RPG Codex 2011 Year in Review

RPG Codex has posted a new article covering 2011’s RPG releases.  While it might be just a little late coming, the article sports the site’s trademark sarcasm, wit, and general ridicule and scorn both for mainstream games companies as well as itself.  It’s quite a long piece, discussing both big-budget and indie titles alike, although viewer discretion may be advised given some of the language on display.

On Deus Ex: Human Revolution:

Now, Deus Ex: Human Revolution isn’t technically an RPG but it’s based on a classic game, and was covered by the Codex. In case you weren’t aware, it’s a moden prequel to the classic Deus Ex, a first-person shooter thing with RPG-type elements. It’s much loved here at the Codex as one of those classic games where they tried something different and did quite well. Based on the history of modern games though, the new version was expected to suck. It didn’t.

Well, not much anyway but it was markably better than most of the other contempary bullshit developers shovel out the door these days. With multiple options to sneak or fight your way through a mission, it’s real downside was that the developers out-sourced the boss fights. Yeap, they paid someone else to make their game for them. And then wondered why those parts seemed so out of place. Actually fair chunks of the game seemed out of place given their lack of connection to the original but meh. That’s what we expect these days, right?

And on a couple of in-development indie RPGs that never saw the light of day:

Continuing on the sour front, there were a couple of bad news announcements this year… Assuming you consider cancelled vapourware from indie developers a bad thing. First off was Scars of War, an indie game under-development by Gareth (a guy who posts here on the Codex) which was put indefinitely on hold – so the developer could work on a short 6-month battle-card game instead. It’s been over 6 months now and the game’s website no longer works… (It’s ok, I’ve been there myself, I know how he feels).

Meanwhile, the Broken Hourglass – an upcoming story-driven CRPG – was to remain forever broken, as the developer Jason Compton “concluded that it is infeasible for PWG to deliver the game promised, and unacceptable to try to market a product that would not meet expectations.” You should read that as: Bitch took all mah money. Their website is still online.