Hack and Slashers! New and Old gather round!
I got to thinking the other day what are some of the most enjoyable moments of gaming that I have had?
Then the revelation dawned upon me that some of the most fun I have ever had with gaming was repeatedly tapping buttons to receive sweet lewts! That's right Hack and Slash the most satisfying type of monotony!
So I started thinking about the best hack and slashers I have played, and came up with the most memorable for me. I've been gaming for around 15 years, with me being 20 at the moment and have played a lot of hack and slashers but for me a certain series always sticks in mind and that was the consoles version of Baldur's gate, namely Dark Alliance and its sequel. Now I know I will probably be beaten to death for making this claim but hear me out.
For some reason this series of game just sticks in my mind, it just had these level of depth that would draw me right into the game and fully immerse me in that world. I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed it so much was because of its inclusion of co-op, crawling through the vast and detailed dungeons with a friends just added a whole new dimension of awesomeness, this was at a point where I had limited or no access to online PC games, due to being young and not being able to afford hardware upgrades for my PC so I was like 1000000 years behind everyone else in that respect.
But anyway for me it was just the epitome of cool at the time and this series robbed a lot of hours of life from me and my friends but it was one hell of a game in my own opinion.
What are your fondest memories of hack and slashers or dungeon crawling?
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I heard it was buggy and crashed a lot at release. Did that get fixed through patches? I liked what little I played of Sacred, and always wanted to try Sacred 2 but never got around to grabbing it.
Outside of the obvious Diablo 2 love that will undoubtedly show up in this thread, I know I spent hundreds of hours on it, My hack and slash of choice is Titan Quest with its expansion. The class structure for it was phenomenal, with 9 masteries to choose from and mix 2 of to create your character. Beautiful graphics, and incredibly satisfying ragdoll death animations and flying bodies that seem to fly further the more damage you hit them with on the killing blow. Lots of really good loot too.
Its a shame that Iron Lore got shuttered, but the lead designer and lead artist of TQ started Crate Entertainment from the ashes of Iron Lore, working on a new action RPG Grim Dawn using the same engine and tools and a similar class system. Can't wait for it to get done.
It must have. I've never really had any problems with it unless I play couch co-op then I have some burps with going into my own inventory. But that fixes itself after a bit. There's a few glitches but with the depth the game has, I expect them and they're of the funny variety. I haven't seen a game-breaking one yet.
Luckily the game appears to have a sanity checker included for save games, because upon saving and reloading it spawned the quest item where I killed the mobs that drop it were and it moved my vehicle out of the loading area. So, small brownie points to whomever put in those checks.
I was referring to the PC version reviews that I read, Such as from 1up.com's review,
They still gave it an A- though. I do need to play it at some point.
The next year+ should be a great time for Hacking and Slashing though, lots of potentially good stuff to look forward to. Torchlight II, Diablo 3, Grim Dawn, Dungeon Siege 3, and maybe even Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
Ah, maybe then. I was just on the 360. The customibility in the game is RIDICULOUSLY huge, many many times deeper then even Diablo 2, I think.
Every class had one that they could buy.
On a more thread-related note; It's not hack and slash, but Borderlands really scratches the mindless killing and looting itch for me.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
I played Sacred 2 on the 360. Was terrible. But it's a European RPG port to the 360 so that's kinda expected. Going through Gothic 4 now and it has a very Sacred 2 on 360 vibe.
Oh, MOUNTS. You so crazy.
Also, yes yes yes on Borderlands. Why in the fuck they're bothering with Duke Nukem instead of making BL2 is something I'm not equipped to understand. I love that game.
There are actually quite a few DA2 people working at Obsidian (and maybe working on DS3)
Aaron Brown (Artist)
Trent Campbell (Artist)
Brian Menze (Artist)
Denis Presnell (Artist)
Scott Everts (Designer, Unlikely since he was a lead world builder job on New Vegas. Maybe switched now)
Frank Kowasomething (Programmer, also unlikely)
and some other dudes less important in the design process
Also Chris Avellone was designing on DA1 and Champions.
Because DNF is basically guaranteed money, for (likely) very little work. 3DRealms had a lot of the game done, so all they had to do was finish it up and put it out. Just think of DNF as capital for BL2.
Fixed for you!
Yes, but will the XBLA Torchlight have co-op?
Would be awesome if it did but I doubt it. Vanilla Torchlight lacks it but it is headed to the sequel.
Again, would be super nice.
I'll eMail them and ask.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejqCZw4Mua4&feature=player_embedded
It's a mix of diablo and monster hunter and despite being a little repititous, fuck awesome. It is also free.
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Oh, that was it then.
Also, the XBLA game Arkadian Warriors is a decent HnS game. Plus its co op.
There is also the mad giggle-inducing notion that after all the long years, DNF is finally getting released.
I mean, if I could be a part of something like that, I would take the chance in an instant.
Anyway, on topic, Titan Quest, and Borderlands are the two hack n' slash Action RPGs that have held my attention the longest. I belive I've even put more hours in each one than I have ever played of Diablo II.
Seeing as how GG2 was horribly executed, you clearly didn't play.... either. Or Sacrifice. Or Savage 2. Or Monday Night Combat.
People who know what they're talking about.
Or maybe I did. But since you don't know either was it's nice to know you'll default to being a silly goose.
GG2 wasn't horribly executed, it just had a ridiculously steep learning curve, steeper then any game I've ever played. And I'm TERRIBLE at it, still. Brutal Legend was a good game but pretty dull overall gameplay wise.
edit: why do I always hit semicolons when I want an apostrophe?
GG2's maps, and how you navigate them, are horrid. Every last one of them is a string of tight corridors, which you navigate by doing an anime-ninja-dash, drifting across corners, and praying really really hard nobody is standing there to interrupt you. In BL you can fly, and the battlefields are wide and open.
By the time Sol Badguy gets done killing an Amored Unit by doing an air infinite combo for about five minutes, the player can buff his army with spells, and then stack that buff on top of a Double Team attack. In BL, you can interact with your army for more power. In GG2, your armies are limited to trading hits with each other eternally, straight out of Dynasty Warriors.
Another GG game like this is coming, and I would pay full price if Daisuke sticks to his guns, but it needs work. Badly. Something needs to happen with the ratio of power between units and hero units, and the map navigation.
You're simplifying the army units in GG a little too much. The relationship they have with each other is crazy complex and you can carry them around to put them where you want them and direct them where to go with your Organ. It would have been nice if you could have them do special attacks or what have you but that's what your character was for. Your army CAN'T win for you just like you can't win without the army. In BL, your army needs to win; you just help them do it.
Neither one is bad, just different. I do think BL is by far the more user friendly tho.
Also, HOLY CRAP ANOTHER GG GAME? Where's the news on that??