Warcraft 3 Remastered?

[Visions of Khas]

Looks like I was wrong about the remastered! Really don't know why they'd do this invitational. Maybe marketing is playing the long game?

Just remember: you only think you want a remastered WarCraft, but that's not what you really want.

Blackguard isn't an ARPG. It's a tactical rpg. It's not bad though. I got it in a steam sale a while back.

Does "not bad" equal "Good", or "Mediocre?" Because I've been looking for tactical game similar to DOW2. Man, I love that game. (Retribution, not so much.)

[Turalyon]

Baal runs or adventure mode were pretty much equally boring to me. I never liked Diablo 1-2 for the loot grind; I just liked playing the campaign. To me it was just a cool dark RPG. The first time I played, I remember being scared while playing alone and disgusted in other instances(that bug cave in d2 act 2 made me gag, no joke). I was fairly young and never played anything else liked it before so.. That kind of atmosphere is what I mainly liked about it. I didn't mind the perceived linearity of D3. What killed it for me was how the universe was butchered. The shitty drop rates and lack of customization didn't help either.. But it was mostly the universe. Alas, I understand that I am in the minority.

I feel the exact same way as you do when it comes to the atmosphere and universe. You're definitely not in the minority in this particular regard. Anyone who's ever appreciated the atmosphere within D1 and D2 would never appreciate D3's.

However, the atmosphere alone was not what kept people playing D2 long after its time. It really was the gear and loot grind (not to mention the thrill of PvP and the choice of being a complete arsehole by invading games, going hostile on those there and then Pk'ing) and since Blizz is all about gamification now, they had to introduce this element back into D3 because it was sorely lacking in this. The poor immersive experience and shallow rendering of its universe was only just one more thing that made it suck more. Since the expansion, D3 is pure "game"/Skinner Box now and it's actually better for that because people are playing it more because of this.

We had this long argument with Nissa a while back. It's debatable if creativity went down considering things like the rise of indies. Though you're right that being old will negatively affect your outlook. We went through the birth/early childhood of a new medium so of course everything was new. The low hanging fruits are long gone so devs today have to be extra creative.

I remember that convo. I'm not saying modern games in general lack creativity/imagination though, just most of the "big" ones. Indy games are definitely where it's at if you're looking for imaginative and creative ideas.

[Visions of Khas]

I'm not saying modern games in general lack creativity/imagination though, just most of the "big" ones. Indy games are definitely where it's at if you're looking for imaginative and creative ideas.

Well, like most big-time movies these days, I think the major gamimg studios are focus grouping these things to death in a way to appeal to as large an audience base as possible. That means playing things safe, dumping everything into visuals, and plot and character are of secondary concern. I know there's this practice for some film studios to buy scripts, then sit on them forever without actually producing them, maybe as a way to prevent other studios from taking and using them. I wonder if there's an equivalent in the gaming industry.

And one day I just know the film studios are going to jump on to the loot box band wagon somehow:

"Oh, you want to watch this Keanu Reeves action flick... with Keanu Reeves in it? We're sorry, but his stunt double did the majority of his scenes. For an extra $20.00 we can apply a CG Keanu over him though!"

"Star Wars: The Birthday Party Edition: Each Stormtrooper's death is heralded by confetti. This is the way George Lucas meant for it to be watched!"

[KaiserStratosTygo]

What others would you suggest? I've heard of Blackguard and it looks a little interesting.

Speaking of failed games, I picked up Dawn of War III about two weeks ago at about 75% off. The gameplay is drastically different from previous iterations, and it's basically a MOBA with mediocre story and excellent visual budget -- like everything else these days.

But hey, at least they're not charging for save slots.

The last good DoW game was Dow 1, everything after that has been shit.

also Fuckonami.

[sandwich_bird]

Does "not bad" equal "Good", or "Mediocre?" Because I've been looking for tactical game similar to DOW2. Man, I love that game. (Retribution, not so much.)

It's not like DOW2. It's like Final Fantasy tactic, Disagaea, XCOM, etc. It's a 5-6/10 from me meaning I haven't enjoyed it enough to finish it and I'm not sure if I'll retouch it again but I didn't hate what I played, just didn't enjoy it enough to put more time in it.

That means playing things safe, dumping everything into visuals, and plot and character are of secondary concern.

They're playing it safe but maybe not as safe as some make it out to be. There are some instances of changing things up in interesting ways:

-God of War going Norse Gods and with a new gameplay style
-Sexy ps4 exclusives like Horizon ZD, Detroit: become human. If you want AAA stories, this is where it's at
-Nintendo is changing things up a lot in both Mario and Zelda
-new IP from Ubisoft in For Honor. interesting gameplay
-Very interesting setting in Far Cry 4, 5 and Primal
-Rainbow six siege is full of really cool ideas. To me it's like the evolution of Counter Strike
-Battlefield 1 is set in WW1 which was barely touched in gaming before
-New IP from EA, Anthem

I mean, it's not mind blowing, but it's something. They're probably starting to realize that these kinds of small bets are paying off a lot better than copy pasting the same thing every year. Activision is probably the worse of the bunch though.

And one day I just know the film studios are going to jump on to the loot box band wagon somehow:

"Oh, you want to watch this Keanu Reeves action flick... with Keanu Reeves in it? We're sorry, but his stunt double did the majority of his scenes. For an extra $20.00 we can apply a CG Keanu over him though!"

Oh man, just wait for the AR revolution. Also, if films were rendered in real time? Anything is possible

[Visions of Khas]

-Sexy ps4 exclusives like Horizon ZD, Detroit: become human. If you want AAA stories, this is where it's at

Good god those look dope as hell.

-New IP from EA, Anthem

This is another one I'm looking forward to, but I keep seeing a lot of hate directed at it. What's the reason for that? I don't get how people can hate on a movie or game before it's even come out.

[Nissa]

I remember that convo. I'm not saying modern games in general lack creativity/imagination though, just most of the "big" ones. Indy games are definitely where it's at if you're looking for imaginative and creative ideas.

This was actually my point. Too much of modern stuff is dependent on California's culture, what with Hollywood being big, and everyone thinking that they "need" to go to LA or thereabouts to be famous. The main reason why Indies are doing better is because they don't have their head up Cali's butts. ...Not all Indies, though. I have seen some that were...not great.

I also think games trying to imitate movies is bad in general. It gives developers too much opportunity to focus on story over gameplay.

[Mislagnissa]

I remember something about one of the W3 beta patches including a graphical update or something. Calling it a remaster is something of a stretch considering that the only changes are integration with Blizz client, widescreen support and increased poly count.

Skyrim supposedly had a remaster, but I could not tell the difference.