Nox™

A hidden gem from the time when Diablo 2 came out, this game was unjustly overlooked in favor of its AAA cousin. While, at its core, it is a typical hack&slash RPG, there are enough ideas of its own to put it above the crowd. First, and the most important - there are no procedurally generated levels. While this does limit replayability, it allows for more focused and clear single player campaign. The game is not a one-shot thing, though. Each of the three classes has a distinct story, with different places to visit at start and endgame, so it's worth to do a play-through for each class. Speaking of the classes, they are well defined and play very differently from each other. The warrior is an in-your-face melee fighter, while the mage (as expected) is staying outside the fray, using his spells to a devastating effect, and the Conjurer uses traps and summons in order to fight his enemies. This clear distinction comes at a heavy price, however, and this is my main gripe with the game. Class levels are pretty much locked (you usually level up at predefined locations in the story), and on leveling up you only get to select which new skill/spell to learn. There are no skill trees - by the end you will unlock all skills for your class. This means that there is no reason at all to replay the game with the same class again. Good things can be said about the engine - it looks beautiful for a 2000-ish hack&slash game, and there are nice physics (try dumping over a table, for instance). All in all, a highly recommended game for both fans of Diablo and not-too-story-heavy RPGs.

Playing Nox is like dashing through an obstacle course coated in the best of high fantasy trappings. You'll test your mettle against devious traps, exploding fireballs, hordes of wizards and skeletons galore in this isometric action game. Its strongest feature is the solid mouse and hotkey gameplay that still holds up 10 years after Nox's retail release. While Nox may be light on story and tease you with its RPG-like appearance, a fast-paced momentum and filled with fun gameplay will propel you to the end of the game's three unique campaigns. For the longest time Nox has been mislabeled as a Diablo clone. However, it's core design is completely different than Blizzard's hack and slash title. The Diablo series' mainstay has always been: character progression, randomized dungeons and the constant search for better loot. Nox takes a much different approach. Its dungeons are hand-crafted, finely tuned levels filled with devious traps. As you weave Jack through spinning spike pillars the game even becomes more reminiscent of a platformer minus the verticality. And while Nox might appear to have loot, these items function similarly to snagging some proximity grenades in Bioshock 2 or grabbing an armor pack in Doom 3. You're not worried about stat distribution so much as having a tool to get the job done. The three character classes (Warrior, Conjurer, and Wizard) have their own unique abilities but you won't be spending experience points or studying skill trees. Each spell and ability is handed out or available for purchase at predetermined points in the game similar to a title like Darksiders although they'll be strictly used as implements of combat and not for puzzle solving. Each of the three classes has its own unique campaign, so while Jack might begin his warrior adventure running the gauntlet at lava-riddled Dun Mir. Were Jack to choose the Conjurer campaign he'd first start in a series of wilderness caverns until he came upon the village of Brin. While each class has a few unique stages, the gameplay designers were able to smartly recycle some of their level content by introducing the maps in different story contexts, with vastly different enemy placement, and simply by the strength and uniqueness of each characters' skill set. For instance, as a Conjurer fighting your way up the Tower of Illusion you'll test your wits against devilish fire imps that have invaded each floor. While in the Warrior's story the Wizards still inhabit the tower and have laid numerous traps and have no qualms about fleeing to regroup or simply teleporting away. I had the most fun with the Conjurer class who can summon beasts to his aide simply because I felt I had more options thanks to his numerous spells and bow and arrow. The Warrior plays like your more typical click-fest but has fun abilities such as a harpoon that can drag a necromancer closer for a melee stab. It is extremely satisfying to smash a Wizard to instant death with his battle charge, however, if you miss you'll be stunned when you smack the wall. I watched my girlfriend play as the Wizard (an RPG class that I typically loathe) as she laid lightning traps and ran from undead warriors, halting on occasion to fire the quick fireball. The Wizard class definitely will test your shooter skills as you won't be able to stand toe-to-toe with any of the game's stronger enemies. Nox revels in its linearity, constantly pushing you forward down the next cave or through the next crypt. In fact the game, really loses its way when it attempts some typical rpg fetch quests like in Baldur's Gate. You'll be wandering around unsure of where the jail is actually located or where to find the mayor to progress the game forward. Luckily these moments are sparse but they do stand out. Typically in Nox you'll always be moving forward. If you're backtracking to town to sell stuff, you're playing the game wrong. From my experience, Nox's adventure is finely tuned to keep the player pushing forward to her next objective, kill, or new ability. While sometimes I felt my resources to be strained I felt extremely satisfied to have completed a stage with all of my armor destroyed and be left in my t-shirt and jeans. Action games aren't celebrated for their storylines but Nox's serviceable tale features an unlikely hero who must battle a rising evil that can't be bested even the strongest of the land's heroes. As Jack, you'll see wizards and warriors slain by Hecubah and her necromancers and on more than one occasion she'll oddly let you survive and walk away with no explanation. But who cares, the game is about fun fantasy action and the story's backdrop works just fine even if it isn't Planescape: Torment. Its character and level art are on par with the Infinity Engine games and better in some spots. The spiders have great death animations and there's nothing better than seeing your character get zapped out of existence by a purple death beam. The gameworld features numerous objects that scatter the ground such as rocks, benches, apples, and barrels that can all be pushed and jostled about by your character's movements or even the splash damage of a fireball. These small details add a real weight to the world and your interactions in it. Nox is a special action title that unfortunately was overlooked by many. Once you're in its world its hard not to yearn to smash open walls for hidden caves or want to push onwards through the next set of dungeon traps. Its action is fast and responsive and you'll never feel cheated by any of the gameplay mechanics. While in some sections you might be dying quite often, you'll just be challenged to approach the encounter with a different tactic to find success. Its a testament to the game's overall design that it is still as playable today in 2010 as it was when first released. Unlike games like Fallout 2 which have since aged horribly with clunky interfaces and gameplay. I would highly recommend Nox to anyone that wants to jolt through bear caves, ogre huts, and even wander into the lair of the weirdling. Just watch out for those traps and fire imps. Oh, and you won't be needing your twenty-sided die. It'll just get in the way.

Released under the shadow of Diablo 2, this game went largely unnoticed. That's a sad thing, because this is one of the best games I've ever played. Now before you scoff and say, "surely, sir, your nostalgia goggles cloud your judgment. Good day!" Wait. I played this game for probably 6 or 7 years, I'm not quite sure, until the official servers went offline. Now before you scoff and say, "surely, sir, since the servers have gone down this game has severely dropped in value. I must again bid you good day." Wait. There are others like me, who know the greatness that is Nox. Check out www.noxforum.net The official servers are down, yes, but there are always dedicated fans to great games struggling to keep the community alive. If you're not to be troubled dealing with all of that, though, know that the single player is well worth the price. Instead of, say, Diablo, where you choose whatever class and you go through the one storyline, each class here has a separate story, levels, etc. It's all class-specific where you go and who you meet. Different ending for every class. Still not convinced? Well, look, the game plays absurdly fluidly. You move with your right mouse button and attack with your left, but it's not like you click a spot and wait for your character to get there. You click close to your character and he immediately begins walking towards the cursor. Drag it further away and he runs. Spacebar to jump. This is a very fast-paced and twitch-based game (largely what made multiplayer so fun). You have to aim your spells, arrows, your warrior charge. There are no dice rolls. There is only practice and skill. Also, every class has multiple play styles. Whether you use Death Ray and Teleport as a Wizard or choose to utilize other spells like Missles of Magic or Lightning, you have your options. Just skip your Mickey D's trip today, and get this game. You'll be too entertained to eat anyways.

Nox is like Diablo in that it's an action RPG. Ignore everyone who says it's a clone or a rip off, because the fact that genres are the same is all they have in common. The setting, characters, story, weapons, quests, etc. are very different. It's a campy game with great humor and excellent gameplay mechanics. The story is nothing to write home about, but it could be good if you're in the mood for it. Jack is the main hero, and you can customize the colour of his hair, skin and clothes (which is irrelevant when you start getting armor) but not his sex or appearance. There are three different classes to pick for him (Warrior, Conjurer, Wizard), each with their own separate starting areas. Multiplayer was fun but it's nonexistent now. Luckily the single player stands out on its own. The game is challenging but never unfair. The skills and spells you get throughout useful and fun to use, even right at the beginning of the game. Nox is a fantastic game, but one that no-one really paid attention to when it first came out. I found it in the bargain bin of a Blockbuster a year after the game came out. It came shrink wrapped with a Goosebumps point and click adventure game that was more terrible than you could ever imagine. I bought the "bundle" because it was only $10 for two games and I thought Nox looked pretty cool. I also noticed it was developed by Westwood Studios, and I was going through a mad Red Alert 2 phase at the time. I was right to buy the game. I liked the controls, liked the graphics (which still look great for a 2D isometric game), and how well the game flowed from area to area. I don't think I can stres enough how great this game is, even now. If you can play Diablo, you can play this gem. If you need to get your action rpg fix, get this game. It's great, it's cheap, it's fast, it's fun, it's funny - go for it!