Tyranny - Standard Edition

I really wanted to like this game - it showed a lot of promise, what with being able to play an intelligent villain rather than just the murderous moron like other games and making choices that actually have an effect on the story. Well, to be blunt, this is probably the last time I pre-order. What killed it for me, (SPOILER ALERT) was the forced choice between factions. I knew, of course, that there would be a choice. But I wasn't expecting it to be binary. Early on (around 3 hours for me, iirc) the game literally forces you to choose which faction of Kyros' empire to side with - the roman legion-esque Disfavored or the chaotic, sneaky Scarlet Chorus. I had assumed that there would be a third option, manage to get the two sides to stop bickering and unite. Oh, how wrong I was. One of the characters literally screamed at me MAKE A CHOICE! ONE OR THE OTHER! NO COMPROMISE! RARRRRGHHHH! A linear RPG, to me, is an abomination. It's like non-alcoholic beer - what's the point? An RPG should be saying to the player, "YES!" and not "NO! NO! FOLLOW THE PLOT! STAY ON THE RAILS!" If this game is any indication, I'm really glad I never got around to playing Pillars of Eternity. Goodbye, Obsidian. You're not getting any more of my money.

Okay. I didn't want to post anything before ending the game... and since I have just seen the credits, I would like to share a few thougts with You, my Fellow Players: First things first - Tyranny. Is. AWSOME. Now that I let it out, let's focus on the merit, shall we? It's always hard to consider oneself a veteran, but since I played infinity engine games for years, I believe I can consider myself at least an experienced player. From this position I can surely say one thing - Tyranny is not another Torment, but It's kind of close. After kind o bland PoE (it's a good game, but more of a tribute than something really great), Tyranny brings really nice and intensive experience. It's not a magical medieval realm, it's the golden age of ancient Rome, and it's damn interesting. The game is not really a story about evil - it's more about shades of gray, and doing things that must be done (or not). In the matter of choices - It's Alpha Protocol again, Folks - you can ally yourself with whoever you please and betray anybody you want. That's what i call an RPG. As for the bugs - there are a few, I guess, but nothing worth mentioning. Gameplay can get a little repetitive, but for me it was far more interesting that one in PoE - whole system is much more simple and clear. All the needless micromanagement is gone. Is the game easy? Well - the fights are not that hard (I play on normal). Still - there is much fighting and a bad build can get you into trouble, no doubt. And a few words about the ending - it seems kind of abrupt, but in a way it is fitting. Personaly, I woudn't like this whole struggle to end so easly. In a way it's like in KOTOR 2 - yes the epilog/ending is kind of lacking, but since the game is just awsome, it doesn't really matter. I havent had so much fun with an cRPG for quite a while. I recommed it to anybody, who enjoyed KOTOR 2, Alpha Protocol, old Torment. As for the other people - if You enjoy a good story, interesting lore and being "bad" You can always give it a try.

First and foremost: WHERE IS THE REST OF THE GAME?!?! Secondly: Jeez guys, make some monsters. This game has ZERO monster variety (90% of the time, you are fighting humans). Not just the artwork, but obviously many budget things to this game (not the price though). Thirdly: A completely soulless, cookie-cutter magic and item system. In conclusion: I had to force myself to finish playing this game. It wasn't fun about 75% of the time. It also does not create a convincing fantasy world of any sort. Sad to say, but Pillars had more of a fantasy feel than this and that game was about as cardboard as it gets. This is a boring military romp where you fight soldiers almost all the time. (P.S. Am definitely not buying the expansion(s) after this run)

Game play is OK, but poor story and plot, and for a RPG that is a critical failure.

Skimming through some of the reviews here, it seems that people have different complaints than I do. I didn't get very far in the game. I can't speak to the length of the game, the challenge, or whatever else. I don't like the game because of the kind of character you play. I know, I read the synopsis. It's made pretty clear you are playing as an evil character (or perhaps the lesser of evils). I thought I'd be okay with that and it might be interesting. It wasn't for me though. I should have known ahead of time, given that I never play evil characters in any game that gives you the choice. But I like having that choice. This mostly takes that choice away. I did enjoy the way you create your backstory in the beginning though. One other thing I didn't really like was the art style. It just fealt very flat, and I don't mean in the 2d vs 3d sense. It was missing something, perhaps a bit more flair.