MageKnight: Apocalypse E3 2005 Impressions

We had a chance to take an up-close look at MageKnight: Apocalpyse, the upcoming action role-playing game for the PC from Namco. This new game will be part of the traditionally console-focused publisher's expansion into the PC games market and will be based on WizKids' tabletop game of the same name. In the game, you'll play as one of five different character classes, such as a dwarf rifleman or a female vampire.

Even though the game will be a hack-and-slash role-playing game, your character won't advance through character levels. Instead, you'll simply advance your skills with repeated use or by purchasing them from trainer characters. For instance, the scantily clad vampire carries a sword she can use to attack her enemies by tapping the attack button--relying on her sword will eventually let her learn new attack combinations and let her deal more damage. However, she can also zap her enemies with a glowing red beam that drains away their life force--if you choose to focus on this ability and fight from a distance, you'll instead improve this skill over time. The game's producers suggest that even though the game will feature a substantial single-player game of six campaigns (each with about five different, lengthy missions), most players will be able to focus on only one or two skill trees...maybe three if they're very skilled and/or crazy. This will apparently let players create unique characters over the course of the game's 40-plus hours of gameplay.

The level we were able to see took place in a green swamp filled with fallen trees floating in swamp water, leading off into forest glades. Much of the basic gameplay seems to resemble the straightforward, fast pace of games like Diablo, in which you run toward enemies and hack them to bits, dodging occasionally. As you might expect, not all enemies will be stupid, lumbering targets. For instance, we fought against several walking oak warriors (essentially, walking trees) that shambled harmlessly toward us until they were reinforced by oak mages, which possessed the ability to heal their leafy buddies. However, in multiplayer, you can also use "joint attacks" to perform especially powerful strikes on your foes. You'll do this by initiating a joint attack with your partner (the game will allow for online multiplayer for up to four players), who will then be given a targeting reticle on the ground to follow up. The vampire and the dwarf have a powerful "cannonball" joint attack, during which the vampire actually hurls the tumbling body of the dwarf toward their foes, bowling over their enemies. MageKnight: Apocalypse is scheduled for release early next year.