It has been said that innovative games are hard to come by of late, but that isn’t necessarily true. There has actually been a great deal of recent originality in game deisgn; unfortunately, some of the memorable recent innovations like The Sims Online, EVE, Black & White, and Republic: The Revolution have been lacking one important element: a fun factor. While fun is not objectively quantifiable, many would agree that the above-mentioned games do a lot that is new, and not much that can be enjoyed. Now, we have Savage, the first game to combine the real-time strategy genre with the first-person shooter. A great concept to be sure, but is the end result ultimately satisfying? Savage is a multiplayer-only, team-based game that features two distinct gameplay elements: an RTS element played by a commander, who builds structures, researches technology, and issues orders much like any other strategy game; and the FPS portion, in which team members act as living units in the commander’s world. By necessity, most gamers will be playing in the FPS role, as one of two races: humans, or the Beast Horde. The human units have both melee and ranged weapons available, and as technology is researched, more powerful weapons become available for use. The Beast units are primarily melee- and magic-based, and in the later game, units themselves can be impressively large. As the game starts, there are only simple weapons and items available for each player, and in order to upgrade them, not only does the commander need to research technology to make new weapons available, but the action players must accumulate gold in order to buy them. At the outset, you can choose the small animals, like monkits, to help supplement your income, and eventually, build up enough cash to buy better weapons and items. Some of your income, however, will be allocated to the commander, who can then grant requests for weapons, items, and units to players who may not have enough of their own gold. This is a fine element that can help the less advanced players keep up with the experienced pack. Eventually, siege weapons and other units become available, and players can actually play a siege unit, helping to achieve the main goal of Savage: to defeat the other team’s base. The commander himself spends more time building structures, researching tech trees, and commanding the NPC workers than he does issuing battle commands. When he does issue attack commands to FPS players, that command is accompanied by a clearly marked beam identifying the destination, and an audio command, such as “defend this building.” Orders are difficult to misunderstand, which makes it easier for the commander to keep the team unified; and as the commander’s bird’s eye point of view means he can see the overall action, it is in the action players’ best interest to follow those orders. While other team-based games suffer from griefers and team killing, the very structure of Savage encourages every player to follow orders, and it works remarkably well. Rarely is a commander frustrated with units that do not follow orders, and if a team is unhappy with the commander’s performance, he can be voted out and replaced. Unfortunately, Savage’s community is generally impatient with inexperienced commanders, making it difficult for a new player to experience this facet of the game, and the game’s lack of a tutorial or single-player makes this learning curve a daunting one. Savage itself presents itself with a distinct sense of style, eschewing the recent emphasis on system-hogging textures and polygon-pushing models and replacing them with colorful, detailed graphics that can run on a variety of machines. The graphics themselves are reminiscent of Giants: Citizen Kabuto, and feature a nifty day-night cycle that enhance the truly beautiful environments. The animations don’t fare quite as well, with monkits hopping in unison, and build animations for action players that are the same as melee attack animation. The Beast magic effects are simple but well-done, and a slight lack of polish does not hinder the overall artistic effect. The most impressive facet of S2’s graphics engine is its flexibility: the commander and FPS players experience the same map, simply from different points of view. Therefore, the commander literally sees every move of the action players, complete with every animation and effect. While there are better looking shooters and RTS game, the use of the same graphics and engine are an impressive feat. You can occasionally notice small seams in the environment, but this is a tiny nitpick. Savage’s sound is above average but not groundbreaking. A stirring musical score helps set the mood, but never annoys. Sound effects are standard fare but well implemented, featuring the swoosh of bows as they pass by and appropriate effects with magic spells. In final analysis, the separate parts of Savage are not as impressive as their counterparts. If played as an FPS, Savage would be bested by half a dozen superior options, and as a pure RTS, its streamlined tech trees and unit options keep it from competing with its competition. In practice, though, Savage is far greater than the sum of its parts, implementing a team dynamic unlike any other game, and creating real tension and excitement rare in most shooters. While you can’t be guaranteed a good game on any given server, games are satisfyingly fun more often than not. Like Battlefield 1942, at its best, Savage can be a nail-bitingingly good time. In the end, Savage is an original, highly enjoyable game that supercedes its individual parts and small frustrations to become a cohesive, exciting experience. Anyone interested in team-based shooters, and anyone disillusioned by both the recent trend towards the mediocre, as well as anyone tired of innovative but empty gameplay elements, should check this game out.
Other Helpful Reviews for Savage: The Battle for Newerth
Savage: The Battle for Newerth is an awsome game. There are two races that offer completely different styles of melee combat. The ranged weapons are fun to use. You can spend limitless hours playing this game because... Read Full Review
Savage: The Battle for Newerth is a game created by the company S2Games. This innovative PC title combines two completely different game genres, First Person shooting and Real Time strategy, into one seamless blend that... Read Full Review
