Lucas Arts vs. Sierra

[stika]

So you're saying playing Gabriel Knight 2 makes me more attractive to the opposite gender?

[KatieHal]

I seem to recall you posting that you were actually enjoying yourself playing that game while you were playing it, Lamb, and that you were surprised by that, but then you also didn't finish it.

[Lambonius]

So you're saying playing Gabriel Knight 2 makes me more attractive to the opposite gender?

In the sense that standing next to a hideously ugly person makes you seem more attractive by comparison, yes. 

[GrahamRocks!]

I loved GK1, and while it took a bit, GK2 grew on me as well. GK3... eh, the plot didn't seem to really start until the murders of the Prince's men. I wouldn't call it awful, but it certainly wasn't as good as the first one.

Now Ultima IX: Ascension on the other hand...

What if I told you Ultima IX: Ascencion is actually not that bad a game?

Are you serious?! Okay, good graphics (at least I think so anyway), BEAUTIFUL music.

BUT! Horrible voice acting (or at least So Bad It's Good), horribly buggy and crash prone, plot holes up the wazoo (especially if you played the game beforehand!), a stupid main character, and it upsets the cosmic balance!

And it made Spoony go nuts.

...You're just trying to mess with me, aren't you?

[Bludshot]

Gabriel Knight 2 is the gameplay equivalent of individually plucking every single hair on one's entire body.

Wait, you guys don't find that fun?

[Lambonius]

I seem to recall you posting that you were actually enjoying yourself playing that game while you were playing it, Lamb, and that you were surprised by that, but then you also didn't finish it.

That's true.  I found myself getting into it at times.  The story's really not bad.  But the visual design is hideous, and the editing in the FMV sequences, particularly the ones used for general in-game interactions, is atrocious, and really makes the game feel like a chore to play.  The problem was that every time I'd get into it, some terribly edited FMV sequence would suck me right back out again.  And the use of FMV sequences for every little interaction drags out the pace of the game to a nearly unplayable crawl.  I literally fell asleep in my chair at one point, and that's not an exaggeration.  I've never been able to finish it, no.  I made it to the final chapter with Grace in the opera house, but I just can't go back to it.  Every time I try, the horrible graphics and FMV sequences make me physically ill, and I have to stop.

Okay, that last part was an exaggeration. 

[stika]

I loved GK1, and while it took a bit, GK2 grew on me as well. GK3... eh, the plot didn't seem to really start until the murders of the Prince's men. I wouldn't call it awful, but it certainly wasn't as good as the first one.

Now Ultima IX: Ascension on the other hand...

What if I told you Ultima IX: Ascencion is actually not that bad a game?

Are you serious?! Okay, good graphics (at least I think so anyway), BEAUTIFUL music.

BUT! Horrible voice acting (or at least So Bad It's Good), horribly buggy and crash prone, plot holes up the wazoo (especially if you played the game beforehand!), a stupid main character, and it upsets the cosmic balance!

And it made Spoony go nuts.

...You're just trying to mess with me, aren't you?

Even though I love Spoony's videos, the man is definitely not someone you should be referencing, especially considering how poorly earlier Ultima games have aged. The game is very buggy, yes, luckily there's plenty of fan patches that fix that, and don't try to tell me fan patches don't count, because no one has any problems using them for Vampire The Masquerade: BLoodlines.

Yep, the story sucks, but then again, that's pretty much a staple of the WRPG genre, of course it's disappointing by Ultima standards, but at least it's the only game in the main series with a decent control scheme and the gameplay itself isn't bad, even if it's preeeeeety unbalanced

EDIT: I'd also go as far as to say the Wing Commander games have aged poorly, but Spoony still treats the series as if they were this amazingly awesome game

[Numbers]

I loved GK1, and while it took a bit, GK2 grew on me as well. GK3... eh, the plot didn't seem to really start until the murders of the Prince's men. I wouldn't call it awful, but it certainly wasn't as good as the first one.

Now Ultima IX: Ascension on the other hand...

What if I told you Ultima IX: Ascencion is actually not that bad a game?

Are you serious?! Okay, good graphics (at least I think so anyway), BEAUTIFUL music.

BUT! Horrible voice acting (or at least So Bad It's Good), horribly buggy and crash prone, plot holes up the wazoo (especially if you played the game beforehand!), a stupid main character, and it upsets the cosmic balance!

And it made Spoony go nuts.

...You're just trying to mess with me, aren't you?

I'm not gonna lie, GrahamRocks...a lot of your comments rub me the wrong way.

It seems like the only reason you say some of the things you do is because someone else said it first. Ultima 9, for instance...I sincerely doubt you've ever played it. I certainly haven't, and based on what I've heard, I'm not going to, because it certainly LOOKS like a bad game. But I base my opinion of it on the fact that multiple sources have told me that it's not worth playing, not just Spoony's review.

How about a little while back when we were talking about supernatural creatures? Someone brought up clowns, and you became adamant that clowns weren't the monsters we make them out to be, and then brought up Boffo from Atop the Fourth Wall. I have a feeling you defended clowns because Atop the Fourth Wall did it first.

Also, you like KQ6 the best and dislike MoE the most, which is what most KQ fans think. I think the fact that I tolerate MoE and barely play KQ6 is part of what makes me unique, and not just a sheep (not that I'm calling you one).

Can you prove that you're not just a follow-the-leader type? Can you tell me what you DON'T agree on with most people? I'm not trying to rip on you or anything, I'm just curious.

[stika]

come on now, no need to for this, she's free to base her opinions on reviews and shows.

heck it's why we even have critics and the like

Edit: Sorry about the Engrish, 'tis almost 3AM here

[KatieHal]

That's true.  I found myself getting into it at times.  The story's really not bad.  But the visual design is hideous, and the editing in the FMV sequences, particularly the ones used for general in-game interactions, is atrocious, and really makes the game feel like a chore to play.  The problem was that every time I'd get into it, some terribly edited FMV sequence would suck me right back out again.  And the use of FMV sequences for every little interaction drags out the pace of the game to a nearly unplayable crawl.  I literally fell asleep in my chair at one point, and that's not an exaggeration.  I've never been able to finish it, no.  I made it to the final chapter with Grace in the opera house, but I just can't go back to it.  Every time I try, the horrible graphics and FMV sequences make me physically ill, and I have to stop.

Okay, that last part was an exaggeration. 

Now this is a good detailed answer! And actually, I can agree, these are a lot of the problems with FMV, especially those early stabs at it. I've been watching Toegoff's current LP of the game and been noticing it even more now than when I played myself how some parts really just drag out.

And you were so close!

[Numbers]

Sorry about my attitude, I'm just wary of other people right now. And not to tell you my life story, but if I weren't suspicious of other people, I'd be dead.

[stika]

Oh wow, I'm not going to intrude, but I understand :\

[Bludshot]

I think calling GK2 a "chore" to play sums up the issue nicely. 

Mostly I think it is an excellent story and one you don't see matched very often in the other games.  The antagonist is also quite excellent, I really enjoy the connection Gabe has with the bad guys in 1&2, they still remain villains while being three dimensional and on some level sympathetic.

The actors are all pretty meh though.  Give me voice actors any day.

[Lambonius]

I've said it before, but I would LOVE to see GK2 remade with more traditional hand-painted and animated graphics, and minus the FMV stuff.  Honestly, I'd even be okay with some of the FMV (though the two styles wouldn't mesh at all), just not the FMV for every little action.  The FMV story sequences don't bug me nearly as much.

[Bludshot]

Well at this point it would be cool just to see it's influence in games, which I have yet to encounter.

[darthkiwi]

I found myself empathising with the characters more because of the FMV, which I wasn't expecting. I think seeing their facial expressions made something click in my brain. So I'm not willing to write off the FMV entirely: it did improve my experience, if nobody else's.

But yes, ugh, the editing! The number of times you get to the end of a conversation topic and there's a five-second clip of Gabe just nodding to himself! The fact that every action has to be really deliberate because oh my God it's being filmed so this is important!

I absolutely LOVE GK2 and I thought the plot and characters were absolutely fantastic, but I can also see why you'd want to kill it with fire every time a poorly-edited FMV sequence comes up (ie. every few seconds).

[stika]

I still cherish my big box copy of GK2 at the time I had never played anything like it, I was so used to games like Monkey Island, Legend of Kyrandia or Sam and Max, but this seemed to so advanced for its time

[Blackthorne]

I've said it before, but I would LOVE to see GK2 remade with more traditional hand-painted and animated graphics, and minus the FMV stuff.  Honestly, I'd even be okay with some of the FMV (though the two styles wouldn't mesh at all), just not the FMV for every little action.  The FMV story sequences don't bug me nearly as much.

This.  I would actually really enjoy seeing GK II remade.


Bt

[snabbott]

I took a lumpy brown s*** tonight that I had more fun with than Gabriel Knight 2.

I seem to recall you posting that you were actually enjoying yourself playing that game while you were playing it, Lamb, and that you were surprised by that, but then you also didn't finish it.

That's true.  I found myself getting into it at times.

Translation: Lamb sometimes enjoys playing with poop? TMI!

[stika]

Lamb gets into Poop? Oh my!