Yes, it is weird, but you quickly pick up on it. Yes, they did improve it, and they removed some of the unnecessary RNG that can, and will firk you over in the first game. It is, but the game is a masterpiece. Yes, yes it does
Has faeria gotten better? I checked it out a while back and the reviewers were killing it saying that there were not very many decks that were competitive, that only a few top tier decks would win...
I'd also suggest: - Neverwinter Nights series (not the MMO) - Planescape: Torment (this one is dialogue-heavy though, you can lose lots of XP by skipping dialogues) - Sword Coast Legends (good story and the gameplay is neato despite the critics) - Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear (good tie-in between BG1 and BG2, the negative reviews are mostly transphobic ones) - Divinity: Original Sin - Child of Light (imagine playing a fairy tale that's being told to you by your mum, dad or grandparents) - Icewind Dale: EE (another bunch of awesome) - Transistor (really awesome story) From turn based RPGs I think that'd be all.
The best part of it was finally being able to play an Elf Wizard and have access to swords and shields. My battlemage absolutely loved that!
Darkest Dungeon is worth a look if you like the original XCOM's "your dudes are all expendable meat so level them up but don't get too attached" sort of game in a jRPGish combat system.
Seconded. My only problem with this amazing game is that the story is there, but you have to search for it to have any idea wtf you're doing. And character bios, and story bits update constantly, so you have to continuously check it.
I only played the first instalments of each game but enjoyed both. Both definitely filled that Pox itch when they were first released. DoGs The Huntsman: Winter's Curse looks pretty good, not sure on how expansive it is however the art looks great.
The combat in Winter's Curse I designed as a "lite" card game. I believe the first chapter is still free on Steam so you can try it out and see how it works in its basic form. You do get more options as you go along in the the chapters, but the basics of the system doesn't change all that much. That said, the system can handle more complex/interesting cards, it just didn't fit the demographic for that game.
have to give a 2nd to Darkest Dungeon. lovecraftian, rogue like. do yourself a favor though and resist the urge to read guides. this game is best learned the hard way.
@Spellforce - definitely the first of the series. The second one isn't that good compared to the first.
The SSI Pool of Radiance? I just played through it, Curse of the Azure Bonds, and Secret of the Silver Blades after they were on sale on GoG. I started Pools of Darkness, but then I got distracted by Pox.
Gem Craft was a fun Tower Defense, it's been a while since I've played a solid TD that I like. The random ones I'd find years ago had more appeal than what I'm finding now, at least f2p TD's.
Legion TD from Warcraft 3 is going to be released in December this year as a F2P TD game on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/469600/ Just dropping that for you. ^^