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First Lionheart Review
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Garrett
 
 




Joined: 13 Jul 2001
Posts: 74
Location: Munich, Germany
First Lionheart Review
   

A rather lukewarm review of Lionheart premieres tonight at <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/lionheart/review.html" target="_blank">GameSpot</a>. The overall score is 6.5/10 and for one thing, the reviewer didn't like the look of the game very much:<blockquote><em>Games that emphasize combat might as well look good, but Lionheart doesn't. It runs on the same technology that Reflexive used for 2001's Zax and Away Team, and though this engine is technically newer than the Infinity engine used for most Black Isle games, it seems just as long in the tooth. Most of the background scenery is completely static and quite dark, though fairly good looking and detailed, while the characters in the game are small and lacking in detail. Some of the animations are nice, but the characters (yours included) all move about stiltedly and tend to come off looking silly. Some lighting effects and decent-looking spells help matters a bit, but Lionheart still looks like a game from two or three years ago.</em></blockquote>Thanks Thijs...
Post Tue Aug 19, 2003 7:47 am
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Hamsternator
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Have to agree with the review... (warning - long post ahead)

Am playing it through in multi with two friends right now, so we have quite a few options open at any given point character-wise (ranged weapon thief/diplomat, mage, fighter). Still - the game feels repetitive, and most of the quests are uninspiring, and more often than not, we'll find ourselves going "Oh, we did that quest already?" or "was that it?!"... neither are all that good responses with regards to game enjoyment...

One thing the reviewer missed, I should rush to say, is the TAB key, which will allow you to see health bars of monsters and friends alike...

What really gets my goat (and you may think it strange, but hey...) is the fact that all monsters die in the same topple like a tree-way. Where are the glorious (and VERY satisfying) criticals of Fallout? With the speed of combat (try a multigame with the extra monsters whizzing all over the place... crazy) you have very little hope of actually reading the text damage display - also, I'd rather SEE my sword do nasty stuff to a critter than READ about it...
The combat is a joke - sorry, it is, especially in multi where more monsters are spawned for difficulty scaling - and the demo statement that "the demo would not represent the full game, being far more combat-heavy"... uh... have the devs actually played their own game, I wonder? We're knee deep in monsters pretty much all the time - sure the cities are more or less combat-free, but that does not change that most quests involve dungeons of some sort... there is just an intermission between monsters.

Combat rant aside - read the review for a pretty acurate recount of all the problems with interface etc. - All in all, it's an "ok" game. Nothing more. It's fun in parts, and some quests are fun - also, as the review said, what voice acting is there is really good.

To sum it up - I'm trying to find Fallout 2 in my piles of oldies but goldies, so that I might stop crying at the huge wasted potential of this game. Until I do, I'll probably finish this one for the story, Bioware's glory, andmostly out of spite at having started it...

Move along now, nothing to see here.
Post Tue Aug 19, 2003 8:02 am
 
dagooo7
Guest






   

Wasted potential indeed. For me graphics are hardly the issue. If this game played like Fallout, I wouldnt care much how it looked. The two biggest issues in my opinion are the combat and balance.

The combat is not so much a problem because there is too much of it (as many seem to be complaining about), but that the combat is so handled so ineptly that it seems like there is too much. Admittedly I prefer turn-based combat like in Fallout, largely because it allows for more strategy, use of skills, powers, etc. The combat in Lionheart is so hyper-paced (with no option to slow down) that you effectively cant make use of the spells and powers at your disposal. To compensate for this developers seem to have overpowered the direct combat skills (unarmed and ranged in particular) so that really all one needs to do is click on enemies.

These combat issues feed directly into the apparent crippling lack of balance. Ive tried two different character sets and found both overpowered for most of the game. Ironically, if the game would have been turn-based or even slowed-down I think developers would have been able to address these balance issues at least to some degree. I just cant stay interested in a game if there is a lack of balance even if everything else about it is great (e.g., Arcanum)

I had high hopes for this game with the Special system and a cool idea for a storyline. Just seems like it was rushed and the audience was not well thought out. I'll probably give it more of a chance, but I got so bored last night, I actually went back to NWN because I longed for a better and cleaner implementation of similar gameplay mechanics.
Post Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:27 pm
 
Xaximus
Guest






   

Aye, what a shame. I haven't left Barcelona, but by the sounds of it, I shouldn't bother continuing with the game. What little combat I've seen so far seems lacking, and it's not good to hear that the rest of the game is a hack-and-slash fest ala Diablo. What a waste of SPECIAL. Back to Icewind Dale 2 and then I think I'll play Fallout 2 again.
Post Tue Aug 19, 2003 3:33 pm
 
Dinzy
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 26 Jul 2003
Posts: 19
   

Initially I was able to look past the games numerous flaws annd was actually enjoying it. Unfortunately the repetetiveness of the combat and the fact that I managed to break the main quest ( has happened to many others) makes this game seem almost like a waste of time. It certainly has potential but it never lived up to it.

THe sucktitude of this game is going to make the wait for ToEE and KotOR that much more difficult to endure.
Post Tue Aug 19, 2003 9:36 pm
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Seth
Last Man Standing
Last Man Standing




Joined: 23 Jan 2002
Posts: 1008
Location: Faerun
   

I’m not going to repeat what others already say it, so for the record I agree with you guys, waste of a potentially good game, waaaaay too much combat. After the Barcelona you might stop playing, coincidentally I’m also vivid Fallout fan
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Post Thu Aug 21, 2003 1:28 pm
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