Champions of Norrath is easily one of the best hack n' slash games out there!!!
The graphics are amazing. There are plenty of different enviroments you come across and all of them have a distinct feel to them. You could be travelling along beaches, in dungeons, in underwater caves, as well as many other neat locations. All the objects in the environments look great from trees to huts. The enemy character models look great and look like what they are, so goblins look like goblins, and spiders look like spiders. Not only do the enemies look great, but so do the other characters you will meet throughout the game, as well as your character whoever that may be. The blood effects are cool as you beat or hack enemies to a pulp; its pretty sweet. I haven't had any too noticable problems with the framerate. The frame rate usually remains solid throughout the game. Everything looks great, and I mean everything!
The sound is superb across the board. The sound of a sword cutting though the flesh of enemies makes Champions of Norrath more satisfying than it needs to be. Though that sound may get very repetitive after awhile. You could always switch to a blunt weapon and listen to yourself bash skulls in. Even though it doesn't really sound like you expect hammer to head to sound; it still sounds pretty cool. The magic sounds cool whether your sending a bolt of frost to an enemy or if your casting a power up spell. The enemie's screams as they die are cool too. The voice acting and dialogue is well used and well placed. The characters are very believable and sound pretty much exactly as you'd probably expect. The music of Champions of Norrath is also done really well and is a great fit for the game. I haven't noticed any problems with the sound at all and it all sounds great.
There is plenty of value within Champions. It has a co-op mode supporting up to four players on or offline. It has somewhat lengthly single player campaign which is the same as the multi player campaign so they aren't different. You can play through it a few times on the different difficulty settings and try to get the best equipment, get to the maximum level of fifty, or just compete with some buddies. Its been twenty dollars almost since it came out is another good reason to buy it.
The quest you embark on in Champions of Norrath is awesome. The game starts you able to choose your race and sex. Your able to choose from a Human Barbarian Warrior, Wood Elf Ranger, High Elf Cleric, a Wizard, or a Dark Elf Shadow Knight. Only a few of the classes are versatile. The warrior is purely a melee class, while the ranger is an expert with bows, the cleric is a mix of spellcasting and melee, the wizard is obviously a pure spellcaster, and the shadow knight is mostly a melee class with a few good spells.
Champions of Norrath is a very simple game to just pick up and play. It contains the basic hack n' slash gameplay. All you need to do is just keep hacking through waves of enemies and find the occasional quest item. You'll probably find interest in collecting weapons, armor, and gems to upgrade your loot, and when you run out of room to carry some stuff, you can just gate scroll back to the shopkeeper and sell the equipment you no longer need or didn't need for some gold. My friends and I always compete for the good stuff and somehow they always opens the right chest at the right time and it makes me angry, so it adds a competitive element to the game when your playing with your buddies.
The hack n' slash gameplay is really well done and satisfying. The enemies are plentiful and there are plenty of different kinds with their own little quirks and abilities. There are a few core enemies though, like a grunt as i like to call which is a standard enemy that basically just charges you and is the most common enemy you'll face. The brute which is a grunt with a few upgrades to his armor and they may have weapon enchanments. The archer which is an archer that shoots bows and runs when you get too close. Finally the shaman which just casts spells and raises enemies you've recently killed and like the archer they run when you get too close. Keep in mind that these are the core enemies you'll face, but they come as different races in different regions of Norrath. The bosses are really cool to fight and there are a bunch of them.
The story of Champions is somewhat interesting. The story starts you off in a Wood Elf tree city sort of thing and you have to fight off the goblins and orcs that have been trying to take it over. As the story progresses there are some cutscenes with a strange girl that says things to you but its sort of like a dream. When you finish the game you become a champion of Norrath, just like the title says Champions of Norrath.
Champions of Norrath is an excellent example of a hack n' slash game done right. It is the champion of the hack n' slash games!!! hehe