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[Kingpen]

I really liked Champions of Norrath from a single player perspective. I have Untold Legends in shrinkwrap still because I am finishing up my MBA right now and things are hectic.
How is Return to Arms?

I am going to splurge on games after next month though, and really am wondering if I liked the other one so much, if I would like this one even if it is the same deal. More of the same is good in this instance for me. I didn't get burned out on Balders Gate series or Diablo cause I have never played them.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

RTA is "More of the same". If you liked Champions of Norrath, RTA is pretty much the same with a few tweaks here and there.

I can't comment on single player since I always play these games through with my wife and at least 1 other friend.

I can say that I feel Untold Legends is more interesting than RTA, and seems like it would be the better Single player experience.

 

[kaching]

I posted my comments to a similar question MrBob had earlier in the US PSP launch thread:

I've played through RtA and I've got a lvl 18 Druid in Untold Legends at the moment. Short answer to your question - I'm liking the single-player in Untold Legends over the SP in RtA.

If you played Champions of Norrath, the single player experience is largely the same in RtA. Many environment tilesets and creature skins are reused in RtA from CoN and some of the new ones are uninspired. New to the game structure are side challenges that range from arena combat to standard level runs with slightly different objectives/parameters than main quest levels. The main quest itself can be played from a good or evil perspective which changes very little. Like the "save the kitties" level in CoN, Snowblind has decided to include even more diversions from the standard dungeon hack formula that simply don't fit - like a "stealth" level and a "block push" level where the game clearly makes no control accomodations for either

Beyond that, it's still delivers the best feel for straight dungeon hack combat right now on consoles, but that hasn't evolved much from Snowblind's initial offering with BGDA.


I'd have to say I like Untold Legends better right now, if only because the Everquest setting has proven to be a little too generic and the original fantasy setting that SOE has crafted for UL, while by no means anything other than derivative, is still better realized I don't disagree with shpankey that the story could be considered average, but it's a hell of a lot better story and better delivered than what's on offer in RtA, even if it done completely through text. Beyond that UL is otherwise a very competent dungeon hack that handles the combat well, offers plenty of looting, has a decent art style with generally well-rendered environments and fairly diverse creature variety so far. Downsides are the load times and bit too much re-use of the same areas/dungeons for new objectives.

 

[Bristow]

Oh man, come on! Untold Legends is a good game by portable standards, but it's no where near as good as Return to Arms.

Kingpen, if you like the Dark Alliance/Champions hack 'n slash games, RtA is the best one to get.

 

[Pimpbaa]

Return to Arms sickened me, and I was a snowblind fan since Dark Alliance. The game resuses far too much art from the first game (to the point it feels like i'm playing CoN). It is even MORE buggy than CoN. And lastly the level progression seems slapped together with no real connection between them. It felt like something just slapped together to make a quick buck.

 

[Shompola]

If you want one diablo clone on consoles then it's definitely Baldurs Gate : Dark Alliance
If you want two then add Untold Legends.
While CoN and RtA are fun they are nowhere near fun the two games mentioned above.
If you want the best hack & slash game period then IMO it is the first Diablo game.

 

[teepo]

If you want the best hack & slash game period then IMO it is the first Diablo game.

wtf?

 

[Bristow]

I know you guys are trying to justify your $300+ purchase of the PSP, but recommending Untold Legends over Return to Arms is just silly. All of the Snowblind games/clones suck, but RtA is the best of the worst.

 

[Pimpbaa]

If you want the best hack & slash game period then IMO it is the first Diablo game.

Far more would argue that Diablo 2 is the best hack and slash game period.

 

[Shompola]

You guys missed the IMO part.
And no Diablo 2 was quite boring IMO, maybe because I didn't like the characters you could choose in it and the weird ass graphics among other annoying things in it.

Bristow, I despise the everquest world wich is a huge factor of why I dislike RtA.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I always felt "detached" from my character in the Diablo games. Probably because it seemed more like a "click-fest" than a true action game where I control my character directly. Controlling a character directly with a gamepad feels so much more fun to me.

 

[kaching]

Oh man, come on! Untold Legends is a good game by portable standards, but it's no where near as good as Return to Arms.

I'm not exactly sure what "by portable standards" is supposed to mean here when both games boast similar amounts of content and scope. I didn't do anything other than express a preference for UL over RtA. You don't see me making a statement as biased as to say that one game is "no where near as good" as the other.

 

[Shompola]

The main problem wiht UL IMO is that it feels awfully average the first 1h or so.. maybe even longer than that.. And the music is awful. Graphics aren't as good as the console versions but still it is very good, they would work just fine on a TV. But as you progress it gets better and better, even the story improves and actually gets somewhat interesting.

 

[Barrage]

I alwas wonder whenever these type of topics come up why Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is never mentioned. I've never played it myself, but the reviews are quite good and some of the new features(like the "workshop") sound really promising on paper. Can anyone who's played it tell me exactly why it's so much worse then the other games mentioned in this thread.

To the topic creator: In my opinion, Return to Arms is a lot of fun, and just a little worse then BGA1. Then again, i've never played CON.

 

[djtiesto]

If you want a good action RPG, try Ys:The Ark of Napishtim for PS2... definitely a better game.

 

[Shompola]

BG : DA II isn't really a bad game, but it is considerable worse than the first one. The main story is just boring and un-inspiring even though it continues where the first one ended. The interesting characters from the first game are replaced by other characters that simple aren't interesting. The overworld map is quite boring aswell. And believe it or not the game can't get more linear than this game. They practically pull you around with a leash. The level designs aren't as good as the other games that have used the same derivate of the engine. Still if you can get it cheap it's worth it. But don't expect it to be BG : DA because it isn't.

 

[VALIS]

I alwas wonder whenever these type of topics come up why Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is never mentioned. I've never played it myself, but the reviews are quite good and some of the new features(like the "workshop") sound really promising on paper. Can anyone who's played it tell me exactly why it's so much worse then the other games mentioned in this thread.

It's not worse at all. It's just barely different from DA1 (then again I haven't finished DA2 yet). The Bard's Tale never gets brought up in the hack 'n slash threads, either. A solid game and quite funny.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Several Points:

1) The music in Untold Legends is pretty bad, it really takes me back to the days of FM-Synth music in PC Games. It almost makes me feel nostalgic for the days of Ultima 6 and my Adlib or SoundBlaster card. The music is very similar to the generic PC game music of those days. Doesn't stop me from loving the game, however.

2) BG : DA2 is a good game that picks up where the first left off. My friend and I enjoyed it as much as the first. At least the game was pretty much 100% new content, which you can't say about a sequel like RtA. Main problem with DA2 was that it was still limited to two players only. The two BG games feel more intimate and story driven than the CoN games, IMHO. CoN and RtA are both very generic feeling. I think BG : DA2 "dropped off the radar" for most people because CoN was coming out shortly thereafter and it was ONLINE! Too bad the online modes for both Champions games ended up sucking. They were still great fun with friends in-house, however

3)

Ys:The Ark of Napishtim for PS2

and

The Bard's Tale

Are these games 2 or more player simultaneous? If not they will lose some of their appeal. How similar are they to BG/CoN otherwise?