As you may be able to tell from my games list, I'm a devoted follower of "hack n' slash games" (even have the admitadly crappy version of "Gauntlet" for PS2 in my possession). First of all, Baldur's Gate was great, and presented one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences of its time, albeit without much depth. Then came BGDA II and Champions of Norrath, with huge potential to add to a great basic concept - both introduced more elaborate character development and item enhancement, but both ultimately failed to some extent to bring the "H&S" to the next level. Here's why Champions of Norrath missed the target: 1) Even thinner story line: Why is it that a whole genre based upon a saga of epic proportions cannot put toghether missions that the player can be motivated by or even remember? 2) Rushed launch: There are too many glitches. The most annoying one is that the game inevitably will stall on you at least once, forcing you to hard reset the console and waste any progress made since your last save. 3) Lagging dialogue: Characters you interact with throughout the game take their time before they start to speak. By then you are half way through the subtitles and therefore you can't really bother to listen to the voice acting. 4) Too much loot: Balance is key to a H&S game. Especially when upgrades are a key motivator in the game play. In BGDA II, you build your characters strenght too quickly (even on the most difficult setting), resulting in you breezing through the game in no time. In "CoN", there is so much loot that your progress is slowed down by constant evaluation and selling of items found. It also renders weapon upgrading and item purchasing obsolete, since you just cannot find anything to buy or figure out what to upgrade. So why does Champions of Norrath receive a decent score of 8,4? Well it does do a couple of things right: Skill development trees requires thougthful character development, customizable appearances strengthens the bond between you and your character, boss fights are intense, crowded and by far the best yet. Online play is a welcome addition, but like Gamespot said - this game you will want to play with people you trust.
Champions of Norrath is a great way for Snowblind Studios to follow up their previous game Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance which was an amazing hack n' slash like this one is. The graphics are amazing. There are plenty of... Read Full Review
Champions of Norrath is a nice RPG, but is not a classic like Diablo. You start out by choosing from five different character types (barbarian, ranger, cleric, wizard, and shadow knight). Each different type of charact... Read Full Review
