Yeah, I was ready to tell people how much they are blinded by nostalgia, but it actually trumps many recent releases in several important aspects.I just finished KOTOR 2 last month with the restored content mod, and it was incredible.
No, they're taking turns. They're on a clearly defined round-based system. If I recall correctly, they're still on the 6-second round system, but they can gain multiple actions in a single round.
From WikipediaWhat semantics? It's clear as day light.
Simultaneous actions: All the characters can take actions simultaneously. Each character has internal timer between each action, called round.
Turn-based actions: Characters take actions one after another. One round is when all the characters complete one turn.
Combat is round-based; time is divided into discrete rounds, and combatants attack and react simultaneously, although these actions are presented sequentially on-screen. The number of actions a combatant may perform each round is limited. While each round's duration is a fixed short interval of real time, the player can configure the combat system to pause at specific events or at the end of each round, or set the combat system to never automatically pause, giving the illusion of real-time combat. Combat actions are calculated using DnD rules. While these are not displayed directly on the screen, the full breakdown for each action (including die rolls and modifiers) are accessible from a menu.
Not really. Taris and the station are both pretty equally terrible and boring to play through. The difference is kotor 2's following areas are more interesting due to being better written, whereas kotor 1's following areas are just as much of a chore to play through as Taris.
Can we talk about what I liked about Mass Effect 1 and hated about Mass Effect 2?
Mass Effect 1 you played a Citadel Police detective solving crimes and interacting with the populous. Mass Effect 2 was a corridor shooter.
I see you didn't read what specifically I didn't enjoy about it. I was quite thorough in explaining my personal distaste for things despite recognizing overall extremely high quality of writing. I didn't say it's crappy like these (aside from gameplay, but everyone knows combat in P:T sucks)So OP didn't like Planescape T. either...
With that and his constant bringing up of Mass Effect
Bringing up ME was a matter of two things, interesting/appropriate conversations and scenarios, and responsiveness to commands allowing synergy of attacks. Both of these can likewise be demonstrated in Baldur's Gate or whatever else you want to point to. I just used Mass Effect because it is closer to what KOTOR seemed to be going for in feeling. You can play ME like an action game, but I did not, and did not expect that from KOTOR.lol at using Mass Effect as a standard for good WRPG gameplay.
Flair and presentation aren't necessary in the sense of being modern. I hoped to clue people into this perspective by naming Avernum, but that appears to have fallen flat because people were so flabbergasted by me mentioning Mass Effect in a positive light.I guess he is more of a presentation+flair+gameplay > story+fiddling with your party kind of guy, which makes me wonder why on earth he plays old CRPGs and similar games in the first place
Answered above. Glad you agree that the gameplay sucks, though.Dice, is it correct to assume you give far more importance to gameplay, balance and the like than characters and story? Not trying to discredit your opinion, just understand it a little better. If that is the case, I get why you wouldn't be able to have fun with these games.
You're right about the gameplay being boring. Like Snuggler said, it really felt like filler. The story and characters were so compelling, though, that I didn't care about that.
You're still wrong about the characters and story. And no, I'm not worried.
If it skips the turn or does the move that was there anyway even if you fill in something different, that would explain a ton about the unresponsiveness. I'll check it out, and thank you for actually saying something useful addressing the criticisms I actually raised.My advice is to never delete the top ability in the queue. Sometimes what will happen is your character will skip his turn because you cleared the ability.
The reapers were compelling in the first game, but changeup of writers at Bioware caused their concept to change multiple times with a ton of inconsistencies until they just sucked and the story overall sucked. If they kept the main story writer from the first game it probably would have been a great trilogy. As it is, the main appeal comes with engaging individual scenarios and problems. The menial tasks which make up the heft of any WRPG don't feel so menial. Other RPGs have done them better but at least compared to KOTOR I think ME series is waaay better in this regard.But you have to admit even if the twist was obvious its still a very compelling story overall with that and the Rakatta. The Reapers are very compelling as well.
I'm 29.Instead let me offer in the words of Jolee Bindo:
"You know the problem with the youth nowadays? They are YOUNG!"
A plot twist doesn't write an entire story. That's all Kotor 1 has in the writing department over 2, a single plot twist that is unveiled in 30 seconds of a 30 hour game.
This may be true -- I'm no Star Wars expert. But if so, then what does the fact that the writing in KotOR 2 is much better and more nuanced than in 1 tell us about Star Wars writing?There's also the fact that the writing in KotOR felt like Star Wars. Which is kind of important for a Star Wars game. KotOR 2 falls flat on its face there.
This may be true -- I'm no Star Wars expert. But if so, then what does the fact that the writing in KotOR 2 is much better and more nuanced than in 1 tell us about Star Wars writing?
From Wikipedia
What Planescape Can Learn From Mass Effect - the perfect title for an IGN article.
There's a part of me that started cackling like mad reading this.This may be true -- I'm no Star Wars expert. But if so, then what does the fact that the writing in KotOR 2 is much better and more nuanced than in 1 tell us about Star Wars writing?
HK-47 is better than most of the cast in KOTOR 2. I also am replaying KOTOR 2 right now and the intro in KOTOR 1 is leagues better than in 2. Like leagues better.
If it didn't age well then it didn't age well. Some games do. Looks like this one just doesn't stand the test of time.They were made 10 years ago. Take that into account.
This may be true -- I'm no Star Wars expert. But if so, then what does the fact that the writing in KotOR 2 is much better and more nuanced than in 1 tell us about Star Wars writing?
HK-47 is better in 2 as well.
Oh, and Pazaak is amazing.
I'm 29.
'Sides, ain't no character from Kotor 1 even close to Kreia.
Not many, if any, in gaming. Period.
Because when talking to her they give you shitty, childish conversation options no matter what and then she responds like a condescending bitch no matter what? Yeah, amazing character there.True, sadly true. One of the rare cases where you actually have to think before inserting Paragon or Renegade coins into a NPC.
There's also the fact that the writing in KotOR felt like Star Wars. Which is kind of important for a Star Wars game. KotOR 2 falls flat on its face there.
Because when talking to her they give you shitty, childish conversation options no matter what and then she responds like a condescending bitch no matter what? Yeah, amazing character there.
Because when talking to her they give you shitty, childish conversation options no matter what and then she responds like a condescending bitch no matter what? Yeah, amazing character there.
If it didn't age well then it didn't age well. Some games do. Looks like this one just doesn't stand the test of time.
Seems like you missed the point of the character.
Her wisdom wasn't wisdom, and making my character too stupid to respond to her didn't make it better. Forcing interpretations of events to be stupid so she can call them stupid is not a good meta-critique, either. It's an annoying and stupid gimmick that is utterly transparent and sacrifices player experience for a political statement to the industry. Fuck that, but even if going along with it, a lot of things she says are just her own paranoia and have no barring in reality. Nothing but her being a bitch to everyone.They give you binary choices like any WRPG (Mass Effect included) and Kreia rebuffs everything. She is neutral in the strictest sense, and it is beautiful because she values the person - people - and not the arbitrary moralities based around the Force.
The writers are basically saying the system is stupid and lazy and shallow.
So that would be three years after release. Gotcha.I'm trying to understand why you're comparing Mass Effect to these older games so much. Advances in graphics and combat are obvious over time as that's some of the only things that this generation advanced, but the story telling and writing ability is far below Kotor 2 standards. The morality system is about the same, if you want renegade/paragon dialog choices you have to be a renegade/paragon through the whole game otherwise they get locked out of the dialogue.
I'll agree with you partway. Kotor 1 is a really bad game by just about every standard, but I held that opinion when I played it in 2006 so it's not just a "the game didn't age well" thing.