Will you PREORDER Thi4f?

june gloom on 19/1/2014 at 21:49

That's more or less how I feel about it too. Why bother? Dark Souls II is coming out.

Renault on 19/1/2014 at 21:56

So far only 10 out of 50 will buy it ahead of time or on release day. I guess I'm a little surprised by that, I thought it would be closer to 50/50. Maybe because only the "frothgang" bothers voting...?

And yeah, the new Tomb Raider was awful (and I knew Dia agrees with me on that one), or at least what little I played of it. It was full of QTEs and loading zones and excessive cutscenes andd similar stuff which I hate about modern gaming. Praying that's not what we're going to get with Thief (I know QTEs are out, but the other stuff).

SeriousToni on 19/1/2014 at 22:04

Thank you for your replies and votings so far, guys! Nice to see so much involvement! :)

So if you're interested, here are my two cents to this:
Thi4f will be the last game of this series. Why? Because history told me: I saw this once happen with the Dungeon Siege franchise. The first two DS games were triumphant and a pleasure to play. The story was great and you could play it for months, even years and it never got boring. Then there was the third DS game coming after many years of silence. It had much better graphics and modern effects which was a pleasure to the eye but it didn't have a good story, neither good controlls (console optimized) or any eagerness or excitement going on. It became medium to good test marks and was just a standard game who some people played (besides all the disappointed DS fans) which got forgotten within one year.

This will happen to Thi4f. There are many new ideas in it that makes the game mordern, but they won't be ground breaking - it all will be standard stuff which we have seen in other games (Dishonored, Assassins Creed,...) and will be forgotten until the end of 2014. You guys are giving away money for a short ride and will bury it to the sad end of a great series.

I know this sounds like I am a snotty smart-ass and you can flame me for this if you want to, but we'll meet here at the end of the year and you'll see that I was right.

Don't buy this game.

Red_Breast on 19/1/2014 at 22:14

I think an interesting poll would be to find out which TTLG forum users are 100% certain they will not be buying the game (even in sales) but there's the caveat of you can only vote if you don't have budget issues. So basically finding the cash for the game is not a problem.
For those that have no cash issues and won't be buying the game I suppose we could go one further. Once passed the first round we ask who won't be playing the game even if they are given a retail copy on the day of it's release. So basically even without playing the game you are decided now already that you will never play the game.

qolelis on 19/1/2014 at 22:25

If someone gave me Thief 4 for free or it came bundled together with something else that I would have bought anyway, because I felt I really needed it, then I would probably try it to see what it was like - if time allowed. In any case, I think I will watch a Let's Play if one shows up.

Quote Posted by dethtoll

That's more or less how I feel about it too. Why bother? Dark Souls II is coming out.

A bit off topic, but, yeah, I have actually thought about Dark Souls lately (probably because you have mentioned it here and there ;) ) and, I don't know, I might want to get into it. I really respect them for choosing their own path - even coming, as I mostly do, from a whole other tradition of gaming and perhaps being too used to a slower pace by now. So, with that said, why do you think anyone new to Dark Souls should get into it?

Renzatic on 20/1/2014 at 00:17

Quote Posted by qolelis

As one of the other 6 people here who won't shut the hell up about Dark Souls, I'll give you the digest rundown as to why you should get it: cuz it's awesome.

I'll save the more indepth explanation for Dethtoll, since I'm kinda feeling lazy at the moment. Or you could hit up one of the Dark Souls threads currently running in Gengaming, and get an idea from there.

Goldmoon Dawn on 20/1/2014 at 00:50

Finally, the mission has reached fruition, and yous guys can scurry back to general games. Except you, Renzatic. You arent too jaded to still be universally funny, at times. :) :p

june gloom on 20/1/2014 at 01:05

Quote Posted by qolelis

The thing is, Dark Souls doesn't really come from a different tradition. I sometimes forget that it's Japanese. And make no mistake, Dark Souls isn't a Devil May Cry clone with fast-paced nu-metal music -- Dark Souls has a slow, steady pace absolutely focused on exploration and survival. It may take you months before you've successfully plumbed the depths of this haunted kingdom, because you must approach the game in a slow, deliberate manner if you want to survive. It's in the grand tradition of old-school white people RPGs, though perhaps a clear line could also be drawn between it and, of all things, Zork. It certainly isn't focused on aesthetics either -- while graphically it's competent, and getting through Sen's ~~Fortress~~ Funhouse rewards you with (http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/848075970868019066/C083D299584B9D1342203346562391F898B1C5B1/) a breathtaking view of Anor Londo, any beauty is inherently incidental in relation to the game's overall statement. Its UI for example is almost certainly dredged up from an older era, that of King's Field (another From Software game, of course,) Ultima Underworld, the first two Elder Scrolls games that everyone's forgotten about by now. Gameplay and atmosphere are at the forefront here in terms of the game's focus.

What makes DS special is its minimalist approach. You're dumped into the world with some basic background and left to fend for yourself. The game teaches you some of the basic mechanics in the opening dungeon, but it's non-obtrusive and if you know how to play already, like you've come from Demon's Souls or you're re-rolling, you don't really have to read the messages if you don't want to. Actually exploring the world is entirely something you have to do on your own. It can be overwhelming at first -- especially since your starting class is somewhat important, though you can build your character into whatever you want. It's very open-ended in that regard, and the game is more than willing to let you make mistakes -- mistakes you'll pay for later. Putting points into the wrong stat is as much your fault as falling off a cliff -- and you will fall off cliffs, because there are no magic barriers, no invisible railings to protect you.

And that's really what sets the game apart, in terms of difficulty. Some of the basic things you'd think of are there -- survival horror style rationing, approaching things with caution or outright fear, some downright cruel booby-traps, and the occasional instant death trap. But it also means things that modern games have all but excised -- the world itself is not safe. The game does not coddle you. It does not protect you. It won't forcibly shove you off that cliff but it's certainly happy to let you fall off on your own. If you die, and you will, and you will often, it's your fault, and that means there's an opportunity to learn from it. There's no such thing as "bullshit" in this game. And that's really the thing that drives the game -- the opportunity to make your own victory.

PS: I strongly recommend you play this with a gamepad. If you pick up the PS3 or 360 version that's a given, but if you're playing on PC, get something with XInput. 360 controller, Logitech, whatever, just do it. Playing with a mouse and keyboard? That's not shooting yourself in the foot. That's shooting yourself in the balls, punching yourself in the face, then piledriving a lit firecracker while listening to Basshunter. Don't do that to yourself.

Goldmoon Dawn on 20/1/2014 at 01:13

And yes, having said all that, Dark Souls is truly one of those rare games that gives a glimmer of hope of potential things to come. Also, since were off the topic anyway, it turns out that I indeed did not hate Might and Magic X: Legacy. It was everything that a true fanboy could have hoped for, and then some. :)

Renzatic on 20/1/2014 at 01:36

Quote Posted by dethtoll

It certainly isn't focused on aesthetics either...

Depends on what you mean by aesthetics. It's not the most graphically blinging game in the world. You won't be using it as a benchmark to stress test your graphics card, or talking about how much more awesome the parallax mapping effects are. As far as pure graphic fidelity goes, it's pretty standard.

But the art direction is fantastic, and the world it takes place in is second to none. I don't think I've ever seen a game that's able to tell you entire stories just by its architecture and the state of things around you quite like DS does. I know I shouldn't say this around here, but not even Thief is quite able to match it. The whole game feels like a living, breathing place. If you spend the time to look around, you'll be amazed by the care and attention that's been put into every little detail.

...which the game all but forces you to do, considering that paying attention to your surroundings is what keeps you alive.

(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3018396/DarkSouls_FirelinkShrine.jpg) The whole game just oozes atmosphere.

And of course the gameplay, which you did a great job of describing. Though I should add that while it's slow and methodical, it does require some split second timing. You have to be ready for anything and everything.

So yeah, get it.

edit: and yeah, Moon, I need to play Might and Magic X. But I'm gonna wait until after DS2 comes out to get it.