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SpiritWarrior · 11-03-2009, 11:41 AM

Well I played about an hour, and wow, this game is great. I had some misgivings, which I voiced in a GD thread, but so far, none have come true.

I will quickly say that from what I have already seen, I do think this will be the RPG of the year, and I do think it is worthy of the "spiritual successor" to Baldur's Gate title.

It's *feels* like Oblivion meets Baldurs Gate. I cannot help but feeling like i'm walking around Candlekeep library. It plays very like BG, but updated, streamlined etc.

First of all, this engine is OPTIMIZED. It's sad that we now have to mention whether or not a game-engine can actually run well, but w/e. The game runs like a dream for me. Pay attention, Champions Online and NWN2. This is how you optimize engines. The thing is fluid. Not one hitch or stutter as of yet. Keep in mind I am just in the first act, after coming out from the tutorial, but so far, so good!

The graphics are really cool. It's kinda like that hybrid realism style of art. I don't know what they call it, but it is similiar to Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. When you pause this game, some things look like an actual phtotgraph. You can also swing the camera around in 3d while paused, seeing fights from all angles. This makes for some amazing freeze-frame scenes, where you can actually see spell effects hit your character in a shower of light and and see all the details of the enemies you're engaging. I fought with a fire elemental and just seeing it caught in mid-attack while paused was a game in itself.

Spells are alot from BG and IWD series, but modified in name to not conflict with the D&D license. There's a burning hands equavalent and a magic missle one too. I spied mage armor and frostfire, along with healing spells for mages. I think mages are the healers in this game - not sure yet.

UI is nice and shiny, maybe a little bit clunky - but just a little bit. Within 10 mins I was already used to the controls - intuitive mas.

Anyways, gonna go try another character see what their origin is like!

11-03-2009, 11:41 AM	#1
SpiritWarrior Jack Burton Join Date: May 31, 2002 Location: Ireland Posts: 5,854	First Impressions Well I played about an hour, and wow, this game is great. I had some misgivings, which I voiced in a GD thread, but so far, none have come true. I will quickly say that from what I have already seen, I do think this will be the RPG of the year, and I do think it is worthy of the "spiritual successor" to Baldur's Gate title. It's feels like Oblivion meets Baldurs Gate. I cannot help but feeling like i'm walking around Candlekeep library. It plays very like BG, but updated, streamlined etc. First of all, this engine is OPTIMIZED. It's sad that we now have to mention whether or not a game-engine can actually run well, but w/e. The game runs like a dream for me. Pay attention, Champions Online and NWN2. This is how you optimize engines. The thing is fluid. Not one hitch or stutter as of yet. Keep in mind I am just in the first act, after coming out from the tutorial, but so far, so good! The graphics are really cool. It's kinda like that hybrid realism style of art. I don't know what they call it, but it is similiar to Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. When you pause this game, some things look like an actual phtotgraph. You can also swing the camera around in 3d while paused, seeing fights from all angles. This makes for some amazing freeze-frame scenes, where you can actually see spell effects hit your character in a shower of light and and see all the details of the enemies you're engaging. I fought with a fire elemental and just seeing it caught in mid-attack while paused was a game in itself. Spells are alot from BG and IWD series, but modified in name to not conflict with the D&D license. There's a burning hands equavalent and a magic missle one too. I spied mage armor and frostfire, along with healing spells for mages. I think mages are the healers in this game - not sure yet. UI is nice and shiny, maybe a little bit clunky - but just a little bit. Within 10 mins I was already used to the controls - intuitive mas. Anyways, gonna go try another character see what their origin is like! __________________ Still I feel like a child when I look at the moon, maybe I grew up a little too soon...