Ouch... no love for Baroque this time around, which is especially painful seeing as how you guys apparently didn't put much (or any) time into playing. But hey, who needs to play a game to judge it fairly!
Kidding aside, I don't know who the forum fanboy was that stood up for Baroque previously, but am willing to take his side. Having spent a lot of time with the game over the past couple of weeks, my impressions went something like this:
First hour --> Wow, this is pretty terrible. Gonna toss it faster than asparagus at fat camp.
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Third hour --> Hmm... I kinda get it, but still don't understand what's happening here. So frustrating to die, too!
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Sixth hour --> More pieces coming together. Better hold onto this game for a while before trading it in.
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Tenth hour --> Ah! Finally making some real progress. Shouldn't have made that decision though, it didn't help at all. Better make another run down to the bottom, using my ever-improving skills.
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Fifteenth hour --> Wow, this game is a keeper!
Obviously the big problem is why would you keep playing a game that is painfully difficult to start? I don't have any good answer for that question, and understand that not everyone will enjoy Baroque because of the steep learning curve. However, I can't think of any Wii game that has been more rewarding as you continue playing it.
One of the loudest complaints about Baroque is having to start over repeatedly and losing all your progress. This isn't exactly true though... dying does mean you lose your items, but it's far from starting over.
The most valuable asset held over between each new life is knowledge: understanding more about how the game world works and how you can bend that to your advantage. For most people this learning won't stop for as long as they continue playing, because there are so many mysteries, interactions, combos, and special effects to uncover.
Beyond that, there are also ways to affect the outside game world based on your actions within the dungeon, either by bringing out items for later use or advancing the plot by performing certain actions. Once you are good enough, you should never have to start off without a few favorite items - not that you would need them to survive any longer though, as your experience and knowledge should be enough to guide you safely through the tower.
Is it worth pushing through the initial confusion to play this game? No, at least not for everyone. But there is a definite market for the game. Baroque might appeal to anyone who is looking for a game that:
- doesn't spoon feed them, and isn't afraid to be balls hard some of the time
- requires both time AND thought to master
- offers short bursts of RPG action, since each dungeon session is essentially a stand-alone adventure in an ongoing story
- improves the longer they play, instead of getting stale* at the 6-hour mark
- provides a real mystery to uncover and puzzle over, but with a less obtuse timeline than Killer 7
*Ok, Baroque is repetitive almost immediately too. The difference is depth - I honestly feel that there is more to discover about interactions and events in Baroque's game world than most other games. You'll be doing similar things, but with different purposes and (hopefully) better results as you learn more about the game.
PS - If you actually read this mini-novel wall of text, thanks for your time.