A different world

Harbinger takes place on a gigantic spacecraft. It's not the place you'd like to be, really, since parts of it are rotten and devastated - and every place is full of enemies. You run errands for a couple of people, and these errands let you be a delivery boy most of the time. Well, actually all of the time. Go there, fetch something, and come back. Until you come back, you are killing enemies and gathering better equipment. When you came back, you trade goods, upgrade your equipment and get another mission. Then the whole story starts again.

Three Characters

You can play as one of three characters: The human, the gladiator (a man machine) and the Culibine (it comes close to what would be a sorceress in a traditional setting). Each of these characters has a different set of skills (four of them, including health) and a somewhat different style of gameplay. Each of these classes uses different equipment, but even when you run around as a Gladiator, you will find items only suited for humans. Fear not, as you can sell them and buy stuff fitting for your character class between your adventures.

Character development is done with items you use and stats you raise after you level up. Some items need you to have a certain level before you can use them, others can be modified with add-ons to give more damage. Some, when equipped, raise your stats. Each class has special items that enhance gameplay, like independently flying cameras or mines or helper robots. They do make a difference, and they are a nice feature that adds some depth to the game. In addition, you will find certain places in the levels that raise your stats by just walking over them.

As we said, you are running errands for some NPCs on board the ship. Interaction is done by clicking on different answers to their requests, but your path is very predetermined. It is like having different OK buttons, really. You don't have to make crucial decisions - it's just an interactive briefing.

Transportation between levels is done with a teleporter system or with gates (if the mission is a multi-level adventure). This eliminates long walks and is a clever design decision, even more so since you'll find a teleporter after you have finished the objective of a level. Thus, there's no dead time you spend in a level - good ting. However, the levels are strictly linear. You can only follow one and just one path - not so good thing.

Big action, little RPG

Notice something? The closer you look at Harbinger, the smaller the RPG element of this action-oriented game becomes. Actually, I find it hard to say that Harbinger is an RPG at all. If you consider Diablo to be an RPG, you will say that Harbinger is one, too. For me it's an action game with character development. Some elements of character development are RPGish, but that's all. Apart from deciding how to upgrade your character, there are no choices to be made; there is no way that conversations will differ depending on your attitude: you don't have one. Your character is only focused on fighting and surviving. No social skills here, you wouldn't need them anyway. Sure, you can say that about most action RPGs, and you'd have a point there. But I wanted to mention it because I feel that action RPGs always tend to give the impression that they are more RPG than they really are - and Harbinger is no exception to that rule.

Fight Club

Having stated that, let's look at Harbinger like we would look at an action game. So, combat gets into the focus. And this is something that Harbinger does nicely. It's not just point and click. Different enemies must be fought in different ways. Robotic enemies are weak to different kinds of range attacks other than the "living" ones. Some are very vulnerable to melee attacks, some aren't. Fighting requires at least a little thinking. Yes, in general it's just "kill them all", but that's not too easy. I had to use a lot of health items during my adventures, and while I walked through Diablo in a very relaxed way, never really in danger of being killed, I was forced to reload a couple of times in Harbinger (luckily, you can load and save everywhere). Don't make the mistake of playing the game like you played Diablo: it's a deadly mistake - one you are bound to make for some time, but will eventually learn. Maybe the hard way, but you will.

About each level will throw a new enemy at you. Some of them are just variations of existing ones, but even these variations have different strengths and weaknesses. Most of the time you run into a room, pull out a bunch of foes and try to eliminate them. Just rushing into an area would be a silly thing, the enemies are just too strong to deal with all at once.

Luckily, with the fights, there comes this sense of achievement that keeps you going. I certainly felt the "just another five minutes" syndrome while playing the game (which is actually a good sign for a game, isn't it?). It wasn't as prominent as with some of the blockbuster titles I played lately, but I was never tempted to put the game away. The missions are designed in a way that draws you into them, and "just to know what is behind the next corner" will be a feeling that will accompany you throughout the game. However, Harbinger can be frustrating from time to time, because some of the encounters are hard. Really hard.

The Beauty of the Future

Wanting to see more might also be because of the graphics. While there isn't much going on in terms of effects, the tiles that make up the levels are works of art. They truly capture the futuristic setting, and they are remarkably well done. In a world of 3D games with nearly unbelievable 3D graphics, an isometric game may seem like an anachronism. It's not. The beauty of Harbinger lies in the mixture of futuristic and retro design, just like in Fallout, but done differently. Sound and character animation play their part in creating this atmosphere as well. They have a certain "cartoonish" touch I find very pleasing, and this is also reflected by the cut-scenes in which this cartoon feeling is even more prominent by the way the text is displayed. The opening movie is really funny, and it takes you some missions to completely understand what you have seen in it. Voice acting, however, isn't really convincing. The actor for the Gladiator, for example, tried to sound tough. But unfortunately you quickly notice that he only tried too. The music is nice, but it isn't the one you heard in the trailer that was released recently. It is less prominent, less intrusive.

The interface is nicely laid out and gives you all the needed info. It blends well with the general style of the game, and all information can be viewed with no more than two mouse clicks. The in-game mini-map could have been done better; it is a transparent layer on the main screen, but a little bit too transparent for my taste. It doesn't show the whole level you explored so far, but this is not too important - as I mentioned before, the levels are very linear and you won't have to backtrack. For some odd reason, the mini-map seems to considerably slow down the frame rates on my system, but your mileage may vary.

Odds and Ends

You can play Harbinger in 2 resolutions: 800x600 and 1024x768. Both look nice, both will not stress your computer beyond belief. I suggest you go for the higher one - just for the looks. In general, the game is VERY stable and seems to be thoroughly tested for bugs and gameplay issues. It is well balanced and never too easy, but sometimes VERY hard. Occasionally the final encounters of some levels may drive you insane. Fighting against a boss with half a dozen minions isn't fun, it's work. But then again, that's where tactics kick in. As I said, this isn't Diablo, where it was enough to take out those monsters that were able to resurrect others first.

My only grief with combat is that it is a little bit slow paced when reaction time is concerned. Sometimes it seems that your character doesn't react as fast as you would like him to, and if you miss-click the enemy during combat, this makes you move right in the middle of trouble - especially if you have specialized in ranged attacks. Targeting is hard, since the enemies are moving, and their moves aren't always predictable. A "target closest enemy" toggle feature would have been nice, but maybe this could be added in a patch like it was in Divine Divinity?

The Verdict

How does all this come together? What's the whole package worth? Well, in my opinion the game is: a) a hard one and b) a good one. Its biggest problem isn't within the game itself, but in the slightly misleading marketing. The problem is: Harbinger is neither as revolutionary, or even the same game that the advertising wants us to believe it is. Harbinger is an action game with a well done futuristic setting, with light role-playing elements. If you expected traditional role-playing, you may be disappointed. If you expected a game that will be a contender for best game of the year, you will be disappointed as well.

However: If you are looking for an action game with an unusual setting, you will get a nice game for a smaller than usual price tag - even innovative in some ways (unique setting and story, one of the prettiest 2D games I have seen in a long time), and very traditional in others (gameplay, overall mechanics and presentation). While Harbinger is not groundbreaking, it is still quite some fun and will keep you busy for app. 45-60 hours if you play all character classes (and I would say that the differences are big enough to make it worthwhile to play them all, especially since the campaigns differ in some aspects). After that, Harbinger will rest on your shelf - the replay value isn't really big. But who cares as long as the game gives you a good time on the first run - and for me, Harbinger did that. It is notable and unique enough to entertain you, and it will offer you a welcome break from all these stinking ogres and orcs.