The Courier
gaming .31
Monday 17th October 2016
Rage Quit: Baldur’s Gate
Taking on a BioWare RPG?! Really? Gerry Hart slates the game that started it all
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Top 5 Budget Games
Since we’re all skint, Sam Blackburn discusses the best places to put your gaming cash 5: Civilization V
I
honestly thought I’d enjoy Baldur’s Gate. I’d always been told that this BioWare classic was a must play for RPG fans like myself. So naturally I bought the advanced edition and created a mage (likely handicapping myself) but after about 13 hours I just couldn’t be fucked playing anymore. I guess my problem is I just don’t get it. Baldur’s Gate was released in 1998 (when I was only four and barely sentient) and alongside games like Planescape: Torment and Icewind: Dale became emblematic of isometric, party-based RPGs that require diligence and strategy to play effectively. It was also based on the Second Edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons which isn’t easy to grasp. I don’t even know how to begin describing the myriad of stats, spells, classes, races and how they all interlink. Granted hard copies of the game came with a huge manual detailing these eldritch rules and walkthroughs are readily available but it’s still a tough nut to crack, as are trying to utilise these mechanics in-game. Speaking of which, the combat’s brutal. Char-
acters have few hitpoints and can be killed permanently should they fall in battle. The game also occurs in real time, requiring the player to pause frequently to issue orders to their party. Mechanically it’s a smart system, but frequently my party struggled to land a hit whilst enemies would just shit all over me (metaphorically speaking). Mages in particular get dicked over with their relative lack of combat capabilities as spells can only be cast a limited number of times per rest. It doesn’t help that trying to move your party feels like trying to shepherd spiders either. The plot isn’t much better. As the adopted child of the wizard Gorion, you must uncover a sinister conspiracy concerning yourself, your adoptive father and the fate of your homeland. Its an okay premise, but I never felt like the plot had much presence in the overall game. Oftentimes there is little to differentiate main and side quests save for some exposition at major plot points (some of which I stumbled into by pure chance). Compounding this are the in-game locations, which often lack visual variety in addition to feeling static,
lifeless and full of townspeople spouting off ye olde fantasy bullshitte. I also found myself disliking the game’s iconic party members. For one there were just too many of them and besides the ones in the advanced edition they all have one personality trait they cling to like barnacles. Examples include a neurotic half-elf warrior, a “suggestive” pirate (not a cool one like Isabella from Dragon Age) and some dude with a hamster. Moreover most companions seldom interact with you which in turn afford them few opportunities for character development. Compare that to Planescape: Torment or Pillars of Eternity which both had fewer but far more interesting companions with unique, multi-faceted personalities and plenty of opportunities for player interaction. So as I said I don’t get Baldur’s Gate though I suspect I’m partly at fault. After all I didn’t play it at the time - and I’m not into D&D - but I nonetheless found it to be dull at best and obtuse and frustrating at worst. I gave it my best, but I anticipate some interesting responses to my sacrilege.
Memory Card: Morrowind Oculus Miffed Jack Coles turns his back on Skyrim and heads for the Ashlands
T
he Elder Scrolls series is a little like one of those people who suddenly get weirdly popular and attractive at the age of 18. The series started in 1994, but sales exploded with the release of Skyrim (2011), a game that ended up being more extensively used than recreational ketamine. Morrowind was released nine years before, and it really was the point where the series started to get pretty good. Previous games were mostly procedurally generated and looked like they were drawn on Microsoft Paint – much like a lot of indie games released in the past year or so. Morrowind was a bold new step for Bethesda, where they put every single building, NPC and even many items in place by hand with some crushing attention to detail. It’s a very clunky game, both in visuals and design, but that just adds to its charm. There are a bewildering 27 skills available that need a bit of experimentation and/or Wiki reading to understand fully, making it feel like those bygone times when you had to use dial-up Internet or expensive phone calls for cheats. Visually it’s boxy and underwhelming; the graphics were cutting edge at the time, but then again, so was the Eurozone. Most of the dialogue takes place within a text box, so most NPCs end up feeling exactly the same – but the few truly unique characters really stand out as a result. The
few lines that are spoken are usually shared across many NPCs, to the extent where you can get three people saying the exact same phrase within seconds of each other. Morrowind has the air of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign run by someone with great imagination but very little memory: the map is vague, directions are vaguer, and draw distance is not much more than thirty metres. Skyrim only has eight joinable factions, but Morrowind has fifteen. The interplay between various factions is very important in Morrowind, as is the lore and history of the place, creating a rich combination of cultures and religions. It does, however, carry some problems where just one simple action can end up locking yourself out of many other options (looking at you, Sottilde). Also, like D&D, nearly everything from casting spells to hitting people with axes to bribing government officials has an element of chance to it. Some people can deal with that level of RNG. Others… cannot. When in Morrowind, consider visiting some of these landmarks: Tel Vos, a plant tower forced to grow through an old fort; The House of Earthly Delights in Suran, a strip club less sexy than Duke Nukem 3D’s; and Vivec, a city founded by a chap so obviously brilliant that he just had to name the place after himself.
Image: Joshua Ezzell on Flickr
Alex Peden talks alt-right Oculus shenanigans!
Since it was revealed that Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR and inventor of the Oculus Rift, had donated $10,000 to pro-Trump group Nimble America, which claims to be ‘dedicated to shitposting in real life’, according to an article in The Daily Beast, there has been a widespread backlash amongst developers, with many pulling funding and support for the company.
“Politics is at the heart of this issue”
It has also been reported that Luckey may actually be the founder of the group, operating under the Reddit username NimbleRichMan. Although Luckey has since denied that his funding of the group was motivated by politics, a number of developers have called for his resignation, and have stated that they will not work with Oculus whilst they employ Palmer Luckey. Personally, I think developers such as Scruta Games and Polytron are all well within their rights to remove support for the Oculus Rift in their games for moral and political reasons. Yes, the Oculus Rift is a brilliant piece of hardware, and represents a real revolution in gaming, but if the company is managed by a racist, or a supporter of racists, I’d prefer to use other VR platforms. And developers agree. Politics is at the heart of this issue. The hysteria surrounding politics in America is at its highest with the US presidential election rapidly approaching, and with Trump moving dangerously close to becoming the most powerful man in the world everyone has their own opinion, including games devs. Expressing support for Trump, even by proxy through donating to a troll group which supports his ideals, is just asking for trouble. Even if Luckey didn’t set out to support Trump and his values – he has stated on Facebook that he donated to Nimble America because he believed ‘they had fresh ideas on how to communicate with young voters’ (yeah, sure mate) – he was still naïve to think there would be no backlash from games developers, who are perfectly justified to distance themselves from him.
This is one which you may find prices from £5-£20, but Empire Gaming are selling the complete edition which features all expansion packs for £7.99. That is an amazing deal for a fantastic turn based strategy. Although Civilization VI is out soon, this is the perfect alternative for those who would prefer to spend their student loan on trebles at Sinners most nights, but are also partial for trying to conquer the world. A great one for students of politics and history. If you do fail University because of this game I take no responsibility.
4: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time When people talk about what is the greatest game of all time, many will mention Ocarina of Time. A massive adventure from yesteryear, Ocarina of Time is a game which will take you on an unforgettable adventure all gamers should be made to play at least once. Despite its age, those who own Nintendo consoles can pick up this masterpiece at £8.99 for the Virtual Console port of the original on the Wii U or £15.99 for the 3DS reimagining. The N64 version may be harder to find though…
3: Fallout: New Vegas Many may be scowling at the emission of Fallout 3 in favour of its ginger stepbrother, but I am in the camp that Fallout New Vegas is both the best Fallout game and easily one of the best roleplaying games ever made. You can pick this up for less than a fiver in places such as Grainger Games and CEX, found around Newcastle. For less than a McChicken Sandwich meal, you are getting over 200 hours worth of content in one play through alone! Not gelling with your flatmates at the moment? Who needs to socialise when you can lock yourself in your room playing this masterpiece all night?
2: Burnout Paradise Maybe you’re not that hardcore of a gamer and would prefer something a little bit more casual. Although almost 9 years old, one cannot go wrong with picking up Burnout Paradise. An arcade open world racer, with an insane amount of content, you will be driving around Paradise City for days. The last of its franchise, Criterions swansong is easy to find and will only set you back between £4-10 depending on which version you get. Despite featuring Avril Lavigne’s 2007 hit ‘Girlfriend’, the game also boasts an amazing soundtrack and the option to turn every song off apart from ‘Stand and Deliver’ by Adam and the Ants.
1: Minecraft I think the common theme I’ve tried to push within this list is the idea of getting way more content than you actually paid for. Is there a game over than Minecraft that sums up this concept more? A game limited only by your own imagination, Minecraft is an essential component of all gamer’s libraries. With so much to do, so many ways to play and for about £15, Minecraft is the perfect sandbox game. Although it may become a distraction, I’m sure Architecture students can somehow blag a way to make this seem relevant to their course.