I got my main character, a Human Mage, to level 46, and netted over 1,000 quests, and got a Night Elf Druid to level 24. I also made a bunch of other characters but didn’t really progress them at all. The point remains that I’ve played enough of the game to get a significant grasp on what it’s actually about, and really, the plot was absolutely terrible, and I’m not just talking about the lack of emphasis or detail or direction when I say this, but how boring and unoriginal it was and I found myself really having to force myself to pay real attention and escape into the character.
In most cases, especially the important ones, yes they do. From a storyline perspective, there are certain events that can only take place once. The Defias story arch as I mentioned, where you kill Van Cleef, expose the corrupt Stormwind noble who was working with the Defias, get rewarded with the Wyrm Seal Ring etc… From a gameplay perspective, everyone is capable of doing the quests, but from a storyline perspective, these are things that can only happen once, and your character is the one personally credited with completing them. And the same’s the case with all the wanted quests (Hogger can only die once…), and really the vast majority of the story archs. As much as the quests lack in direction and detail and sheer quality, they’re made to be very personal and individual. The point being that you can make a personal and individual plotline in the settings of a game world shared by other real world players all doing the same thing.
Which simply isn’t a good thing given what it is (as MMORPGs are at their core… RPGs). It’s lack of an emphasis on the storyline completely prevents the player from really escaping into the character. It would work under a different format but not under the RPG format.
…What? Given that FFXI actually had a storyline, and a pretty amazing one at that, it’s not at all comparable to WoW in that respect. It’s widely recognised as having an uncharacteristically large emphasis on the plot within the [sub]genre.
In the 1000+ quests I got through? Rarely if ever. There was never an underlying plot that the quests were driving you through. Nothing linking the quests together, absolutely no indication of any end point. Absolutely no direction.
Of an MMORPG? It’s how it’s supposed to be under the genre’s current format. That it’s an MMO doesn’t change that; as already explained, MMOs are perfectly capable of presenting an individual and personal storyline despite the game world being shared by other players, and aside from that, the only thing that separates the MMO from the core genre is the scale of everything, which is immaterial as to what amount of emphasis should be on the plot.
I’m not ignoring them, I’m simply acknowledging them as what they are: fundamentally insignificant within the format of the genre.
From a commercial sense, sure it is, however, judging it analytically while taking into account the format of the genre, it fails, and that’s undeniable.
Last edited by Retired Debater on Apr 15th, 2009 at 05:06 PM
Well, in its defense, that's kind of what it was going for in the first place: taking the basic elements of the 3D Zeldas and "modernizing" it as well as could be while sticking to the formula of the series. They just went with refinement over innovation for making the "last Zelda of its kind."
When it comes to storylines and game music, nothing beats the Japanese.
Some are so moving, that it affects the player's emotions.
Americans are excellent in MMORPGs and FPSs, no doubt about that.
I like the emphasis they put on the gameplay aspect of the game. Fun and addictive.
Character design? It depends entirely on the player's preference.
As for me, I prefer the unique, androgynous designs from the Japanese over the Americans.
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"Farewell, Damos... Ash, Pikachu... And you. All of my beloved." -- Arceus
Last edited by AsbestosFlaygon on Nov 27th, 2009 at 06:32 PM
My favourite music and storyline both come from western games. And whether you get moved by a game or not depends on the person. For example, usually scenes that are supposed to be moving in Japanese games make me cringe.
EDIT: As for androgynous characters: they are good in very, very small amounts.
__________________ And from the ashes he rose, like a black cloud. The Sin of one became the Sin of many.
The last one was in DMC4 when Nero's cardboard cut-out girlfriend gets stuck in the Savior and Nero fails to get her out of there. This sad music plays and you can see a tear running down his face. It was so goddamn stupid I wanted to headbutt my monitor.
__________________ And from the ashes he rose, like a black cloud. The Sin of one became the Sin of many.
The Baldur's Gate games aren't even the best RPGs that the Western World has to offer. System Shock, System Shock 2, Bioshock, Deus Ex, Deus Ex Invisible War, Fallout and Fallout 2 are all far superior.
I loved KOTOR because the plot was good, better than the prequels, had a legit plot twist I didn't telegraph 2 hours into the game. It also felt like a real Role Playing Game to me. Until KOTOR I had only played Final Fantasy "RPGs" and believed that was all there was to it. Though I could relate the emphasis on story to role play...kind of. Then I played KOTOR, didn't really care about the gameplay when it came to fighting, and was hooked on the limited choices you could make. Because eventhough they were not as many choices as I would've wanted, they were still there and far more credible then the ultra thin interactivity I had in the 5 ff games I played before KOTOR.
I mean hell my favorite moment in KOTOR, besides finding out you're a badass, was when the Jedi Council sent me to investigate and deal with a feud between families in the planet. Instead of making everything right and peaceful I manipulated them with lies, and a bit of the force(heh) and watched as they ended up killing their families in a bloody carnage. Then I made my way back to the council and flat-out lied to them about the exchange.
FF games, as good as they are, have never been able to give me a moment like that.
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Many thanks to Rao Kal-EL Da Man
Last edited by Zack Fair on Nov 27th, 2009 at 11:53 PM
Gender: Male Location: Kicking pigs out of the screen.
No they weren't. They might have had some updated graphics. The storyline, depth, complexity, and dialogue can't compare at all. Not to mention interparty NPC dialogue.
KMC Community Forums
Apr 15th, 2009 05:02 PM
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Ironically, I had the same first impressions about MP as well, but eh...
