Okay there's this Diablo-esque hack and slash game that has and is built around 4 player co-op on steam and it is so awesome that I cannot even put it in words that could truly capture how great this game is for if I could truly accurately do so it would drive unworthy puny minds insane!
Okay, for people experienced with how the Ars Magica d20 system works the game seems to be as close to a pc adaptation as possible; as far as my brief skimming of the PDFs could imagine.
You are given several different elements that you can combine together in different ways to make many MANY different types of spells; since the game is 3D/HD graphics they look very impressive when doing so.
I'm only 10 minutes into the tutorial and the game continues to impress me with each new novel way of combining spells.
Oh and you can light yourself on fire!
Adventure mode has a very nice tutorial and me and 2 of my friends will be playing it tonight, I REALLY recommend this game if you like Magic/Wizards and didn't think D&D 3.5 edition wizards were overpowered enough.
Oh and the game is hilariously funny.
It's 10$ on Steam I really really suggest getting it, if you LIKED diablo get this, if you liked D&D get this, if you liked Ars MAGICA WHY HAVENT YOU GOTTEN THIS ALREADY NEWB!?
Man now I really want to play Ars Magica with pen and paper now if its *this* awesome on the PC it should be better on tabletop.
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Do you mean "Magicka?" Because that is a very fun four-player co-op game, but it's not related to Ars Magica at all.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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I don't really have time to talk about this too much right now, except to say that I've had a mixed experience and that this game is almost nothing like Diablo besides
A) an isometric view, and
B) you kill some monsters.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Blayne Bradley
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Do you mean "Magicka?" Because that is a very fun four-player co-op game, but it's not related to Ars Magica at all.
Really? My skimming though the Ars Magica hand book makes these two things seem very much alike/similar.
Juxtapose that is very much the definition of a Diablo clone since they did it first, kill stuff and has an isometric view.
Just like how most FPS's are still "Doom Clones" despite many of them being clearly different now.
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Blayne Bradley
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This game just gets more and more hilarious as we screw up our spells and kill each other.
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There were innumerable games prior to Diablo that featured and isometric view and involved (or were mainly about) killing things.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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Blayne Bradley
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And they have been distilled and displaced by Diablo's success so they are now called Diablo Clones in honor of it.
This is just how it is, they're called Diablo clones; most gamers will know immediately what I mean when I say diablo clone and it applies to games like Titan Quest, Silverfall and Torchlight.
The SA thread even has it called "Diablo meets Deathspank".
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I haven't seen the game that you're calling a Diablo clone here, but I don't disagree that the term "Diablo clone" is a common and useful descriptor. I just dispute your initial claim that the term arose because (if I'm parsing your post correctly) Diablo "did it first, kill stuff and has an isometric view".
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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I agree with Juxtapose. It seems like right now any game with an isometric view is automatically called a Diablo clone. Some of the games, such as Torchlight or FATE, market themselves as being Diablo Clones.
Isometric View? Diablo Clone MMO with skills/mounts/talent trees? WoW Clone Any RTS game? Starcraft/Warcraft 3 Clone
The term is used so loosely these days.
To be honest I'll probably just wait for Diablo III. I've been able to play it at Blizzcon for the past 3 years, and I can't even describe the awesomeness. Even 3 years ago the game was so well polished and put together, and it has gotten even better since.
Posts: 1937 | Registered: Nov 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Jake: There were innumerable games prior to Diablo that featured and isometric view and involved (or were mainly about) killing things.
Ultima VIII: Pagan and, arguably, it's predecessors (Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Ultima VII, Part 2: The Serpent's Isle) did it several years earlier. You could argue that Diablo cloned them... the Ultima series pretty much defined the genre in the first place.
For that matter, Q*Bert did it FIFTEEN years prior... Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Jake: There were innumerable games prior to Diablo that featured and isometric view and involved (or were mainly about) killing things.
Ultima VIII: Pagan and, arguably, it's predecessors (Ultima VII: The Black Gate and Ultima VII, Part 2: The Serpent's Isle) did it several years earlier. You could argue that Diablo cloned them... the Ultima series pretty much defined the genre in the first place.
For that matter, Q*Bert did it FIFTEEN years prior...
Perhaps in terms of presentation.
Except for the realtime nature, the gameplay is heavily inspired by roguelikes.
Posts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I was going to say that Zaxxon beat Q*Bert to the punch, but it looks like they both came out in 1982. Given that Zaxxon involves directly killing enemies, rather than just arranging for them to have convenient falls, though, I *think* it counts as the more direct predecessor.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Jake: I was going to say that Zaxxon beat Q*Bert to the punch, but it looks like they both came out in 1982. Given that Zaxxon involves directly killing enemies, rather than just arranging for them to have convenient falls, though, I *think* it counts as the more direct predecessor.
You assume all the enemies are organic.
Although... Making a game where Q*Bert immolates enemies with fireballs sounds awesome!!!Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: [QB] You assume all the enemies are organic.
Not all of the enemies in Diablo are organic!
quote:Although... Making a game where Q*Bert immolates enemies with fireballs sounds awesome!!!
Maybe Q*Bert could be on a mission to assassinate the protagonists of all of the various Q*Bert clones.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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quote:Juxtapose that is very much the definition of a Diablo clone since they did it first, kill stuff and has an isometric view
This ignores the fact that in Magicka the inventory system is practically nonexistent, whereas it forms an essential part of the core gameplay in Diablo. Describing Magicka as a Diablo clone grossly misstates the focus and feel of the game.
I don't want to seem like I'm picking on you for this. The game was originally described to me that way, but the similarities are superficial.
EDIT - I wouldn't, for example, have any problem with you saying that Titan's Quest or Torchlight are Diablo clones.
The core gameplay of Magicka is interesting, but has pretty severe balancing issues, in my opinion. Pretty early on, I stumbled onto a combination using fire, water, electricity and arcane that formed a nigh-unstoppable death beam that does thousands of damage points in just a few seconds. There was very little motivation to investigate other offensive combinations, because they simply weren't as good. Defensively, I heal myself, shield myself, and teleport.
I should add that I haven't tried the multiplayer yet, but I could imagine how that would be a lot of fun, in a frantic way.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
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Blayne Bradley
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The entire hilarious fun is from accidentily murdering yourself and your teammates through truly epic amounts of FAIL.
Deathbeam is pretty good but its limited in its usefulness without a party as its slow to turn.
And really as someone who fanboys over wizards in any kind of medium I found myself half the time experimenting with different combinations while letting my party do the real work.
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quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: EDIT - I wouldn't, for example, have any problem with you saying that Titan's Quest or Torchlight are Diablo clones.
Torchlight was referred to as a "Diablo clone" in Runic Games' own advertising when it first came out. It was, after all, designed and developed by the same people that designed Diablo and Diablo II.
Posts: 3486 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: EDIT - I wouldn't, for example, have any problem with you saying that Titan's Quest or Torchlight are Diablo clones.
Torchlight was referred to as a "Diablo clone" in Runic Games' own advertising when it first came out. It was, after all, designed and developed by the same people that designed Diablo and Diablo II.
Not to mention Torchlight having a fantastic soundtrack composed by the guy who did the soundtracks for both D1 and D2. The fact that guy doesn't score more games is truely a tragedy.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: EDIT - I wouldn't, for example, have any problem with you saying that Titan's Quest or Torchlight are Diablo clones.
Torchlight was referred to as a "Diablo clone" in Runic Games' own advertising when it first came out. It was, after all, designed and developed by the same people that designed Diablo and Diablo II.
Not to mention Torchlight having a fantastic soundtrack composed by the guy who did the soundtracks for both D1 and D2. The fact that guy doesn't score more games is truely a tragedy.
He and Tommy Tallarico are awesome.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I wish Tommy Tallarico was still on Reviews on the Run/Judgement Day/Electric Playground. Or that those shows still existed as the enjoyable fare they once were.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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