Roger Edwards 1/24/17 Roger Edwards 1/24/17

Looking for the Right RPG

Sometimes when you try something new, you can inadvertently enter the market at the top end. For example, if the first fantasy novel you read may be The Lord of the Rings or the first RPG game you play is either Skyrim or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, then you’re definitely dealing with A list products. Although this has the benefit of providing a high quality personal experience, it also comes with a downside. The bar for such content has now been set extremely high and subsequent forays into similar territory may not be as good or enjoyable. To use a clumsy analogy, once you’ve had Châteauneuf-du-Pape, your local stores economy brand may no longer suffice.

I have grown to like RPGs in recent years. I enjoy the open world environments and the scope they offer for epic story telling. When done well an RPG creates the illusion of a living world. This can range from major events that have an impact upon the landscape, all the way down to the banter that is exchanged between NPCs in the town centres. For me the most important factor in all of this is the underlying narrative. I want to like the central character and participate in an engaging story. Effectively, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has spoilt me rotten and I would very much like to have a comparable experience with another title. However, finding such a game can prove difficult.

Recently I revisited Arcania: Gothic 4 and played through the main game as well as the expansion, Fall of Setarrif. The game's mechanics are perfectly adequate and the combat, crafting and skills point allocation have been straight forward. The game engine is not too shabby and ingame world looks quite vivid. The climate changes from sunshine to rain and the wind sways the foliage, producing a pleasant and credible environment to explore. The different zones do feel a little to artificially hemmed in at times, which can break the illusion that this is a true open world but it’s not a deal breaker. Sadly the sea is not accessible and you cannot swim from the coastline due to invisible walls

The character models are acceptable but upon closer inspection are repeated quite a lot within the game. You cannot customise the look of the character that you play, which is a little disappointing. The voice acting is also somewhat patchy and there are dialogue glitches that occur from time to time. The subtitles do not always match what is said, which can be both confusing and hilarious. Which leads me to the games overall story which is sadly an arbitrary fantasy adventure. It not excruciatingly bad and I've endured far worse in the past. It's just very generic with the usual tropes, faux lore and geographical locations. The dialogue is a very stylised form of "Olde English" with liberal use of UK colloquial slang.

It's a shame that there aren't more open world games based in different settings. The RPGs, despite having some high-profile forays in to the science fiction genre, still seems to be predominantly, fantasy-centric. Can we not have a change? This is one of the reasons I like Sherlock Homes: Crimes & Punishment and The Testament of Sherlock Holmes. I love the authentic Victorian world that developers Frogwares have created with its attention to detail and period atmosphere. Such an environment would be ideal for an RPG but sadly these games are not technically of that genre and merely hint at the potential of true open world. The bottom line is that fantasy sells, having a tried and tested track record, so it takes a bold vision to do something different.

Even with the latest technological resources, creating an expansive open world game which simulates a living world, as well as populating it with well-defined NPCs, is time consuming and expensive. As a result, game’s such a Skyrim and The Witcher 3 are few and far between. The PC port of Grand Theft Auto V, despite sporting a fantastically detailed sandbox environment sadly lacked the depth of narrative that I look for. It was a similar story with Watch Dogs. It makes me wonder if the RPG genre will ever reach its full potential, due to the fact that gamers aspirations and developers financial imperatives seem to be at odds with each other. In the meantime, I'll soldier on and try another of the RPGs I have in my Steam catalogue. Let’s see if there’s any mileage in Risen 3: Titan Lords.

Roger Edwards 7/5/16 Roger Edwards 7/5/16

Blood and Wine

Blood and Wine, the swansong DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, is yet another exquisitely crafted blend of quality adult narrative and action gaming. As ever with this franchise there’s a central story that drives the game but the devil is in the detail of the secondary quests, witcher contracts and treasure hunts that occur along the way. Blood and Wine oozes both beauty and mystery during its thirty plus hours of content. It’s also a fitting denouement for Geralt of Rivia; a character I’ve warmed to over the four hundred plus hours I’ve played. Future RPGs will have a tough act to follow now that CD Projekt Red has set the bar so high.

Set after the events of the main game, Blood and Wine finds Geralt of Rivia summoned to the Duchy of Toussaint to investigate the slaying of the regions elite by a creature dubbed “The Beast”. The new region bears a striking resemblance to Southern France, with a warm climate, vineyards and picturesque villages. It’s a striking contrast to the windswept and rainy forests of Velen and Novigrad. As with the main game the superficially straightforward plot soon become complex, filled with duplicity, difficult decisions and multiple story outcomes. Toussaint is also a dangerous zone which can be taxing even at the default difficulty level. Bandits and monsters are considerably more robust requiring a more considered approach to combat. Alas, Superior Grapeshot is no longer the get out of jail card it was in previous DLC.

Blood and Wine not only offers new content but a wealth of upgrades to the UI, quest trackers and such like, which greatly enhance the game. Sorting your inventory is now far easier as is managing your abilities. The DLC adds a new mutation mechanic that allows you to create specialised ability modifiers. It certainly adds to the combat system and levels the playing field against some of the sturdier monsters. Blood and Wine also embraces the cosmetic allowing colour customisation of Geralt’s armour, of which there is now a Grandmaster tier. Early on in the game you are awarded a vineyard and an estate that can be upgraded. It boasts an alchemy table, armour bench and stable for Roach.

Irrespective of the fine tuning, which is most welcome by the way, the foundation of Blood and Wine as well as the main game is the quality of the stories it tells. When I first started playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I was not overly familiar with the character of Geralt of Rivia. I had played through some of the first game in the franchise and had skipped the second. At first I thought Geralt was going to be another gravel voiced anti-hero in the classic Clint Eastwood idiom. I was greatly surprised by breadth of his backstory and depth of his character. Due to the dialogue options there is scope to play Geralt as an insensitive dolt, if you so please. However if you embrace the emotional quandaries that the story offers and go with your gut feelings, you’re rewarded with the tale of a decent and humane individual that flies in the face of the stereotype that witchers are emotionless.

Blood and Wine offers several storylines that have moral choices and these tend to be complex and nuanced, as opposed to arbitrary and trite. I found the side quest involving the Spotted Wight especially tragic yet the option to be merciful has a satisfying outcome. There is sentiment in the game from time to time but it is tempered and often bitter sweet. Life is frequently depicted as a bleak struggle, especially for those of the lower classes. Yet it is through the prism of this flawed and brutal world that CD Projekt Red explores the finer points of humanity. Games seldom have this level of maturity and intellectual honesty.

Games reviewer Tom Senior over at PC Gamer effectively sums up how I feel about The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its DLC. “Frankly if one of these expansions came out every year I'd still be playing The Witcher 3 in 2020”. Sadly this is the last we’ll be seeing o the Northern Realms and Geralt of Rivia for the immediate future. Developers CD Projekt Red naturally wants to focus on new games and fresh ideas. In the meantime I shall content myself with finishing all available content in Blood and Wine and ensuring that I’ve left no stone unturned. It’s the little things in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that are the most rewarding. The notes and journals that you read with their snatches of people’s lives or the rhymes the children sing as they play in the streets. The pop culture references that you find along the way often raise a wry smile. So I intend to enjoy every last part of the game as I suspect it will remain a high point, not to be bettered for a long time.

Roger Edwards 1/12/16 Roger Edwards 1/12/16

Hearts of Stone

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was a gaming milestone in many ways and was by far the best game I played in 2015. For me an RPG is all about character and plot first, followed by gaming mechanics. The Witcher 3 has a rich and varied narrative that doesn’t shy away from difficult issues. The plot is nuanced and doesn’t offer glib binary dialogue options. I actually cared about the characters and was moved by the tragedy of some storylines. It’s the nearest I’ve come to an interactive novel. The open world is enthralling and combat is accommodating of different play styles. Overall I feel that the £27.48 I spent on the base game and season pass has been incredible value.

I returned to The Witcher 3 last week as I had time in my schedule to tackle the first expansion, Hearts of Stone that was released last October. As the benchmark for story telling had been set so high with the initial game, I was somewhat sceptical if CD Projekt Red could maintain the standard with this standalone tale. However my concerns were misplaced and Hearts of Stone has proved to be another intelligent, thought provoking, bittersweet tale. The expansion also strives to add more variety to the questline and I found such events as the wedding celebration to be a particularly different. Interacting with guests, playing party games and dancing make a pleasant change from the usual carnage. The vault break in was also a departure from the norm and I liked the way I got to choose my crew. I purposely antagonised the Dwarf Cassimir Bassi so he blew himself up.

There is naturally new armour and weapons available if you need to upgrade. I still find the Superior Wolven Witcher Gear to be a good set, even at level 39. The only change I’ve made is with my primary weapon. After defeating The Caretaker, I looted his spade which is an unusual weapon that heals you for 10% of all damage inflicted on enemies. I’m still experimenting with Runewords and Glyphwords system. They give large bonuses to weapons and armour but destroy the slots that they’re applied to. It’s something I want to ensure that I get right so a little more research is required before I’ll commit to a specific build. I recently started using bombs in combat, especially when fighting large groups of bandits or pirates. The Superior Grapeshot really does cause a lot of carnage if used pre-emptively.

As Hearts of stone have proven to be such a good expansion, I am now very optimistic regarding the next content update Blood and Wine. It allegedly offers twenty hours plus of narrative set in the all-new in-game region of Toussaint. I’m therefore looking forward to another involving tale and the pleasure of exploring a new part of “The Continent”. As plaudits continue to be heaped upon The Witcher 3, perhaps a few more game developers will take note of all the things that CD Projekt Red seem to be getting right. Commercial success does not have to be at the expense of creativity, quality or priced prohibitively.

Roger Edwards 12/27/15 Roger Edwards 12/27/15

A Year in Gaming Part 2

I started 2015 playing RPGs. Despite becoming bored with Dragon Age: Inquisition and its ponderous storyline, I still found this particular genre engaging. January and February are often slows months in my line of work, so it’s a good time of year to immerse oneself in games of this type. I played through both Arcania : Gothic 4 and Rise of the Argonauts and found them both to be enjoyable. Neither of these titles was revolutionary, being mainly “business as usual” RPGs. However both were bought as part of gaming bundles and the discounted price does have an impact upon my gaming expectations. For what they were, I enjoyed them.

During the course of the year I strayed from my using game choices on two occasions and both proved to be good decisions. Hand of Fate is an action role-playing video game with roguelike and deck-building elements. I usually never touch deck based games but the fact that each hand of cards plays out in third person action combat intrigued me. Furthermore the creators Defiant Development have continually patched and added free DLC to the game over the course of the year. The other title that was a departure from my usual purchasing habits was The 39 Steps, which is a digital adaptation of John Buchan’s classic story. The interactive narrative that allows you to engage with the world around you and discover the story is imaginative and creative. I hope that Scottish developer The Story Mechanics do more famous novels in this idiom.

As I stated in my previous post about my gaming experiences of 2015, that I’ve changed my stance on the MMO genre. I have continued to play through content updates for LOTRO and am overall pleased that such material is still being produced. However the latest update set in Minas Tirith is of varying quality and for ever good and engaging quest line, there is also an arbitrary or frankly disappointing one. I have never been a fan of the Epic Battles but the two new ones set upon the walls of Minas Tirith are extremely underwhelming. As ever the NPCs do most of the fighting and I found my involvement relegated to cutting grappling hooks from the walls. Navigating around the wall and city circle below is confusing and frustrating. Update 17 is also somewhat unstable and I have had more crashes to desktop over the last month than I’ve had in the game for the last few years.

Star Trek Online proved to be far more engaging in 2015 than in previous years. The Delta Recruitment event was a great way to encourage players back to the game and to reward levelling. I enjoyed my experience so much I bought a discount lifetime subscription. Like LOTRO, STO benefits from a great IP and they really do utilise it well. Cast members from the show continue to voice characters that they’ve played and the standard of writing is consistently high. STO is also the only game in which I’ll grind through seasonal festivals as Cryptic are one of the few developers that giveaway decent loot, rather generic cosmetic items. I have earned two Tier 6 ships over the course of the year, both of which are worth £20 each.

I tried Marvel Heroes this summer after hearing positive feedback about the game from several friends. I must admit the game does provide a great way to scratch that pew pew itch and the barrier to entry is low. You can roll an alt and be playing within minutes of downloading the client. It’s also one of those titles where there’s always something going on or something to work towards. However because I don’t have any major ties to the source IP, I decided not to make this one of my primary gaming titles. I was hoping that the Heart of Thorns expansion for Guild Wars 2 would fill that role. Sadly the new landmass and class were not to my liking and ArenaNet are simply taking the game in a direction I’m not happy with. So Guild Wars 2 was finally uninstalled from my PC where it’s been since the games launch in August 2012.

It is customary to list ones favourite games at this time of the year or pick a specific title that is worthy of praise. For me that has to be The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. The fact that I played over three hundred hours between October and November indicates how compelling I found it. The open world is magnificent, rich with detail and a dynamic weather system. The game mechanics are sufficiently varied to be engaging without being too complex. You can play tactically relying upon your spells or focus on potions and support items if you please. Naturally if you prefer a more hands on approach you can go full out DPS. But the games crowning glory is its narrative and the sense that your decisions really do have an impact upon the world. I cannot remember the last time I played such a gripping story and cared this much about the central characters. The story telling in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is adult and complex. This is not a binary world with clear cut consequences.

2015 has seen a reduction in my overall gaming per se. My free time has fresh demands upon it and coupled with my changing relationship to both fandom and the wider gaming community, I don’t feel disposed towards playing as much. The close of the year has seen me dabble with the cell phone controlled RPG, Eon Altar and that has been a positive experience so far. I also bought GTA V at a discounted price so have explored that open world in recent weeks. At present I do not have any major titles in mind to purchase in 2016. I suspect that the next twelve months will more than likely follow the same path as the last, with regard to game releases and my attitude towards them. I suspect if gaming wants to vie for my attention in 2016, it will have to pull something quite special out of the bag.

Roger Edwards 12/26/15 Roger Edwards 12/26/15

A Year in Gaming Part 1

This time last year I wrote a two part post called A Year in MMOs. Twelve months later I find myself writing a similar round-up of my gaming activities. However this time round the title has now become A Year in Gaming. One of the most significant changes for me over the course of 2015 has been my step away with the MMO genre. Where in the past I would seek out new titles and stay abreast of those in development, I now find myself no longer drawn to the genre by default. Traditional titles such as LOTRO have been sidelined. This is because both MMOs and I have changed over recent years. Although I still play this genre (mainly STO), I do so sparingly and it is no longer the apple of my eye or the mainstay of my gaming time.

Game design and mechanics naturally evolve over time and are often driven by basic market forces. There is therefore a wealth of differences between games such as Ultima Online and Guild wars 2. Although I have adapted to the more casual game play that is now prevalent in the genre recently, I do find that MMOs are becoming increasingly homogeneous. Beyond their own setting and lore, new titles seldom have anything different to offer with regard to game design. They lack of a killer mechanic; something that makes them a radically different experience from their competitors. Then there is the requirement to invest time in such games, which is something I can no longer do. The days of me playing a particular game every day for five hours or more have past.

So this year I’ve found myself playing more single player games; titles that can be played and completed within a reasonable time span. In fact I found this to be a satisfying aspect in my overall gaming experience. I like the idea of playing through a compelling story at a measured pace and then reaching a definitive conclusion. This may take just a dozen hours, as was the case with Hand of Fate and Rise of the Argonauts or over three hundred with titles such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is an experience more akin to reading a book, indicating that a strong narrative is an essential aspect of my gaming enjoyment. It would seem that as I get older I want less of a challenge and more of an emphasis on entertainment. Excessively complex games, with a steep learning curve and chronic skills bloat are not as attractive to me as they use to be.

Another facet of gaming that has changed for me this year has been my perception of the wider community, including both fan and professional websites. I have stopped reading several news outlets and blogs simply because they do not provide any valuable information about games any more. 2015 has been the year of the live stream of the "let's play" video on You Tube and these are now an integral part of my decision making process as to whether to buy a game or not. However I’m increasingly finding that my age often put me at odds with many of the You Tube personalities. I appreciate that many are running commercial endeavours but their need to “entertain” and be “characters” for me gets in the way of the reviews and critiques. Take for example Jim Sterling’s #FuckKonami “campaign”. I broadly agree with the sentiments he’s trying to express but the very terms it’s couched in just strike me a puerile and therefore mitigate much of the point.

When you are a fan of something, you often feel that it is something special, unique and meaningful. There is a chance that the object of your affection is all those things but more often than not that is simply wishful thinking. Games are commercial leisure products, made with the express purpose of making money for the publishers. The wider industries associated with marketing and reviewing them are similarly self-serving. Perhaps part of a gamer’s personal journey over time is finding a sense of perspective on these matters. I believe this year I have found such a point of equilibrium. Gaming is an entertaining leisure activity and that on occasions can be art. But for most of the time it is an ephemeral pastime and a shamelessly commercial endeavour (I’m looking at you Star wars Battlefront) and therefore should be treated as such.

A positive lesson I have learnt over the course of this year’s gaming is that I now have a very clear handle on what I want from the title that I play. Apart from one mistake which was the Guild Wars 2 expansion Heart of Thorns, I have enjoyed all of the purchases that I have made this year. This essential comes down to fully researching each title and what it specifically has to offer as well as at what price point I purchase a product at. Once again it is interesting how the financial cost of a game impacts upon ones expectations. I no longer feel like a child in a toy shop, running from display to display, overwhelmed by the choice available. 2015 has been the year of coming to terms with what games are and what I want from them. It's only taken me a quarter of a century!

Roger Edwards 10/25/15 Roger Edwards 10/25/15

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Humour

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is not a game that strikes you as being light hearted at first glance. The plot is dour and brooding, set in a world of human (and non-human) misery and suffering. In many respects this is one of the game’s greatest assets because it’s all so worryingly plausible. The rich and powerful pursue their own goals, heedless of the cost to the rest the kingdom. Those at the very lowest strata of society live a precarious existence. Despite its fantasy setting the world of the Witcher is not that different from our own.

However despite the overall tone of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, there are instances of humour to be found. Often these are discretely integrated in to the game via snatches of incidental dialogue, cryptic entries in the games bestiary or via the village notice boards. As ever with these sorts of things, the writers reference popular culture. However in this instance, CD Projekt RED proves to be more scholarly than other developers. Many of the quips, asides and homages refer to classical literature and scientific theory.

So here are four examples that I’ve found so far during my play though. I’m sure there are many more. All raised a wry smile when discovered and I now make it my business to trawl through all aspects of the game in pursuit of further hidden gems. Its embellishments such as these that add further depth and character to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. If only other developers took such time and care as CD Projekt RED.