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Michael C
Black Dragon
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Posts: 1595
Location: Aarhus, Denmark |
After spending 6-7 hours with the demo including "Mountain surfing", "Forrest roaming" and some "Dungeon secrets searching", I ended up with a little mixed feeling about this game, but mostly to the games favour.
- First the title screen and the name of the game indicated that the environment could be dungeons after dungeons, so I was pleasant surprised when the game started outside in the forrest.
Don't get me wrong, as a hard core Crpg player I have to like dungeons, but I surely don't mind my character seeing the sun now and then.
But first things first, you start with the character creation sheet, and also here I was surprised to the good side. It's far more advanced than "Diablo 2". More original than most other modern character building trees and closest perhaps to the "Divine divinity" system.
Rumours say that in the finished game, when you choose a "Fighter" you have to spend more skillpoints to get the "fireball" option, than the heavy sword mastery and the "Wizard" has the opposit feature. That may make sense in the real world, but it restrains you character a little from the beginning. I like the total free choice of skills and trades, to really make your own design of a character and try his capabilities in the game.
In this demo it actually don't matter what profession you choose, you can cast fireballs and lightning as good as any Mage and wield a sword like a barbarian at the same time, and it all cost equally much to upgrade.
- Now I start the game, and after awhile a beautifull detailled forrest world appears and my character is placed right in front of me taking most om my view of the forrest, quickly I try to find the button that will bring me in first person mode, or at least much closer to my character so he won't spoil my view so much, but no, the demo don't allow me to get closer to my character, and I'm stuck with a look at the back of my character similar to the Gothic games, but a little worse (Farther away). Actually my mouse wheel allow me to zoom out and up to a close to a nornal RTS position. No no no that's even worse, I don't want this "God" view, I want the feeling to actually be there myself I don't want startegy I want roleplaying (sort of) so back to the back of my character.
After reading the tutorial guide, you finally get control of your character, and you ofcourse start to try to make your first steps, but suddenly you get rushed by 3 goblins coming from no where, and my character had a short first life.
Conviniently the "Revive" button in the demo works fine.
Well running away until I find a quiet spot, check my inventory, and equip my start armour and weapons, which my character has left in his sack instead of ready them in this appearantly dangerous forrest.
Now appearantly ready you start wandering around cautiously at first. After a very short while I'm surrounded by 4 goblins, 3 Scorpions, 10 Rats and 8 Wolves at the same time. It obviously is no choice to run away, you are just making a crowd of enemies, so stand and fight.
Well I'm in favour for the swordplay, so I start trying to make combo's and using all my characters acrobatics, rolling left and right, leap attacks, high chops, block etc. but the numbers of the enemies are to big, and my character is still level 1.
Desperately I search my inventory for all these things you get in the demo, to find some kind of a bomb or so, and yes a scroll with fireblast and with 4 charges. Quickly I equip it and pushing the Quickuse button twice and suddently the forrest is quiet again, and a load of collectable items are on the ground, including some new spell scrolls.
Well I don't mind respawning at a reasonable and believable level, but this was insane, even with the option set on "low" respawning I was in a fight every 10 seconds. Well it's an ACTION- crpg with capital on "ACTION", so take it or leave.
Ill take it. But seeing 8 wolves respawn out of the mountain wall is not good.
My inventory is full of strange items, Scrolls, Spells, Ingridients (For what?) and a construction screen (Again for what?). It all looks interesting, but the demo gives you too little help on this, but maybe it's only ment as a teaser for the final game.
The Demo allows you to interact with 2 characters and a betraying goblin.
Pick your conversation topics, and some new one may appear when choosing some specific topics. You only get one Quest in this demo (Deliver a letter).
The demo don't speak well for the games Story and NPC interaction, as it is too little of it in the demo, and actually you don't get to finish anything in the demo. It's actually my biggest dissapoointment with the game, but it has been seen before that a demo didn't deliver the qualities of the final game, so one can still hope.
-I think I can ignore the fact that the demo delivers you a super hero with all possible skills, spells and items, and that the final challenge will be tweeked for optimum challenge and fun.
-I like the the very special Pick lock system, where your needed refleksions is depending on your characters skills and the complexity of the lock.
-The graphics is very nice and detailled, and the environment very believable.
-The famous paperdoll is there to equip your character.
- I did miss a MAP feature.
- 3 Difficulty levels, and 3 respawning rates to choose from.
_________________
Moderator on RPGdot.com Forum.
Member of the Nonflamers guild.
Member of the Sport fan club. |
Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:03 am |
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