THE BORE

General => Video Game Bored => Topic started by: Great Rumbler on October 19, 2009, 06:04:50 PM

Title: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 19, 2009, 06:04:50 PM: I bought this game called Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars last year for about $6. For a new copy. I played it for about ten minutes and then forgot about it. A year later, I picked it up again and decide to try another round. So far, I've been hooked.

The Spellforce series is developed by Phenomic, one of EA's German subsidiaries and the developer of the card-battle game BattleForge. It has party-based combat and questing, as in Baldur's Gate, along with loot-whoring, as in Diablo [although item variety seems a bit limited], and base-building and army-raising, as in Warcraft. Neither part is fleshed out as much as in the other games I mentioned, but somehow it all comes together to be more than the sum of its parts.

The game is played out over a series of huge maps that you can return to whenever you want to finish up quests that you missed or search for hidden treasure chests filled with loot. There are two skill trees that each characters can use [melee and magic] and each tree has various branches to allow you specialize your characters.

As I mentioned before, you can build bases and raise armies. There are three basic resources types that you use to recruit soldiers and build buildings. There are three basic units, but at least six or seven more advanced units that are unlocked as you progress farther into the game. Armies are mainly used to push your way into enemy territory and take out their bases. There are certain points where you units will disband and leave you to progress on your own.

Now the bad: The voice acting and writing are really bland. There's not too much of it, though, usually just a few lines here and there. The story's okay, I guess. Nothing really out of the ordinary for a low-profile fantasy RPG. The music, while decent, can be really repetitive in certain parts.

Anyway, it's a pretty good game and it's really cheap these days.
Title: Re: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that time forgot
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 19, 2009, 07:22:45 PM: The king gave me my own piece of land because I'm so awesome. :rock
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: ToxicAdam on October 19, 2009, 09:46:25 PM: I had this in my hands at Big Lots a year ago and put it down. :( Maybe I need to try it.

I'm mucking through Majesty 2 instead, right now.
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 19, 2009, 11:28:19 PM: This game's a lot better than Majesty 2.
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: GilloD on October 20, 2009, 10:31:10 AM: On sale at GoG this week: http://www.gog.com/en/promo/jowood_week
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 20, 2009, 10:35:51 AM: Quote from: GilloD on October 20, 2009, 10:31:10 AM
On sale at GoG this week: http://www.gog.com/en/promo/jowood_week

That's the first game plus expansions. I'm not sure how good it is compared to the second game, but it should be worth ten bucks.
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 20, 2009, 05:10:40 PM: One of the things I really like about this game is how absolutely massive each map is and how well-made they are. There's one level, sort of a hub, that's just one massive town. You can nab some quests from townsfolk or blow straight through, of course you gotta make sure to look everywhere for loot chests.

In one map, I start out in a dwarven mining town and get a quests to go into the mines to fight the ghost of some mage. I do that and then I come out the other side and fight my way through a destroyed city to a human encampment. There I start building up my army and fight my way north to a dwarven camp. There I pick up some catapults and more soldiers and fight my way through a massive enemy encampment and into the boss of the map, who I utterly destroyed.

Things got really bad in one part because I got attacked by aerial units and didn't have any crossbowmen in my party. Plus, I went too far into enemy territory and came a huge group of enemies that very nearly tore my army apart. Had to pull back and go find the dwarven camp first.
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: chronovore on October 20, 2009, 10:26:44 PM: Sounds like better action than found in most David Eddings novels.
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 21, 2009, 12:20:19 AM: Quote from: chronovore on October 20, 2009, 10:26:44 PM
Sounds like better action than found in most David Eddings novels.

Where did that come from? :lol

spoiler (click to show/hide)
I like David Eddings novels. :'(
[close]
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: chronovore on October 21, 2009, 01:20:48 AM: I liked the first two, then realized that he is just doing the same storyline over and over and over. I think China Mieville called it "extruded fantasy product." :lol
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 21, 2009, 10:45:11 AM: Quote from: chronovore on October 21, 2009, 01:20:48 AM
I liked the first two, then realized that he is just doing the same storyline over and over and over. I think China Mieville called it "extruded fantasy product." :lol

Yeah, the characters in Mallorean even mention how they're going through the same thing as in Belgariad. :lol

Redemption of Althalus was pretty good, though.

Never read Elenium or Tamuli, so I can't comment on those books.
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Van Cruncheon on October 21, 2009, 11:30:28 AM: beat it and the expansion :rock
Title: Re: Spellforce: The RTS/RPG/Lootwhore hybrid that nobody's ever heard of
Post by: Great Rumbler on October 21, 2009, 11:35:01 AM: Quote from: Professor Prole on October 21, 2009, 11:30:28 AM
beat it and the expansion :rock

That's because you're AWESOME. :rock