As I write these first impressions of BD, I am reminded of my post re: DD when I finished playing the game. They appear to be about the same. It took me a while to get used to DD's interface and all of its bells and whistles (adding items together, etc.). I didn't expect BD to be a carbon copy of DD, nor its interface, so it's going to take me a while to get used to some of the additions and modifications. So far, I like the changes - including the skill point choices. As it was in DD, those points are precious (as pointed out by the developer in the game manual) and how you use them will largely determine how well your character relates to his/her environment. There is a bit of a challenge in there, a challenge that I enjoy.
Most impressive: that the Larians took the time to tweak the voice overs at the last minute. A task of monumental undertaking. The NPCs are more 'sophisticated' in tone than in the demo. So, from this change alone, it was well worth the wait.
But more importantly, (and even more impressive by my standards) Larian set out to cast a wide net in terms of attracting players. From a marketing point of view, that's risky because RPGs and Tactical/Strategy based games differ on several levels -- including players. I applaud Larian for having the mettle and vision to tackle such an ambitious project. I think this particular team bent over backwards to please as many players as they could. And, as we are all discovering (especially as we read the posts in this particular forum), not everyone will or can be pleased. There will always be disgruntled consumers who find flaws and faults in a game's design. It's the old "Monday morning" quarter-back mentality. That's when every mistake becomes so crystal clear. Well, mistakes, faults and flaws are a facet of everyday life. It's up to us to decide how much time we want to devote dwelling on them. I'd rather spend time playing a game or designing one.
Btw, video and PC games are an $8 billion dollar a year industry and that figure is growing by leaps and bounds. On the average it takes between 2-5 years for a company to produce one game (from conception to marketing). I'm looking forward to my journey through <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" />
Well, I'm sure to have more impressions as time goes on. These are simply the first.
