Geneforge 3 Review
| Author | Topic: Geneforge 3 Review |
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Apprentice
Member # 6634
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written Monday, January 2 2006 15:43
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I just finished Geneforge 3. It is the first Spiderweb game that I have played, except for a short demo time with Geneforge 2. Short Review is that I loved the game. It took me two weeks to complete, spending an unhealthy amount of time playing. I started to get burned out near the end and was glad when I reached it. ------------ My Character ------------ I played as a Shaper and ended the game with two Vlish (kept them from near the beginning and they became quite powerful. also couldn't bring myself to absorb them. the only creations I named - Demon and Lucky), two Rotgrath and a Gazer. The final battles were all relatively easy. At the end of the game, I had 18 INT, 12 Mech and 11 Leadership. Everything else was fairly small. ---- Plot ---- I've seen the grumbling on this board that the story-line is too similar to the previous games, but since I didn't play them it wasn't a problem. I plan on looking at Genefore 1 next. I found the basic plot to be very simple. However, the interactions with the sub-plots of the game were engaging and kept me interested. I enjoyed the first part of the game deciding which side I would be on, and my character had a difficult time deciding which to choose. He started out as a bleeding heart for the rogues, but eventually realized that the Shapers aren't perfect but they are better than the alternative. I also RP'd the **minor spoler** cannisters which made me see the creations as mere collections of base material and not the fuzzy little creatures I thought they were at the beginning. ------ Combat ------ Combat was fun and very tactical. I was rarely bored with combat, and would just take a break when I was. Having 5-7 companions with me made all the difference, and I paid a lot of attention to formation and spacing during a battle. I think that playing solo would have been extremely boring for me. At the end of the game, my shaper essentially was a priest - healing and buffing the creations, who did the fighting. I also enjoyed how some creatures were very immune to certain attacks. That added a lot of strategy on who would attack when. For example, I would send my Rot's after other Rot's - they couldn't do much damage but they didn't take much damage either. Then my gazer and two vlish would decimate it in two rounds. In a game with so much combat, it is good that it never got fully bogged down. ------ Ending ------ I enjoyed the Fallout 2 type ending. Good for the imagination. ----- Con's ----- 1. Stores don't keep the items you sell them. I spent half the game trying to find a shaped belt so I could make my creator's belt, but to no avail. 2. You save the world and you still can't get training from Shaper's because you expressed some doubts about the teachings? Saving the entire island should count as equal to many many slightly subversive conversations. Heart the suspension of disbelief. 3. Graphics. I actually like the graphic style and even the basic animations. However, too much recycling of the same graphic for multiple things. I loved making the crystalline shroud and seeing a new graphic that was just for that. Made it's uniqueness really stand out for me. Simple graphics don't have to be boring graphics. Every major item should have a unique graphic. Every type of gem/wand should have it's own graphic. I find it a little disrespectful to not have that be the case. 4. There is no good reason to make me go to a boat every time I want to travel between islands. Once I find the boat the first time and clear the area, I should be able to travel from an area on one island to an area on another island seamlessly. It is the same as travelling any other cleared path and just wastes real-world time without any benefit to gameplay. Very bad decision. 5. This is a pro and con. It is too easy to do unbelievable things through going into combat mode, like stealing everything from Rahul's private chambers. Before I realized this trick I did it in real time, dodging and weaving away from the guards. It was exciting to get to a chamber without being caught. Once I learned to just go into combat mode, it became incredibly easy to break in anywhere, avoid traps anywhere, and therefore much less fun. The Risk/Reward ratio became imbalanced. ------------- Overall Score ------------- The first half of the game I would give a 10/10. I was engaged in a game more than I have been in maybe 6 years, since I played Fallout 2. I didn't think I could have this much fun with a game anymore, now that I am older. I am very greatful for that. The second half, some of the game just seemed like areas for the sake of areas, and the plot became less interesting. Some potentially interesting characters were underdeveloped, and whole sections were too straight-forward. I give it a 7.5/10. However, I weight the first half higher than the second, as it was so unbelievably entertaining and I may have just been suffering some burnout from playing too much (normally I do not play games for more than an hour straight, I routinely did 3-4 hours straight with Geneforge 3), so I give the overall game a score of 9/10. Thanks Jeff! Very impressive game. In my opinion, made with a lot of love. I would suggest that your next game take place in an entirely new world, with - most importantly - new graphic icons, even public domain ones. I am sure your fans would buy it and word of the forums is that your loyalists are reaching the end of the ropes with more of the same. Don't be a mini-EA. Find that thing that inspired you to take the choices for the game you would like to play, rather than the game you think will sell. Trust yourself and the sales will follow. That's all for me- PureDesiGhee [ Monday, January 02, 2006 15:43: Message edited by: PureDesiGhee ] Posts: 2 | Registered: Monday, January 2 2006 08:00 |
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The Establishment
Member # 6
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written Monday, January 2 2006 18:35
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quote:Jeff has been pretty clear he intends to bleed the Avernum/Geneforge series dry. I do not forsee something new for a long time. GF4 will be the next game according to Jeff and after that likely A5. Oh welcome, just FYI, Jeff rarely checks the message boards, especially forums for old games like GF3. :( -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Councilor
Member # 6600
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written Monday, January 2 2006 20:22
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I haven't played beyond the demo in G3, but after what I read in the scripts, I think we need a G4. But that G4 should be a huge, climatic game that wraps the rebellion against the Shapers up. Either one goes pro-Shaper and the Shapers regain total control, one goes anti-Shaper and the rebels take control, or one joins a third Awakened-like sect where Shapers win but hvae to make concessions. There's only so long series can go on. In my opinion, G1 is a stand- alone, and G2 and G3 go together, so G4 should commplete the trilogy. Dikiyoba hasn't played A4 yet (downloading issues with the Mac, must wait for Windows...), so Dikiyoba can't say whether A5 is needed or a horribly bad idea. But Dikiyoba thinks it is time for a new series. Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Monday, January 2 2006 22:28
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Jeff deliberately set up a major subplot in Avernum 4 so as to require a new Avernum game for its resolution. The good news (at least for Jeff) is that this means Jeff gets to sell another game in the Avernum series. The bad news is that we already know what it's going to be about. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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FAQSELF
Member # 3
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written Tuesday, January 3 2006 11:02
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I feel GF4 should definitely not focus around a young, untrained apprentice who is surprised by rebellious serviles, rogues, or canisters. That shtick was OK for GF and GF2, but GF3 it was kind of old. Personally, a system like Nethergate could be quite interesting- provide two sides of a story from the get-go, instead of having the whole "choose your own adventure" plot. -------------------- A few cats short of a kitten pot pie... Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. Check out a great source for information on Avernum 2, Nethergate, and Subterra: Zeviz's page. Finally, there's my Geneforge FAQ, Geneforge 2 FAQ, and Geneforge 3 FAQ. Posts: 2831 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Tuesday, January 3 2006 12:24
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Drakey has told us that we know that in GF4 we will not play a Shaper. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Councilor
Member # 6600
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written Tuesday, January 3 2006 14:58
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I think I remember that. Well, that should make it very interesting if that really is the case. Dikiyoba shall be skeptical but optimistic. Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Tuesday, January 3 2006 15:08
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Drakey also told us that the spoiler wouldn't be the villains in Avernum 4. Forgive me if I have my doubts about his information. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Agent
Member # 6581
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written Wednesday, January 4 2006 02:37
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Original writed by *i : Oh welcome, just FYI, Jeff rarely checks the message boards, especially forums for old games like GF3. :( What? GF3 it's old?! Man... :mad: [ Wednesday, January 04, 2006 02:39: Message edited by: MagmaDragoon ] -------------------- Download Geneforge 4: Rebellion You have 6 posts. Nobody cares what you think. - Thuryl Wikipedia may be your friend, but UBB is not. - Dikiyoba Posts: 1310 | Registered: Tuesday, December 20 2005 08:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Wednesday, January 4 2006 02:40
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GF3 isn't even the most recent game released by Spiderweb. Therefore it is old enough that Jeff doesn't much read the threads on it anymore, at least as far as anyone knows. (Maybe he secretly lurks and never tells us.) I phrased my previous post in the way that I did to indicate that I have my doubts about that information as well. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |