Shadowbane Review

Shadowbane has two major features that set it apart from most massively multiplayer online role-playing games. First, it doesn't use a first-person shooter control scheme like every other game of this sort, but instead uses a mouse-driven interface that is reminiscent of Diablo's control scheme. Secondly, it seems as if, above all else, the game's designers wanted you to have fun. The first of these features may take some getting used to. The second doesn't. Despite the fact that Shadowbane was originally billed as a complex game of large-scale siege warfare and political intrigue, once you get past the game's interface and other issues, you'll find that Shadowbane strips away the constant battle between players and the rules and simply lets you go out, meet some people, fight a bunch of monsters, and gain some levels.

It's difficult to get used to Shadowbane's interface.

At first, you may not find Shadowbane to be very accessible, especially since the game's interface can seem all but unintelligible at first. Moving and attacking, which are performed with simple mouse clicks, are easy enough to learn, but mastering the game's many interface windows is a nightmare, and after dozens of hours of play you may find yourself still struggling to remember how to bring up the "group information" window. Similarly, assigning hotkeys to powers and spells is neither straightforward nor intuitive, which is a shame, considering that games like EverQuest helped set the standard for simple interfaces, and most subsequent games in the genre have only improved upon this standard. Shadowbane can't compare in this respect, and you'll find yourself constantly reaching for the game's manual.

Unfortunately, Shadowbane's interface problems are compounded by the game's tutorial, which is at best useless and at worst a hindrance. There's no training ground to gradually acclimate yourself to the world of Shadowbane. Instead, you get a bunch of pop-up windows that explain game mechanics and interface issues that pertain to your current situation in unclear ways. These windows pop up directly in the center of the screen, obscuring your view of whatever it is they're supposed to tell you about. Basically, you'll need to learn the ins and outs of Shadowbane by trial and error.

These initial stumbling blocks are unfortunate, because there's a lot to like about the game once you learn how to play. From the first time you set out from your home city and begin fighting the creatures of the world, you'll recognize that Shadowbane is substantially different from other games in its genre. You'll undoubtedly fight on your own for bit, and gain a substantial amount of experience. And then you'll join a group, and you'll gain an even more substantial amount of experience. Shadowbane doesn't employ the typical experience penalty for being in a group. In fact, you'll gain almost as much experience for killing monsters in a group as for killing monsters on your own. This means that large groups are preferable, even though they can be chaotic messes in the early levels, with everyone simply running around, killing things on their own. You could say that Shadowbane does feature the so-called "leveling treadmill," in which you kill monsters, gain experience and loot to buy better weapons and armor, and then use these items to kill even more monsters. The difference in Shadowbane is that the developers seem to have set the treadmill on "sprint."

Groups can help you gain experience quickly.

As you advance, it becomes more difficult to have these huge "group soloing" experiences. But that doesn't affect the amount of experience you gain. Well-coordinated groups, though they can be rare, can easily dispatch significantly higher-level monsters, granting you huge experiential and monetary rewards. In fact, for a long while, you may be wondering just what you're going to do with all the money you earn. Though training can become expensive as you advance, you'll still likely find yourself with a constant surplus of gold--though you'll quickly learn to keep all of it in the bank. Shadowbane employs what is possibly the most punishing death system of any game in its genre. When you die, you lose experience points, and all your unequipped items and gold stay at your grave. EverQuest players will probably have flashbacks as they traipse across Shadowbane's huge landmass just to recover their goods. Unfortunately, in Shadowbane, anyone can loot your grave, so carrying your life savings around is an unwise decision.

As to what you'll do with all the gold you manage to hoard from the greedy hands of passersby, the answer is simple: You save it for later. The fact that you level up so quickly in Shadowbane also means that you can basically advance to the highest levels quickly. This means that, after you've spent some time killing monsters and exploring the world, you must find other ways to occupy yourself.