Venetica - Gold Edition

This game felt like it lacked a lot of polish, which is a shame, because it could've been a really decent RPG. The enemy variety is sorely lacking, there were some minor bugs and some game breaking bugs, and some of the scenes are just hilarious in a bad way. Especially the protagonist's "Vader NOOOO" whenever something really bad happened. The game felt quite challenging during the early levels, but the final boss was a complete disappointment, he had been built up throughout the game as this bad-ass that could end you without breaking a sweat, and then when you finally get to him, he goes down easier than some of the minions. In that sense, this game had a real Game of Thrones sort of feeling to it, a great start ruined by what felt like a halfhearted, rushed ending.

Pros: - It's so nice after so many huge generic open worlds (Assassin's Creed for example) to walk through small hub worlds where everything is handcrafted and makes sense. - Nice graphics for a game of that time - good controls with mouse and keyboard - you always know what you have to do next, you don't get lost - on easy difficulty it's even for non combat experienced players like me manageable - good voice acting (English version) - exploration is fun and interesting Cons: - Minor bugs here and there, but nothing game breaking - sound is sometimes to quiet, be it voice acting or sound effects - a few times the voice actors changed in one dialogue which was very weird - rewards for exploration are nothing special most of the time I did every quest, I found all the treasure, and it took me about 30 hours on easy, I took my time exploring every inch of the maps. I was surprised by Venetica, and I must say that I really enjoyed playing it!

You get to guide Charlize Theron through a fantasy renaissance Venice in this action RPG. It's worth the price of admission just for that. Hack some, slash some, explore some, talk to NPCs, do quests, and at the end, save the world. The game is very a well put together for a "single-A", lower budget title. ++ engaging atmosphere + a story interesting enough to keep playing + good characters + voice acted well + some interesting game mechanics + good visual design (concept, not graphics) Really the only negative(s) I can really mention: - graphics are quite dated (they were at release, too, not just compared to today), except maybe the protagonist, who is actually done quite well, facial expressions, hair physics and all - some backtracking is necessary, as you acquire new skills, but still not to an annoying level Combat is not complicated at all, it boils down to simple comboing+dodging. Not that challenging, but still somehow satisfying. Skills and stats don't play a huge role. Fairly easy to figure out which are useful skills, which are useless. There are enough skill points to max out the useful ones. It does make the overall impression, that its creators had a clear vision, a solid plan to make it happen, and executed on it without fail. They knew what they were making, they knew it was not the next Gothic or Witcher. It doesn't break new ground, doesn't distinguish itself with anything, but what it does, it does really well. No game-breaking bugs, simple but clear UI, smooth controls. It's just a solid overall experience. Definitely recommended, maybe even at it's current full price of 10 EUR. That's about 2-3 big Milka-s, and you'll get more enjoyment out of this game. Show 0 hours for me, because I played it on Linux w/ bottles (very few minor issues), so I can't comment on either the Steam or the Windows experience.

I wasn't even expecting this game, got it most likely for free on a giveaway, as many people do with games. On a boring weekend I decided to fire it up, and was not disappointed. For the time (2009) this game would look nice. Graphics do still hold up to some extent, or I'm just nostalgic for that style. The city of Venice (where most of the game takes place) was a really unique setting, and I enjoyed trekking and exploring all it had to offer. It was visually stunning too, at times. Had plenty of time to enjoy the scenery with the low frames in places. You play as Scarlet, a girl from a small village in the mountains of a mysterious world. Best I could describe it is "another chosen one story" but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of it in the slightest. During her adventure, she can use a variety of weapon types. That was genuinely surprising. 4 perfectly functional gameplay styles avaliable at a press of a button. Combat is smooth, but does feel boring after 20 hours or so. Lots of dodging and hoping the enemy won't be able to block your attacks. There's also magic available, but I haven't used it much. Seems like an afterthought, most of it is closely tied with your plot and character progression. The story was satisfying, full of memorable characters, but I wouldn't say it rivals any of the known variants. Pretty run of the mill, enjoyable to a point. Ending seemed rushed, and thus I decided to rush through it too. There is something to be said about the bugs and the glitches that can have you be stuck in the skybox forever. But with a little bit of elbow grease, it can be a really enjoyable experience. I can compare it to Arcania, but I feel like this actually justified itself being an RPG. And way more playable. Cheaper, too! Recommended for mid-2000s RPG buffs.

I really enjoyed this while it was playable. There is a lot going for it with the rpg elements and story and good playability. Unfortunately it's riddled with bug that ultimately make it uplayable. Litterally. The sound bug is irritating (have to reset volume every time you load the game). The erratic dodge bug is really annoying and makes combat much less enjoyable and tactical. The random crashing that can happen is really bad, and the fact that this can get stuck in a location until you find the spirit world hack to get through the glitched location (which is only temporary until you pass it) was nearly the end of things the first time. But then the game comes to an end at the first boss fight. Even once you find out the first trick to why the fight is an impassible death trap (and really, that was a design flaw because with no prior incident of that mechanic how could you figure it out without the internet?), then you are faced with a seemingly impossible fight that goes on and on and on and on... It's a rare untriggerable mechanic that lets you make any progress in the fight, and a half hour fight of mostly running around waiting for random chance is not fun. But then the game crashes after 20 minutes of the fight and you're just done because who wants to put up with that again. Real bummer, I wanted to see where it went once you got into the city, but I personally do not have the patience for an unstable game with this level of frustration factor.