imported_][ceman
03-15-2003, 11:02 PM
First off I'd like to say I've been watching these forums since about the beginning of January. I heard about harbinger through the grapevine. Hearing the reviews I did and finding more about the premise really got me excited. I'm also a firm believer in judging things for myself, so I waited to play the demo before commenting on anything, as I have my own specific tastes.
Well. I'm what you'd call a "hardcore" RPG player. I have been playing them since I was 9 (I'm 19 now). I vary in my games, being part of a Counter-Strike clan, and I also play games such as Unreal Tournament, and I have also been apart of the diablo/diablo2 days.
Now that you know where I come from, maybe you can see the points I'm trying to make.
Pros:
Harbinger is great graphically. I absolutely love the flow of the scenery, as I am also a high-tech fan. I've been a lover of isometrics ala diablo and diablo 2, so I fit in here perfectly. Graphics aren't everything in a game, but Silverback, you did an excellent job creating a 2d/3d iso hybrid. Props for that.
The Inventory system/slots system was very refreshing, adding a great deal of customization to weapons and armor. Only having played human, I still picked up many gladiator/culibine specific items that showed the same type of depth.
The story, backstory, and interesting NPC's were great. REally added some flavor.
The theme is perfect, and very into what I like. Most of my Pen and Paper RPG's are of the star-wars nature.
Cons:
I know this has been mentioned, but I might as well go into what I feel could be improved/should be improved:
More options in general. I've played just about every RPG made for a console. The more a player can customize his character/make the game his own, the more I guarantee he'll enjoy the game and the better chances he'll replay it. Some things can be improved in this general area:
1. Replayability. Many people have spoken about this. People want multiplayer, and for most its interaction, but i also believe it adds to replay value. You will become a bigger company the more copies you sell, the best way to do this is increase someone's enjoyent of the game. Increased difficulty settings, randomized worlds, respawning enemies/rejoinable games and persistent characters all help a player continue to play a game well after it *should* have gotten boring.
2. Exploration. As others have stated, this game played for me much less than an RPG. As it has those elements, it really lacked some of the integral parts that kept me up till 6 AM playing "Lunar" for sega CD. Map exploration to find secret areas/respawning creatures is a good way to solve this. Also, things can be a bit less linear too. As you can follow a great singleplayer story, sometimes it becomes ALL story and the elements of gaming are lost: "Creating your own destiny". Sidequests and optional areas add alot of flavor and keep people replayign games. I replayed Final Fantasy 7 who KNOWS how many times just so I could get all the sidequests (which were actually rewarding).
Ok I just had a brain fart but that's most of what I wanted to get out. I didn't really point out "flaws", but instead I cited improvement ideas, and by them you can probably guess that harbinger was missing those elements.
I'll continue to post if anything pops back in my head.
Well. I'm what you'd call a "hardcore" RPG player. I have been playing them since I was 9 (I'm 19 now). I vary in my games, being part of a Counter-Strike clan, and I also play games such as Unreal Tournament, and I have also been apart of the diablo/diablo2 days.
Now that you know where I come from, maybe you can see the points I'm trying to make.
Pros:
Harbinger is great graphically. I absolutely love the flow of the scenery, as I am also a high-tech fan. I've been a lover of isometrics ala diablo and diablo 2, so I fit in here perfectly. Graphics aren't everything in a game, but Silverback, you did an excellent job creating a 2d/3d iso hybrid. Props for that.
The Inventory system/slots system was very refreshing, adding a great deal of customization to weapons and armor. Only having played human, I still picked up many gladiator/culibine specific items that showed the same type of depth.
The story, backstory, and interesting NPC's were great. REally added some flavor.
The theme is perfect, and very into what I like. Most of my Pen and Paper RPG's are of the star-wars nature.
Cons:
I know this has been mentioned, but I might as well go into what I feel could be improved/should be improved:
More options in general. I've played just about every RPG made for a console. The more a player can customize his character/make the game his own, the more I guarantee he'll enjoy the game and the better chances he'll replay it. Some things can be improved in this general area:
1. Replayability. Many people have spoken about this. People want multiplayer, and for most its interaction, but i also believe it adds to replay value. You will become a bigger company the more copies you sell, the best way to do this is increase someone's enjoyent of the game. Increased difficulty settings, randomized worlds, respawning enemies/rejoinable games and persistent characters all help a player continue to play a game well after it *should* have gotten boring.
2. Exploration. As others have stated, this game played for me much less than an RPG. As it has those elements, it really lacked some of the integral parts that kept me up till 6 AM playing "Lunar" for sega CD. Map exploration to find secret areas/respawning creatures is a good way to solve this. Also, things can be a bit less linear too. As you can follow a great singleplayer story, sometimes it becomes ALL story and the elements of gaming are lost: "Creating your own destiny". Sidequests and optional areas add alot of flavor and keep people replayign games. I replayed Final Fantasy 7 who KNOWS how many times just so I could get all the sidequests (which were actually rewarding).
Ok I just had a brain fart but that's most of what I wanted to get out. I didn't really point out "flaws", but instead I cited improvement ideas, and by them you can probably guess that harbinger was missing those elements.
I'll continue to post if anything pops back in my head.