I know precisely what you mean, Bill. I could compare two RPGs as well: Betrayal in Krondor (and the somewhat bastardized sequel, Betrayal in Antara) and Morrowind. It's pretty obvious that the appeal of these games is wildly different. In the first series, the gimmick is that the games were authored by the celebrated fantasy author Raymond E. Feist. Feist's work is excellent, and the story, characters, and dialogue in these games is great. Indeed, they are so good, that I actually got very interested in the outcome and stuck with it. It was a totally new experience for me, because I was almost hard-wired into thinking RPGs were about hacking and slashing, with a "story" grafted on just to satisfy some idiot who didn't quite "get it." Now, I had to rethink all that. Thank you, Mr. Feist.
On the other hand, was there a story in Morrowind? I guess there was. I don't know. I was too busy running around doing what felt like random sub-quests, killing Mr. X, acquiring an orb or sphere or whatever. Honestly, I think if I see one more game about "You must acquire the twenty-eight and 1/3 shards of the ORB OF POWER or the world will be destroyed in eternal winter!!" kind of schlock I'm going to demand a refund. I really didn't care for Morrowind, since the level-up system seemed downright exploitive. Just keep clicking; eventually you'll level up. Not fun.
Then again, I kind of suspect the reason I like some RPGs and hate others is that you love what you first experienced. It's like James Bond movies. People who started watching (and loving them) during Sean Connery's tenure will always think he was the best. Meanwhile, folks like me can't see anyone but Roger Moore in the role. Again, it's the same thing with Dr. Who. Again, if it's not Tom Baker, I'm not interested.
I fell in love with CRPGs in the days of Pool of Radiance and Bard's Tale, which are much more alike than they are dissimilar. Therefore, my idea of what makes a "good CPRG" is how closely they conform to the mechanics of those early games. I just can't acknowledge Diablo as a true CRPG no more than I can a game like System Shock. I really would prefer to call Morrowind a FPS with RPG ambitions. ;-)
I know precisely what you mean, Bill. I could compare two RPGs as well: Betrayal in Krondor (and the somewhat bastardized sequel, Betrayal in Antara) and Morrowind. It's pretty obvious that the appeal of these games is wildly different. In the first series, the gimmick is that the games were authored by the celebrated fantasy author Raymond E. Feist. Feist's work is excellent, and the story, characters, and dialogue in these games is great. Indeed, they are so good, that I actually got very interested in the outcome and stuck with it. It was a totally new experience for me, because I was almost hard-wired into thinking RPGs were about hacking and slashing, with a "story" grafted on just to satisfy some idiot who didn't quite "get it." Now, I had to rethink all that. Thank you, Mr. Feist.
On the other hand, was there a story in Morrowind? I guess there was. I don't know. I was too busy running around doing what felt like random sub-quests, killing Mr. X, acquiring an orb or sphere or whatever. Honestly, I think if I see one more game about "You must acquire the twenty-eight and 1/3 shards of the ORB OF POWER or the world will be destroyed in eternal winter!!" kind of schlock I'm going to demand a refund. I really didn't care for Morrowind, since the level-up system seemed downright exploitive. Just keep clicking; eventually you'll level up. Not fun.
Then again, I kind of suspect the reason I like some RPGs and hate others is that you love what you first experienced. It's like James Bond movies. People who started watching (and loving them) during Sean Connery's tenure will always think he was the best. Meanwhile, folks like me can't see anyone but Roger Moore in the role. Again, it's the same thing with Dr. Who. Again, if it's not Tom Baker, I'm not interested.
I fell in love with CRPGs in the days of Pool of Radiance and Bard's Tale, which are much more alike than they are dissimilar. Therefore, my idea of what makes a "good CPRG" is how closely they conform to the mechanics of those early games. I just can't acknowledge Diablo as a true CRPG no more than I can a game like System Shock. I really would prefer to call Morrowind a FPS with RPG ambitions. ;-)
Matt Barton, Managing Editor
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Email: matt@armchairarcade.com