Templar Wizard
Member
perhaps one of the most controversial development houses in videogame history coupled with an employee rollcall of some of the biggest names in western dev, Ion Storm are a legend.
and now the Ion Storm trilogy:
The hype of Daikatana, the quality of Deus Ex, the forgotten Anachronox!
Deus Ex:
everyone does, or should, know Deus Ex, perhaps the "best game the west can offer" so said [another forum member], and how right he is. although slightly dated now, a cross-genre masterpiece. its an RPG played from a FP viewpoint, with skill upgrades, class skills, and upgradable weapons, in a great story.
now the Deus Ex name has been tarnished by its vastly inferior "streamlined" sequel, which removed all that made Deus Ex great. dont believe me? there is a reason why DX:Clan wars was renamed....
havent played Deus Ex? well, the world has moved on now, and if you play it now, you will probably be disappointed by its mediocre combat engine, its lack of AI and it fugly gfx. but if you think like that you are a fool. Ü
Daikatana:
'john romero wants to make you his bitch'. so screamed the tagline, and the game didnt arrive. and then the game didnt arrive. and then the game didnt arrive. and then it did arrive. and it hit bargin bins perhaps 2 weeks later.
the problem with daikatana is that the prople who put it down havent actually played it. they will cite romero and his ego and his hair and his chair and other ancillary information.
here is the juice form someone who actually played it:
"xxxxxxxxx said: daikatana isnt so bad, ancient greece is good...as is the generic northern [levels]"
and he is right. daikatana isnt terrible but it isnt great either. its an average game that was released too late and the news stories about its budget took all its press.
if you have access to a copy you should play it, although on super easy so you speed through the levels and see what went wrong, but also what went right. you might find you actually enjoy some of it, but its not a reccomendation.
Anachronox:
Anachronox is a one of those definite 'most underrated games evah!', no one really knows much about it, never played, and has forgotten it. Overshadowed by the Daikatana press, not supported by Eidos when released, and hoisted by [its] own petard due to some showstopping bugs.
but its a great game. imagine a final fantasy game set 'in space', but remove the teenagers and pseudo steampunk lace-cute art design. Add a smartass script, some very world weary characters and some great level design and you have it!
although the combat mechanism is flawed, its not the combat that is the draw, its the exploration and finding out what Tom Hall hasnt planned for you to do next. i could describe some of the situations but that would be too much spoilage.
I believe that Hall has been trying to get the rights back from Eidos because he wants to finish the game. if there was one pc game that should have been on consoles, it was Anachronox... hopefully it could happen in the future, but i feel it will never happen.
seriously: go play this game.
now, of course, there were other IS games but for the purpose of this post....
and now the Ion Storm trilogy:
The hype of Daikatana, the quality of Deus Ex, the forgotten Anachronox!
Deus Ex:
everyone does, or should, know Deus Ex, perhaps the "best game the west can offer" so said [another forum member], and how right he is. although slightly dated now, a cross-genre masterpiece. its an RPG played from a FP viewpoint, with skill upgrades, class skills, and upgradable weapons, in a great story.
now the Deus Ex name has been tarnished by its vastly inferior "streamlined" sequel, which removed all that made Deus Ex great. dont believe me? there is a reason why DX:Clan wars was renamed....
havent played Deus Ex? well, the world has moved on now, and if you play it now, you will probably be disappointed by its mediocre combat engine, its lack of AI and it fugly gfx. but if you think like that you are a fool. Ü
Daikatana:
'john romero wants to make you his bitch'. so screamed the tagline, and the game didnt arrive. and then the game didnt arrive. and then the game didnt arrive. and then it did arrive. and it hit bargin bins perhaps 2 weeks later.
the problem with daikatana is that the prople who put it down havent actually played it. they will cite romero and his ego and his hair and his chair and other ancillary information.
here is the juice form someone who actually played it:
"xxxxxxxxx said: daikatana isnt so bad, ancient greece is good...as is the generic northern [levels]"
and he is right. daikatana isnt terrible but it isnt great either. its an average game that was released too late and the news stories about its budget took all its press.
if you have access to a copy you should play it, although on super easy so you speed through the levels and see what went wrong, but also what went right. you might find you actually enjoy some of it, but its not a reccomendation.
Anachronox:
Anachronox is a one of those definite 'most underrated games evah!', no one really knows much about it, never played, and has forgotten it. Overshadowed by the Daikatana press, not supported by Eidos when released, and hoisted by [its] own petard due to some showstopping bugs.
but its a great game. imagine a final fantasy game set 'in space', but remove the teenagers and pseudo steampunk lace-cute art design. Add a smartass script, some very world weary characters and some great level design and you have it!
although the combat mechanism is flawed, its not the combat that is the draw, its the exploration and finding out what Tom Hall hasnt planned for you to do next. i could describe some of the situations but that would be too much spoilage.
I believe that Hall has been trying to get the rights back from Eidos because he wants to finish the game. if there was one pc game that should have been on consoles, it was Anachronox... hopefully it could happen in the future, but i feel it will never happen.
seriously: go play this game.
now, of course, there were other IS games but for the purpose of this post....
