Late to the party - Just playing: The Incredibles Adventures of Van Helsing

[Rhezuss]

I had the game in my Steam library for the past 8 or so months, bought it on the cheap and never cared to try it, until saturday morning.

I brewed myselg some nice coffee and fired up the game. I previously saw that it was "Very Positive" from players reviews and I was in the mood for a different ARPG.

I'm freaking hooked to the game. It's clumsy and don't have the polish of Diablo 3 but it is so well done in many aspects that the hook is firmly attached...

Story is nice, gameplay is cool enough, character development is well done (three skill trees per class), cool loot, set items, gem-like item enhancement and enchantment via NPC, good graphics for a 2013 game.

I already have almost 15 hours logged in the game and played only on saturday, sunday pm and monday evening.

-------------------------------------

On the other end, I see that VH2 and VH3 have mixed to negative reviews while VH1 is quoted very positive, why is that? Those sequels are the same game and it got too repetitive?

Any of you guys played all 3 games and would care to comment?

 

[CPA]

I actually liked VH2 more than VH1. It has some interesting, fun additional activities (not quests). VH3 has, so far, not added anything from VH2 and I've actually stopped playing it for the moment.

 

[Denithor]

I had a lot of fun with VH1 until I ran into some kind of bug fight (IIRC) that was "buggy" and couldn't get past it. Gave up after a while, never picked it back up. Might have to see if they ever patched that.

 

[Elcs]

Played VH1 and VH2. Thought they were okay but slow, stodgy and boring in comparison to other modern'ish games in the genre at similar price points like Grim Dawn, Path of Exile and Torchlight 2.

I know ARPG's or Hack n Slash games are repetitive types but when they feel repetitive very quickly, that tends to be their deathknell for me and VH hit that point PDQ.

 

[Denithor]

Elcs how do/did you like Grim Dawn? Been looking at that one since the alpha days, just haven't decided to pull the trigger yet. Maybe if good Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale hits...

 

[Elcs]

Elcs how do/did you like Grim Dawn? Been looking at that one since the alpha days, just haven't decided to pull the trigger yet. Maybe if good Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale hits...

For many it's Titan Quest 2... has a similar feel to it and most mechanics are so close that it's almost a sequel in all but name.

For me, it's improved in every single area barring the number of character masteries (6 at the moment compared to 9 from TQ:IT). Graphically better, less bugs, more fun, deeper mechanics, still being worked on and each Build is large and hotfixed within a day, strong community, diverse monster and hero range...

At this moment they are not finished with the story which isn't massively long in itself but the areas themselves are expansive and the storyline content is rarely the core of this genre... it's the side quests, the hidden monsters and exploration that is both richly rewarded.

The next build introduces Devotion which is an additional Skill Tree type layer that is based upon your devotion to Gods/Spirits/whatnot and promises to add additional depth to an already strong character skill lineup.

And it's really cheap at full price, nevermind cheapskate sales talk.

For me, I'd gladly pay the price of an AAA title for Grim Dawn because in my opinion it has the polish and feel of such a title. Fine, the story content isn't finished and they're still adding content but really, that sounds like a good thing in this modern game market.

 

[Rhezuss]

For many it's Titan Quest 2... has a similar feel to it and most mechanics are so close that it's almost a sequel in all but name.

For me, it's improved in every single area barring the number of character masteries (6 at the moment compared to 9 from TQ:IT). Graphically better, less bugs, more fun, deeper mechanics, still being worked on and each Build is large and hotfixed within a day, strong community, diverse monster and hero range...

At this moment they are not finished with the story which isn't massively long in itself but the areas themselves are expansive and the storyline content is rarely the core of this genre... it's the side quests, the hidden monsters and exploration that is both richly rewarded.

The next build introduces Devotion which is an additional Skill Tree type layer that is based upon your devotion to Gods/Spirits/whatnot and promises to add additional depth to an already strong character skill lineup.

And it's really cheap at full price, nevermind cheapskate sales talk.

For me, I'd gladly pay the price of an AAA title for Grim Dawn because in my opinion it has the polish and feel of such a title. Fine, the story content isn't finished and they're still adding content but really, that sounds like a good thing in this modern game market.

So true, GD is an amazing game that takes everything good from TQ and make it better. I just don't like the time they take to release the game. I pre-bought it on marsh 26th, 2012 and it's still not finished.

The game is great but I just don't want to spoil the fun until it's fully released.

 

[Denithor]

I'm in the same boat here, thought it looked cool back in the early alpha days but just not willing to play a game in that state. Loved TQ/IT so figure this one should be a win too, just want a finished game.

 

[Elcs]

I'm in the same boat here, thought it looked cool back in the early alpha days but just not willing to play a game in that state. Loved TQ/IT so figure this one should be a win too, just want a finished game.

The way you put it makes the game sound like a bug ridden mess :

It is a tad frustrating waiting between patches but every patch provides a large amount of new content each and every time. Even if you focused on the balance elements of a new patch then you're still talking quite a change in gameplay.

266 hours of gameplay and counting...

BTW... buy it and play it on Veteran and avoid any guides. It'll take you 3 or 4 times longer than it would on Normal

 

[Denithor]

Well, I guess that's what I was trying to figure out, is it in a release-ready state or a bug-ridden mess? In the early alpha days it sounded like there were lots of problems but they've apparently fixed a lot of it. Might be what I play this weekend then, unless I just want to wait for BF/CM.

 

[Elcs]

Well, I guess that's what I was trying to figure out, is it in a release-ready state or a bug-ridden mess? In the early alpha days it sounded like there were lots of problems but they've apparently fixed a lot of it. Might be what I play this weekend then, unless I just want to wait for BF/CM.

Sorry, I thought I covered that in my first post

It has a polish that would stand it in the top 5% of games being released at the moment.

They tend to release a big build patch and they'll have a hotfix within 24-48 hours to fix stuff (always little things that you'd never really notice unless you were looking for inconsistencies, never any big issues in my experience).

 

[Denithor]

Sweet, then GD is definitely going onto my active watch list now.

 

[MWink]

I've played a number of ARPG's over the last year so I'll just toss out my opinions:

Van Helsing - I'll state up front that I've only played VH1 and half of VH2 and both were almost exclusively multi-player (LAN) games. I love the look, atmosphere, and humor. There's some really great stuff here but it's buried under a bug-riddled mess. There were constant issues with quests breaking and crashing. I recommend anyone who plays this get well acquainted with the /FixQuest command. Even the final boss fight had to be restarted after it got stuck in the ceiling.

While I'm only part way through the second game, I'm not liking it nearly as much as the first. I hear the third is even worse. I'm waiting for the Final Cut, hoping it's better. I just noticed it was released today (on Steam). I wonder when it will come to GOG (where I bought the series). Van Helsing definitely has its good points but the games are very buggy. One thing that does stand out about these games is that you can save anywhere and monsters won't respawn (unless you want them to - it's an option).

Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms - Haven't gotten too far yet. It seems okay but not great. It has some interesting mechanics, like being able to switch characters on the fly and the shadow world. Unfortunately, the gameplay feels a bit lacking and nothing really stands out.

Titan Quest + Immortal Throne - I only played this a little when it originally came out (and without IT) but I recently got a chance to play it most of the way through. It feels slower than most newer ARPG's but I actually liked that because I didn't tend to feel overwhelmed. I love the graphics. Despite their age, they're beautiful. I would recommend this game even today.

Grim Dawn - Obviously, very similar to Titan Quest. I would recommend it, though I don't like the post-apocalyptic setting as much as Titan Quest's ancient Greece. The gameplay is quite solid.

Victor Vran - I just bought this one and, so far, I'm absolutely LOVING it. The control scheme is very different but feels great. The gameplay is refreshingly unique. There's far less character customization, no sprawling skill trees, and less worthless loot. Instead you get a variety of weapons (each of which has a pair of unique special attacks) which you should switch between depending on what the situation calls for. (When you're surrounded by skeletons a scythe is much more effective than a rapier.) You also have the ability to jump and roll to dodge attacks. You get cards and hexes to customize your character and the difficulty level. I like it because you don't get a million confusing, overwhelming choices to pick from. Instead you get a smaller (but still decent) number of choices that seem to make a significant impact.

To me, it feels much more strategic than most ARPG's. Instead of walking up to a group and holding down a mouse button or hitting skills in a preselected order, you have to think about how to approach the situation and use the best weapon for the job. The ability to jump and roll gives you better defensive options as well.

My biggest dislike is how the game is split into discreet areas. You're given objectives when you start an area and if you leave that area, any that you haven't completed will have to be started over from scratch. Also, the map resets and all monsters respawn if you leave an area. Some of the maps are quite big. The one I played last night took me over an hour to fully explore (and complete all objectives). This is my one big dislike so far. Otherwise, I'd highly recommend this game.

 

[Rhezuss]

Thanks for the write up, Victor Vran is on my wishlist for it's next big rebate. It's a sure buy.

Just finished VH1 and already own VH2. Not sure i'll have the time to start it before Fallout 4 is released though but I might switch between both games just to change the pace of things.

 

[Denithor]

So, picked up Grim Dawn on the Steam sale, really liking it so far. Playing with a buddy on Veteran, we keep getting our butts kicked but that's honestly awesome. Love that you can wander into places with monsters you have no chance of killing!

Graphics about on par with D3 I'd say, runs smooth on my X5650/GTX660 setup (sig not up to date lol). The game just has the right "feel" to it. Loot drops at a good pace, not overwhelmed with epics right away but good stuff does drop occasionally.

Not quite to level 20 yet, about to face down the Warden tonight most likely.

 

[Elcs]

So, picked up Grim Dawn on the Steam sale, really liking it so far. Playing with a buddy on Veteran, we keep getting our butts kicked but that's honestly awesome. Love that you can wander into places with monsters you have no chance of killing!

Graphics about on par with D3 I'd say, runs smooth on my X5650/GTX660 setup (sig not up to date lol). The game just has the right "feel" to it. Loot drops at a good pace, not overwhelmed with epics right away but good stuff does drop occasionally.

Not quite to level 20 yet, about to face down the Warden tonight most likely.

Glad someone finally caved into my recommendation and is reaping the rewards and the monsters and the loot too!

And of course... Build 28! Devotion!

(It broke my Level 50 Soldier and now he's stuck, unable to complete Act 4 Part 1 but I'll post on the Forums at the weekend and see what Magic Devs say. They fixed it for MP but my issue was caused in SP)

 

[Denithor]

Yeah my buddy and I are the type to read no guides, just slug our way through coop games. We've been playing like this since the D1 days, great fun. Haven't played anything in a while (since the shine wore off D3, never really got into PoE). But this one is hitting exactly right, tough in spots but quite fun.

Do you buy gear in the shops or just run what you find? I have been using the same weapon for like the last 8 levels, just haven't found anything better yet. Saw a green in one of the shops last night that would have been nice but it was very high iron (would have wiped over half I have accumulated so far).

Also, any experience with a pet summoner occultist build? I have maxed familiar and hell hound so far but there's not much for me to do directly except toss curse and run around dodging enemies. Might want to try a more direct play style next I guess.