RPGs and pop culture in general could use some good satire. Grotesque Tactic 2: Dungeons & Donuts has the right idea with bizarre characters, fitting retro graphics and brilliant spoken dialogues. But being more linear than most RPGs – main target of the satire – is a no-no, and the excessive number of fights is so 80s dungeon crawl (or Diablo). Thus, I would only recommend the game to real RPG enthusiats – who will find themselves reminiscing on various genre high- and lowlights throughtout the years.
It was funny, cute and light. Of course the graphics are the best but I had more then enough laughs to make up for it! I hate how the so called "professionals" bashed this game so much. I am a female and did not find this game offensive at all. I think the metacritics are just being sensitive. :l
What about other games where they seriously put women down? This game is to be taken with a good chuckle. It's one of my favorite games next to Skyrim. :)
I LOVE this game. It doesn't take itself seriously at all, but that doesn't mean that the developers forgot to put a lot of love into it. In fact, you can tell the developers love the genre and loved making this game. It's a blast to play and reminds me of an awesomely entertaining mix between something like the Space Quest series from Sierra and Neverwinter Nights as far as presentation and RPG gameplay (not exactly like Neverwinter Nights mind you, just the same sort of fun feel).
The humor is both slapstick and dry and makes for a fun time playing through. I wouldn't recommend this game to people who hate have having a fun time.
The game is more weird than funny and it definitely has technical issues. You can always blame the German sense of humor but where is the famous German quality? [Jan 2012]
The story is lame, the quests are long and boring, the combat is shallow and it really does become a chore to play after just a couple of hours. Truth be told, the combat while annoying at times, does work and works well. The game is at least not broken in that aspect. It's very simplistic and newcomers to the strategy genre won't have too much trouble understanding the combat. Other than that, I'd steer clear of this game.
How the press is handling this indie RPG is a joke. Looking at the sources of some of the reviews helped clear things up, however. Gamespot complains about too much sex and how women are portrayed in game. I'm a woman, and I find the notion ridiculous. When it comes right down to it, you have to view the game as a comedy RPG. It is a game for having fun, with a decent story, turn based combat and some nice quests. It isn't trying to be a hardcore tactics RPG, I don't see where people are getting that idea at all. It's just supposed to be fun, is that really so hard to get? Does everything have to be so super complex? I wish people would stop lumping Grotesque in with serious strategy games and wondering why they aren't alike. Grotesque is more appropriately grouped with games like Deathspank, Penny Arcade and Magicka, only turn based. Kind of like Chrono Trigger. That puts Grotesque Tactics where it belongs, and I'm sure wants to be. Grotesque Tactics is one of the better and more advanced indie RPGs I've played. So long as you just want to play to have fun, and like the humor, this is not a game you will regret playing.
This game is the humor of Monkey Island, Monty Python, Black Adder, Knights of the Dinner Table and that Dungeons & Dragons sketch by the Dead Alewives Watchtower (WHERE ARE THE CHEETOES!) rolled into a yummy ball of RPG-goodness. I've played it all the way through twice now, because although it is notably linear, it does have some parallel subplots and dialogues that I wanted to see. You have to complete a certain set of conditions to get the funniest possible ending. I am glad they fixed some technical issues they had on release that made the game impossible to play through, or at all in some cases. Combat is a little dry, but very reminiscent of old-school tactical RPGs like Vandal Hearts, in which combat is also pretty dry. Dry combat and hilarious dialogue combined make you kind of rush through the fights so you can get back to the story, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
One feature I would like to have seen is varying audible responses from NPCs when clicked on, as was done in games like Baldur's Gate and the Warcraft series. Seriously, the characters should have more to say, as both written content and voice acting are right on the mark for the most part. Only Holy Avatar sounded a little more high-strung than I had pictured him after playing part 1, but you get used to the Zapp Brannigan the new voice gives him.
The interface has all the classic elements I get nostalgic about The talent system is a great addition, but it could stand to be slightly more diverse, maybe. And having multiple ways of navigating your characters is great; I tend to play more with keyboard than mouse when possible, and here I didn't have to click if I didn't want to.
Without giving away the ending, it was a neat twist I didn't see coming. It was also great to see that random comedic references to everything from Mario to Portal didn't let up or thin out as the game progressed. They just kept the laughs coming.
I am an RPG enthusiast from the days of yore, and while I suspect this game may have targeted people just like me specifically, I can't fathom anyone not finding this game funny, even if some of the joke references refer to dusty games of days-gone-by new gamers might not recognize. There are plenty of references to portal guns and nameless shepherds to make up for it. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys classic RPGs and/or likes to laugh.
the game is quite funny. The voices in German version are absolutely great. I know a lot of fancy but rubbish games without soul and many stupid or boring quests (like Lara Guardian Light f.a. ) , but this here I enjoy very much after getting into it. There are really a lot of funny jokes & figures, and I believe that PC Gamer UK gets maybe a lot more bugs for f.e. EA Games critics. But I enjoy really this precious gem from an great publisher meridian4. 100 times better gameplay than rubbish like Alan Wake sh... or - I am Alive -trash, where i don´t get it, why critics van be over 50 for such a b......t. So have a good time, you digital idoits
At first I very much expected it to be quite a terrible game. I never played the first, but the reviews aren't the most flattering, and to be honest, when I first started I noticed the low budget and annoying controls, and nearly gave up on it. However, I played on for a bit and am actually getting into it and thoroughly enjoying it. Weirdly, I can't actually really pinpoint anything that good with the game, I'm just enjoying it. The story isn't fantastic, but it's okay. The humour, well, a lot of hit and miss. The voice acting... pretty bad, some decent. The gameplay, standard turn-based grid RPG, starts of a little tedious but gets more engaging later on like most RPGs of the sort. Things that may annoy the hell out of you: The main character's voice.. While I kind of got used to him, man does he sound annoying. I wish they made him a silent character. Also, the controls for when you are just walking around looting stuff and not fighting are annoying as hell. It's unfortunate how they screwed this up, such a small detail yet it can really get on your nerves. Well as much as I have bashed this game, I really am quite enjoying it. If you're looking for another turn-based grid RPG and have nothing else to play, try this.
Hmm what to say about this? Well for starters it's a bit more of the first so if you liked that one you'll fine some pleasure in this. Things went quite well, though what I hate is I can't seem to organise the group in how they move or where they go so sometimes in battles my party either ends up spead everywhere near enemies which can be good or still several miles away which is a pain in the ass.
They added a cooking mechanic which is new, unfortunatly you do not cook yourself but get someone else too. navigation is a pain as some characters seem to blend into the background. I never knew Sir Silver was standing by the Princess until late in the game where I had completed most of the quests.
Voice acting is quite hit and miss sometimes saying something quite different to what the textboxes say and right at the end it seems to be a real miss with the option *End Conversion* turning into -Translation Missing- and everything about the end seemed quite rushed.
SummaryThe story of Grotesque Tactics 2: Dungeons & Donuts begins as the citizens of the Kingdom of Glory celebrate their victory in the catacombs of their former enemies. The revelry is disturbed by a sudden all-encompassing fog. Those that the fog engulfed vanished screaming into the void. Full of despair, the remaining survivors barricade...