King's Field IV for PS2 looks mighty tempting!...

[dave4shmups]

A first-person action RPG? Heck yeah! Supposedly the PS1 King's Field games aren't as good, but this PS2 one looks great-plus it's dirt cheap. Has anyone played it?

[TWITCHDOCTOR]

Yes, it cool and medieval like...only the character walks a little slow, however, you can run for limited amounts of time.
Still, look into Eternal Ring as I highly reccomend it.

[dave4shmups]

Thanks Twitch! How does Eternal Ring differ from King's Field IV?

Also, how fast does your character attack in King's Field IV-ie, are there any cheap deaths caused by slow combat?

[TWITCHDOCTOR]

I haven't played that much of Ancient City (Kings Field IV). The walking pace is slow, but I didn't get the impression that it was cheap.

Also, the previous Kings Fields are good. Part 1 is repetitive though, and Kings Field 2 is only limited by its aging polygon graphics, other than that, its a good one to get. The stories really don't tie in either, so they're "open ended". Meaning you can just pick em up and play regardless of order.

You could forget about part 1 if you want, but if you can get it cheap enough, it wouldn't be a total waste. If you enjoy Elemental Ring, and IV...then you really should get KFII.
(Part III was never released in the States, its a Japan only)

[dave4shmups]

Do you think Elemental Ring or King's Field IV would be better to try out first?

I've seen movies of both on Gamespot, and it looks like Eternal Ring moves faster.

[TWITCHDOCTOR]

Yes, ER is faster paced.
Both are good.

[landshark]

If you have an XBox or PC (and you can find the game), Arx Fatalis is excellent.

1st person, unique spellcasting system, decent story. Very fun.

[thesuperkillerxxx]

I said this a year ago, but will repeat it for dave. Concerning the speed of movement, if you can accept the fact that any normal human that has 50-60+ pounds of armor on cannot sprint, then you will probably get into the games. Any of them are cool.

Kings Field is cool because it dosn't pull any punches. You probably will die within 2 minutes of starting your first file. but all of it is fair, and a little attention to detail goes a long way.

Eternal Ring semed a little slapped together to me, nowhere near the detail or level design that king's field has, but if you are a graphics whore, the spells look nice. but that is all it seemed to be was spell after spell after spell. I will usually play through a Kings field game once a year, but have not picked up ER sice the initial playthrough.

I would HIGHLY recommend that you play KF TAC first, and just rent eternal ring, unless you find it for like 5-9 bucks.

[captain ahar]

Arx Fatalis is freaking great! Kings Field is as well. this is one of those series that bores everyone i know to tears. combat is very fair (as far as i have seen), in some cases though, you just have to figure out how to fight well. also, i love the look of the IV'th one. it's so very dark and broody.

[jiji]

Definitely go for KF:TAC over Eternal Ring. I've played few games with as much atmosphere (a pervasive sense of dread and despair) as KF:TAC, and the game is big and detailed enough that it'll last you a good while. Eternal Ring is short and slight, and it definitely feels like the PS2 launch game that it is. The action is faster and the rings can be fun to collect, but the fun wore off pretty quickly for me.

If you enjoy KF:TAC, you should try Shadow Tower for PS1. The reviews for it were awful, but was by the King's Field team and I enjoyed it more than any of the PS1 King's Field games. It's the same kind of first-person dungeon-crawler, but its levels are more discrete and separated, and the gameflow is more like Diablo than King's Field. It has a wider variety of items and enemies, and the bosses are pretty cool to see. It has the same kind of stifling atmosphere of dread and terror, too.

[captain ahar]

Shadow tower does look pretty cool. and jiji you nailed it on "dread and despair" the exact words i was searching for. and to anyone who hasn't played KFIV just wait until you hit the mines and the ancient temple (1st one?).