Summoner

I have this on ps2, from when it was released. wow like... this game really is amazing, if you don't mind the classic look its rich with story and gameplay, the levelling is good and spells and things you can do with your party is amazing. I am however saddened that they don't have summoner 2 on gog. It was truly the best. look into it if you like this one

I don't understand the flaws some see in this game. Sure, it's no Skyrim, but these games are more than a decade apart. Graphics is a thing of taste - I personally liked it a lot, though it wasn't perfect like in Final Fantasy. The music is very good, just to name the boss fight theme or Wolong Cave as my favourites. The game has an original and compelling mythology, which is rare nowadays. The story and the setting is a very strong point of the game. Reaver894 wrote here on GoG in a review that some side quests are too long. Well, isn't solving the plotline and doing sidequests all part of RPG? Personally I'd rather have too much to do at the end of the game, then to do nothing else than the final task for the last 3-6 hrs of playthrough, just like the horrendously linear Final Fantasy XIII. Luckily, Summoner comes from a time when the main plot didn't end after less 20-hrs of playing like some games today. To be fair: I can understand that some don't like the user interface - I've seen better myself, but it doesn't make playing a chore and one can get used to it. The chaining system can be quickly learned, and it doesn't seem too stupid since a blockbuster like The Witcher, made a decade later, also uses a attck chaining system. Spells and Summons can be assigned to hot keys. Granted, that to some, searching for the quest givers to collect just rewards can be tedious, BUT NOT TO OLD SCHOOL RPG-ers. I still have my retail PC copy and I tend to go back to the game from time to time (Summoner still works under NT Windows types like Windows 7). Last time, 2 years ago, I made it a point of honor to go complete every quest and max out all characters - I'm a completionist. If you're an old school gamer I'm confident you'll be happy with Summoner, despite some elements that may have been made better. Still, the Volition of the old (under Interplay) is a trademark associated with great games (like Freespace 2). If you're younger than 20 and like challenges, do dare to try Summoner.

After approximately 33 hours in the game I reached the end titles. I didn't solve a lot of side quests. The game ends with a horrible boss fight. Without the help of youtube vids I would never have been able to play through. I needed several attemps over decades to get familiar. The game has some weak points, but in my point of view it is a milestone of gaming industry. It always feels like a console port, but a very good one. It is filled with lifeblood in each corner. I don't want to debate a star. Pros: - charming colourful presentation - collecting mania works - pressing spacebar you can pause the game and give orders - good soundtrack - good story - good voice acting - interesting char building concept - possibility to use special buttons in the hud for spells - diversified gameplay - the game ran stable on each windows system I had - low system requirements Cons: - confusing to get the orientation in main city Lenele - you often don't know what to do next and where to go - often complicated quest goals - sometimes bad overview - without help of youtube vids I would never have reached the end titles - often too much to read - totally awful last boss fight without having the possibility to save

Volition has never shied away from trying their hands at new genres, and Summoner is their take on a more lightweight CRPG. You get to control a party of four, whose pathfinding is surprisingly good, complete with inventory managment, skills, and spells, and being tasked with lots of quests in larger areas plastered across a world map. Conceptually, Summoner is quite similar to something like Baldur's Gate, albeit nowhere near as deep. The plot isn't particularly interesting, and even though there is plenty of lore and world building, the mundane writing makes it hard to muster an interest in any of it. Regardless, the gameplay manages to hold one's interest just fine for two thirds of the game: The cities are large and sprawling, and you're constantly getting new quests, levels, gear, and abilities to try out during combat. There is even a level of interactivity present, as somewhat similarly to Witcher 1, you need to click at the right time to chain your attacks, with the timing window getting increasingly smaller. There is also a decent level of variety, as even stealth sections with plenty of backstabbing and lockpicking going on are mandatory parts of the game. During the last third of the game, Summoner does lose most of its steam, however. At this point, you're only revisiting familiar locations, actual upgrades for your characters no longer happen, and weaknesses in the design become apparent. Quests often amount to "find item X," and that item usually is hidden in a remote spot or random encounter on the world map, and finding it can be difficult even when consulting a walkthrough. Occasionally, the camera can also be annoying, and the constant fights against respawning enemies are just tedious instead of challenging. Summoner is a long game, and towards the end, you just want it to end. Still, there is fun to be had in Summoner, and aside from two crashes, I had no technical issues, either.

A fantastic rpg, can be repetitive through grinding but still a great game!