I've been playing this game for 6 hours now and I intend to keep playing. Let me start by saying that I don't just play any random crap game for 6 hours. I uninstalled ESO Beta at the 2 hour mark to never again be bothered with it. I'll say this: no, Bound by Flame is not Skyrim awesome, but it's fun, with an interesting story, fun crafting, levelling and challenging combat (at least in the highest level of difficulty, can't say about other modes). Plus it's a product created with a limited budget that deserves some credit.
I'll also say that I'm not looking at this game positively because I have some kind of contained, unsatisfied hunger for this kind of sword and sorcery dark themed RPG, because I came to it from a 140 hour marathon in 2 weeks that saw me through every nook and cranny of Dark Souls 2. If anything I'd be exhausted of it, and looking for something different.
To me Bound by Flame gets a solid 7.5/10. It's a game that has flaws, and made mistakes, but I'm inclined to think that the biggest of them all was not having the budget to afford the acclaimed Bill Murphy's favourable review. Just terrible.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
AEHM...what is so bad about hard combat? i mean.. u look at this game and u think .. yeah that has so much of dark souls. so... u die many times? no surprise at all, thats what they want
It's not hard combat... it's poorly designed. The only way to "win" is to cheat the system by blocking or dodging, going in for one or two hits, and then blocking or dodging again. It's very boring, and very counter-intuitive to the idea of fast and fluid combat they set before you.
After giving 7.9 to ESO i'm not sure you can always tell if something is poorly designed. It seems to be more a thing if you personally like something or not.
According to most people and other reviews, ESO oozes poor design in every baseline aspect of a mmorpg, but that seem to have passed by unnoticed in that review of yours.
I just watched a gameplay video... and combat doesn't look bad it just looks difficult like Demon's Souls. The guy was fighting like 4-5 mobs at once... not tanking them stupidly, but like actually kiting, fighting, blocking, seperating.
It probably is a D graded game for polish reasons (story and controls etc), but I also think it provides a non-ez mode gaming experience.
Either play Diablo 3 and effortlessly destroy hordes of demons (shallow/emotionlessly) or play a Demon's Souls - like game where you can get destroyed by two guys if you aren't patient.
First off , I bought bound by flame and it is a good game. I'm not saying it's 10 / 10 but it's a solid rpg. 4.5/10 is being stupid , you'd probably give every Call of Duty 10/10 right ? It was definitely worth the price I can easily get 3-4 playthroughs out of the game to see different endings/difficulties and such. Combat is fun and not overly easy. Sure the game is a tad short but it has replayability.
And yes I think all you reviewers of this game who gave it a bad score , are ridiculous and stupid. You have a stick shoved so far up your ass anything that doesn't meet your unrealistic expectations , you instantly trash and bash and make out to be horrible.
To wrap it up , No it's not perfect it has some flaws , but It's a solid game. So in my opinion don't listen to reviewers they usually don't know shit about what they are talking about and very rarely give fair and honest reviews (Exactly like the person who gave this review). Play the game yourself and make your decision. If you don't like it , get a refund.
My comment probably don't have any groundbreaking effect, but after reading this review, I actually bought the game and to see if it is that awful.
Though aligned with this review, I am actually having fun with the game; in fact, it is one of few single player RPGs that I actually feel the urge to play.
It is true that the story is a bit crap, in a sense that you think you can expect the outcome to be so and so... But that's at least what you THINK! It is also true that the combat feels garbage, it is choppy, uninspiring, and very tedious, much like the Witcher series with the depth taken away. But to a player base where people claim to "seem it all," what is then, better game than this, within this type of budget, where, the game can truly claim to be groundbreaking, original?
I mean, I don't really reply post on a daily basis, but after played the game, I feel it's needed to reply a negative review such as this.
Sorry, but I find this to be part of the usual MMORPG.com routine. Wear kid cloves when reviewing a major advertiser, then slam a game that spends no advertising dollars on the site, especially a game nobody has even heard of, to create the image of fairness and credibility.
You know there's a simple check for this....what are other reviewers saying about the game(s) If they match maybe the game is bad or good.
They can't win when it comes to a review here. It's either the company spends money and got a good review or they didn't spend enough so they got a bad review. If it's not the review the reader wants to see there is some conspiracy afoot.
If someone's mind is already made up about a game...why are they reading reviews. Looking for a pat on the bum and a good job for picking a winner ?
If you don't see the difference in how they review games that have ads on this site, and games that does not, you haven't paid much attention. It's often pointed out in the comments, but I've never seen them reply to any of it.
From the review:
"Bound By Flame is a generic, poorly designed, and almost offensive experience that I would only recommend ever picking up when it’s $5 or less during a Steam Sale. And only then if you have a morbid sort of curiosity about bad games."
Try to find anything close to this in a review of a game from a major dev or publisher. Or don't bother wasting your time - you won't, not on this site. BBF may be garbage, but they would NEVER go so hard out against anything from companies who spend a lot of money on marketing.
It's understandable that the dog won't bite the hand that feeds it, but it's undermining their credability.
they gave scarlet blade worst mmo ever and they ran full page Ads for 3 months in a row. In the last year Aria( sp) is probably the biggest spender in Ad dollars on this site and they havenever given any of their games good reviews... but that one doesn't count though ..right ? you're talking about all the other ones.
Pretty much what it boils down to is, until they trash the popular game you don't like, there's a conspiracy.
Funny that you used that particular game as an example, because there's a lot to that one.
In May last year, people had had enough of the ads. A lot of criticism was probably the reason why they "matured up" them, presumably to counter the pedophilia comments. But it didn't end there, far from it. In several threads, people were not only discussing pedo/porno, but also ad block, because they didn't want these ads, and I was one of those who posted in this thread:
In one of the threads (couldn't find it, sorry), one of MMORPG.com's staff members, Bill if I remember correctly, asked us to reconsider and not use ad block, since it affects their income.
A month later, their review appeared. Yes, a MONTH later. And yes, they slaughtered it.
Do you really think they had a choice?
Considering all the heated discussions about pedophilia and pornography, there'e probably no one or at least very, very few, who would have taken anything on this site seriously if they gave it a positive score. And they know that soooo well. From the review:
"There is a reason why you have seen this crop up in many “Worst of...” lists including our own “Worst MMOs of 2013”, if it’s not for these reasons mentioned within this review, then it is for it’s downright disgraceful approach to MMO design, or just the controversy it has caused within the MMO community."
Btw, if they trash popular games, I will probably disagree. Not because of personal taste, but because it being popular would indicate that their tastes are not reflecting the average opinons. And enough about these "conspiracies", please, it's getting old, especially in your posts.
Funny that you used that particular game as an example, because there's a lot to that one.
In May last year, people had had enough of the ads. A lot of criticism was probably the reason why they "matured up" them, presumably to counter the pedophilia comments. But it didn't end there, far from it. In several threads, people were not only discussing pedo/porno, but also ad block, because they didn't want these ads, and I was one of those who posted in this thread:
In one of the threads (couldn't find it, sorry), one of MMORPG.com's staff members, Bill if I remember correctly, asked us to reconsider and not use ad block, since it affects their income.
A month later, their review appeared. Yes, a MONTH later. And yes, they slaughtered it.
Do you really think they had a choice?
Considering all the heated discussions about pedophilia and pornography, there'e probably no one or at least very, very few, who would have taken anything on this site seriously if they gave it a positive score. And they know that soooo well. From the review:
"There is a reason why you have seen this crop up in many “Worst of...” lists including our own “Worst MMOs of 2013”, if it’s not for these reasons mentioned within this review, then it is for it’s downright disgraceful approach to MMO design, or just the controversy it has caused within the MMO community."
Btw, if they trash popular games, I will probably disagree. Not because of personal taste, but because it being popular would indicate that their tastes are not reflecting the average opinons. And enough about these "conspiracies", please, it's getting old, especially in your posts.
It keeps coming up because you keep making posts that give them no out. No matter what they rate a game you see some alterer motive behind it. Even when they trash a shitty game...and it is a shitty game, they didn't do it because it's bad. They did it because the community demanded it ? An entire review that says nothing good about a game what-so-ever and it's all because of one single line you managed to pick out ?
It's one thing to not drink the koolaid it's another to see evil in everything they do.
"where the muscle bound sweaty warrior was always rescuing the beautiful buxom blonde damsel. Only… it’s not charmingly cheesy here."
As opposed to the completely laudable buxom noodle-armed heroines of the 21st century slaughtering waves of muscle bound sweaty warriors with their giant swords that their small arms (but cute! that's important) can't even lift much less swing.
Sorry Bill, it's not sexism... it's reality. I know political correctness has made that all too foggy in this day and age, but no video game sensitivities are going to change that. I mean hell, they don't even make the effort in giving the women heroes in the games muscles, they just pummel people with the power of the politically correct lie.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire: Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
"where the muscle bound sweaty warrior was always rescuing the beautiful buxom blonde damsel. Only… it’s not charmingly cheesy here."
As opposed to the completely laudable buxom noodle-armed heroines of the 21st century slaughtering waves of muscle bound sweaty warriors with their giant swords that their small arms (but cute! that's important) can't even lift much less swing.
Sorry Bill, it's not sexism... it's reality. I know political correctness has made that all too foggy in this day and age, but no video game sensitivities are going to change that. I mean hell, they don't even make the effort in giving the women heroes in the games muscles, they just pummel people with the power of the politically correct lie.
No way. Women and men are equal.
That's why women dominate all the sports leagues. It's also why women are responsible for almost all the inventions in the world. Just imagine how much more awesome the world be if women, who are equal, hadn't been held back by men.
I don't understand why people even bother arguing with a guy who casually plays MMO or any other game for that matter.
Do you really think he's a super gamer that would he actually care to master aspects of games? Get real, he's reporting on them not diving into them. He does as much diving as any other casual player care to do.
Originally posted by Aeonblades I actually checked out the website for this game yesterday and they made it sound really good. May just wait till it's in the bargain bin and give it a try for myself anyway, you never know!
Funny that you used that particular game as an example, because there's a lot to that one.
In May last year, people had had enough of the ads. A lot of criticism was probably the reason why they "matured up" them, presumably to counter the pedophilia comments. But it didn't end there, far from it. In several threads, people were not only discussing pedo/porno, but also ad block, because they didn't want these ads, and I was one of those who posted in this thread:
In one of the threads (couldn't find it, sorry), one of MMORPG.com's staff members, Bill if I remember correctly, asked us to reconsider and not use ad block, since it affects their income.
A month later, their review appeared. Yes, a MONTH later. And yes, they slaughtered it.
Do you really think they had a choice?
Considering all the heated discussions about pedophilia and pornography, there'e probably no one or at least very, very few, who would have taken anything on this site seriously if they gave it a positive score. And they know that soooo well. From the review:
"There is a reason why you have seen this crop up in many “Worst of...” lists including our own “Worst MMOs of 2013”, if it’s not for these reasons mentioned within this review, then it is for it’s downright disgraceful approach to MMO design, or just the controversy it has caused within the MMO community."
Btw, if they trash popular games, I will probably disagree. Not because of personal taste, but because it being popular would indicate that their tastes are not reflecting the average opinons. And enough about these "conspiracies", please, it's getting old, especially in your posts.
It keeps coming up because you keep making posts that give them no out. No matter what they rate a game you see some alterer motive behind it. Even when they trash a shitty game...and it is a shitty game, they didn't do it because it's bad. They did it because the community demanded it ? An entire review that says nothing good about a game what-so-ever and it's all because of one single line you managed to pick out ?
It's one thing to not drink the koolaid it's another to see evil in everything they do.
Very well said. Look, I'm no fan of this site (particularly the moderation) but in all the years of coming here, I can honestly say the reviews are as impartial or fair as any one persons opinion can be: there is no obvious bias one way or the other. The problem is with the community. Most poster's perception of what constitutes a "fair" and "unbiased" review seems to hing on if the review agrees with the poster's opinion of the game. Regardless, if you are so convinced this site bases their reviews on paid ads and/or community demands, why are you still coming here and giving the traffic? I mean, wouldn't the "adult" thing to do is to stop coming here?
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true...
I don't seem to understand why everyone goes into these games expecting an AAA polished out of the ass game. Every time I read a review on here all I can think is that they didn't learn how to play the game or are just too stupid to grasp a non-traditional combat system. The Dark Souls combat is clunky too, but they boast the game is hard so it's okay to have clunky combat. However, everyone raves about that game. Skyrim combat is also clunky.
It seems every game I really enjoy playing gets torn to shreds by some "reviewer" here and the games I absolutely despise seem to get all the praise. I don't understand it. We all have different tastes, but for those of you reading this, don't take this crap in. Go buy the game and try it for yourself, you may love it.
There's no exploiting the combat system, you just get better at timing your blows. Maybe if you got past level 5 you would have realized that you pompous prick.
I don't seem to understand why everyone goes into these games expecting an AAA polished out of the ass game. Every time I read a review on here all I can think is that they didn't learn how to play the game or are just too stupid to grasp a non-traditional combat system. The Dark Souls combat is clunky too, but they boast the game is hard so it's okay to have clunky combat. However, everyone raves about that game. Skyrim combat is also clunky.
It seems every game I really enjoy playing gets torn to shreds by some "reviewer" here and the games I absolutely despise seem to get all the praise. I don't understand it. We all have different tastes, but for those of you reading this, don't take this crap in. Go buy the game and try it for yourself, you may love it.
There's no exploiting the combat system, you just get better at timing your blows. Maybe if you got past level 5 you would have realized that you pompous prick.
Honestly this game IS bad. Not because people are expecting a AAA game but because the game comes of as a lazy money grab attempt. I know it isn't the case, and the devs did do their best, but the game does have some serious issues with the story. Things they could've easily fixed before release but didn't.
It certainly isn't worth paying full price but I think ~15€ might be worth it, for someone who likes RPG's that is.
After playing the game for awhile I don't think the game merits a 4.5 score.
I think a big reason why the game is getting so much hate is that you never feel like an all powerful badass. From start to finish it's easy to die just by taking a couple hits. The game is hard from the start and stays that way till the end.
You also as far as I can tell, can't out level the content to make it easier. For instance in most games you could level up to get more health and do more damage. You can't really do that in this game. You get marginally more powerful when you level up putting points in the skill tree.
I played the game too and I can't say it was a waste of money, sure the game is "hard"; but not as bad as Dark Soul series.
I'm just going accept that Bill Murphy is just "a gamer" not an exceptional or even awesome gamer, just "a gamer".
He probably glossed over the game, wonder why it was so hard compare to other games he played (I don't know what he plays) and wrote up a superficial review. Maybe he even used other reviews for "reference" (given the link he posted earlier to prove that his review is right in line with others)
I will bet a million dollars that if this exact same game, done to every detail, had been made by Obsidian Entertainment the reviewer would've handwaved away the flaws/pinned them on the publisher, overrated the writing, and given the game a 8 or 9 out of 10. Period.
RPGs are a nearly impossible impossible market to break into because they're always judged by preconceptions, not by their actual quality. These guys were shot in the foot from the start because they're not a nostalgic dev and they're not following a nostalgic formula, and that's sad.
And then RPG gamers cry about their genre being dead, all while the Expeditions - Conquistadors and Avernums and stuff like this and Mars:War Logs get shit sales and attention compared to overrated crap like New Vegas.
It's a review, therefore an opinion. Stating that the reviewer is wrong or is "stupid", as some have done, makes no sense. Opinions aren't facts, therefore they can't be proven correct or incorrect.
As I stated before I don't prefer this game either. It's not because it's too hard, I really found very little difficulty in the game. I felt it was just a bore. The story didn't inspire me to care about what was going on. This is not some high brow material here, you don't need a high intelligence to understand whats going on. It's simple and it's repetitive. It's not the worst RPG ever, I have played some truly terrible ones, but I would say that 4.5 is a very valid score for it. If it was 15 or 20 dollars then it might be worth it, but at the high cost of 50 or 60 it's a definite pass. Wait a year til the price drops like a rock.
Just to question the philosophy. Army of Socrates.
AEHM...what is so bad about hard combat? i mean.. u look at this game and u think .. yeah that has so much of dark souls. so... u die many times? no surprise at all, thats what they want
It's not hard combat... it's poorly designed. The only way to "win" is to cheat the system by blocking or dodging, going in for one or two hits, and then blocking or dodging again. It's very boring, and very counter-intuitive to the idea of fast and fluid combat they set before you.
So, your idea of combat is to just hack away on the mob without having to worry about anything till it dies. Have you played Dark Souls ? I finished Bount by Flame and while it has its problems your article presents it like a piece of garbage which is definitely not the case.
Furthermore i found the combat challenging and engaging.
Comments
I've been playing this game for 6 hours now and I intend to keep playing. Let me start by saying that I don't just play any random crap game for 6 hours. I uninstalled ESO Beta at the 2 hour mark to never again be bothered with it. I'll say this: no, Bound by Flame is not Skyrim awesome, but it's fun, with an interesting story, fun crafting, levelling and challenging combat (at least in the highest level of difficulty, can't say about other modes). Plus it's a product created with a limited budget that deserves some credit.
I'll also say that I'm not looking at this game positively because I have some kind of contained, unsatisfied hunger for this kind of sword and sorcery dark themed RPG, because I came to it from a 140 hour marathon in 2 weeks that saw me through every nook and cranny of Dark Souls 2. If anything I'd be exhausted of it, and looking for something different.
To me Bound by Flame gets a solid 7.5/10. It's a game that has flaws, and made mistakes, but I'm inclined to think that the biggest of them all was not having the budget to afford the acclaimed Bill Murphy's favourable review. Just terrible.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
After giving 7.9 to ESO i'm not sure you can always tell if something is poorly designed. It seems to be more a thing if you personally like something or not.
According to most people and other reviews, ESO oozes poor design in every baseline aspect of a mmorpg, but that seem to have passed by unnoticed in that review of yours.
I just watched a gameplay video... and combat doesn't look bad it just looks difficult like Demon's Souls. The guy was fighting like 4-5 mobs at once... not tanking them stupidly, but like actually kiting, fighting, blocking, seperating.
It probably is a D graded game for polish reasons (story and controls etc), but I also think it provides a non-ez mode gaming experience.
Either play Diablo 3 and effortlessly destroy hordes of demons (shallow/emotionlessly) or play a Demon's Souls - like game where you can get destroyed by two guys if you aren't patient.
First off , I bought bound by flame and it is a good game. I'm not saying it's 10 / 10 but it's a solid rpg. 4.5/10 is being stupid , you'd probably give every Call of Duty 10/10 right ? It was definitely worth the price I can easily get 3-4 playthroughs out of the game to see different endings/difficulties and such. Combat is fun and not overly easy. Sure the game is a tad short but it has replayability.
And yes I think all you reviewers of this game who gave it a bad score , are ridiculous and stupid. You have a stick shoved so far up your ass anything that doesn't meet your unrealistic expectations , you instantly trash and bash and make out to be horrible.
To wrap it up , No it's not perfect it has some flaws , but It's a solid game. So in my opinion don't listen to reviewers they usually don't know shit about what they are talking about and very rarely give fair and honest reviews (Exactly like the person who gave this review). Play the game yourself and make your decision. If you don't like it , get a refund.
too bad EA didn't publish this, would have gotten a +3-4 points per average review
better luck next time game devs lol
My comment probably don't have any groundbreaking effect, but after reading this review, I actually bought the game and to see if it is that awful.
Though aligned with this review, I am actually having fun with the game; in fact, it is one of few single player RPGs that I actually feel the urge to play.
It is true that the story is a bit crap, in a sense that you think you can expect the outcome to be so and so... But that's at least what you THINK! It is also true that the combat feels garbage, it is choppy, uninspiring, and very tedious, much like the Witcher series with the depth taken away. But to a player base where people claim to "seem it all," what is then, better game than this, within this type of budget, where, the game can truly claim to be groundbreaking, original?
I mean, I don't really reply post on a daily basis, but after played the game, I feel it's needed to reply a negative review such as this.
Funny that you used that particular game as an example, because there's a lot to that one.
In May last year, people had had enough of the ads. A lot of criticism was probably the reason why they "matured up" them, presumably to counter the pedophilia comments. But it didn't end there, far from it. In several threads, people were not only discussing pedo/porno, but also ad block, because they didn't want these ads, and I was one of those who posted in this thread:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/384326/page/1
In one of the threads (couldn't find it, sorry), one of MMORPG.com's staff members, Bill if I remember correctly, asked us to reconsider and not use ad block, since it affects their income.
A month later, their review appeared. Yes, a MONTH later. And yes, they slaughtered it.
Do you really think they had a choice?
Considering all the heated discussions about pedophilia and pornography, there'e probably no one or at least very, very few, who would have taken anything on this site seriously if they gave it a positive score. And they know that soooo well. From the review:
"There is a reason why you have seen this crop up in many “Worst of...” lists including our own “Worst MMOs of 2013”, if it’s not for these reasons mentioned within this review, then it is for it’s downright disgraceful approach to MMO design, or just the controversy it has caused within the MMO community."
The review: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/922/view/reviews/load/273
Feel free to dig up better examples.
Btw, if they trash popular games, I will probably disagree. Not because of personal taste, but because it being popular would indicate that their tastes are not reflecting the average opinons. And enough about these "conspiracies", please, it's getting old, especially in your posts.
Death is nothing to us, since when we are, Death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.
It keeps coming up because you keep making posts that give them no out. No matter what they rate a game you see some alterer motive behind it. Even when they trash a shitty game...and it is a shitty game, they didn't do it because it's bad. They did it because the community demanded it ? An entire review that says nothing good about a game what-so-ever and it's all because of one single line you managed to pick out ?
It's one thing to not drink the koolaid it's another to see evil in everything they do.
"where the muscle bound sweaty warrior was always rescuing the beautiful buxom blonde damsel. Only… it’s not charmingly cheesy here."
As opposed to the completely laudable buxom noodle-armed heroines of the 21st century slaughtering waves of muscle bound sweaty warriors with their giant swords that their small arms (but cute! that's important) can't even lift much less swing.
Sorry Bill, it's not sexism... it's reality. I know political correctness has made that all too foggy in this day and age, but no video game sensitivities are going to change that. I mean hell, they don't even make the effort in giving the women heroes in the games muscles, they just pummel people with the power of the politically correct lie.
'Sandbox MMO' is a PTSD trigger word for anyone who has the experience to know that anonymous players invariably use a 'sandbox' in the same manner a housecat does.
When your head is stuck in the sand, your ass becomes the only recognizable part of you.
No game is more fun than the one you can't play, and no game is more boring than one which you've become familiar.
How to become a millionaire:
Start with a billion dollars and make an MMO.
No way. Women and men are equal.
That's why women dominate all the sports leagues. It's also why women are responsible for almost all the inventions in the world. Just imagine how much more awesome the world be if women, who are equal, hadn't been held back by men.
I think this game is absolutely brilliant. I love it so much. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.
:-D
I don't understand why people even bother arguing with a guy who casually plays MMO or any other game for that matter.
Do you really think he's a super gamer that would he actually care to master aspects of games? Get real, he's reporting on them not diving into them. He does as much diving as any other casual player care to do.
i plan on trying this once the price is reduced
EQ2 fan sites
Very well said. Look, I'm no fan of this site (particularly the moderation) but in all the years of coming here, I can honestly say the reviews are as impartial or fair as any one persons opinion can be: there is no obvious bias one way or the other. The problem is with the community. Most poster's perception of what constitutes a "fair" and "unbiased" review seems to hing on if the review agrees with the poster's opinion of the game. Regardless, if you are so convinced this site bases their reviews on paid ads and/or community demands, why are you still coming here and giving the traffic? I mean, wouldn't the "adult" thing to do is to stop coming here?
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true...
I don't seem to understand why everyone goes into these games expecting an AAA polished out of the ass game. Every time I read a review on here all I can think is that they didn't learn how to play the game or are just too stupid to grasp a non-traditional combat system. The Dark Souls combat is clunky too, but they boast the game is hard so it's okay to have clunky combat. However, everyone raves about that game. Skyrim combat is also clunky.
It seems every game I really enjoy playing gets torn to shreds by some "reviewer" here and the games I absolutely despise seem to get all the praise. I don't understand it. We all have different tastes, but for those of you reading this, don't take this crap in. Go buy the game and try it for yourself, you may love it.
There's no exploiting the combat system, you just get better at timing your blows. Maybe if you got past level 5 you would have realized that you pompous prick.
Honestly this game IS bad. Not because people are expecting a AAA game but because the game comes of as a lazy money grab attempt. I know it isn't the case, and the devs did do their best, but the game does have some serious issues with the story. Things they could've easily fixed before release but didn't.
It certainly isn't worth paying full price but I think ~15€ might be worth it, for someone who likes RPG's that is.
http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/umhw6y/bound-by-flame-review
what a stark contrast in terms of opinion on the same game. So I guess you either love it or you hate it.
After playing the game for awhile I don't think the game merits a 4.5 score.
I think a big reason why the game is getting so much hate is that you never feel like an all powerful badass. From start to finish it's easy to die just by taking a couple hits. The game is hard from the start and stays that way till the end.
You also as far as I can tell, can't out level the content to make it easier. For instance in most games you could level up to get more health and do more damage. You can't really do that in this game. You get marginally more powerful when you level up putting points in the skill tree.I played the game too and I can't say it was a waste of money, sure the game is "hard"; but not as bad as Dark Soul series.
I'm just going accept that Bill Murphy is just "a gamer" not an exceptional or even awesome gamer, just "a gamer".
He probably glossed over the game, wonder why it was so hard compare to other games he played (I don't know what he plays) and wrote up a superficial review. Maybe he even used other reviews for "reference" (given the link he posted earlier to prove that his review is right in line with others)
I will bet a million dollars that if this exact same game, done to every detail, had been made by Obsidian Entertainment the reviewer would've handwaved away the flaws/pinned them on the publisher, overrated the writing, and given the game a 8 or 9 out of 10. Period.
RPGs are a nearly impossible impossible market to break into because they're always judged by preconceptions, not by their actual quality. These guys were shot in the foot from the start because they're not a nostalgic dev and they're not following a nostalgic formula, and that's sad.
And then RPG gamers cry about their genre being dead, all while the Expeditions - Conquistadors and Avernums and stuff like this and Mars:War Logs get shit sales and attention compared to overrated crap like New Vegas.
It's a review, therefore an opinion. Stating that the reviewer is wrong or is "stupid", as some have done, makes no sense. Opinions aren't facts, therefore they can't be proven correct or incorrect.
As I stated before I don't prefer this game either. It's not because it's too hard, I really found very little difficulty in the game. I felt it was just a bore. The story didn't inspire me to care about what was going on. This is not some high brow material here, you don't need a high intelligence to understand whats going on. It's simple and it's repetitive. It's not the worst RPG ever, I have played some truly terrible ones, but I would say that 4.5 is a very valid score for it. If it was 15 or 20 dollars then it might be worth it, but at the high cost of 50 or 60 it's a definite pass. Wait a year til the price drops like a rock.
Just to question the philosophy. Army of Socrates.
So, your idea of combat is to just hack away on the mob without having to worry about anything till it dies. Have you played Dark Souls ? I finished Bount by Flame and while it has its problems your article presents it like a piece of garbage which is definitely not the case.
Furthermore i found the combat challenging and engaging.