for even me. I was forced to beat back a hasty retreat, but not without first stealing something they called "auracite." Whatever. Also, a beastly villain was terrorizing a nearby village, but the villagers were too frightened by its appearance to do anything about it. Fortunately, thanks to my sleuthing skills, it became apparent that the villain was none other than old Mr. Bearenstine in a human costume. Did I mention that Mr. Bearenstine was a bear? "Hey Mr. Bearenstine," I said upon capturing him, "I bet you would've gotten away with too, if it wasn't for-- AAAAGGHHHRRRGGHHH!" *Sounds of mauling and general displeasure*
Please send help,
Nathan
I guarantee all of that actually happened. I'm not lying. Really. Stop staring at me. Why thank you, this is a new shirt. Oh, wait, you said you still think I'm lying – my mistake. How about we just get on with the column?
New items are available in the shop
Hellgate London (PC)
More like Diablogate London, amirite? Seriously though, Hellgate comes from a portion of the team that worked on Diablo and Diablo 2, so similarities between the games aren't exactly astonishing. Having played around with the demo, however, I can't say I'm waiting with bated breath for this game anymore.
The gist of it is this, you create a character from a selection of a few classes – each one filling traditional roles of melee, long range, spell caster, etc. – and proceed to go on quests or advance the main plot. The gameplay is typical hack-and-slash-and-keep-doing-that-until-you're-bored-enough-that-you-think-actual-Hellgates-might-be-more-enjoyable with some RPG leveling and customization on the side. Couple that with the game's overall feeling of control imprecision, and you might start second-thinking this game's must-buy status. Lastly, despite Bill Roper's claims to the contrary, Hellgate's environments are repetitive and redundant. This stems from the game's use of a random level generator that just can't replicate the craftsmanship of a lovingly constructed level. Sacrificing enjoyable levels in the hopes of creating more replay value doesn't increase a player's enjoyment of a game when the levels aren't fun in the first place!
While playing the demo, I couldn't help but notice that many elements of the game reminded me of perennial Universe's Most Popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft -- but not as good. Quests consisted of "go here, kill this, and collect these items" and "deliver this item to so-and-so." Once again, the similarities aren't that surprising, since WOW was heavily inspired by – and made by some of the same people as -- Diablo, but it doesn't dull the disappointment. In fact, it seems to indicate a depressing trend toward complacency in this particular sector of the RPG genre. WOW epitomizes many popular MMORPG gameplay aspects, and other games are just hanging onto its long, flowing +12 Cape of Brilliance.
Tabula Rasa (PC) Tabula Rasa is the latest MMORPG from Ultima Online creator, Richard "Lord/General British" Garriott. It's also an entry in the rarely-successful sci-fi side of MMORPGs. As of now, it's too early for any definitive reviews of the game, but I can give you my impressions of the beta, circa four months ago.
Initially, the game gave me chills – and not in a good way – because it reminded me far too much of Star Wars Galaxies. Upon further play, I found that Tabula Rasa was different from SWG, but not much better.
Of course, Tabula Rasa made prolific use of many MMORPG genre conventions – fetch quests, "kill this" quests, and things of the like were present and accounted for. The game's long range combat brought back SWG's tendency to cause spontaneous vomiting especially well. It tried to feel like an FPS, but since damage was actually based on dice-rolls, it didn't really matter which part of an enemy I aimed at. And I'm not even going to mention how glitchy Tabula Rasa was; hopefully much of that was corrected as the beta proceeded.
Now granted, these are all beta impressions, and the final game could be worlds different, but don't expect it to be Sephiroth-sending-a-meteor-to-destroy-a-planet awesome. This one isn't taking WOW's HP down to zero anytime soon.
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP)
Ack! Two inordinately long turn-based strategy RPGs released within a few weeks of one another? Many gamers have hardly scratched the gleaming, armor-plated surface of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions and now another excellent turn-based strategy RPG hits the shelves! Life is rough.
Disgaea sees you playing as a demon prince attempting to claim his dead father's vacant throne. This is accomplished through battles in which demons politely take turns hacking each other to tiny, anime-styled pieces. The game is actually a remake of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on the PS2, so – thanks to Sony's remake stipulations – there has to be some new content. The most intriguing addition is probably "Etna Mode," in which Etna assumes the role of main character after accidentally killing Laharl. Also included are some new characters and a multiplayer mode. But the biggest benefit of this remake is the fact that it's portable. Disgaea was a level grinding-heavy game, and grinding is a perfect method of whiling away the hours when you're on the go.
Things that happened while you were out saving the world
Bioware might be developing a KOTOR MMO; gamers less than three Bioware Primotech recently reported that a source near Bioware told them of an upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic MMORPG. As soon as you're done nerdgasming, continue reading. The game is apparently in development as Bioware's Austin, Texas-based studio, and will be released sometime in 2009. I'm sure you're wondering why this rumor is even credible. Well, taken on its own, it's not. However, a similar rumor appeared in Electronic Gaming Monthly a few months ago, and their rumor section is top-notch. This resurgence of that rumor only serves to reinforce what was already thought possible.
So yeah, last week was kind of a slow news week. But I guess reform will do that to an area. What am I talking about? Well, as you may have noticed, the Epic Column is no longer under the rule of a tyrannical dictatorship. Yes, that's right – someone responded to the "Length in RPGs" mini-essay from many a moon ago. And so, after I finished nursing my bear wounds (I barely made it out alive), I set to dethroning, er, myself, and instating a democracy of sorts. Now then, let's see what a single, valiant reader had to say about length in RPGs. This response comes from Matthew Sforcina of 411's own wrestling section.
Now, I'm not a hardcore RPG Video Gamer. I like the genre, and have a
few, but I don't check several key boxes. For starters, I only just
bought my first FF game yesterday (FFX if it matters, and assuming
Kingdom Hearts doesn't count, which I re-bought yesterday as well).
I'm a paper roleplayer in a fairly major way, but I'm in between you
and your robber friend in video game RPGs.
Now, he, the mugger, does have a sort of point, but then he also
doesn't. A good RPG, a well written, high quality one, is not the same
as a movie or even a book. An RPG should be bloody long, otherwise you
don't get the same satisfaction in building the character up. Part of
the fun is taking someone from level 1 to level 30. Level 1 to level 5
would be a bit flat, with today's expectations.
That said, your idea about side quests and a straight path idea is
good, but as you pointed out, would take a hell of a lot of finesse.
Much more than I think can be done on any sort of regular basis.
So, what's to be done?
Change the rules slightly.
The Virtual Console, (and to a lesser extent the Xbox Marketplace
and... Whatever Sony has now, I don't own a PS3) is the perfect way to
appease the 'story lover mugger', in that the VC can send to you a N64
title like Paper Mario that's huge and big but simple graphics.
So, with some reworking, it can send a similar sized file that's got
sound and great graphics and voice and maybe even some video, that's
got maybe 3-5 hours of game play in it. So, instead of having to work
out how to make monsters be stronger or weaker, just remove the
section entirely. You have the main story arc, the main game, and then
produce cheaper offshoots, prequels, sequels, side quests as separate
games, that you can buy and play if you like, piecemeal. You can then
bundle them all up, give them a shine up, add an exclusive quest and
sell it as a full game.
And/or, produce shorter story games via this method. I know something
similar to this is happening with Wii-Ware games, but I think this is
the best, and simplest method to give everyone what they want.
At least that's my view.
Agree? Disagree? Want to chain a bunch of responses together in a combo that even many fighting game fans will be jealous of? Send me your comments. I subsist off your opinions. And your living flesh.
That's all for this week. With any luck, next week will be a little more exciting. Also, expect my Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions review to go live sometime this week. It's been a long time in coming, and well, it's still not here yet. Later, everyone.
