Arena: Boy does it suck!! Will Daggerfall suck also?? hmmm...
ma...@netcom.com
I just picked up Arena a few days ago. I had been meaning to pick it up some
time ago, but all the bugginess and other controversy over it besides other
interests, kinda kept me from doing it. I wish I had forgotten about it
altogether! I can't believe how bad this game is. I was bored playing it on
the 3rd or 4th sitting!
Where's the character interaction??? All the townspeople say the same boring
and stupid inconsistent things. You don't go on quests, you just deliver things
like an errand boy. There's absolutely no other profession for you really
except thievery and that's boring as well. I mean how many ways can you get
insulted in an inn?? Why even have the patrons in the @#$@ inn if all they do
is insult you? Realism?? HA!
And where in the @#$@# is the multi-party system?? Why in the heck is
everything going Doom-blastic?!? This is a RPG is it not?? I'd like to have
the option to develop more than 1 character at the same time! SHEESH!
Are these like clone villages and citites? Where in the heck are the
differences in all the people?? Where are the thieves, beggars, shop keepers,
hawkers, etc, etc, etc. that make up a real medieval city?? Suure, you had some
of them there, plainly and outrightly telling you what they are. What does that
have to do with the game? Why'd they even bother?!
Of course, the cities looked pretty much alike. I was surprised at how big they
were, and less thrilled at how pointless it was to wander around in them. If
Wolfenstein 3-D's scrolling really turned you on, you might turn into a
drooling, pathetic heap, but there's nowhere to go and nothing to do.
Combat was pretty pathetic, one of the weakest and appauling apsects of Arena.
I was pretty surprised to see a Lizardman pop right into existance before my
eyes on a snowscape of all places!! Hmmm...are Lizardmen warm-blooded
creatures?? NAAAAa..they couldn't be. And I thought being allowed to rest in
certain dungeons on elevated alcloves without interruption was extremely weak
and unimaginative. Searching for loot is as simple as walking into a room and
finding it on the floor. Duh!, you should like put that in a safe or something!
The dungeons are just as weak as the rest of this game, you don't really know
what you've entered, you don' t really know where you're going, you don't really
know any history or details about the place! I mean, WOW! is it just me or does
all this seem just bunched together in a haphazard way? ?
The reason I ask and the reason I've even posted my overdue commentary on such
an old game is of course, Daggerfall. When I read the FAQ on the game I was
pretty impressed (Even after that Daggerfall demo crud I played which is
surprising..). However it may read and sound, a FAQ isn't and doesn't
necessarily convey the facts!
I give Bethesda alot of kudos for effort, but it seems to me, they know
absolutely nothing about RPGing. I mean, whoever is heading up the Arena
projects; have they ever actually read a fantasy novel or played more than 3 RPG
games computer or console??? Have they ever played a MUD even??
Maybe I'll get alot of heat for this post, but I don't care. TES:A was , still
is and will forever more be a piece of crap. And even though they add alot of
eye and ear candy to Daggerfall, if it still has TES:A's lame plot and storyline
structure or its abyssimal lack of NPC support and its repetitious textures,
I'll pass on it. I also can't say I like only being able to play 1 character at
a time. I want a RPG, not some Doom/mesh crap. I also don't like the hack and
slash combat system. Tactical, tactical is always the way to go. And if some
of you so called RPGers out there don't like that, you can go back to your Doom
shoot-em ups and adventure games! :P
I'd really like to get some feedback (Some of it positive if you don't
mind...heh.) on this. I'd really hate to see the future of RPGing turn out like
Daggerfall. It has some nice aspects, but they went awry in too many key areas.
-Mike the 'syke..
P.S. I forgot something..the sound effects in TES:A sucked also!
Paul Hitchcock
: I just picked up Arena a few days ago. I can't believe how bad this
game is. I was bored playing it on the 3rd or 4th sitting!
Absolutely correct! One of the most boring games of all time. Oh, it's
non-linear, all right: there's nearly an infinite number of ways to do
absolutely nothing.
: Where's the character interaction??? All the townspeople say the same boring
: and stupid inconsistent things.
Again, you've hit the nail on the proverbial head. Got a little tired of
hearing "Hello, I'm X and I do Y for a living. Polly wanna cracker? Awk!"
: And where in the @#$@# is the multi-party system?? Why in the heck is
: everything going Doom-blastic?!? This is a RPG is it not?? I'd like to have
: the option to develop more than 1 character at the same time! SHEESH!
Bzzt! Sorry, wrong answer. And you were doing so well, too! A
multi-party system does not necessarily need to be a feature of an good
RPG. And what's DOOM have to do with it, anyway? Saying a game is like
DOOM just because it has a 1st person viewpoint is like saying basketball
and football are the same sport since they both involve running people who
toss balls around. Just a tad simplistic.
: Are these like clone villages and citites? Where in the heck are the
: differences in all the people?? Why'd they even bother?!
Ah, now you're back on track! Boring, boring, boring!
: Combat was pretty pathetic, one of the weakest and appauling apsects of Arena.
: I was pretty surprised to see a Lizardman pop right into existance before my
: eyes on a snowscape of all places!! Hmmm...are Lizardmen warm-blooded
: creatures?? NAAAAa..they couldn't be.
Not to mention the number of times I was in a small room with a closed
door and had some creature pop out of thin air right before my eyes. How
friggin' realistic!
: I give Bethesda alot of kudos for effort.
You're much too generous.
: Maybe I'll get alot of heat for this post, but I don't care.
Not from me, you won't!
: TES:A was , still is and will forever more be a piece of crap
Which is why I flushed it from my HD.
: I also can't say I like only being able to play 1 character at
: a time. I want a RPG, not some Doom/mesh crap.
Sounds more like you want to be a director (i.e., dungeon master) rather
than a participant.
: I also don't like the hack and slash combat system. Tactical, tactical is
: always the way to go.
Wrong again, I'm sorry to say: Tactical is boring. Tactical is
unrealistic. Tactical breaks the flow of a RPG. Tactical is for those
people who get a kick of reading bus schedules and railway timetables.
And tactical schemes were always intended only as a SUBSTITUTE for the
real deal.
In fact, the tactical approach has always reminded me of the
"Do the Hokey-Pokey" kids' song. You know,
You put your right foot in
You take your left foot out,
...
And that's what it's all about.
Well, that ain't what it's all about when you're talking role-playing
games. Incidentally, you may have noticed that when actors are
"role-playing" in a film, you never see them stop, consult their notes,
and roll 'dem bones to see who had the better lines. Such an activity
would make for a very long and boring movie. Or computer game.
: And if some of you so called RPGers out there don't like that, you can
: go back to your Doom shoot-em ups and adventure games! :P
Now, now, be nice. And here's the DOOM bit, again, too! I get it
already-- you don't like DOOM! Don't be so obsessive.
: I'd really like to get some feedback (Some of it positive if you don't
: mind...heh.) on this.
I give you a score of 80%-- you're getting close to understanding the
motivation behind RPGs! But man, you've got to get over that 12-sided
dice, pen-and-paper thing and move into the computer age! Otherwise,
you'll wind up as an accountant. Or system administrator.
: P.S. I forgot something..the sound effects in TES:A sucked also!
Ok, I'll give you back 5% for perceptiveness. You now score 85%!
Christopher J Angel
came out. I borrowed a copy off of a friend and returned it after a week.
1) I'd like to thing role-playing involves something more than playing
UPS-man with a sword.
2) One of the basic tenets of RPGing is character intereaction. Thus we
have parties of adventurers, not this one guy. If your going to have 100
people in a city, you try to make each ona little different. Now
normally, this is the Game Master's(DM's, whatever) problem. But one of
the big this in computer RPGs is that the computer is the GM. Carbon
copy characters are boring. Hell, if Ultima could do it, why cant Arena?
3) Combat just sucked. If I wanted to play DOOM, I would.
4) Dungeons. PLEASE. Once you went through your fourth dungeon, you
knew all the "pieces" they built the dungeons out of and could go through
dungeons with barely a map check. Once again, if ultima could do it, why
not Arena?
5) Story. It didn't have one. I'm sorry, but "Get all these pieces of a
staff. Oh, you can also get some artifacts. Once you're done, go kill
this guy." And to all you who though it was "non-linear" try grabbing a
brain. Non-linear means there is NO order. In Arena you couldn't get the
second piece until you got the first, the third until you got the second,
and so on. Take a look at Ultima 5. There was one thing you had to do.
Get into the dungeon Doom and save Lord British. That's it. Of course,
there was a bunch of things to do first, but ALL that could be done at
random. Now THAT's non-linear.
6) Spell system. Thank's for trying. Nice, but once you got powerful
enough to cast the "total utility spell" (invis, levitiate, light, so on)
you could rock through the game. And maybe it's just me, but if it's
obvious to the writers that game is unbalanced, then hey, FIX IT. The
magic classes had a huge lead in the game. The effects were nice, though.
Just my $.02
Christopher Angel
cja...@mail.usask.ca