Racketboy forums’ Summer Games Challenge 2019

[Ack]

Now, moving on to the next game, I started up Men of Valor

I was hanging with pfsnl_gmr at a game store last night and saw a copy of Men of Valor on Xbox. Your negative opinion of it inspired me to waste $5 on it and subject myself to it although I'm hoping some of the performance bugs are less apparent on Xbox.

I also hope it's not nearly as buggy. Good luck, Elkin. I salute you.

And on to more Summer Challenge news...

1. F.E.A.R. 2
2. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
3. Ultima III: Exodus

That's right, completely out of left field, I have wrapped up my run of Ultima III: Exodus. That means I am done with the original trilogy, and while I will put more thoughts in the Games Beaten 2019 thread, I have to say...I like Ultima I the most. Ultima III is better than Ultima II in my opinion, and I think it's a fascinating historical curiosity, but it's not something I ever wish to return to. The genre has made significant strides in the QoL area that are just hard to get past.

I'm not sure what I'll play next. I'm also not sure how I'll next approach Ultima. I might turn and focus on Ultima VII and skip the middle trilogy for the time being. Why? Because I want to finally get to Ultima IX one of these days!

[MrPopo]

I'd agree with your assessment of the original trilogy. Ultima 1 -> Ultima 2 adds in a ton of stuff that ends up being superfluous, so at the end of the day it is just Ultima 1 without having to shoot down TIE Fighters. The biggest thing you can say about it is there's a bit more structure to how you progress. Ultima 3 polishes some of the rough edges and gives you a party, which is cool, but the combat is so utterly tedious that it's a net negative. It's not until Ultima IV that the party combat actually becomes enjoyable.

Because I want to finally get to Ultima IX one of these days!

I knew your love of bad movies would take you to a dark place one day.

[marurun]

Because I want to finally get to Ultima IX one of these days!

I knew your love of bad movies would take you to a dark place one day.

One day? Have you missed several years there, somewhere?

[Nemoide]

IMO Ultima IV is really something special that's worth playing if you've already gotten through the original trilogy. It stands far above the first three and is a pretty unique RPG!

And I'm reminded that I really ought to start Ultima V myself at some point...

[MrPopo]

Because I want to finally get to Ultima IX one of these days!

I knew your love of bad movies would take you to a dark place one day.

One day? Have you missed several years there, somewhere?

Look, there's his normal bad, and then there's Ultima IX.

And I'm reminded that I really ought to start Ultima V myself at some point...

You really should. Ultima V gives you a major leg up if you played IV and still have your notes, as it's the same world, so much of what you've learned is still relevant (such as where towns are).

[Ack]

Well, I've decided on yet another game for my Summer Challenge. No, it's not an FPS. I am now playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I remember how much KOTOR got hyped on release and how everyone sang Bioware's praises over it.

I went with a soldier for my campaign and will probably end up on the Light side of the Force, but we'll see. The system is basically a mixture of Star Wars d20 and Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition. I'm currently in the Undercity and sewers of the starting planet, hunting down Rakghouls and a way to break into a swoop gang's base. We shall see how this goes.

[MrPopo]

I didn't realize you've never played KOTOR. A piece of advice; try and avoid going above level 4 on Tarsonis. The game has a level cap of 20, and since this is D&D 3rd rules that means it's summed across all your class levels. So every non-Jedi level blocks off a Jedi level.

[Ack]

I didn't realize you've never played KOTOR. A piece of advice; try and avoid going above level 4 on Tarsonis. The game has a level cap of 20, and since this is D&D 3rd rules that means it's summed across all your class levels. So every non-Jedi level blocks off a Jedi level.

Ah, and now I remember why I didn't play KOTOR; I was never interested in being a Jedi. Give me a blaster, and I'm a happy man.

Also...yeah. Level 8 on arrival to Dantooine... I've mainly been building my character for saves and toughness though, so most of what I have is good for general survivability. Since I'm a soldier, I have a ton of feats. I've also been using the Twi'Lek and Wookie, because they give me melee, range, and a good variety of skills.

[pook99]

The only Ultimas I ever played were 3 and 4 on NES, I loved exodus as a kid, my bro was more into quest of the avatar, I can't imagine either game has held up particularly well.

[MrPopo]

Ultima IV has held up amazingly if you're willing to overlook the fact that every keyboard key maps to a command (rather than having fewer context sensitive keys). The combat is just detailed enough to be interesting without getting too deep into minutia, and the overall world is well realized and rewards exploration and note taking. And the whole premise of being about showing overall virtue, rather than being a murder hobo, is still pretty unique.