Where the consideration comes in for games, though, is two things. Time and money. To ask someone to invest $20-60 dollars AND a lot of their free time into something that's an unknown quantity, that's a big deal. Ask someone to do it several times in a year, and that's an even bigger deal.
Bear in mind, I'm not talking about n3wb-P3wn3r69, I'm talking about someone like me, that's semi-retired from the hardcore gaming scene, and just wants to enjoy himself, rather than have pride in having played every indie/hardcore release.
The games I'm talking about today are upcoming releases that I'm leaning toward buying, but more because I'm really interested in what the marketing and publicity has presented in terms of feature sets and story, rather than because they're part of a franchise I know and love.
Divinity: Original Sin (PC)
The Divinity series is one of which I've had an awareness, without really ever jumping in too deep. Yes, of course, I own every game in the series (thanks, Steam sales), but they keep getting brushed aside by something new and shiny before I can really sink my teeth in.
That changed a little last year, when Larian Studios released the mostly-excellent Divinity: Dragon Commander. However, that game is a sharp departure from the rest of the series gameplay-wise. I enjoyed it tremendously, for the most part, but had been waiting until the prequel to the series, Original Sin, was out before I really jumped in.
CONFESSION: I've already bought this game, so I suppose counting it as a 'Curious' game is a moot point. However, before playing the alpha, I was somewhat on the fence, despite having impulsively funded the game. Everything I knew about the series told me it was something right up my alley. The deep lore, the big worlds, the cool story, the solid combat.
The alpha, thus far, has confirmed that I will fucking LOOOVE the combat. Rather, I DO love the combat. Ever played a tabletop strategy game like Warhammer 40k? OK, there's your combat system. Were I saying this to me, I'd slap the person for daring to invoke the greatest combat system ever, and then hand over my money to Larian.
Where my curiosity mostly lies is in everything else in the game. What I've played of the alpha is pretty nice, but I'm curious to see how the rest of the presentation comes out, how the character builds are, and how the co-op works.
In all, I'm pretty excited.
Bravely Default (3DS)
Everything I've read and seen says that this is the Final Fantasy game we've been waiting for since the end of the PlayStation 1 era.
I just wish it was on any platform that wasn't 3DS.
Yeah, I could borrow my son's 3DS, and yeah, I also wanna play the new Phoenix Wright game on the 3DS, but ... it's still one more game platform I gotta buy. I am not excited about that.
Watch Dogs (PC)
Yeah, this isn't technically an RPG, but it sure has plenty of RPG elements, and I think this, rather than Thief, may be scratching the itch left by Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Also, I did my undergrad in Chicago, so I'm eager to see how closely they've rendered the real city.
Everything I have seen about this game blows me away, in particular, how much the user can use the environment around him or her to accomplish various goals. Promises like that, though, can sometimes underwhelm in their final implementation, as we've seen many times. Of course, it could also be the next DXHR.
Just please give me Steam achievements, and not just Uplay achievements.
And let me have my character take advantage of $.50 draft nights at the Parkway Tavern on Fullerton, if that's still a thing. Hell, if it isn't, make it a thing in the game. That was awesome.
Age of Decadence (PC)
I'm so excited about this game, I refuse to take part in the Steam Early Access. I don't want anything ruined for me before the finished product is out.
Turn-based, low magic, post-apocalyptic setting + an emphasis on choices and consequence? Where do I sign up? Oh, on Steam, it turns out. I've contemplated buying into the early access, just to help contribute to the game, and then not playing until it's done, but I know I'd be unable to resist just getting a taste. I don't want to have to replay anything in the final game. I'm so pumped, I want it all to just be new.
Curiously, though, it's been in development for, literally, 10 years, so I have some concerns about that. When you iterate on something that long, everything from the ideas to the tools you're using can become woefully outdated. That doesn't appear to be true here, especially since graphical fidelity doesn't appear to something with which they're very concerned, nor should it, for an old-school isometric game that still looks pretty decent.
What has me curious, and pumped about this game is the motivations and ideas behind it. Like I said, the interesting setting, plus the emphasis on choice really has me excited.
Wasteland 2 (PC)
And another 'old-school' PC RPG release, though this might be the biggest of them all. You like the Fallout series? Thank the original Wasteland.
To tell the truth, though, I've never played it. I know. It's true. It was released in 1988, when I was but a lad still cutting my teeth on Legend of Zelda.
This game features an overhead, rotatable view, turn-based combat, and a party of up to 7 people. The NPCs sounds pretty interesting, too, and seem like they're going to have a lot of logic dictating unique agendas on the part of the NPCs.
I will say, I'm fascinated by the resurgence of turn-based combat in these crowd-funded RPGs, and it tells me that there's an appetite for it out there. I know I've certainly missed turn-based combat. Frankly, I enjoyed both turn-based and real-time, but I like having both, and the turn-based games all but went away some time ago, at least in terms of the high-profile RPGs.
There's an early access version available on Steam for $60, but word on the street is that price will come down upon final release.
I'm heavily leaning toward getting this one, as well, but timing, if it slips all the way into the fall, when all my big boy games come out, may become a question. This game sounds beautifully huge, and rather demanding of time, but potentially worth it. We'll see when this actually comes out. It's in beta now.
Star Wars: The Old Republic (new content) (PC)
What an interesting couple of years and change it's been, SWTOR. I've stuck with you the whole way, and I'm still with you, but if you don't get some significant new story content, we're done this summer. It's not me, it's you. And ESO.
What about you? What games are you really curious about? What games have you just on the edge of preordering? Lemme know!
Thanks for reading! I'll be back tomorrow with my 'MUST HAVE' games of 2014!
-Blaine
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment