Consistency apparently wasn't a big word over at Dingo Games
First, I'd like to state that I always seek out lesser known games to play, in the hopes of finding that burrowed gem in a pack of flashy, heavily marketed products. Who wants to play games everyone else is playing or games you already know are good and/or build on a concept done a million times before? I, for one, always look out for games that slumber underneath it all and usually a good story will lead me to that. If that story is accompanied by fairly decent graphics, gameplay and the likes, all the better!
Created by a small company, Dingo Games, this quirky RPG hopes to immerse us into an epic tale, narrated through d'Artagnan, who seeks out the King's guards in hopes of leading an honourable and rich life. In his quest d'Artagnan will meet friends and foes, join up with the Musketeers and fight for the glory of France and the glory of the King!
Throughout my gaming experience and my review I kept in mind that small companies don't have a lot to work with. That shouldn't let them of the hook to create a decent game, but at least cut them some slack.
Though the game shows a lot of good intentions and ideas, most of them will be flawed or even worse, not implemented well at all.
Let's talk gameplay!
Right of the bat, let's jump into a major flaw I found striking about this game: Stealing!
I know almost every RPG has looting as a way to find items and gain some coins and whatnot, but d'Artagnan shows no shame to steal whatever and whenever he can. That's just wrong. I would've much rather seen all this looting data converted in something serving the story or gameplay some purpose. A better fighting system, more character building, a deeper plot, anything really. They obviously looked at any old RPG and got lazy on this one. In a world where honour and reputation are king, how did they think they could justify this. I know d'Artagnan was rough around the edges and considered a rebel, but rebellion does not mean acting like a downright lout. And to make matters worse, in a world filled with Cardinal guards, Musketeers, private guards and sentinels, no one bothers to take offence to all this stealing! Not even in front of their own eyes!
"I say, Monsieur, you seem to be stealing from my coffers." "That's okay, I'm a reputable character.."
As this is a rather large aspect to this game, I really got bothered by it, but in spirit of pursuing my glory, I kept on!
Now let's dive into a more overall view. The game consists of all very simple RPG facets. There's a levelling plan, 3 different stats, some battling, items to acquire and/or loot, cities to discover, some dialogues and quests to be done.
Most of these aspects merely skim the surface, where other RPG's would go further.
The three stats consist of a generic attack and defence bar and another bar for a more original honour setting. This honour setting is actually the only thing that will be of any relevance as the attack and defence don't seem to have any effect on gameplay.
In ancient France everything was related to honour and this is portrayed relatively well here, apart from the large stealing flaw mentioned earlier. Let's try and get over that and pretend that in this odd universe massive theft is acceptable.
The more honour your character amasses, the more pleasant your game experience will become. Not only will people gain more respect for you and address you as such, but you will also be able to draw away from the main story line and do certain side quests, if you can meet the prerequisite and more importantly, if you can find them!
The levelling is bland to say the least. When you do some fighting, you'll level your 3 stats, but nothing of that matter will see a difficulty curve towards gameplay. As you level, fighting will remain equally hard, so to speak and nothing else will be affected. No prerequisite for certain items, no stronger opponents or area's, nothing. Therefore, it isn't rewarding at all to level up and it will be a commodity when fighting and sometimes even a slight annoyance taking you away from the story.
The battle system is awfully simple and battles are usually a very boring display in which the only interaction you can really do is choose an opponent and sometimes click on him when appropriate.
All battling goes automatically. You click your opponent and the fencing gentlemen go at it until death do them part.
You can interact in some ways, like taking a potion when hurt or changing opponents, but the only useful interaction is clicking an opponent when he is sweating. When an opponent sweats it's a sign that he is having trouble keeping up in the battle. That's d'Artagnan's cue to attack him for a devastating blow. If you click your sweating opponent before he regains his calm, d'Artagnan will land an automatic hit on the distressed foe and usually kill the poor soul, except if he's a stronger opponent.
Apart from that, most battles boil down to who has the most endurance or in this case healing ointments and waiting for a battle to end is usually quite dull. There's an added twist when firearms come into play, but these usually require such a long loading time that they aren't effective at all.
And again, it's not like battles become easier or harder when you gain experience, everything stays exactly the same!
I found it occasionally amusing to teach some ruffians a lesson along the roadside, but that's only if you enjoy this quirky addition.
This could've been significantly improved with a simple active battling system like in Sid Meier's Pirates, where you can choose to hit up, down or in the middle, but frankly, any interaction would've done the trick.
All questing and regarding dialogue is painfully straight forward and simple, certainly with the addition of yellow footsteps leading you to your next goal. Though this is a curse and a blessing as you usually get no clear indication of what to do and you have no quest log. A small arrow on your map might tell you a bit more, luckily, but the footsteps help you when your lost. I advise turning them off when you feel like you want to roam a bit. Not that roaming will do you any good most of the time as, apart from sporadic side quests, nothing will interact with you if it isn't the right time.
An example I thought to be odd, was that I cheekily to decide and visit Monsieur de Tréville before it was time to do so. The man looked me dead in the face and said: "Who the hell are you?" When I returned to him moments later at the appropriate time, it's like he knew me all my life. Poor man seems to be stricken with temporary amnesia. Dark times in aristocratic France!
Also, in the beginning your father gives you an old and decrepit horse. Your character remarks he'd like to sell it, to which your father heavily objects. When you reach the horse salesman, you automatically sell it anyway. You don't even get the choice to honour your father's wishes! This deadlocked straight forwardness was rather annoying and I would've liked to see that done a bit otherwise.
Other than that, most other ideas are simple at best.
Items will make you better, though no noticeable change will occur. Except your character will be seen wearing them; a trait I've always liked. Nothing more annoying to me than equipping a whole array of items and always seeing your character portrayed in the same generic manner. When I put on a hat on Monsieur d'Artagnan I expect him to wear it with pride! not being given a proper character screen or interface, this was the least they could do.
Choices given will usually lead nowhere relevant and only the correct choice will trigger something else.
There is a map that is given to you that will show you either your location in France and which other to visit or if you zoom in, it will give you a more detailed view of the city and show you your next quest. It might be simple, but at least here the simplicity is effective as map doesn't get confusing by too much information and yet all you need is shown on it. In most places you won't really need it, but in times you do, it will be a handy assistance to your goal.
Stricken by many flaws, even the storyline doesn't quite add up to what it's supposed to be. Oh sure, they stick to the novel fairly well and most the characters are true to their literary form, but that should be a given. If you're going to make a game about a book, you're not going to go overboard with your freedom, you will be sticking to what it already there.
But apart from that, the game sees shortcomings in accuracy. For instance, they've implemented one of very sporadic mini-games in the game with a tennis game. One can debate the accuracy of ancient tennis with modern variations, but I think they could have at least called it "pelote', 'squash' or something more appropriate, as it had more of these aspects to actual tennis.
The mini-game is rather awfully but together, by the way. the controls are fairly awkward and it doesn't make it any fun to play.
Also, though I found it quite amusing, the battles over honour aren't that logical. You can, for example, step in an argument where a lady is being hassled by some young hoodlum. The mere mention of an insult and you can chose to end this ruffians life! No motive or pondering needed; En garde!
Hereby added that you fight a large amount of story characters and even more Cardinal guards, as the rancour between the King and Cardinal Richelieu continues, you find yourself killing hundreds and hundreds of people. Mass murders over insults!
I could cope with the fact that honour was rather big in those times, but how can you condone stealing someone's every possession and then murder someone over one word? Consistency apparently wasn't a big word over at Dingo Games.
They would have none of it, good sir!
Graphics are very simple and childish, but that shouldn't bother anyone. For one, it's a small game and secondly I rather enjoy hand drawn childish graphics than a failed attempt at professional CGI. In any case, it's a story, so this illustrates it decently enough.
What did bother me though was the somewhat cruddy animation of horse riding. And since d'Artagnan can only walk, you'll want to do some horse riding from time. Another aspect that could've been solved by simply having d'Artagnan run or walk faster. But, luckily, the horse can also simply follow you if you get tired of it.
So, does that mean that the game isn't worth your time and should be shunned? Well, that's a hard question to answer, because on one hand you do have a slew of downsides.
Let's have a quick look at what the game does do right before shooting it down, or better put, ending it's life by the sword.
First off, the entire game was saved by the soundtrack it procures. Though again it is very simple and the one track it has might start to annoy you, it is perfect travelling/adventure music and the music in overall captivates the mood of the game perfectly. And just when you think you can't stand it any more, you'll walk into a house that will play another catchy renaissance tune perfectly fit for that establishment. Of course, that alone can't justify a game, you'll need more.
The storyline is quite interesting to follow and despite it's shortcomings, it will keep you absorbed for a while as you'll want to know what happens next.
Here and there, you will find some dialogues with a bit of tongue-in-cheek. Because though these times were all about class and integrity on the outside, people will always have a bit of a naughty side. Adulterous priests, sarcastic servants and more will cross your path if you care where to look.
As the dialogues become tedious, the game also implements small panels in which a scene is put in comic book fashion. This illustrates some acts a lot better than the top down view and conversation bubbles could ever do. they are a nice addition and keep the story fresh to follow.
The map and footsteps guide will keep you focused on your quests and you'll always know exactly where to go next, even in big cities where you are more free to roam.
Side quests, though hard to find, are a good way to set your mind on other things when you get bored. You can also try some mini-games or battle random encounters when you find them. Added to this, the honour bar was a nice touch to the RPG feel otherwise lost in this game.
It all boils down to this: Should you play it, yes or no?
No, generally I wouldn't think anyone is waiting out for a game such as this. It might have a few positive sides to it, but in general all ideas could have been worked out so much better, it's a shame to see those good aspects being drowned in a wide variety of downsides.
If, however, you aren't upset by a lot of illogical features and you just want to pass some time with a simple RPG adventure without having to go to deeply into statistics and character building and the likes, this story will keep you amused just long enough before you tire of it. You should be able to complete it in less than 6 hours, 10 if you're roaming and do some side quests. Only die hard RPG fans and happy-go-lucky casual gamers will need apply, I'm afraid.
I bid you good day, Monsieur. Or more so, Adieu!