cRPG Reviews

Computer Role-playing Game Reviews

cRPG reviews are a form of computer game journalism that seeks to evaluate computer role-playing games (cRPGs) either as a whole or in one or more categories of design. Such reviews usually consist of several paragraphs of commentary followed by a conclusion. Often, screencaps and infographics are sprinkled throughout the review in order to illustrate key points.

cRPG Reviews are characterized by constructive criticism of cRPG creations: they give reasons for their assertions and compare the cRPG with what came before as well as the genre-yardstick and Formalizer, Fallout 1. cRPG Reviews do not just evaluate cRPGs as they are in themselves but also in relation to their peers and predecessors.

For general historical context readers are referred to History of 1990s Computer Games.

Game	Game Type	Developer	Year	Rating
Alpha Centauri Sid Meier	Turn-based Strategy	Firaxis	1999	9.8
Arcanum Troika	Pure cRPG	Troika	2001	8.6
Baldur's Gate 1 Original	General cRPG	BioWare	1998	8.7
Baldur's Gate 2	Themepark cRPG	BioWare	2000	6.5
Baldur's Gate 3	Reddit RPG Game	Larian Studios	2023	2.1
BattleTech Revenge Review	Real-time Tactics	Westwood	1990	8.5
Boulder Dash	Action/Puzzle	First Star	1984	9.5
Carrier Command Review	RTS/Sim Hybrid	RTGS Ltd.	1988	9.1
Civilization 1 Sid Meier	Turn-based Strategy	MicroProse	1991	9.7
Civilization 2 Sid Meier	Turn-based Strategy	MicroProse	1996	9.8
Colonization Sid Meier	Turn-based Strategy	MicroProse	1994	9.9
Command and Conquer 1	Real-time Strategy	Westwood Studios	1995	9.3
Command and Conquer: Red Alert	Real-time Strategy	Westwood Studios	1996	9.7
Darklands Review	General cRPG	MicroProse	1992	5.5
Darkness Over Daggerford	General cRPG	Ossian Studios	2006	7.5
Deus Ex 1 Guide	Action RPG	Ion Storm	2000	6.5
Diablo 1 Review	Hack n slash	Blizzard North	1996	7.5
Diablo 2 Review	Hack n slash	Blizzard North	2000	6.5
Doom 1 Review	FPS	id Software	1993	9.0
Dragon Age: Origins	Casual RPG Game	BioWare	2009	3.5
Dune 2 Review	Real-time Strategy	Westwood Studios	1992	8.0
Dungeon Rats Guide	Tactics cRPG	Iron Tower Studios	2016	8.7
Fallout 1 Guide	Pure cRPG	Interplay	1997	9.7
Fallout 2 Guide	Pure cRPG	Black Isle Studios	1998	8.7
Fallout Resurrection Guide	Pure cRPG	Resurrection Team	2013	7.0
Fallout Nevada Guide	Pure cRPG	Nevada Team	2015	6.5
Frontier Elite 2 Review	Spaceflight Sim	David Braben	1993	9.9
Gothic 1	Casual Action RPG	Piranha Bytes	2000	5.5
Gothic 2	Casual Action RPG	Piranha Bytes	2003-05	5.0
Gothic 3	Casual RPG Game	Piranha Bytes	2006	2.5
Half-Life 1 Review	FPS	Valve	1998	7.5
Hordes of the Underdark	General cRPG	BioWare	2003	6.5
Icewind Dale 1 Original	Combat cRPG	Black Isle Studios	1999	8.7
Icewind Dale 2 Review	Combat cRPG	Black Isle Studios	2002	8.5
Impossible Mission	Flip-screen	Dennis Caswell	1984	9.7
Jagged Alliance 2 Review	Tactics cRPG	Sir-Tech	1999	9.9
Jet Set Willy	Flip-screen	Matthew Smith	1984	9.0
Kenshi Game Starts	Casual RPG Game	Lo-Fi Games	2013	3.5
Kick Off 2 Amiga	English Football	Dino Dini, Anco	1990	9.8
KotOR 1	Casual RPG Game	BioWare	2003	3.0
KotOR 2	Story RPG Game	Obsidian	2004	2.5
M1 Tank Platoon Review	Armor Sim	MPS Labs	1989	9.8
Mask of the Betrayer	Story cRPG	Obsidian	2007	8.0
Master of Magic Review	Strategy cRPG	SimTex	1994	9.9
MechWarrior 1 Review	Armor Sim	Dynamix	1989	9.4
Morrowind Review	Reddit RPG Game	Bethesda	2002	1.2
Neverwinter Nights 1	General cRPG	BioWare	2002	7.5
Neverwinter Nights 2	General cRPG	Obsidian	2006	7.0
Oblivion With Guns	Casual RPG Game	Bethesda	2006	0.2
Oids Atari ST	Shoot 'em up	FTL	1987	9.9
Panzer General 1 Review	Wargame	Strategic Sims	1994	9.3
Planescape: Torment Review	Story cRPG	Black Isle Studios	1999	7.5
Populous Review	God Game	Bullfrog	1989	9.7
PowerMonger Review	Wargame	Bullfrog	1990	8.5
Quake 1 Review	FPS	id Software	1996	9.7
Realms Beyond	Tactics cRPG	--	--	--
Rebelstar Games Review	Wargame	J. Gollop	1984-88	9.5
Settlers Review	Real-time Stategy	Blue Byte	1993	7.5
Siege of Dragonspear Guide	General cRPG	Beamdog	2016	5.0
StarCraft 1 Review	Real-time Strategy	Blizzard Ent.	1998	9.0
Silent Storm Review	Tactics cRPG	Nival Interactive	2003	8.0
Steel Panthers Review	Wargame	SSI	1995	9.2
Storm of Zehir Guide	General cRPG	Obsidian	2008	8.0
Street Fighter 2 MS-DOS	versus Fighter	Capcom	1993	9.0
Swordflight Review	General cRPG	Rogueknight	2008-23	9.5
Tales of the Sword Coast	General cRPG	BioWare	2003	8.0
Temple of Elemental Evil	Tactics cRPG	Troika	2003	8.0
The Witcher 1	Casual RPG Game	CD Projekt RED	2007	4.0
Throne of Bhaal Review	General cRPG	BioWare	2001	6.5
Torment Numenera	Story RPG Game	inXile Entertainment	2017	4.5
Tyranny Obsidian	General cRPG	Obsidian	2016	5.0
Underrail Review	Tactics cRPG	Stygian Software	2015	5.5
Vampire Bloodlines	Story RPG Game	Troika	2004	4.5
Warband Review	Tactics cRPG	TaleWorlds	2010	9.3
WarCraft 1 Review	Real-time Strategy	Blizzard Ent.	1994	7.5
WarCraft 2 Review	Real-time Strategy	Blizzard Ent.	1995	8.5
X-COM UFO Defense	Tactics cRPG	Mythos Games	1994	9.9
X-COM Apocalypse Guide	Tactics cRPG	Mythos Games	1997	9.2
Zarch Acorn Archimedes	Shoot 'em up	David Braben	1987	9.9

cRPG Review Characteristics

cRPG Reviews tables total scores for computer role-playing games (see above) whereas cRPG Design tables scores for cRPGs in each of 11 categories of design.

Some of the above links lead to standalone reviews whereas others lead to indexes that in turn link to dozens upon dozens of articles published on a single classic cRPG.

The reviews on cRPG Blog are formal in structure, are not based on maiden runs, and do not appraise cRPGs through a lens of current gen fads, trends and "sensibilities". Instead, only cRPGs with which I have a degree of expertise are reviewed, and evidence of expertise is supplied by linking to other articles of mine that support my standpoint. For example, the Baldur's Gate 1 evaluation is backed up by over 300 articles totalling 400,000 words (in length akin to eight novels).

cRPG Review Assessment Criteria

cRPG Review assessment criteria is explained in cRPG Design.

Under my exclusive assessment criteria, what ultimately makes or breaks cRPGs is their gameplay which is derived from player-interpretable stats and the interplay of impactful game mechanics (reactivity).

It is impossible for cRPGs to receive passing scores if they employ feeble, light-weight stats and mechanics that might as well not exist for all the impact they have on gameplay.

cRPG Veteran Readership

As a rule, the blog on cRPG reviews goes into great depth on the best cRPGs of all-time; that is, those which are valued by the cRPG connoisseur, tactics aficionado and champion of resource management: cRPG veterans that have two or three decades of genre experience under their belt. 

My formal commentary acknowledges the existence of no other gamer, only the veteran. Casual and mainstream gamers will not be able to understand the meaning of my words let alone relate to anything I write.

Written in King's English, the cRPG blog consists of connoisseur-level cRPG criticism and commentary.

My general commentary is not about discovering new things but rather refinement and reinforcement of what I already know as well as the celebration of my generation's supreme gaming era. I'm not going to weaken what wit remains to me by branching out or leveling down.

If you need proof that my treatment range of gaming is supreme, consider how many of the games are either seminal, destroyed what came before and remained superior to what came after. Also consider how they rendered certain classic genre redundant, and then consider how their legend grows as each decade goes by.

Lastly, consider how many current gen developers attempt to remake many of the best games in my treatment range: since they can't match let alone beat them with their own creations, they try to make the classic better by including features that pander to casuals who lack gaming pedigree, aptitude and aesthetic taste: achievements, story-mode and shaders that plasticize pixel graphics.

As such, all they end up with is a modern-day ape-caricature of the austere original. What an embarrassment, they have no shame, disgraceful.

cf. Reddit RPG Game Remakes for more info on Remasterers Hack-devs.

cRPG Types

Pure cRPGs are isometric, turn-based, non-linear, open-ended and reactive. The are usually ambitious and make a concerted effort to simulate tabletop RPGs. Since they require actual human thought and a degree of literacy to play, pure cRPGs are not popular. If mentioned by mainstream commentary at all, it is usually a cheap trick to score credibility points with cRPG veterans. However, only fools are taken in by token acknowledgements made by day-laboring hacks of mainstream computer game journalism.

Along with pure cRPGs, tactics cRPGs represent a facet of refined gaming. But while the best of pure cRPGs are occasionally mentioned by the above-mentioned charlatans, the best tactics ones go by almost wholly ignored. Tactics cRPGs often feature turn-based combat, isometric perspective and robust systems design. Of all cRPGs, they have the best gameplay. In short, tactics cRPGs tend to be made by gamers, for gamers.

As a rule, General cRPGs do everything pretty well and appeal to a vast audience, but they don't water themselves down (too much) in order to do so. The quintessential example is Baldur's Gate.

Casual RPG Games can be played by absolutely anyone, which is a bad thing. Pandering to the lowliest "gamers" conceivable, casual RPG Games are easy to get into and quick to beat. No gaming aptitude or pedigree is required to play casual RPG games. Advertised as deep and immersive by publishers and hack-journos, casual RPG Games are in actuality as shallow as puddles. Suffice it to say that casual RPG Games are absolute stinkers unworthy of cRPG-hood.

Action RPGs receive their designation due to placing too much emphasis on the twitch skills of the player (FPS skills). Almost without exception, action RPGs commonly come out as casual games. Action RPGs include first-person games such as Deus Ex as well as hack n slash games such as Diablo 2.

Overall, a game-type that has cRPG appended is respectable whereas "RPG Game" is a mocking.

Note: I have since added some non-cRPGs to the above table. Mainly because they are historically significant to gaming as a whole. But since the genre is clearly indicated readers should have no trouble finding what they want to read about.

Main Indexes:

cRPG Blog	cRPG Design	cRPG Reviews	cRPG List
cRPG Definition	cRPG History	cRPG Rankings	cRPG vs cRPG