The Warrior can't use a sword

[VTSK]

I like the idea of RPGs, I think it has a lot of potential as a genre. But there's one thing RPGs are constantly getting wrong: the combat. I can't recall a single RPG I've played where the combat was enjoyable. It seems that having an indepth, fluid sword fighting experience is impossible when it comes to these games. Its always either:
A) Too focused around stats instead of skill, or
B) Sluggish, slow, and unresponsive.

For those of you who agree, rejoice, for there may be hope: behold Rise of the White Wolf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksa_nWGh02U
For those of you who don't agree, explain why. Do you know of an RPG where the combat is actually enjoyable? If so, please name it, so maybe I can try it myself.

 

[Souplex]

I enjoyed oblivions combat, of course I used axes instead of swords because swords are just phallic symbols for overcompensating girly-men.

 

[chromewarriorXIII]

I like the combat in Golden Sun. It is turn-based but the usage of Djinni and Summons adds some required skill to the game.

 

[VTSK]

I enjoyed oblivions combat, of course I used axes instead of swords because swords are just phallic symbols for overcompensating girly-men.

I hate Oblivion's combat, I'm afraid. All you have to do to win any fight is block, attack twice, block, attack twice, repeat until enemy is dead. If you get better, you can even circle strafe around an enemy and get in four hits before he raises his sheild. Maybe it would be more enjoyable if the AI wasn't so horrible.

 

[VTSK]

Your link appears to be broken.

So... I'll give you this, I don't think there is much skill in combat in RPGs other then knowing the right attacks to use at the right time. And, knowing how and where to hit, if it's real time FPS-like thing where you manually control swings.

RPGs are all around stats. I didn't mind combat in most RPGs...except for certain turn based ones that are extremely slow sometimes. Some are decent, like Fallout. Some are horribly slow that you have to wait like 2-3 minutes between moves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksa_nWGh02U

Copy this into your browser. You'll see why I'm looking forward to this game.

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Rise of the White Wolf... you mean THE WITCHER for consoles?

Not exactly new news. This game is a remake, of a PC game. Yahtzee hated it. But he hates everything, so. Nice to see they've made improvements for the console version.

 

[teisjm]

I enjoyed oblivions combat, of course I used axes instead of swords because swords are just phallic symbols for overcompensating girly-men.

Where an axe beeing a big lumb of metal on the end of a hard stick signifies what?

 

[VTSK]

Rise of the White Wolf... you mean THE WITCHER for consoles?

Not exactly new news.

I know. But the new combat looks awesome. So I'm excited for it.

 

[samsonguy920]

I like the combat in Assassin's Creed myself, it's not overworked to where it inevitably turns into keymashing, but still provides choices on how to take out your enemies.

 

[Dr Spaceman]

Despite Yahtzee's misgivings, The Witcher is one of the finest RPGs I've ever played. It's really one of the few, if not the only, RPGs where player decisions not only impacted the gameworld but weren't obviously black and white. As much as I love BioWare games, it's usually fairly easy to decode the "light-side" and "dark-side" options.

Oh, and I really liked the combat. It was involved enough to keep enough the most mundane battle interesting, but struck a balance that allowed for a layer of strategy in boss battles.

It'll be interesting to see how the console version plays, and how it's accepted by the console community.

 

[JMeganSnow]

The sword-fighting in Jade Empire wasn't bad (it at least looked cool), but the combat in that game was so simplistic it's hard to be complimentary of it. If you actually zoom in and watch the sword fighting in Neverwinter Nights (the first one!), you'll realize that the animations/action flow are actually really well done, but this isn't something you pay a lot of attention to because you, as the player, have no input to the strike/parry/dodge part of the combat. The only thing YOU need to pay attention to is overall strategy and making sure you don't run out of hit points. Likewise the fighting animations in KotOR were pretty cool if you bothered to watch them, but usually you didn't because you were too busy trying to pull up the right type of grenade on the menu or activate your force powers.

cRPG's originated as a derivative of systems that were NOT intended for real-time combat. Merging numbers/chance-based combat with the skill/timing/action methodology that works so well for computer games is not easy and every player has their own preference for which degree of mixture they prefer. Some like turn-based combat that is 100% based on die rolls, whereas others don't like getting math all over their Mad Skillz (I don't blame them, it sucks to finally get good at the game and then die because of a poor roll). The trick with successful RPG's seems to be to have enough variety and interesting elements to mollify the players that don't prefer the combat mix that you chose.

 

[Nutcase]

cRPG's originated as a derivative of systems that were NOT intended for real-time combat. Merging numbers/chance-based combat with the skill/timing/action methodology that works so well for computer games is not easy and every player has their own preference for which degree of mixture they prefer. Some like turn-based combat that is 100% based on die rolls, whereas others don't like getting math all over their Mad Skillz (I don't blame them, it sucks to finally get good at the game and then die because of a poor roll).

Turn-based combat and/or presence of numbers in no way necessitate luck or preclude Mad Skillz from being utilized, though.

The trick with successful RPG's seems to be to have enough variety and interesting elements to mollify the players that don't prefer the combat mix that you chose.

Do you have specific examples of this?

Just curious, since it feels like there's little you can do to make combat interesting for challenge-driven players while keeping it super easy and non-interactive for people who like to relax and watch numbers chase each other. I'm very much not a cRPG player; WoW is the only thing in that genre I have played in years. Fallout 1+2 are currently waiting for play though.

I don't really understand why anyone would want tons of luck to be present in their single player game. Gambling is fun, but gambling games are always multiplayer games. The thrill comes from the risk of losing and opportunity of gaining IRL. No one plays roulette for matchsticks; that variant is a thoroughly pointless game.

 

[DM.]

I didn't notice this before and I have no idea why, But they always seem fluid if they swing a blunt object.

 

[magicmonkeybars]

the only really enjoyable sword fighting in a game i've played would be in Gothic.

 

[videot76]

Can't wait to see what the console version is like - I absolutely loved The Witcher on the PC and the combat was actually quite good - that warrior, at least, CAN use a sword. Or axe, or torch, or whatever.

 

[Dangerious P. Cats]

One of the things that turns me off one click rpgs is the lack of interaction during the combat. I prefer games like Fable and Mount & Blade that have actual interactive combat.

 

[Abedeus]

The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights, Dungeons and Dragon Online.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I liked Gothic's combat, once I wrapped my mind around the controls.

 

[RH3INLAND.]

Game looks badass.

Yeah battles usually are the downfall of RPGs

 

[sin keon]

I liked the combat of morrowind and oblivion, I know they don't really require game skil but those games are just so damn addictive that I keep playing and exploring and... oh dear did I do it againg? Well anyway I don't have problems with a certain chance to hit/kill somethingsystem