The problem is that this feeling of discovery doesn't last long. Charged attacks and flurries, that – providing you time your button presses just right – allow you to launch longer attack combos are enjoyable to get to grips with, and in no time at all you'll have mastered how to stun lock enemies with a relentless assault, taking them down without getting hit. While swinging your weapon using just the square button feels a bit basic to begin with, once you've levelled up a few times to unlock a few new abilities, you'll begin to find a little more depth underneath the surface. Fortunately this hero is a versatile fellow, able to not only wield a variety of melee weapons, but also bows, crossbows, and magic spells. Even the hero himself voices his exasperation at being asked to take on pointless jobs at every turn, showing that the developer was more than aware of these shortcomings, but did nothing to address them.Īs most quests involve you trading blows with all sorts of demons, bandits, and monsters, you'll need to make sure that you're up to the job. It ends up being a revolving door of underdeveloped characters that you barely spend any time with, who send you on the most unoriginal errands. While Arcania's certainly not the only RPG to lean heavily on these sorts of quests, it does fail to dress them up in a way that'd make you care even one iota about the stories and characters behind them. These tasks fall into two categories: 'go here and kill that' or 'go there and find this'. Most quests are dished out by the inhabitants of Argaan that you encounter on your travels, but whether they're a farmer or a Lord, they'll all want you to do something for them. Quests almost never take you back to previously visited areas, so unless you want to track down all of the collectibles or grind out some experience beating up the local wildlife you'll always be moving forward. This feeling is magnified due to the relatively modest number of quests in each area, which, once completed, leave you without much of a reason to hang around. Working your way through the main quest line you'll gradually unlock access to new areas of the world, and while each of the locales link together, it never feels like a fully fledged sandbox, moving you from area to area in an overly linear way. Despite this reassuring start, once you head out into the wider world on your quest for vengeance, things quickly go downhill. Things initially look promising as you work your way through a series of quests that introduce you to the basics of the game while fleshing out your hero's background, as he works to impress the father of his girlfriend so he can win her hand in marriage. With no obvious improvements being made to any other aspect of the presentation, Arcania still looks like a game that was first released on the PC back in 2010.īut hey, snazzy graphics do not necessarily a good RPG make, so as long as there's some decent game mechanics and a fully realised world chock-full of interesting characters and quests, you could still get quite a bit of enjoyment out of the experience. While on the graphical front there are a few appreciable differences from the last-gen version – with the biggest changes coming as a result of a decent bump in resolution, draw distance, and frame rate – it's a real shame that the opportunity to make use of the horsepower of the PS4 has been squandered everywhere else. While the story in Arcania: The Complete Tale isn't going to win any points for originality, those who come across it and still decide to give it a go are likely to be more disappointed by many other aspects of this last-gen remaster.Īs soon as you embark on your quest, the game's heritage on the PlayStation 3 becomes clear in every aspect of its presentation. On his journey for retribution, not only does he become a great warrior – who handily ends up saving the world – but this nameless hero even manages to find the time to help all sorts of people by taking on some spectacularly tedious tasks. Stop us if you've heard this one before: a man sets out on a quest for revenge after his idyllic life is shattered by the destruction of his home at the hands of a marauding army.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |