NOTE: I played a lengthy segment at a preview. I haven't played the full game, and I don't particularly want to.
War in the North feels like it was made in 2003.
I- or at least, it, can't shake that feeling.
It's exactly the game Snowblind Studios used to make, and I suppose it's the only sort of game they'll ever make.
It's a formulaic co-op RPG with entertaining albeit limited combat, decent storytelling, and a linear trawl through festering forests.
But honestly? This is going to make some people gnash their teeth and beat their chests with anger, but it's The Third Age.
Not, "it's The Third Age but much better" or "It takes inspiration from The Third Age" but, "It's exactly like The Third Age, only in 2011."
I'm going to read you a summary, and you're going to take a swig of whatever you're drinking if it sounds like The Third Age.
"The game follows three characters of Elven, Dwarvern, and Dunedain descent as they scramble over famous landmarks and follow in the footsteps of far more interesting characters, most of which are from the books and films."
Does that remind you of the fact that all the characters in The Third Age were blatant knock-offs of LOTR characters. Hell, I don't think I'll give them that credit. They're just add-water caricatures (I refuse to use the term "paint-by-numbers", because painting by numbers requires skill) of your average fantasy fighters. There's the brave and noble ranger, (Berethor/Elegost) the Elven mage (Idrial) and a ferocious dwarf with an axe who loves
to drink. Probably. (Hadhod)
Seriously? Does that sound like a game you'd expect from 2011? Even Dragon Age had more plot substance and character diversity than that! DRAGON AGE, A GAME SO GENERIC IT'S NAME WAS LITERALLY "THIS IS THE AGE OF DRAGONS: ORIGINS".
But enough about the story. You want to know more, aye? You want to hear about the bone-crunchingly visercal (I should stop quoting the box) combat!
Essentially? Witcher 2 with less tactics.
You do a fast attack with your left mouse and a not-so-fast-but-a-bit-more-face-smashing attack with the right mouse. You can (Make sure you're sitting down for this bit, because it'll shock you) press the left mouse or the right mouse to attack.
And even better, (be ready, this'll blow your socks off so fast they'll break the sound barrier) YOU CAN COMBINE YOUR STRIKES. IF YOU HIT LEFT AND THEN LEFT AND THEN RIGHT, YOU'LL DEFTLY PERFORM A COMBO ATTACK THAT DOES VARIOUS DAMAGE! HOW CLEVER AND INNOVATIVE IS THAT?
You can also hold right mouse button to aim a ranged weapon- for the Ranger it's arrows, for the Elf it's a magic machine gun (Tolkien is spinning in his grave so fast, you could use him as a generator) and for the Dwarf it's probably throwing axes. Probably because I didn't play enough of him to get a feel for how generic he was, but I think it was "Nathan Drake*" generic on the scale of generic game protagonist appearances.
And that's more or less it. You have a quick bar with which you can mash number keys to chug potions. There's an animation for it, ala Dungeon Siege. Then again, it *is* 2011. (or is it? My phone says it's 2000, and all these generic games make me think otherwise)
"But mang," I heard you interject in a shrill and pre-pubescent voice made cynical by years of bad shovelware;
"What about all that totallycoolawesome graphic violence that was shoved in my face in the trailers? Do I get to do some of that?"
Eh, yeah. Sort of.
When you're hacking up Orcs and they're all like "gah don't sword me bro" a yellow triangle will appear above their face. Right click when it does, and you can sword them. TO DEATH, BRO.
But all this swording isn't all you can do. When you sword them, chances are that they might explode into slicks of gore! Like in the trailers!
To achieve this though, you need certain circumstances and a whole bunch of QTEs.
I guess the combat feels good. It's mostly responsive, is weighty, and has some nice and crunchy sound effects. It doesn't achieve the levels of responsiveness that Space Marine and even Rune (remember Rune? Tell me I'm not the only one) have, but there's enough potato mashing to send a hearty roar of satisfaction as you dismember something. But I feel a little disappointed that the game's trailers where like "GORE GORE BLOOD BLOOD SEX"
(Minus the sex, actually- that was Dragon Age) yet don't have much gore gore or blood blood. I suppose I shouldn't have trusted those trailers, but why sell a game on visceral face stabbing if there is very little of it? In the time I spent hacking through linear plazas the Orcs all looked the same, had the same death animations, and very rarely exploded into gibs like they should have done. Maybe I'm glad that this game isn't but chering the LOTR name in terms of combat, but a little claret would be nice. Perhaps not chunky salsa, but at least some ketchup.
Playing as the mage will provide the most lulz, especially if you hate the LOTR brand. Think of all the sweaty fanboys that are crying themselves to sleep because you can create magic shields and throw fireballs! It's a co-op game, so naturally it plays better with other people. However, the lack of any co-ordination or tactics in the combat means there isn't a reason to. Besides, your AI teammates won't cringe and groan over Steam Voice Chat when
they see a bad setpiece.
Overall, it feels dated. I haven't touched on the graphics or sound design, but they're nothing to write on a forum about. The score is typical orchestral fare and it looks like it was made in 2006, could maybe stretch for 2007. There's some nice textures and rain effects but little else grabs the attention. The same goes for most of the combat. There was never a moment when I would grab the guy next to me and shout, "Look at this!
See how much fun I'm having? What I'm doing is so much more entertaining than what you're doing!"
It doesn't seem like Snowblind have progressed as a studio. What they've made is a game that could've emerged from a time capsule.
"Cor blimey!" it exclaimes, stumbling out of a hole in the earth. "I'm eight years late for my release date!"
The funny thing is that I wanted games like this. Earlier in the month I complained about the fact that the classic mediocre action RPG is dead, and lamented its greatness by playing Dungeon Siege, (You'd better be saluting right now) Titan Quest, and Icewind Dale.
If anything, it's a note to be careful what you wish for.
(HK-47 voice) ADDENDUM: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WISH FOR A THIRD PERSON ORC MANGLER WITH WHICH THEY MAY REAVE MEATBAGS, SEE RELIC AND THQ'S WARHAMMER 40,000: SPEHSS MEHREEN. IT'S VICIOUSLY ENTERTAINING, IF INCREDIBLY MINDLESS.
*I like Nathan Drake, but he's a white male with a stubble. Tell me that hasn't been done before, and by everyone. Why can't he be a Tamil with a stubble, or an Albanian with a mohawk? Better yet, why not a bearded and mohawked fisher from the Seychelles?
War in the North feels like it was made in 2003.
I- or at least, it, can't shake that feeling.
It's exactly the game Snowblind Studios used to make, and I suppose it's the only sort of game they'll ever make.
It's a formulaic co-op RPG with entertaining albeit limited combat, decent storytelling, and a linear trawl through festering forests.
But honestly? This is going to make some people gnash their teeth and beat their chests with anger, but it's The Third Age.
Not, "it's The Third Age but much better" or "It takes inspiration from The Third Age" but, "It's exactly like The Third Age, only in 2011."
I'm going to read you a summary, and you're going to take a swig of whatever you're drinking if it sounds like The Third Age.
"The game follows three characters of Elven, Dwarvern, and Dunedain descent as they scramble over famous landmarks and follow in the footsteps of far more interesting characters, most of which are from the books and films."
Does that remind you of the fact that all the characters in The Third Age were blatant knock-offs of LOTR characters. Hell, I don't think I'll give them that credit. They're just add-water caricatures (I refuse to use the term "paint-by-numbers", because painting by numbers requires skill) of your average fantasy fighters. There's the brave and noble ranger, (Berethor/Elegost) the Elven mage (Idrial) and a ferocious dwarf with an axe who loves
to drink. Probably. (Hadhod)
Seriously? Does that sound like a game you'd expect from 2011? Even Dragon Age had more plot substance and character diversity than that! DRAGON AGE, A GAME SO GENERIC IT'S NAME WAS LITERALLY "THIS IS THE AGE OF DRAGONS: ORIGINS".
But enough about the story. You want to know more, aye? You want to hear about the bone-crunchingly visercal (I should stop quoting the box) combat!
Essentially? Witcher 2 with less tactics.
You do a fast attack with your left mouse and a not-so-fast-but-a-bit-more-face-smashing attack with the right mouse. You can (Make sure you're sitting down for this bit, because it'll shock you) press the left mouse or the right mouse to attack.
And even better, (be ready, this'll blow your socks off so fast they'll break the sound barrier) YOU CAN COMBINE YOUR STRIKES. IF YOU HIT LEFT AND THEN LEFT AND THEN RIGHT, YOU'LL DEFTLY PERFORM A COMBO ATTACK THAT DOES VARIOUS DAMAGE! HOW CLEVER AND INNOVATIVE IS THAT?
You can also hold right mouse button to aim a ranged weapon- for the Ranger it's arrows, for the Elf it's a magic machine gun (Tolkien is spinning in his grave so fast, you could use him as a generator) and for the Dwarf it's probably throwing axes. Probably because I didn't play enough of him to get a feel for how generic he was, but I think it was "Nathan Drake*" generic on the scale of generic game protagonist appearances.
And that's more or less it. You have a quick bar with which you can mash number keys to chug potions. There's an animation for it, ala Dungeon Siege. Then again, it *is* 2011. (or is it? My phone says it's 2000, and all these generic games make me think otherwise)
"But mang," I heard you interject in a shrill and pre-pubescent voice made cynical by years of bad shovelware;
"What about all that totallycoolawesome graphic violence that was shoved in my face in the trailers? Do I get to do some of that?"
Eh, yeah. Sort of.
When you're hacking up Orcs and they're all like "gah don't sword me bro" a yellow triangle will appear above their face. Right click when it does, and you can sword them. TO DEATH, BRO.
But all this swording isn't all you can do. When you sword them, chances are that they might explode into slicks of gore! Like in the trailers!
To achieve this though, you need certain circumstances and a whole bunch of QTEs.
I guess the combat feels good. It's mostly responsive, is weighty, and has some nice and crunchy sound effects. It doesn't achieve the levels of responsiveness that Space Marine and even Rune (remember Rune? Tell me I'm not the only one) have, but there's enough potato mashing to send a hearty roar of satisfaction as you dismember something. But I feel a little disappointed that the game's trailers where like "GORE GORE BLOOD BLOOD SEX"
(Minus the sex, actually- that was Dragon Age) yet don't have much gore gore or blood blood. I suppose I shouldn't have trusted those trailers, but why sell a game on visceral face stabbing if there is very little of it? In the time I spent hacking through linear plazas the Orcs all looked the same, had the same death animations, and very rarely exploded into gibs like they should have done. Maybe I'm glad that this game isn't but chering the LOTR name in terms of combat, but a little claret would be nice. Perhaps not chunky salsa, but at least some ketchup.
Playing as the mage will provide the most lulz, especially if you hate the LOTR brand. Think of all the sweaty fanboys that are crying themselves to sleep because you can create magic shields and throw fireballs! It's a co-op game, so naturally it plays better with other people. However, the lack of any co-ordination or tactics in the combat means there isn't a reason to. Besides, your AI teammates won't cringe and groan over Steam Voice Chat when
they see a bad setpiece.
Overall, it feels dated. I haven't touched on the graphics or sound design, but they're nothing to write on a forum about. The score is typical orchestral fare and it looks like it was made in 2006, could maybe stretch for 2007. There's some nice textures and rain effects but little else grabs the attention. The same goes for most of the combat. There was never a moment when I would grab the guy next to me and shout, "Look at this!
See how much fun I'm having? What I'm doing is so much more entertaining than what you're doing!"
It doesn't seem like Snowblind have progressed as a studio. What they've made is a game that could've emerged from a time capsule.
"Cor blimey!" it exclaimes, stumbling out of a hole in the earth. "I'm eight years late for my release date!"
The funny thing is that I wanted games like this. Earlier in the month I complained about the fact that the classic mediocre action RPG is dead, and lamented its greatness by playing Dungeon Siege, (You'd better be saluting right now) Titan Quest, and Icewind Dale.
If anything, it's a note to be careful what you wish for.
(HK-47 voice) ADDENDUM: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WISH FOR A THIRD PERSON ORC MANGLER WITH WHICH THEY MAY REAVE MEATBAGS, SEE RELIC AND THQ'S WARHAMMER 40,000: SPEHSS MEHREEN. IT'S VICIOUSLY ENTERTAINING, IF INCREDIBLY MINDLESS.
*I like Nathan Drake, but he's a white male with a stubble. Tell me that hasn't been done before, and by everyone. Why can't he be a Tamil with a stubble, or an Albanian with a mohawk? Better yet, why not a bearded and mohawked fisher from the Seychelles?