So I downloaded the demo after being told about it and well, I love it. I'm thinking of buying the full version but before I do I figured I ask the GA crew. Is it worth it? How long and involved is it? How deep does the gameplay get? What kind of things can i look forward to? I'm sure one of you out there have given this game a whirl. Care to give me some impressions? (thanks in advance)..
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about: www.playfate.com
not a single one of you have played this game?!! It's pretty good. You should give it a try.
The demo is free. it's a diablo type game and is very well made damn it! What more could you ask for?!!
Never heard of it, but I don't particularly like the idea of buying a game online, downloading it, and only being granted 3 "unlock" instances. What if over the course of the next year and a half I reformat my computer 3 times? Then I'm screwed out of trying to reinstall it a 4th time? Why? I already paid for the game. Or, what if WildTangent goes out of business within the next 2 years? Then I have no one to contact if I have a problem unlocking my legitimately purchased product.
Screw that. I buy games, not the right temporarily play said games.
Okay, the first thing that sets alarm bells ringing in my head is the fact that they had to put "play" before the name of their game in the URL. The second thing is when I go there and see the name "WildTangent". These guys are famous for installing spyware along with their games, so it's a definite no-no for me. Looking at the screenshots, it looks like a Diablo clone but with proper 3d graphics... in other words, not anything particularly new or innovative. Examining the site further reveals a FAQ in the support section which says that in order to unlock the game after purchasing, you have to be connected to the internet and disable your firewall and antivirus software... no, I don't THINK so, thanks very much. Also note that nowhere on the main site does it appear to say that you need to purchase it, do they leave that as a nasty surprise for people downloading it? "Hey dude, sorry you just wasted your time downloading this large 128Mb file, but you have to shell out some of your hard-earned before you can do jack with it!"
All-in-all, I wouldn't bother. Go and buy Diablo II, it actually comes on CDs, doesn't have spyware, and is probably at bargain bin prices by now.
Okay, the first thing that sets alarm bells ringing in my head is the fact that they had to put "play" before the name of their game in the URL. The second thing is when I go there and see the name "WildTangent". These guys are famous for installing spyware along with their games, so it's a definite no-no for me. Looking at the screenshots, it looks like a Diablo clone but with proper 3d graphics... in other words, not anything particularly new or innovative. Examining the site further reveals a FAQ in the support section which says that in order to unlock the game after purchasing, you have to be connected to the internet and disable your firewall and antivirus software... no, I don't THINK so, thanks very much. Also note that nowhere on the main site does it appear to say that you need to purchase it, do they leave that as a nasty surprise for people downloading it? "Hey dude, sorry you just wasted your time downloading this large 128Mb file, but you have to shell out some of your hard-earned before you can do jack with it!"
All-in-all, I wouldn't bother. Go and buy Diablo II, it actually comes on CDs, doesn't have spyware, and is probably at bargain bin prices by now.
"WildTangent" set off alarm bells for me too, but after some investigation I found this would NOT install any of the crap spyware the name is associated with. I installed the demo fine and got no other surprises. Since part of my job is to deal with spyware fucked computers, I'm pretty sure downloading/installing the demo has caused no threat.
Anyway, on to the goods. I was told by a few gamers on another forum that it was well worth a try and a very good game. So being the curious guy I am, I investigated a bit and eventually decided to give it a whirl. To my surprise it was excellent. So much so in fact that I actually want the full game. I am truely amazed that it was crafted by one lone programmer. The graphics, music, sound, gameplay etc.. are excellent. Come to think of it, I couldn't help but think while playing how awesome this would be on a PSP.
So now here I am with an issue. I really do want the full version but I, much like you guys am really put off by the whole download and install only 3 times thing. I just wanted to see if any of you by chance have played the full version. I know it's kind of a long shot but I figured this would be the place to ask. I don't want to plunk down $20 bills and get a bunch of garbage on my pc, or a small upgrade to a short demo. I want to make sure I get my money's worth.
So, I shall ask again. I don't really care to know if any of you think this is a spyware trap or a scam etc.. I appreciate the concern but I can handle myself in that respect. What I'm interested in knowing is if anyone has played, or know someone who has played the full version of the game. Thanks in advance.
I'd REALLY like to get some impressions of the full version if possible.
I bought the full version and I love it. I'm not a huge fan of the unlock thing, but I've played about 30 hours so far (with lots more to come), so the game has cost me well under a buck an hour. I can't really complain about that. Also, I saw this post by the Fate developer on another forum:
I'm relaying everyone's opinions on the DRM solution to the appropriate folk - I think they need to hear everyone's comments.
Customer support SHOULD increase your key count on request should your run out - but that's obviously a pain in the butt.
In the meantime, I have been told that you can actually back up your license, and you should be able to reinstall it after a reformat, and stay unlocked. It should be in the Program Files\Wildtangent\LicenseStores directory, which is effectively what you'd want to back up.
Then, after an OS reinstall, you'd reinstall the game, and restore this folder.
Don't know if that makes you rest any easier, but it's one (admittedly gimpy) option...
As far as the game goes, it's fantastic. The interface is incredibly slick and user friendly -- I can't say I ever died because I was unable to do what I should have done. The high level spells and summons are useful and powerful. There's a constant supply boss monters to fight and unique items to discover. Admittedly, the quests are very generic and repetive, but the goodies more than make up for that (especially the quests that ask you to retrieve some uber-item for some townsfolk -- retrieve item; yeah, that looks good; cancel quest; keep item).
After beating the main boss monster, you are given the option to retire your character. Retirement is entirely optional; it's possible to continue delving deeper and deeper into the dungeon as long as you wish to keep going. Retiring a character, however, means that you can longer play as that character, but you are allowed to pass along one item of your choice to the next character you generate. The item you pass down will also have all of its stats and powers increased by 25%. Furthermore, your decendent character will start the game with experience and fame. It's a great to build your way up to challenging the higher difficulty levels (with, of course, tougher enemies and better drops).
The only knock against the game that I can think of (and it really doesn't bother me), is that the game is easily exploited. Some of the spells and gems can be (ab)used to great effect making death an unlikely accident. Spoilers for some exploit examples:
Summoned creatures make great meat shields drawing damage away from you, but it does get kinda dry playing like that. My current fav exploit involves multiple pieces of socketed equipment, Superior Peridot Gems (+6% Life Leech per hit per gem), and the Dervish spell (+80% attack speed). With my current setup, I'm hitting monsters for about 200-400 damage and healing 60-90HP per strike, throw in the Dervish spell and that's happening about 4-5 times per second. I'm wading into groups of 5+ monsters with little issue.
I bought the full version and I love it. I'm not a huge fan of the unlock thing, but I've played about 30 hours so far (with lots more to come), so the game has cost me well under a buck an hour. I can't really complain about that. Also, I saw this post by the Fate developer on another forum:
As far as the game goes, it's fantastic. The interface is incredibly slick and user friendly -- I can't say I ever died because I was unable to do what I should have done. The high level spells and summons are useful and powerful. There's a constant supply boss monters to fight and unique items to discover. Admittedly, the quests are very generic and repetive, but the goodies more than make up for that (especially the quests that ask you to retrieve some uber-item for some townsfolk -- retrieve item; yeah, that looks good; cancel quest; keep item).
After beating the main boss monster, you are given the option to retire your character. Retirement is entirely optional; it's possible to continue delving deeper and deeper into the dungeon as long as you wish to keep going. Retiring a character, however, means that you can longer play as that character, but you are allowed to pass along one item of your choice to the next character you generate. The item you pass down will also have all of its stats and powers increased by 25%. Furthermore, your decendent character will start the game with experience and fame. It's a great to build your way up to challenging the higher difficulty levels (with, of course, tougher enemies and better drops).
The only knock against the game that I can think of (and it really doesn't bother me), is that the game is easily exploited. Some of the spells and gems can be (ab)used to great effect making death an unlikely accident. Spoilers for some exploit examples:
Summoned creatures make great meat shields drawing damage away from you, but it does get kinda dry playing like that. My current fav exploit involves multiple pieces of socketed equipment, Superior Peridot Gems (+6% Life Leech per hit per gem), and the Dervish spell (+80% attack speed). With my current setup, I'm hitting monsters for about 200-400 damage and healing 60-90HP per strike, throw in the Dervish spell and that's happening about 4-5 times per second. I'm wading into groups of 5+ monsters with little issue.
Thanks much! This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. I have a quick question if you don't mind though. Are there other areas in the game or does that main dungeon just keep getting deeper and deeper as your character advances? I'm asumming you can continue to explore and open up various other dungeons throughout the land? No/Yes? Some comments I've heard make it seem like there is only that one dungeon your character keeps going back to. I hope thats not the case. Randomly generated or not, I'd like to see something different after awhile.
Anyway, thanks for the comments. They were VERY helpful.
There's only one village and one dungeon, but the dungeon's appearance does change as you go deeper.
I think it's a pretty neat game, and worth the $20 if you're into the genre. Though I do feel kinda guilty for contributing money to something that uses such obnoxious DRM.
