When will there be a new RPG???

[iloveRPGs]

I'm tired of waiting for Fable and KOTOR 2:cuss: , I'm ready to by an RPG out there. Does anyone know of any that are about to come out or just did but noones heard of them?

[Variation-XBA]

have you played morrowing GOY?

[kenji]

There is a lack of new RPGs for Xbox right now, so you;ll have to play something else for awhile. I'm still waiting for Halo 2, Fable or Jade empire. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Homeless_Hacker]

Ok well, first of all. aa new one just came out entitled Invisible war from deus ex. And morrowind the game of the year addition also came out not to long ago, but lets face it, theres really no difference between the game of the year addition or the original

[Shadow20002]

Don't even talk about Fable, this one gonna take ages to come and there are few coming in next year: Sudeki, Jade Empire, KOTOR 2.

[Nameless]

Originally posted by iloveRPGs
I'm tired of waiting for Fable and KOTOR 2:cuss:
Lol, your tired of waiting for KOTOR 2? It was just announced a few weeks back :p.
Anyway, I'm with you on Fable, it was the sole reason I wanted an Xbox...Oh well, I hear its sposed to come out in mid-2004. According to Young_Fledgling and his OXM anway...

[Master Pre]

Have any of you tried out Gladius yet? I think you'd be pleasantly surprised.

[thrAsher]

Originally posted by Master Pre
Have any of you tried out Gladius yet? I think you'd be pleasantly surprised. Yes, and I was pleasantly surprised. Excellent blend of turn-based strategy and RPG.

I picked up Arx Fatalis the other day, and am happy to say that it has proven so far to be a fine, fine RPG. I haven't put more than 6 hours into it, but will say that I'm glad I picked it up. And for $40, it's a steal for any RPG fan...especially those of us saddled w/ an Xbox and almost nothing worth a lick in the genre.

[Master Pre]

What's Arx Fatalis all about?

[thrAsher]

I never played Ultima Underworld, but it is compared to that game a lot.

Here's the Gamespot review. They gave it an 8.3.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/rpg/arxfatalis/review.html

All I can say is the game has way more ups than downs, and when I bought it, the clerk was gushing about the PC version of the game.

[brozz]

I'm about 15 hrs into Arx Fatalis, so far it's very cool. It's a first person RPG that takes place in underground cities and caverns. There's really too much to it for me to explain it all, check out a few reviews of the game. I think it was well woth $40, lots of gameplay, and it's a true RPG, something the Xbox is in short supply of.

[thrAsher]

Originally posted by brozz
I think it was well woth $40, lots of gameplay, and it's a true RPG, something the Xbox is in short supply of.
I agree wholeheartedly. We need more RPG's for the Xbox. Not Baldur's Gate clones.

I'm thinking about starting over w/ Arx because I really don't like how my character is turning out. And now that I got a feel for the game, I think I could customize him to be the thief/mage I originally intended. Right now he's more of a Jack of All Trades, but pretty much that just means he's half-assed at everything. I need a character w/ focus on a few skills instead of five or six.

BTW, brozz, how far do you think you're into the game? Halfway, 3/4...?

[brozz]

thrAsher, you speak with great wisdom ... the Xbox lineup is overloaded with Baldurs Gate clones. I recently played Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes, and let me tell you, this game ripped off Baldurs Gate so bad it wasn't even funny, I'm surprised Atari wasn't sued by the creators of BG. Yes, it was that bad.

While we're on the RPG subject ... I have something I need to vent (let's see if you agree)
Games like Baldurs Gate and all it's clones are not, I repeat NOT RPGs, they are hack and slash dungeon crawlers (ala Diablo). True RPGs are not linear (you can move freely, ala Morrowind) and allow for character and weapon customization, among other things. BG and it's clones force you to follow a preset path and offer little to no customizing options, and therefore are NOT RPGs. Don't get me wrong, I love a good hack and slash, and BG was a great game, but please please please, stop calling them RPGs.
Okay, whew, I'm better now. LOL

Back to Arx in my next post (below)

[brozz]

Okay, my little rant is over, back to Arx Fatalis ...
I'm not really sure how far into the game I am, basically, because I don't really know how long the game is. I've heard rumors of up to eighty hours of gameplay if you complete all the side quests.
I restarted Arx four times, the more I played, the more I realized I needed a character with more specific skills. Like you, the first couple of times I ended up with a jack-of-all-trades character, and that just didn't cut it. One thing I did notice was that by playing with a character that had very different skills than my previous character, the game/NPCs reacted very differently in some places. Could this mean Arx has awesome replay value?
BTW, you want to be a thief? Do you know about the "pickpocket" ability?

[thrAsher]

A couple of things, first: D&D Heroes held my attention for about a day. Terribly boring, and as 'been-there, done-that' as any clone I've ever played. Don't get me wrong, Gauntlet was cool.....a decade and a half ago! And while they 'appear' like RPGs, D&DH/BG-DA/Diablo are NOT role-playing games. They are action/adventure games.

To me, the most integral part of an RPG is character creation. That is naming your character, picking his/her class, stats, special abilities, etc. Morrowind's character creation is one of the best I've ever seen. Fallout also comes to mind, as there are simply hundreds of ways to customize your character.

Also central to RPG's is free-roaming. Go back to the days of Ultima and Bard's Tale. You're put into an area, given some goals and a smattering of info, and from that moment on, the world is yours too explore. Nothing is stopping you from venturing into the Tomb of Death as a level 1 character. You might get fried into baco-bits in your first encounter, but you do have the CHOICE to go in or not. Exploration is the 2nd most important ingredient.

3rd, you have got to have a compelling, inherently epic story that ultimately provides some sort of motivation for the character. I love that modern RPGs are being built w/ the intention of evil characters being able to complete the game (KotOR, Fable, Enclave, Morrowind, etc.). This just adds so much to the RPG experience. Interesting NPC's and dynamic towns/cities/areas are also integral.

Throw in a hefty magic system, a stealth system that works, tons of weapons/armors/potions/spells/regents, and believable, nasty critters to slay, and you have all the elements of a RPG.

If I don't have to think out a situation for 10-15 minutes before trying out a tactic, and all I do is spend my time bashing the A button and unleashing magic missile after magic missile at hordes of cookiecutter creatures, all the while cruising along my predetermined path, I'm not playing an RPG. It's more like playing Pac Man, only w/ fireballs and battle axes. That's fun for about ten minutes, while any RPG worth a lick will usually eat up every free moment you have, and leave you wanting more, more, more.

Okay, I've had my say on that. brozz, I know all about the pickpocketing, and w/ a decent stealth system in place - as well as the ability to douse torches - I plan on making my way through Arx like a shadow on the wall (ala Thief). No chest or door will withstand my superior skills, and may the denizens of the dwarven mines grow eyes in the backs of their heads, else they find my poisoned dagger imbedded in their spines! :D

[brozz]

You character is gonna kick ass!!! Too bad there isn't an online co-op for Arx, your stealthy character would be a perfect partner for my sword wielding/magic casting barbarian/assasin. Ok, enough chat, I have to fire up my Xbox, I can't wait any longer. Keep my posted, I am always interested in another RPGers progress.
If you ever want/need to email me directly for Arx info or to trade tips my address is donbrozz@aol.com
BTW ... I just grabbed a nice Arx Fatalis guide in .pdf format.

[thrAsher]

Originally posted by brozz

BTW ... I just grabbed a nice Arx Fatalis guide in .pdf format.
Will do, man. My info is in my profile if you need info, or you can just PM me.

Funny thing is, I got that same .PDF, I'm sure of it. Haven't really looked at it, but got it 'just in case'. :) What would be real nice is a set of maps w/ locations marked on 'em, like that gigantic one for Morrowind....

[Lord Vivic]

Well i am still waiting for fable to come out.

[super_ryu]

I cant wait for True Fantasy Live Online! It looks cool! Its a MMO where u can be an adventurer or a citizen!
Its like an Xbox town lol
read about it here:
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/402/402586p1.html

[Lord Vivic]

It is a pritty good site.I was impressed.Though some of the details were out of date.