The re-return of the single player RPG?

Qhue · 05-24-2005, 10:34 AM

Recently I've become more and more disinclined to play MMORPGS. After years of muds, EQ and now WoW it feels like its the same thing over and over and over again. WoW was fresh and fun when I was levelling up, but now that we've hit "farm status" with the raiding game it feels like falling back into the same old rut that I left in EQ.

Some people I know relish that feeling and the camraderie that comes with farm status activities, others Im sure will get a fresh rush out of the Battlegrounds when they are added as they present a persistent Capture the Flag / Team Assault sort of repeatable gameplay to the game.

I, on the other hand, am rediscovering the virtues of the single player RPG. After going back and playing Planescape Torment through again I played Fable, Jade Empire, KOTOR 2 etc and am finding the pacing and storyline-centric gameplay refreshing. I dont have to worry about scheduling my life around a raid-time and I can enjoy a nice storyline with the added benefit of a pause button...furthermore when I'm done with a game Im done and while it would be nice to continue playing it I dont feel compelled to linger in a fantasy world that I've 'beaten'.

More than any other factor though is the sense of closure that a well written single player RPG offers. Ive never once felt ANY closure with EQ as the plotlines get started and then drag out until well after the last person who cared left the company. I kinda want to see where the plotlines in WoW go, but after literally months of NOTHING HAPPENING I think my interest in seeing the secrets of Uldum or whats behind the Silithid is quickly fading. While MMORPGS are very addictive and I've made lots of friends playing them there are some things that just dont translate to a shared experience well and after not having proper time to play those games for the last few years I find the single player games very refreshing.

I can only hope that all the people who are jumping on the MMORPG bandwagon hoping that they can get a nice share of the monthly-fee based revenue model take some time to also craft single player games that can stand alone where things have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

FuckYou · 05-24-2005, 10:40 AM

this is mostly why i am going back to consoles.

Mkopec1 · 05-24-2005, 10:43 AM

Yeah, I recently fired up my old morrowind game which I got back like 2 yrs ago but never played.

Im having fun again! WooT!

Castigator · 05-24-2005, 10:44 AM

this is mostly why I am going back to pen & paper..

Solmancer · 05-24-2005, 10:46 AM

Yeah, I've sort of winnowed away to single-player stuffs. #1: heartheart to emulators. #2: guess I'll finish Xenosaga 1/2 (great story, imo, if very small amount of gameplay time)

Jait · 05-24-2005, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by FYou
this is mostly why i am going back to consoles.

Yeah, not to mention old console emu's. Suikoden, Final Fantasy, Xenogears, etc...

Yup, keeps me happy when the PC sucks. It's surprising that a good story beats good graphics these days.

Jait · 05-24-2005, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Solmancer
Yeah, I've sort of winnowed away to single-player stuffs. #1: heartheart to emulators. #2: guess I'll finish Xenosaga 1/2 (great story, imo, if very small amount of gameplay time)

Xenosaga owns. If you haven't yet, be sure to play Xenogears as well. IMO it's better than XS I/II.

Lord Thanos · 05-24-2005, 10:49 AM

I've been playing lots of single player RPGs lately as well, went back to playing through Final Fantasy Tactics

I'm about halfway done with Growlaser Generations for PS2, great RPG

Growlanser Generations

And my cousin swears by the Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga games for PS2 as well

Seems that reviewers like them as well

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

I may give them a try if I can pry them away from him

Solmancer · 05-24-2005, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jait
Xenosaga owns. If you haven't yet, be sure to play Xenogears as well. IMO it's better than XS I/II.

It's sitting on my desk as well. I couldn't decide which to start with, but the soundtrack in XS1 won me over so went with that. The Song of Nephilim is the suck. Those guys hurt ><

Mkopec1 · 05-24-2005, 10:51 AM

OMFG! I forgot about FFTactics!

That was a sweet ass game. I played it like 1/2 way through. Im gonna see If I can dig it up.

Dynalisia · 05-24-2005, 10:53 AM

Few gaming things beat playing an MMO with 4-5 of your best RL friends though, whatever you do in the game, it's just a lot of fun.

That said, I like single player RPG's a lot better as a "gameplay experience" than MMO's, yeah.

Zehn - Vhex · 05-24-2005, 10:55 AM

Single player RPG's fill in the downtime quite nicely but ultimately it fades after a few days. I'm getting sick of the new generation of RPG's though. Getting a bit cookie cutter.

Lulluen · 05-24-2005, 11:13 AM

Xenogears definitely owns something hard, like...Millie's avatar.
I'm play IWD2/BG2 direct connect with some IRL friends. Fun stuff

Iannis · 05-24-2005, 11:18 AM

Yeah, dunno how FFXII ties into FF:T yet. But I recognize Ivalice, and the big kingdom names.

Vinen · 05-24-2005, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lord Thanos
I've been playing lots of single player RPGs lately as well, went back to playing through Final Fantasy Tactics

I'm about halfway done with Growlaser Generations for PS2, great RPG

Growlanser Generations

And my cousin swears by the Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga games for PS2 as well

Seems that reviewers like them as well

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

I may give them a try if I can pry them away from him

Growlanser 2 is awsome. Although... I would not reccomend playing through it without some sort of FAQ. It has some serious flaws in that you can completly miss a major character, etc in the game if you dont do something between one Battle and another. Some things may be eye gougingly annoying as well, like preventing one character from ................... at a certain point in the game... If you dont do about 30 things at the right time.. yeah your screwed w/ that character.

Also, chances are if you play through the game without any sort of guidance... you will end up like I did, with the worst "good" ending possible. The game branches off at 2 differnt points, which can lead to one of three differnt endings, of which those endings are slightly differnt depending on your actions in the game..........................

SMT:Nocturne... by far one of the most incredible games released for the playstation 2. Beaten it 3 times, gotten 3/6 endings with another friend going after the other 3 endings.

But, Digital Devil Saga...
Very short game ; ;. Then again, they did a incredible job leaving you sittin there salivating over the release of DDS2 which picks up where DDS one ends. When you buy DDS you are commiting yourself to purchasing DDS2, they sort of go together like a .hack game.

05-24-2005, 10:34 AM	#1 (permalink)
Qhue Tunare's most surly gnome Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Sunny Upstate NY Posts: 947 +5 Internets	The re-return of the single player RPG? Recently I've become more and more disinclined to play MMORPGS. After years of muds, EQ and now WoW it feels like its the same thing over and over and over again. WoW was fresh and fun when I was levelling up, but now that we've hit "farm status" with the raiding game it feels like falling back into the same old rut that I left in EQ. Some people I know relish that feeling and the camraderie that comes with farm status activities, others Im sure will get a fresh rush out of the Battlegrounds when they are added as they present a persistent Capture the Flag / Team Assault sort of repeatable gameplay to the game. I, on the other hand, am rediscovering the virtues of the single player RPG. After going back and playing Planescape Torment through again I played Fable, Jade Empire, KOTOR 2 etc and am finding the pacing and storyline-centric gameplay refreshing. I dont have to worry about scheduling my life around a raid-time and I can enjoy a nice storyline with the added benefit of a pause button...furthermore when I'm done with a game Im done and while it would be nice to continue playing it I dont feel compelled to linger in a fantasy world that I've 'beaten'. More than any other factor though is the sense of closure that a well written single player RPG offers. Ive never once felt ANY closure with EQ as the plotlines get started and then drag out until well after the last person who cared left the company. I kinda want to see where the plotlines in WoW go, but after literally months of NOTHING HAPPENING I think my interest in seeing the secrets of Uldum or whats behind the Silithid is quickly fading. While MMORPGS are very addictive and I've made lots of friends playing them there are some things that just dont translate to a shared experience well and after not having proper time to play those games for the last few years I find the single player games very refreshing. I can only hope that all the people who are jumping on the MMORPG bandwagon hoping that they can get a nice share of the monthly-fee based revenue model take some time to also craft single player games that can stand alone where things have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

05-24-2005, 10:40 AM	#2 (permalink)
FuckYou snape kills razorgore Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 2,704 -1 Internets	this is mostly why i am going back to consoles. __________________ vagoo the belf paladin and yiff the belf rogue just the tip - black dragonflight

05-24-2005, 10:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mkopec1 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Detroit Posts: 5,114	Yeah, I recently fired up my old morrowind game which I got back like 2 yrs ago but never played. Im having fun again! WooT! __________________ When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

05-24-2005, 10:49 AM	#8 (permalink)
Lord Thanos Paisa y bien picado pa que vea! Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: West New York, NJ Posts: 776 -2 Internets	I've been playing lots of single player RPGs lately as well, went back to playing through Final Fantasy Tactics I'm about halfway done with Growlaser Generations for PS2, great RPG Growlanser Generations And my cousin swears by the Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga games for PS2 as well Seems that reviewers like them as well Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga I may give them a try if I can pry them away from him __________________

05-24-2005, 10:51 AM	#10 (permalink)
Mkopec1 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Detroit Posts: 5,114	OMFG! I forgot about FFTactics! That was a sweet ass game. I played it like 1/2 way through. Im gonna see If I can dig it up. __________________ When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

05-24-2005, 10:44 AM	#4 (permalink)
Castigator Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Phnom Penh Posts: 950	this is mostly why I am going back to pen & paper..

05-24-2005, 10:53 AM	#11 (permalink)
Dynalisia Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: The land of sunshine Posts: 1,480 -4 Internets	Few gaming things beat playing an MMO with 4-5 of your best RL friends though, whatever you do in the game, it's just a lot of fun. That said, I like single player RPG's a lot better as a "gameplay experience" than MMO's, yeah.

05-24-2005, 10:55 AM	#12 (permalink)
Zehn - Vhex Lord of the Dance Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 6,449 +61 Internets	Single player RPG's fill in the downtime quite nicely but ultimately it fades after a few days. I'm getting sick of the new generation of RPG's though. Getting a bit cookie cutter.

05-24-2005, 11:13 AM	#13 (permalink)
Lulluen Ranka #1 Fan Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 160 +0 Internets	Xenogears definitely owns something hard, like...Millie's avatar. I'm play IWD2/BG2 direct connect with some IRL friends. Fun stuff

05-24-2005, 11:18 AM	#14 (permalink)
Iannis Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Butt Hugging Moose Jockey Posts: 4,968 +0 Internets	Yeah, dunno how FFXII ties into FF:T yet. But I recognize Ivalice, and the big kingdom names.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread: