Who's your favourite female character in video games?

[mrthejoshmon]

BG3 is a good game, in terms of mechanics, gameplay and almost everything involved in actually playing it, I think it's fantastic.

 

With it actually being a Baldur's Gate sequel? Nah, it ain't anything like previous entries and takes some mega liberties with the source material.

 

They're like, entirely seperate entities from eachother almost entirely. Great games, strange choice of it being a sequel.

[hybridial]

2 hours ago, mrthejoshmon said:

With it actually being a Baldur's Gate sequel? Nah, it ain't anything like previous entries and takes some mega liberties with the source material.

 

This is the root of my problem with it. Well, that and I think the engine is trash which I think is hard to argue with, that thing is as creaky and jank and unpleasant to use as Bethesda's frankenstein version of Gamebryo. Solasta might be a much less pretty and a more modest production but at least it has an interface and camera that feel like they were created this decade and not back when Neverwinter Nights originally shipped.

 

BG1 and 2, prehistoric? nah, they still have a better interface than Larian's games and better gameplay design in many areas and definitely better writing with a more interesting premise. I also like it's tone a lot more and I enjoy their aesthetic a great deal. BG3 just does not do it for me mostly. 

 

But I will say that in general, shitting on "legacy" characters is a common trend nowadays which is only going to lead to people feeling betrayed. I'll just give Larian that they're probably not at fault here and WotC is (but their engine is their fault and it SUCKS :P)

Edited March 27 by hybridial

[OniriA]

I don't play the game but she's an absolute Queen.

 

 

^{Symmetra from Overwatch}

[Dr. DiegO]

Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2: many people hate her for one dumb joke In Episode One, but the rest of that game is pretty good despite being a short game in a failed development strategy. She's capable of fend for herself and actively you work with her without being an annoyance like the rest of game with an NPC companion, being the chapter Lowlife my example.

 

Samus Aran - Metroid: This is a VERY basic choice, but I find her a very compelling character, reading the mangas and the story from Zero Mission up to Fusion is pretty great, being independent, strong, and fighting her demons to keep the galaxy safe. I fucking hate what Other M did to her.

 

Verónica - Fallout New Vegas: she's one of my favorite companions and I like her story, being an optimistic girl in a hopeless world, capable to beat down an enemy with her own fists and her tinkering skill thanks to be raised by a group of isolated technocrat elitist playing to be knights.

[Mr. Freeze]

The only problem with BG3 is that it's a D&D game and I have to do all these banal "roll to walk upright" checks. 

[Ubik]

Undyne from Undertale is my idol.

[netcurse2000]

On 3/27/2024 at 9:23 PM, mrthejoshmon said:

They're like, entirely seperate entities from eachother almost entirely. Great games, strange choice of it being a sequel.

 

It would be strange to make a completely direct sequel. In 20 years, few people would be interested in this.

[netcurse2000]

On 3/27/2024 at 11:23 PM, hybridial said:

 

This is the root of my problem with it. Well, that and I think the engine is trash which I think is hard to argue with, that thing is as creaky and jank and unpleasant to use as Bethesda's frankenstein version of Gamebryo. Solasta might be a much less pretty and a more modest production but at least it has an interface and camera that feel like they were created this decade and not back when Neverwinter Nights originally shipped.

 

ROLFMAO. It's hard to say anything else. This “trashy, creaky and junk engine” for some reason provided such a level of graphics, camera control and cutscenes (on the game engine, which is very important) that all modern CRPGs are simply helplessly asphyxiated. But for a casual player, it’s the graphics, usability, narrative, etc. that are important. And casual players made their choice, ensuring colossal sales. Not bad for a “trash, creaky and junk engine”. Checkmate.

 

On 3/27/2024 at 11:23 PM, hybridial said:

BG1 and 2, prehistoric? nah, they still have a better interface than Larian's games and better gameplay design in many areas and definitely better writing with a more interesting premise. I also like it's tone a lot more and I enjoy their aesthetic a great deal. BG3 just does not do it for me mostly. 

 

 

BG1 and 2, prehistoric? Oh, YEEESSSSS!  interface is truly one of the few weak points of Larian games. But people play games, not interfaces. From here BG3 is much better than 1, 2. Just remember incredibly disgusting combat systems that were in most Silver Age Western RPGs. I always believed that it was the combat systems that were one of main reasons for decline of the CRPGs of that time. As soon as JRPGs reached a new level and games like Gothic, KOTOR and Morrowind appeared, no one needed isometric D&D games. Content in the third BG is enough for 20 games similar to the first and second parts. The script is also MUCH better, there are many more possible endings. Only the ending, where the entire Grand Design, essentially the player's idea, is much more interesting than most of what is offered BG 1, 2.

 

On 3/27/2024 at 11:23 PM, hybridial said:

But I will say that in general, shitting on "legacy" characters is a common trend nowadays which is only going to lead to people feeling betrayed. I'll just give Larian that they're probably not at fault here and WotC is (but their engine is their fault and it SUCKS :P)

 

And what is the point shitting in this case? Jaheira is shown very well. Minsc is great. Talk to him a little, and it seems like you watched 2-3 Beavis&Butthead seasons. And when he argues with Jaheira, it seems that he is a troll lvl 95. Awesome character. Who else? Sarevoc? And what happened to him? And in general, no one cares, 90% of players only remember Jaheira.

Edited March 30 by netcurse2000

[mrthejoshmon]

2 hours ago, netcurse2000 said:

 

It would be strange to make a completely direct sequel. In 20 years, few people would be interested in this.

My point is that it's drastically different in every single way to the previous entries and could absolutely be it's own fresh title rather than a sequel.

 

Granted, it is literally about Baldur's Gate, but so was Dark Alliance, it could be Baldur's Gate: [subtitle here] and upset slightly less people. Hell they could've just called it Baldur's Gate like Doom did, the point being its strange that the 3rd entry is such a monumental switch from the rest (literally a different genre of game).

 

But it's a minor complaint from me, doesn't stop it being good, still a 5/5.

[Panzermann11]

On 3/28/2024 at 1:56 AM, Dr. DiegO said:

Alyx Vance - Half-Life 2: many people hate her for one dumb joke In Episode One, but the rest of that game is pretty good despite being a short game in a failed development strategy.

Wait, what? I played through the entirety of the HL2 saga, yet I don't ever remember a single moment about her that comes across as cringey.

Edited March 30 by Panzermann11

[Dr. DiegO]

36 minutes ago, Panzermann11 said:

Wait, what? I played through the entirety of the HL2 saga, yet I don't ever remember a single moment about her that comes across as cringey.

Many people hate her due to be an companion NPC and mostly HL1 fans, but the "Zombine" joke is one of the main examples people Brought, yet, I still don't get the hate?

[Panzermann11]

1 hour ago, Dr. DiegO said:

Many people hate her due to be an companion NPC and mostly HL1 fans, but the "Zombine" joke is one of the main examples people Brought, yet, I still don't get the hate?

Me neither. I always thought she was cool to have around. I never thought the "Zombine" thing was dumb either.

Edited March 30 by Panzermann11

[Bucket]

5 hours ago, mrthejoshmon said:

My point is that it's drastically different in every single way to the previous entries and could absolutely be it's own fresh title rather than a sequel.

 

Granted, it is literally about Baldur's Gate, but so was Dark Alliance, it could be Baldur's Gate: [subtitle here] and upset slightly less people. Hell they could've just called it Baldur's Gate like Doom did, the point being its strange that the 3rd entry is such a monumental switch from the rest (literally a different genre of game).

 

But it's a minor complaint from me, doesn't stop it being good, still a 5/5.

 

You're right - BG3 is an even more faithful rendition because "real time with pause" is not the tabletop experience. 1 and 2 are more akin to LARPing which throws most all of the rules out the window.

 

The way I see it, titles are just brands now. Subtitles are for direct offshoots but for the most part, when a studio plucks an IP from its hoard and slaps it onto a game, it's not because they're hoping to continue the story in the grand tradition or expand the universe with a faithful sidestory. It's because their focused group testing revealed they could earn X dollars from franchise Y.

 

Of course I feel like BG3 is the exception and one of the best we'll ever see... but it's capitalism all the way down.

Edited March 30 by Bucket

[hybridial]

1 hour ago, Bucket said:

You're right - BG3 is an even more faithful rendition because "real time with pause" is not the tabletop experience. 1 and 2 are more akin to LARPing which throws most all of the rules out the window.

 

If we're talking about that, Solasta is better. It flat out adapts the rules a lot more accurately than BG3 does even though it's only based on the SRD license. But it's way more authentic than BG3 is to the combat system if that's what you care about. But at the end of the day, that is not to me what makes BG1 and 2 great, after all I played them sometime after I had read some of the forgotten realms fiction and a long time before I ever played a single game of D&D ; it has a lot more to do with the content to me, and ultimately I think the choice to call BG3 a sequel to those games was as grossly cynical as it gets from a marketing standpoint. It was likely WotC that made that call and not Larian, but it absolutely is a kick in the teeth to people who wanted something like the old games in terms of general feel. Changing to turn based doesn't bother me but an absolute shitshow of a continuity will.

 

I haven't talked much about BG3's content beyond my complaint about Viconia because I mostly don't care. I don't think it's anything that great but I'm not gonna waste my time arguing about that, some people aren't really understanding what I'm actually trying to say and they don't care; and I have no interest in talking anymore about this.

 

1 hour ago, Bucket said:

The way I see it, titles are just brands now. Subtitles are for direct offshoots but for the most part, when a studio plucks an IP from its hoard and slaps it onto a game, it's not because they're hoping to continue the story in the grand tradition or expand the universe with a faithful sidestory. It's because their focused group testing revealed they could earn X dollars from franchise Y.

 

You are right, and I know you're right, but I can't help but take it personally to a degree. 

 

 

Edited March 30 by hybridial