Monster's Den - Biclops Games - PC

[bhodi]

Yes, it's a flash game. Don't let that fool you - this thing picks up old-school RPGs, rips the good bits out of them like scorpion pulling out a spine, and then slaps it on the table like a no-nonsense butcher. Here's how it works:

First, pick your party of 4 characters from fighter, mage, ranger, thief, and cleric. Each has a few special abilities you unlock as you go up in levels, along with a power meter to use them. Then, go down into the dungeon, kill the monsters, get their loot. Combat is turn based with initiative, loot is randomized similar to Diablo. You gain a level when you go down a level in the dungeon. You distribute stats, confirm your gear, and keep going. There are 10 levels and a big baddie at the end.

It automatically saves in a cookie after each action, so don't worry about having to close the window when you aggro your boss.

It can be completed in about 4 hours, assuming you don't powergame like I did, restarting several times to find the most broken-ass party (hint: fighter ranger ranger ranger). This game is what all flash games should be -- easily picked up, relatively short to finish, and most of all, fun.

Play it. (it's free! go play it now now now)

[Strazos]

I totally agree with Bhodi's assessment. I played through with a Fighter, Cleric, Ranger, Rogue, and fucked some shit up good. There is some good synergy to be found in there.

Also, you can mostly ignore damage reflection on non-frontline units. Usually your gear choices will come down to regen or reflection. Choose Regen, every time.




I MIGHT play through again using a mage instead of a ranger, even though I thought the ranger played better with the rest of the party.

[Samwise]

You can do some wonderfully broken things with a mage.  For example, stack lots of stun gear and then fire off lots of AoE.  The ranger can do the same thing, but he tends to run out of mana faster.

My favorite combo was a ranger and rogue in the back, though, with the initiative tweaked so that the ranger went before anything and the rogue went right after him.  Ranger uses Pin, Rogue uses Coup de Grace = instant death for anything that's not immune to it.  Great for knocking out that pesky spellcaster at the start of the battle.

[Strazos]

Yeah, that was the first combo I really went for.

Using a rogue's Cripple, followed by the warrior's multistrike-type skill was good for bosses.



Has anyone bothered to try to go through without having a shield on the warrior? I had on one about the entire time; I was afraid the lower AC and such would be painful.

[bhodi]

I abused quickness and so I kept my warrior pretty fast so he could get in a cleave before they had a chance to act. Since all the monsters died, I can't tell you if it hurt him or not :)

[Sky]

Not an rpg. A hack-n-slash in a fantasy setting.

Imo it's like a good rpg that had all the rpg-ness and really any other interesting thing ripped out. Shitty combat, dingratz and phat lewtz. Egads. 

[Murgos]

Not an rpg. A hack-n-slash in a fantasy setting.

Imo it's like a good rpg that had all the rpg-ness and really any other interesting thing ripped out. Shitty combat, dingratz and phat lewtz. Egads. 

It's about as RPG as the gold box games were.

[Sky]

Tactical combat not rpg. Swords & Spells vs AD&D. Failings of previous crpgs to actually be rpgs don't make current non-rpgs rpg. It's a pet peeve of mine that people call anything with levelling up and rpg. That's not roleplaying.

[Murgos]

They don't work you nearly hard enough at that library do they?

[Azazel]

It's not atual roleplaying, but it's what CRPGs are.

Considering most "roleplaying" in MMOGs, even at best on "RP" servers is of the "gadzooks, milady, I speaketh in the shittieth clueless renfaire tongue that I can possibly muster" variety, I wouldn't even give them the benefit of the doubt in calling it real "roleplaying". And those guys are miles ahead of stuff like The Witcher or Mass Effect in the (true) "roleplaying" sense.

[Sky]

Most mmo isn't rp, either, no matter the ruleset of the server.

UO was. I played a mercenary, hung out at a player-run tavern, played chess with other guys in our player-run militia that defended player-run rp establishments. You don't the thee and thou shit, you just need to be playing a role within a fictional context supported by other roleplayers. It was fucking wonderful, never to be seen in mainstream mmo again. Eve, maybe, if that's considered mainstream.

[sidereal]

CRPG = stats/leveling + story + NPCs

CRPGs were some of the first games that actually had plots beyond "princess kidnapped!  save princess!" or "kill the boss at the end!" 
Monster's Den fails at story and NPCs, so no RPG.

Most games called tactical combat, like Jagged Alliance and FF: Tactics, qualify as RPGs under this formula.  And there's no reason they shouldn't.  There's no meaningful difference between FF: Tactics and Icewind Dale.

Genre is stupid.

[Azazel]

Most mmo isn't rp, either, no matter the ruleset of the server.

Um, yeah. That's the point I was making.

UO was. I played a mercenary, hung out at a player-run tavern, played chess with other guys in our player-run militia that defended player-run rp establishments. You don't the thee and thou shit, you just need to be playing a role within a fictional context supported by other roleplayers. It was fucking wonderful, never to be seen in mainstream mmo again. Eve, maybe, if that's considered mainstream.

Fair enough. I never played UO, never saw that.
EQ1 (early on) had a token amount of roleplaying in it, and I did some of it to an extent when interacting with strangers. I spoke a bit differently to non-close friends when I was playing my dark elf SK than when I was playing my Wood Elf Druid, and again differently for my Troll Warrior, but it's a token thing at best compared to real roleplaying.

I like tactical combat games with stats. They appeal to the wargamer in me as well as the progression-gamer. Necromunda, for example would make a great Online Multiplayer game. Even Java Blood Bowl is quite decent for MP.

[Tebonas]

I just avoid that discussion and call it a classic dungeon crawl. Played it through twice, first as beginner with War/Cle/Ran/Thi and then Hardcore as War/Cle/Ran/Mag. I think I'm done with it now, but it was a nice distraction for a few hours. And for free, what more can you expect.

[Sky]

EQ1 (early on) had a token amount of roleplaying in it, and I did some of it to an extent when interacting with strangers. I spoke a bit differently to non-close friends when I was playing my dark elf SK than when I was playing my Wood Elf Druid, and again differently for my Troll Warrior, but it's a token thing at best compared to real roleplaying.

Coming from the UO rp community, I was in rp-mode when I was playing EQ1 at release. I was playing a high elf wizard and actually got into the first of many puzzling arguments about how I wouldn't group with a dark elf. The 'diku' gameplay pretty much set up the way people play the game now, where nobody gives a shit about alignment, just filling the roles they need for group-focused content.

Who cares that your race is the devil's perversion of my race and they've been warring ever since you were created? Who cares that your entire race and culture is based on hate and mine is based on love? Let's go get phat lewtz! 

[Tebonas]

Good memories. My Barbarian Shaman actually grouped with Human Shadowknights on the premise prejudging others without merit is a deadly sin to the Tribunal. A particular SK I always had word duels all through our time together in the Karanas, never caught him in the act of doing something evil, but that didn't stop him from hinting at cruelties he might or might not do when I look the other way.

Everquest was a good roleplaying environment, up to all the large empty inns you could hang out in and post messages on boards on the wall. Sadly it couldn't survive the actual Everyquest players.