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Developer: Backbone Entertainment
Publisher: Nokia
Release Date: 8/16/2005
Every time we see Rifts: Promise of Power, the upcoming N-Gage RPG/turn-based strategy game set in Kevin Siembieda's dark future Earth, another piece of the puzzle falls into place. At this year's E3, enough of the jigsaw was assembled for us to make out the product's final contours, even if major areas of the whole remained occluded; we saw Rifts' major components, which we have reported on at length in the past, attached to one another for the first time. In short, we finally saw a game materialize out of the vapors that swirl around Nokia's N-Gage establishment--the same vapors that have too often formed a rumor-promulgating, release-date breaking miasma. We liked what we saw.
The most impressive aspect of Rifts: Promise of Power that was on display at E3 was its fidelity to the source material. Like many other tabletop RPG fans, Rifts enthusiasts are a gang of zealots; they wield their collection of books in one hand and a stinging pen in the other, with pouches of 20-sided die at their belts for good measure. In short, they're not going to be satisfied by anything less than a Herculean effort on the part of the developer to "get it right"; in fact, a use of the license that doesn't approach perfection could backfire horribly.
Well, it appears that Backbone Entertainment and Nokia made that effort, and that their game has arrived in a general radius of authenticity that will placate the experts. This was immediately clear from a quick look at our mage's spell list, which included every incantation we could remember from the game and several more that we couldn't. We were also struck by the many, many other accurate details that had been included in the game. One example stands out in particular: we had been told that the Glitter Boy wouldn't have his eardrum-shattering Boom Gun at an earlier preview, but he did in this version, and it even shattered opponents' eardrums (or hit them with a separate sonic attack, anyway). We assumed that the Boom Gun wouldn't have a special firing animation, either--so we were awfully surprised to see the weapon swing out over the shoulder, as the armor braced itself in a completely correct manner.
Oh, yes. Rifts: Promise of Power is going to be a lot of fun for complete Rifts noobs, too. If you enjoyed Final Fantasy Tactics Advance or the Fallout series, it might be worth looking into an N-Gage in the near future, because this game looks as though it will combine the tactical depth of the former with the atmosphere and exposition of the latter. Will it be the most visually advanced N-Gage game available when it comes out in August, or the most action-packed? No, but it'll certainly be one of the most compelling experiences on the platform--and one that'll be perfectly playable on the recently-announced array of N-Gage compatible phones that Nokia's preparing, too.
We can't wait for Nokia to get Rifts: Promise of Power to stores. After a year of steadily sliding attention levels, the N-Gage is in dire need of talking points--preferably, great games that you can't find anywhere else. By that criteria, Rifts is probably the best bet the system has.
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