Several months ago, I bought Planescape: Torment in the bargain bin, and it came bundled with a game called Soulbringer. I had never heard of it or seen anybody talk about it since. It's made by Interplay/infogrames, and as near as I can tell (with the 2 minutes that I've played it) its a fantasy RPG along the lines of D&D.
Okay, so I take it that nobody has any info on this game, so I guess that means that it's up to me to fill you in
I found some reviews on the web, and it turns out that some people loved it an some hated it... and now few remember it.
I played it for several hours last night, and have become engrossed by it thus far. It is single player RPG, doesn't use AD&D rules and so far has a pretty dark storyline. It's the storyline that has made it so engrossing for me. Which is good, because the combat has been fairly non-existent so far, I'd say about 70% story, 30% combat.
My impression so far is that this is one of those diamonds in the rough that didn't get the credit it deserved, I've really enjoyed it thus far My only real complaint is that rather than give you a map like in BG, you have to get directions from people and use a compass. I've been getting lost quite a bit .
Originally posted by centrifuge
Okay, so I take it that nobody has any info on this game, so I guess that means that it's up to me to fill you in
I found some reviews on the web, and it turns out that some people loved it an some hated it... and now few remember it.
I played it for several hours last night, and have become engrossed by it thus far. It is single player RPG, doesn't use AD&D rules and so far has a pretty dark storyline. It's the storyline that has made it so engrossing for me. Which is good, because the combat has been fairly non-existent so far, I'd say about 70% story, 30% combat.
My impression so far is that this is one of those diamonds in the rough that didn't get the credit it deserved, I've really enjoyed it thus far My only real complaint is that rather than give you a map like in BG, you have to get directions from people and use a compass. I've been getting lost quite a bit .
I suppose you could draw your own map, al a old text adventures.
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I saw this on ebay when i was trying to find a copy of planescape and i'd never heard off it. Maybe it makes paying the high prices Planescape is going for a bit more worthwhile. I keep hoping its going to appear on budget but i've been waiting a while so i think i'm going to need to shell out some cash.
Just don't expect a Baldur's gate clone. It (so far) has been a very good game in it's own right, but after playing BG, IWD etc, Soulbringer takes a while to get used to the interface. After playing it for a while now, I realize that I miss some things from the BG/infinity engine interface, but I also think that many of the things that are incorporated into this game have been an improvement. One real complaint that I have is that I can't find even an ondisc manual which makes learning some of the features a bit difficult
Otherwise, I've been having a good deal of fun with it. The melee combat, for example, is really quite an improvement over BG. You can choose how you want your character to strike with his weapon, for example, with a short sword you can choose between slash, low slash, underarm strike (which is really cool to watch) , stab, and one or two others.
Also it turns out that getting lost (via not having a BG type map) is supposed to be a feature, since the compass that you start with sticks quite a bit, and you have to either find or buy a better one in order to better know your direction.
So obviously, nobody knows a thing about this game, which is really a shame I personally am completely engrossed by it, and think that it is a complete shame that it has been missed and forgotten by the masses. If anybody has the chance to get a hold of it, I whole heartedly recommend it Maybe It's because I'm so used to the BG engine, but this one seems very new( by comparison) and unique. It is obvious that the makers of this game put a ton of thought and effort into it.
Give it a try if you have the chance!!!! IMHO, it is certainly worth it. Oh BTW, as I've gotten further into it, combat vs eory has turned into more like 50:50...
Let me know what you think, should I shut up about it, or does anyone want more details of the game? Don't hold back with your thoughts
Arrived today and i thought before i start i'll do a bit of background reading, look for patches etc. Despite being published by interplay it doesn't feature anywhere on their website, the official site doesn't exist and its not what you'd call high profile.
The few reviews i found were pretty mixed. The one below loved it but the next one i found said almost the same things but hated it.
I finished it just the other night, and really enjoyed, unfortunately I don't see much of a replayability aspect to it, since you can only control the one character. However, I do think that it deserves more than to just be forgotten, it IMHO has one of, if not, the best stories of the RPGs I've played
BTW, I found an old forum dedicated to the game, it has some, but not alot of info on it. soulbringer forum
I did a patch check too, but came up short.
What kind of OS do you have? I use XP pro and it worked fine, except for one part where a movie freezes, the only solution was to let it sit for about 3 hours, and let it correct itself
Win98SE and XP but i tend to try them out on the W98 PC first unless the spec is too high. The Readme suggests a P2 400 so that shouldn't be a problem.
Installed ok but time to get some sleep but i guess that's my weekend sorted !
mmh a 2 person thread ? Well maybe someone else will buy it on ebay. Its not so bad that it deserves to sink without trace.
Anyway initial impressions... graphics are better than i expected and for some reason i really like the footprints in the snow !
Away from the main game graphics though it looks quite messy. The 'character sheet' could have used a better font and things like options are pretty unreadable. Its also feels quite clunky in that to use a key you have to first select it in your inventory.
There is a map but its of limited use as it full of icons that are explained in a dialogue but there doesn't seem to be anyway to recall that dialogue. Should we really be having to make out own notes nowadays ?
centrifuge - my CD came with an adobe manual. I can email it to you if you do want to replay but as you said the replayability seems limited.
Yeah, the main graphics are quite nice, the movement of the character for example are on par or better than any I've seen . I think that they were done through some sort of motion capture rather than the usual graphics animation. I agree about the messy aspects of the character sheet etc, the pictures of the weapons and other items are useless without the text description.
Have you gotten used to the combat yet? I think the goal was to make it more interactive...
I have both games bundled together. But so far I've only played Planescape. And I have yet to finish that one. Maybe I'll check out the other game if I'm bored.
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well I actually loaded this one up- on my C drive as it wouldn't let me load it on my D drive. Grr. Says I don't have enough disk space, when I clearly do.
I tried to give it a chance. But I don't like it. Although maybe I'll read the instructions, and try again. It may be I don't like it because I can't figure out how to do anything. But either way I think the interface is just horrible. And some of the graphics are nice- and nice combat animations. But the interface graphics, and graphics on the character sheet and inventory I don't like.
Also another thing to note is I seem to only like D&D games. At least in the fantasy type genre. Because I can't seem to like Morrowind either even though everyone else likes it. And I have never really gotten into the Ultima games either. And I have never played a mmorpg. Really the only crpg's in a fantasy genre I have played is D&D games from bioware and black isle. The one exception is Diablo 1 and 2. I can't explain why I like those games, maybe because they aren't real rpg's. I also like Fallout games and Knights of the Old Republic, but those don't take place in the typical fantasy realm.
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As for not liking it, you certainly wouldn't be the only one I think that the reason that it has been forgotten is for the reasons that you stated. It's not D&D rules and I think that people may have been expecting a BG clone.
The interface grew on me, to the point that it seemed pretty natural, but all the way to the end of the game I hated the inventory sheet ( I mean damn, you can't tell whether you have a shortsword or a bow )
The main strength IMHO is the storyline, I think that it rivals any CRPG that I've played. (I need to finish PS:T, as that seemed to have a very good story as well, but I can't make a comparison until I do so).
IMO this game has a lot of potential, but there are many things that would need to be fixed and tweaked. #1 on my list would be replayability, and #2 would be that damned annoying inventory screen #3 would be some of the battles, I thought that some were too tough, while others just seemed too easy.
Overall, I liked it, apparently I'm in the minority, but heck there's no accounting for taste
I may play a little more until I find out what the story is. The beginning seemed lame. Find your uncle. whooppee . I think I like my games to start out with more purpose than that.
but the lack of a map is disappointing.
dungeon seige is another game I did not like. That game starts out a similar way. You are supposed to get to some town. But you have no idea whats going on. Just hordes of these creatures attacking. wave after wave- that game was just a hack fest. This game had a map- but this in game map was crap as well- it was too small for my liking.
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Looks damn cool and I'll definitely be looking for this on budget. I bought the original PS:T so I don't have this one. Curious because not many RPG's slip past my radar, but maybe I read a bad review and looked no further.
If you find any more lesser known games be sure to let us know! I'm still chasing a party based RPG I played the demo of on coverdisk ages ago then never found again
__________________ To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. H.Poincare
One other interesting aspect that I rememder (for anyone who may possibly care ), is that you have to continually take your non-magic items (swords, armor etc) into the blacksmith to keep them in good shape, otherwise the armor won't protect you as well after a few battles, and the swords won't do as much damage, this aside from the fact that if you don't repair your items they'll be destroyed and become unusable.
Quote:
I'm still chasing a party based RPG I played the demo of on coverdisk ages ago then never found again
Sadly no. It was one of those idle thoughts I had in a phase of being bored with my current games. "I wonder where that kinda fun RPG went? I never saw it released. Where was the demo again?" I trawled through all the coverdisks I had lying around from 1999-2001 looking for it again but without any luck. It isn't any of the ones featuring on the usual abandonwhare sites either. Maybe it got canned.....
__________________ To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. H.Poincare
Got my grubby hands on a copy. Excellent game so far and quite a challenge. The view distance is poor and the navigation controls quirky but I'm really enjoying it.
The amount of combat seems to be rising as the game goes on but there's still lots of plot to give you a reason to fight!
__________________ To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. H.Poincare
Good, I'm glad that you're enjoying it so far I was starting to feel like an outcast.
One thing that I kept wondering when I first started playing was if there was ever going to be any daylight. ...but I paid a little closer attention and learned that the sun is scarce there during Winter, kind of like the polar regions of Earth.
...One other minor annoyance for me was the lack of being able to rest (or needing to for that matter).
Yes after that one kip in uncles' house you're doomed to never sleep. Very strange. Still, the monsters drop so many herbs, potions and foodstuffs that you really don't need to.
I've just found the sword Messenger and headed off to Rainbow Rock.
__________________ To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. H.Poincare
I had an event-free weekend while my good lady was hard at work so it was pretty much Soulbringer all the way
__________________ To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. H.Poincare
Yeah. I thought some of the little cutscenes were well done too.
As with many games the worst part was the start, learning how to kill off those first few bandits and get some decent equipment. Once I got the sabre it was much easier.
__________________ To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. H.Poincare
Yeah the game picks up significantly once you get your bearings (ie learn the ui, figure out the layout of the town, getting used to the combat system).
The beginning drags a bit, but IMHO it allows for a better overall story since that way you won't forget your humble beginning
Gorgas is toast! Looks like I've got plenty more work to do though
__________________ To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection. H.Poincare
which makes learning some of the features a bit difficult
)
outside of the uncles house
