Fantasy strategy-RPGs and the limits of ‘RPG elements’
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on “Western” role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. In theory, fantasy strategy games should be my favorite kinds of games. I am certainly a fan of the fantasy genre generally, and role-playing games and strategy games are my favorite game genres. Fantasy strategy games combine all of those elements, so they should be a guaranteed success, right? And yet they’re not my favorite games. I enjoy them, certainly, but if I were making a list of my all-time favorites, they wouldn’t show up toward the top. Examining the subgenre as a whole makes me realize that combining RPGs and strategy games is part of the problem. Too many good things doesn’t necessarily lead to great things.
Elemental: War Of Magic was supposed to be the ultimate fantasy strategy game. It was supposed to combine the best of RPGs with the best of strategy games with an impressive fantasy setting. Ultimately it was crushed under the weight of its own ideas and egos, went through a disastrous development cycle and launched as a broken disappointment.Continue reading Fantasy strategy-RPGs and the limits of ‘RPG elements’Fantasy strategy-RPGs and the limits of ‘RPG elements’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 22 Feb 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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