Nox™

Nox is such a fine game that I'm surprised more people haven't heard of it. It is a top-down action rpg in the same strain as Diablo and Magicka, but there are several things about it that stand out: 1. Intuitive controls and fast-paced action. Movement is one of the nicest aspects of Nox-- your character faces where you move your cursor and holding the right-click makes him walk in that direction. Holding your cursor farther from your character makes him run faster and holding it closer makes him slow down. You'll want to keep your fingers on the hotkeys for quick access to your favorite special abilities because once the monsters come, don't let up. 2. Good learning curve. This is more true of the warrior class and the conjurer class in my opinion, but no matter what this game is good to beginners. You begin with short and fun kill-the-pests missions, but slowly complexity builds on simple foundations. 3. Great replay value. Not only do the three classes offer uniquely enjoyable styles of play, but the missions and storyline differ significantly as well. One might almost say that Nox is three games based in the same world. Each game is long enough to satisfy but not so long that it drags on. I think very highly of Nox and rank it in my top 10 or 15 all-time favorites. Most people I've let play the game who didn't like it aren't really the type of people who would appreciate this genre anyway, but if you're into this sort of thing at all then your $6 is going to go a long way.

First of all the technical state is really lacking and you need to install the Nox Solution unofficial patch to even play it with sound on modern systems. I loved it back in the day of Diablo 2, but unlike that game this aged really poorly. I still enjoy the game mechanics, but the game is overly long for the few quirks it has up it's sleeve, the story is too basic and some of the enemy/combat designs are just frustrating. The difficulty is pretty hardcore for the modern audience.

A nice game where you can play as: 1. Wizard - low life, must constantly backtrack to get mana from crystals, hostile to warriors. Remember to buy all spell books you can get. Other items are much less important. You can read spell books with the same spell up to 3 times to get higher level of the spell. 2. Conjurer - similar to wizard, but can also conjure creatures and use bow/crossbow, neutral towards wizards and warriors. I recommend this class for the first play. 3. Warrior - you can finish the game quite fast with this class because you do not have to refill mana. He is hostile towards wizards. There are some differences between campaigns for each class, but about 70% is the same, so the game gets quite repetitive after the first campaign is finished. A small disadvantage is that when you gain a level, the game automatically increases stats of your character and there is no choice for the player. There are three technical issues on Windows 10: 1. Before you run it, set "Windows 98/Windows Me" compatibility mode for both Game.exe and NOX.EXE. 2. If for any reason, the game minimizes, when you go back to it, you will only see a black screen. When it happens, press quick save key (F2) and kill the game in task manager. 3. Nox does not support high resolutions. I recommend setting the highest resolution available and screen stretching in your graphic card options (with screen center everything is very small, and it is hard to see anything) These issues might be fixed with OpenNox, but I have not tried it.

I bought this one about year after release. Very nice game with good graphics and interesting gameplay. There are some options you won't find in TL or Magicka f.e. you have to repair your gear. I would say Nox was the only real competition to Diablo/Diablo2/Dungeon Siege, but it was not too advertised (at least i couldn't see it then). Well all I can say is go get it and see what you have missed ;-)

At first, I enjoyed this game greatly. I hadn't play this game earlier, so there wasn't any nostalgia at play that could cloud my judgement. The plot is somewhat linear and straightforward, but engaging, an the gameplay is really addictive. For a time, at least. What irritated me to the point I actually stopped playing? - inventory; it's a mess, believe me. In most RPGs you have your backpack + your body, so whatever you put on, it dissapears form the backpack. Not in Nox. You click on the item you want to use (shield, boots etc) and it highlights, but it stays in the backpack? By the time you have a lot of items in your inventory finding the ones you are using and the ones for sale or use at a later time is not so easy anymore. - Durability. A lot of RPGs has that item characteristic, but in none I've played before I actually got an item destroyed during a quest, before I could get to a shop to repair it! So you have 3 choices: 1) when an item is almost broken you stop wearing it and continue to play without it (making you weaker, with lesser armor); 2) you play having 2 or 3 items of each kind but then you have little place for items you find on a quest and the profit from the loot is really small; 3) you don't care and let the items be destroyed which for me is not an option at all! I stopped playing Nox altogether and got back to Diablo II, to reasonable inventory and items that are not so breakable that they can be destroyed in the span of one quest...