🚀 go-pugleaf

tba...@ibm.net (Trevor Barrie) wrote:

>Combat was awful, especially considering that the game's ads trumpeted
>the strength of the combat AI. What did it do? Always whack on the
>weakest party member (the apprentice mage) - ooh, complicated, that. And

Even if that was true, the combat system of BaK would have been much
more complicated than in most other praised RPGs like M&M series,
Wizardy Gold, Eye of the Beholder 1-2, Dungeon Master, Ultima
Underworld 1-2, Ultima 1-8, Wasteland, Fallout, Final Fantasy 7
(except the magic) etc. etc.

But what you said wasn't true anyway, because it depended on the
enemy. For instance I don't recall those blue "undead creatures"
homing in to the mage and start whacking him. Instead they stayed at a
distance using their magic on your party.

Anyway, wouldn't that be what you would try in real combat anyway?
Trying first to take out the weak enemy party member that can do lots
of damage with magic? Sounds reasonable tactic to me for computer
controlled enemies.

>the fact that characters had no zone of control made it impossible to
>prevent this

Of course it wasn't impossible. If some of the enemies were after your
mage, keep your mage moving (and doing defensive/offensive magic if he
has room) and let your fighters pursue those enemies. As far as I
recall they started fighting your fighters when they saw they couldn't
reach the mage easily.

>- the best you could do was just whack on the opponent's
>spellcasters.

Again, that is a good tactic because spell casters are relatively
weak, yet can do lots of damage.

>Another beef: the overwritten prose it would use in response to every
>little thing, and which you'd consequently see over, and over, and over.
>If they only showed up once they'd be cool, but as it was...

Well, yes, some people didn't like that there was so much text as if
reading a book. I didn't like it at first either. But maybe "we" PC
RPGs expect more pure combat than reading, thus like something like
M&M6 better? I personally don't like M&M6 from what I've seen and
heard about the game so far, I think I'll pass it. I didn't like that
much the previous M&Ms I've played either.

>and effective means of assassination, raise your hands...) I gave up
>when the PCs were captured and had to escape from an endlessly tedious
>dungeon... after the hours of tedious wilderness trekking I'd already
>done, I just couldn't be bothered.

I guess you are not into exploring kind of RPGs. I personally like
them. "Endless trekking in the wilderness" was made easier with the
"shortcuts" (your characters would travel great distances in a few
seconds if there was nothing worthwhile along the way), and also
didn't the temples let you teleport between different places later in
the game?

This reminds me of so many other RPGs and adventure games too, where
moving around the world is at first rather slow and cumbersome, but
some things you find later in the game let you move faster. Like the
temples in BaK, the airship in Final Fantasy, the giant turtle and
golden swan in Feary Tale Adventure etc.

>Interesting - before this thread, I can't say that I'd ever head anybody
>say anything good about BaK.

Huh? You haven't read much then. It has had very good reviews, also it
has been praised even in here (for example by me ;-)). Like the other
guy said, I'm pretty sure you who dislike it are among the minority 
(if we are talking about people who regularly play CRPGs and adventure
games).

>No, it's not the worst RPG either, but it's
>certainly not a good game either.

Oh, but there you are completely wrong. ;-) I actually agree with one
of the BaK bashers that BaK wasn't anything ground-breaking like
Ultima 1, Dungeon Master, Hack and Ultima Underworld were. There was
hardly anything in it you hadn't seen before.

But what made it a great game IMHO was that it was a very solid
product (RPG game) with hardly any flaws. It had taken the best parts
of many older RPGs and steered clear of the flaws.

I especially find it interesting that so many BaK bashers feel the
combat system was bad, when it is so much better, more complicated and
believable than in such so called classics like Ultima 1-8, Wasteland,
Wizardy Gold, Eye of the Beholder 1-2, Dungeon Master, Bard's Tale 1-3
etc. Along with Ultima Underworld it was the only RPG I remember
playing where even your armor and weapons would wear down during
fights, so you had to repair or get them repaired every now and then.
Nice touch IMHO, compared to all other RPGs with ever lasting
equipment.


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