Hey all, just wanting to shed some light on this little gem that isn't getting much coverage, but is surprisingly good.
Drakensang is playing like a mix between NWN and Gothic. It has the atmosphere and setting very similar to the Gothic series, meaning your usual brand of orcs, goblins, wild boars to kill and dwarves, elves and the like as your allies. Yes, it doesnt score points for originality, but the feel of this game is just right. I feel like I'm playing something from the Arx Fatalix/Morrowind/Gothic 2 era. And that, my friends, is GOOD. The maps are all hand drawn, and reveal themselves as you explore the areas, the interface for levelling is good, with a ton of stats , talents and skill trees to absorb yourself in as you progress through the game.
So sounds kind of like your typical Gothic/Elder Scrolls game so far, doesn't it? Well while that would have been fine and dandy, the developers took a page from D&D/NWN(the game is actually based on a European Board Game similar to D&D), and implemented a party system(max of 4)so you can bring along allies with you. These again are the typical classes, such as Rogues, Mages, Rangers, Fighters,etc, but there are a few somewhat unique ones, and from playing a few classes through the starting area(A Healing Mage, a Metamage(Necro), and a Fighter), they all have unique skills that should please all rpgers who love rolling many alts. The battle, lockpicking, trapfinding systems are all very similar to D&D, with a dice rolling system in place. There are quite a few elements going on for battles, and its almost MMO-esque in the sense that you can shoot for parry/dodge builds and be a solid tank, or go straight for the glass cannon 2handed sword dps dealer. All the while having the support of three other characters to buff you, heal you, pick locks for you, etc. Another page from recent MMOs is that you have hotbars to assign skills to at the bottom of the screen, to assign special skills, spells, potions, etc for quick and easy use. There is also a gathering and crafting system in this game(havent gotten too far into it yet), but so far it seems on par with something youd see in WoW, LOTR, etc.
Now I don't want to deceive you all - this is a lower budget game, so there are rough edges, mainly the animations and camera. Thankfully they are both small gripes(and honestly not all that bad), and only really an issue when you compare them to more recent games. Any oldschool rpg'er will know that bad animations and cameras were part of the game 5-10 years ago. Thats not what mattered. Once you figure out how to control the camera in a 3rd person perspective with the mouse, and move with wasd, it gets much easier. If you want though, you can pull back, and play it semi-isometric, with click to move functions. The game doesnt have full voice-overs, but again, this almost adds to the old-school feel. The VOs that are in the game are quite good actually(a few bad ones though, mainly the intro narrator), and the music so far is typical of the genre. I've only heard a few pieces so far, but they suit the mood/feel so far. There has also been talk of some nasty save game bug that corrupts saves, but looking into it, it looks like if you save in many different slots and save often, youll be ok. Lesson learned from playing Gothic right there. :P
So yeah, havent even talked about graphics, because they are imo the least important piece of a good rpg. But you'll be happy to know that this game actually looks fantastic so far. I'm particularly impressed by the dungeons I've been in, the detail is really great, and adds to the immersion of the overall package. Which only costs $29.99 by the way. I wrote a lot more than I expected to here, but I think its because Ive been dissapointed in RPG's of late, and stumbling on a gem like this one has reminded why I'm so fond of RPG's in the first place. If you're in the same boat, then definitely check this game out!
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