A virtual unknown thats an unexpected treat
The game has an old school charm that is rarely encountered in today’s PC market. Though, at the same time, it is still easily accessible to the new generation. The most prominent feature of the game is the Battle System, and it’s radically different anything I'd encounter. It’s a first person, partially turn-based, strategyesque team battle system - no, I'm not kidding. It can be quite confronting at first, but after a while the system begins to feel quite natural and very fun. And you better learn to love it because it takes up roughly half the game experience, maybe even more.
The battles themselves are phased (although there is a partial automatic system) with the turn of events determined by your characters attributes (like speed and the like). Beforehand, you organise you formation based on your character classes and abilities (fighters at the front, archers at the back). The game world is seen through the eyes of the characters, which you can have as many as 8 in your party, so once an enemy wanders too close, your basically locked into a battle. From there, its a matter of tailoring your moves to what your being faced with. There are a wealth of battle variables such as formation, specific commands for your characters, the types of abilities and moves they use, and their battle stance. The battles can become quite complex with all manner of strategies invoked to get you a winning result.
The character creation is great. There’s the usual procedure of choosing your class and races, attributes etc., but there’s a bonus feature that I found really added to the game. You get to choose your characters personality. I know this may not sound very exciting, but when your playing it adds a surprising amount of charm and individuality to the game. All the personalities have a large selection of responses and phrases they use throughout the game that helps flesh out your characters and makes them more then just invisible denizens. There are many different character classes, with all your regulars like fighters, mages and archers. There are also unique classes like Gadgeteers and Ninjas that add some spice to the mix. As you might have guessed this adds a lot of replay value.
The game world is quite basic but still fun to explore. The locations vary in their looks and properties and sometimes even employ interaction. Story wise, there isn’t much to talk about, but this doesn’t detract at all from the experience. There is a distinct lack of NPC's, but its understandable given the great detail each individual is given. You see, every NPC has a massive amount of unique dialogue. Communication is conducted via you characters asking questions. You actually type what you want to say and the NPC usually replies with a valid answer. I was literally blown away by the amount of content here for a relatively old game.
Now, let’s get to the fundamentals: the graphics are dated, but still quite good for their age. The sound, as mentioned, is top class - even the theme seemed to burrow into my head. The gameplay is unique and very engaging, but seems to be a hit or miss affair with most gamers. So maybe if your cautious, try the demo first to see if you like it. The value of the game is first class, and qualifies it as a true undiscovered gem.
I'll finish up by saying that there is a lot of depth, and most importantly, fun, evident in this game. If you fancy taking an adventure through this realm, I can guarantee you'll have one unique time and you maybe even find a game you'll adore.