morrowind
it is astounding how disappointed i was playing this game. i'm a big fan of crpgs, in fact i'd probably say they're my favorite genre, but i wasn't impressed by kotor.
i DESPISE binary morality systems in video games. it's a pretty common criticism of bioware's other games such as mass effect, but i rarely see discussed how egregious it is in this game. THIS game is the genesis of that awful fucking trend in bioware games, NOT mass effect. in pretty much any situation where you as the player character are presented with a choice, you have the option to either be jesus christ, hitler, or hitler but he wants money.
the game doesn't force you to make difficult moral choices, unlike other RPGs i've played with morality systems, e.g. disco elysium, new vegas, fallout 2 etc. you're simply given an option of what you'd like to do. as such, it's difficult for me to engage with the dialogue choices beyond simply thinking "alright, what gets me the most value?" because what i'm being presented with doesn't even remotely entice me to pick the light option.
the combat isn't anything to write home about, either. it's just modified third edition d&d but with less spells. why the fuck would i play this over something like baldur's gate? seriously.
speaking of baldur's gate, one thing i think that game did EXTREMELY well was its companions. every single companion in both 1 and 2 are well-written and interesting. the same cannot be said of this game. party-based rpgs like this live and die by the quality of the party members, and there just isn't anything to speak of there. for the most part, they're not super interesting and they don't have much depth to them. i do not see a single person ever talk about any party member in this game that ISN'T HK-47, and while he's cool, the meatbag bit gets old really fast.
it should be said that i was aware of The Big Reveal years before i fully played this game, but imo that's not really something that'd invalidate what i've said. and honestly, it's not like a huge secret or anything if you think about it for more than 5 seconds. it doesn't even reinforce the game's themes, like it did in bioshock.
so, with all that, what are you left with? a pretty enjoyable romp, but not a terribly memorable one. what i most remember about this game was vacillating between being pissed off by taris and being bored by it.
i DESPISE binary morality systems in video games. it's a pretty common criticism of bioware's other games such as mass effect, but i rarely see discussed how egregious it is in this game. THIS game is the genesis of that awful fucking trend in bioware games, NOT mass effect. in pretty much any situation where you as the player character are presented with a choice, you have the option to either be jesus christ, hitler, or hitler but he wants money.
the game doesn't force you to make difficult moral choices, unlike other RPGs i've played with morality systems, e.g. disco elysium, new vegas, fallout 2 etc. you're simply given an option of what you'd like to do. as such, it's difficult for me to engage with the dialogue choices beyond simply thinking "alright, what gets me the most value?" because what i'm being presented with doesn't even remotely entice me to pick the light option.
the combat isn't anything to write home about, either. it's just modified third edition d&d but with less spells. why the fuck would i play this over something like baldur's gate? seriously.
speaking of baldur's gate, one thing i think that game did EXTREMELY well was its companions. every single companion in both 1 and 2 are well-written and interesting. the same cannot be said of this game. party-based rpgs like this live and die by the quality of the party members, and there just isn't anything to speak of there. for the most part, they're not super interesting and they don't have much depth to them. i do not see a single person ever talk about any party member in this game that ISN'T HK-47, and while he's cool, the meatbag bit gets old really fast.
it should be said that i was aware of The Big Reveal years before i fully played this game, but imo that's not really something that'd invalidate what i've said. and honestly, it's not like a huge secret or anything if you think about it for more than 5 seconds. it doesn't even reinforce the game's themes, like it did in bioshock.
so, with all that, what are you left with? a pretty enjoyable romp, but not a terribly memorable one. what i most remember about this game was vacillating between being pissed off by taris and being bored by it.
this is maybe my favorite game of all time. must play for anyone. unparalled atmosphere, music, plot, aesthetics.