Combat takes place from different perspectives; note how my circle is fully blue, meaning that once I move to that spot, I won't be able to do anything else.
The combat in Return is similar to Betrayal but spiced up with new graphics, spell effects, and command options. It uses traditional turn-based combat, and the game moves seamlessly into combat mode when you encounter an enemy. You'll walk into a room only to see Nighthawk assassins snooping around. They'll turn around, you'll draw your swords, and combat will ensue.
The cursor is context-sensitive and defaults to either a direct attack or a simple movement command depending on where you place it.
Magic utilizes 3D acceleration; note how the target reels over under the dizzying lights of the confusion spell.
Each character has movement points, which can be used to conduct one full action (such as move somewhere or fight) or can be used for a half-move (walk a short distance ) with points left over to parry or give a weak blow. Right-clicking brings up a menu featuring a host of options such as casting, fighting style, parrying, and so forth. You can tweak the combat style of your character (whether to be aggressive, conservative, or balanced when making your blows) and choose between parrying or guarding. Parrying boosts your personal defense (you naturally defend yourself at the end of each turn), while guarding allows you to assign your current character to protect another character, thus allowing fighters to defend mages.
Combat is completely seamless; walk into this room, and there is no lag time when the battle begins.
Spell casting can either be done quickly or slowly. A quick cast of a spell will activate a spell immediately, while a slow cast may take a few turns but becomes significantly more potent. Magic takes full advantage of the 3D acceleration, using all sorts of lighting and color effects. Casting a fireball spell projects a realistic flame towards the enemy, followed by a nice animation of the fire engulfing the target. Using a blinding spell puts dizzying lights on the target's eyes and leaves him to blunder about on the combat screen. Finally, spell casting, like ranged weaponry, is affected by line of sight; if there is a big crate in between you and your target, and your attack requires that you see your target, then you simply can't cast at or shoot it.
