Old skool RPGs - Really that good or just nostalgia?

On a side note, I found the voice work in Oblivion terrible, Baldurs Gate II has ten times better voice work, it sounds like just 3 actors were used in Oblivion, Patrick Stewart and someone else for male and someone else for female.

Oh and Shaun Bean!
 
just played some of the demo of baldurs gate, i do really like the artwork, a lot of reading though, may pick up the full game at some point, are there any full screen/widescreen mods?
 
tom91x91 said:
just played some of the demo of baldurs gate, i do really like the artwork, a lot of reading though, may pick up the full game at some point, are there any full screen/widescreen mods?
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It is full screen, I play it in 800x600, but I do use a 50" TV, but the graphics still look good even on a big screen. You can play on a much higher resolution.

Not sure if the demo will draw you in properly, I would suggest giving the game a chance for around two hours, then I think you might get hooked, esp if you like a good story.
 
There's an element on nostalgia, yeah. I was giddy and drooling with excitement when FFVII hit the PSN. Played it all the way through, but I couldn't help but think it wasn't the same title I played back then; it didn't feel as good.

There's a million different reasons why your feelings may change over time: graphics, presentation, attention to story etc. - but IMO these are never ending areas of discussion/argument.

Fact is your mind makes your most fond of memories brilliant. You remember them as being perfect and amazing, because you enjoy remembering them. Some kind of cognitive bias: your mind making your memories better than they actually were, unbeknownst that thanks to modern mediums you can physically revisit them instead of just remembering.
 
tom91x91 said:
just played some of the demo of baldurs gate, i do really like the artwork, a lot of reading though, may pick up the full game at some point, are there any full screen/widescreen mods?
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If you have BG2 as well I'd recommend using either TUTU or BGT.

TUTU allows you to run the first game in the second game's engine. It also alows you to use the new classes introduced in BG2 in a fresh BG1 game. This is very useful as you will be looking to carry you character across to BG2 making the new classes pointless otherwise.

http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=content&task=blogcategory&id=143&Itemid=98

BGT does the same but also incorporates a mod downloader fpr further customisation. If you choose the minimal setting it shouldn't detract from the vanilla experience.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18195246

Lastly, you will want to use the widecreen mod (if you have widescreen that is):

http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/

Voila!
 
Pete.Dakota said:
There's an element on nostalgia, yeah. I was giddy and drooling with excitement when FFVII hit the PSN. Played it all the way through, but I couldn't help but think it wasn't the same title I played back then; it didn't feel as good.

There's a million different reasons why your feelings may change over time: graphics, presentation, attention to story etc. - but IMO these are never ending areas of discussion/argument.

Fact is your mind makes your most fond of memories brilliant. You remember them as being perfect and amazing, because you enjoy remembering them. Some kind of cognitive bias: your mind making your memories better than they actually were, unbeknownst that thanks to modern mediums you can physically revisit them instead of just remembering.
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I must admit, FF VII has aged very badly, I got it on PSN too. Whereas just recently it was the first time I played BG II, and it is the best RPG I have played for a long time, maybe ever.
 
I am not sure why there is such a huge push for 3D only games. If there was to be a new RPG created with hand drawn 2d backgrounds but with lots of extra detail. Would be an instant buy for me :)
 
HarryPainful said:
The graphics on baldurs gate, torment, dues ex etc... were are awesome when they came out so the excuse of "they concentrated on story and not visuals" is rubbish.

These games had both.
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True, Baldur's Gate was lauded for its graphics. If people were not bothered about visuals then surely we would still be using 2d, 4 meg graphics cards.

Deus looked great at the time, as long as you were using a Glide based card.
 
davewhite04 said:
your party interaction using great voice acting is amazing(don't know how black isle did this, so much variation)
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I still vividly remember the first time I heard Nalia's 'B******!" speech in BG2. The one where she was talking about her fiancee. It just came out of nowhere, and she'd been such a pleasant and naive litte thing up to that :D
 
I love a good rpg ive completed the following:
Neverwinter Nights- I havent touched any of the expansions even though i own them all.
KOTOR 1 and 2- Just awesome the first one has to be my fav rpg of all time.
Diablo 2- Finished normal mode loads of times but never got very far in nightmare mode.
Final Fantasy 7-10- brilliant, nuff said
Dragon Age Origins and Awakening- Really good and im looking forward to the next one.
Deus Ex- Suprised me that a first person shooter could be a brilliant rpg game that gripped me from the start.
Mass Effect 1 and 2- brilliant.

Rpgs i own that need completing:
Baldurs gate 1 and 2- Only bought it last year but havent put more that 2 hours into the first one. Gonna come back to it one day and enjoy apparently the best rpg ever made.
Icewind dale 1 and 2- Not tried it yet.
Fallout 3 GOTY- Got pretty far but due to a format and not saving my files, probably wont go back to it. Especially as vegas is out very soon.
Neverwinter Nights 2- Got really far but lost my saves again. I also own all the expanisons. I will go back to this game later on.
Fallout 2- Wanna see why tefal keeps going on about it all the time.

Rpgs i need to get:
Planescape Torment
 
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simpletom said:
If people were not bothered about visuals then surely we would still be using 2d, 4 meg graphics cards
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Not necessarily..I personally consider visuals to be the absolute least important thing in a game, however I cannot play games that I like using a 4 meg graphics card. For instance, I like Civilization 5, its not its visuals that I like its the rest of the game, but I cannot play Civ 5 if I want to with a 4 meg card. So my requirement for a higher graphics card is not driven by my desire for fancy graphics, its driven by the fact that I require one to play the games I like for their other features. So I am someone who isnt bothered about visuals but I have a higher card because of necessity not desire.
 
It's not just the visuals, it's the whole artistic direction. Dragon age is very shiny and everything, but it doesn't have much character - the locations are all very bog-standard fantasy.

Take Icewind Dale now - it used the BG engine, but a lot of love obviously went into the art direction. The character portraits all looked like oil paintings, the locations were painstakingly drawn to convey atmosphere (the severed hand still sticks in my mind) and the haunting music and sound effects just topped it off.

Contrast that with the trailers for Dragon Age - ROCK MUSIC!! BLOOD! MORE BLOOD! I'm hip kids, come play me :mad:
 
Sleepery said:
I still vividly remember the first time I heard Nalia's 'B******!" speech in BG2. The one where she was talking about her fiancee. It just came out of nowhere, and she'd been such a pleasant and naive litte thing up to that :D
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Indeed, that's an element that's great about the game/experience, you never know what your companions are going to do/say next! It isn't completely random though, that's how I can't understand how Black Isle did it!

Genius.

On a side note, I slept with Aerie the other night, the next day she wanted to leave the group! My confidence was shattered...
 
Sleepery said:
It's not just the visuals, it's the whole artistic direction. Dragon age is very shiny and everything, but it doesn't have much character - the locations are all very bog-standard fantasy.

Take Icewind Dale now - it used the BG engine, but a lot of love obviously went into the art direction. The character portraits all looked like oil paintings, the locations were painstakingly drawn to convey atmosphere (the severed hand still sticks in my mind) and the haunting music and sound effects just topped it off.

Contrast that with the trailers for Dragon Age - ROCK MUSIC!! BLOOD! MORE BLOOD! I'm hip kids, come play me :mad:
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Couldn't agree more, I almost give up on Dragon Age after 30mins because the atmosphere was rubbish and the general feel. I did stick it out till the end and enjoyed it though. One of the better ones.

As for artistic attention to detail, you hit it right on the nail.

Here's a quote from a reviewer on that CoG or something site:

(Icewind Dale)
"While not a big fan of the sequel, I felt that the original had the perfect blend of strategic combat, story, art design and sound design. I absolutely loved this game, and truly felt as if I was exploring the frozen north. I imagined following in the footsteps of the likes of Drizzt Do'urden on my quest to save the ten towns. This game had such a great atmosphere for me, I remember almost feeling the warmth of the fire while standing next to a hearth in this game. (Because it truly made you feel that you were exploring this frozen tundra). This is truly a great game that everyone should have a chance to enjoy."

You just don't quite get this atmosphere or sense of being with any modern day RPG.
 
Oddly I never played IWD1. Played the sequel and didn't like it as much as BG, because it was much less story driven.

Will see if I can find a copy somewhere then.
 
I was put off by the Baldur’s Gate games after I tried Baldur’s Gate II. Not because it was a bad game but I played it about a year ago on Vista 64 and a few months later on Win7 but I just had problem after problem getting it to work properly and gave up in the end. The other small issue for me was that the beginning of the game seems to carry on pretty much from where the first finished, and there seemed to be assumptions that you already new some of the characters. The reason I went straight to BGII is that I was told the second game was so much better than the first.

In light of this I decided last night to purchase the first game on GOG and I will start playing it tonight and over the weekend. It’s a shame that BG2 isn’t on GOG as well, but hopefully by the time I finish (or had enough) the first game the sequel might be available. I also picked up the Icewind Dale pack as the artwork and graphics look quite nice. I’m a bit put off by the apparent focus on grouping as I prefer solo RPGs ideally, but I’ll give it a go.
 
FoxEye said:
Oddly I never played IWD1. Played the sequel and didn't like it as much as BG, because it was much less story driven.

Will see if I can find a copy somewhere then.
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I'll not be trying IWD1 for a while if at all, the quote was to give you an idea of the atmosphere generated by these classics.

IWD1 is supposed to be better then its sequel yes, but apparently very combat focused with a lacklustre story compared to the BG games.

A great story is essential for me, if I'm going to invest 80hrs+ into it.
 
spengos said:
I was put off by the Baldur’s Gate games after I tried Baldur’s Gate II. Not because it was a bad game but I played it about a year ago on Vista 64 and a few months later on Win7 but I just had problem after problem getting it to work properly and gave up in the end. The other small issue for me was that the beginning of the game seems to carry on pretty much from where the first finished, and there seemed to be assumptions that you already new some of the characters. The reason I went straight to BGII is that I was told the second game was so much better than the first.

In light of this I decided last night to purchase the first game on GOG and I will start playing it tonight and over the weekend. It’s a shame that BG2 isn’t on GOG as well, but hopefully by the time I finish (or had enough) the first game the sequel might be available. I also picked up the Icewind Dale pack as the artwork and graphics look quite nice. I’m a bit put off by the apparent focus on grouping as I prefer solo RPGs ideally, but I’ll give it a go.
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I've been playing it on Windows 7(64bit), and it plays a dream, like it was developed for Windows 7! I did buy the collectors edition of II though.

I think the intro is all you need to see in BG II, to get an idea where the first one ended. Some of the characters do refer back to the first one, but just in passing.

Hope you enjoy the first one :)
 
So my question is why? What makes these games so great that people can recommend them above modern day RPGs like Oblivion, Mass Effect 1 & 2, Dragon Age, Fallout 3, etc, or even modern MMORPGs? Are the older RPGs really that good that their gameplay outweighs the graphics and presentation of the modern games, or is all this old skool lovin' just nostalgia and the people recommending these games do so based purely on distant fond memories?
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there was not so much time spent on gfx (which today you need to make sales) and in the case of the fallouts due to the obviously simpler mechanics of player movement/interaction meant they could do so much more with the writing etc.

fallout 1&2 are still the 2 best written games ever tbh.
 
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