At first, I thought: "Cool an interactive map, why haven't I read anything about this earlier?" Then I read this: "Note that the interactive map is available only through an external website, so an internet connection is necessary in order to access it." You've got to be Fckuin' kidding me! Was in my cart before I scrolled down to that bit; no, just no!
This game does what it says it does and does it well! It is a hardcore game meant for the upper echelon of gamer and it shows, in both the design and difficulty, so this review is not for the choir as the game's tailor made for the HCGamer; so by all means get the game if you consider yourself as one of them, you won't be disappointed... For those who are not; read on as a warning. I gave the game 3 stars as it does not mislead gamers in the slightest of what it is and it is well designed for those type of gamer, just prepare yourself for the chore of 5-10 minute individual battles and 1-2 hour preparations into your character and the game, as it takes serious commitment and free time as you'll spend 2-4 hours easily just with the first town alone if you don't touch the difficulty/spawn rate settings! (Ironic as the maps are small compared to EotB/Wizards and warriors/UUW/the bard's tale trilogy!) The game is a grueling challenge for those that are not addicted to challenge, as this game is not made for you; I do love the character generation aspect, the gorgeous artwork and glorious UI, the feel of the classics won me over as well as the overall game itself, but it was the difficulty for difficulty's sake that made me take off two stars, I prefer wizards & Warriors/EotB/Grimrock's/UUW's difficulty curve instead! (And the bandits have the most irritating sounds I ever heard in a videogame!) TLDR: Get this game if you're a HCGaming masochist: +3 stars; but stay clear if you're not: -2 stars!
The balance issues I'm referring to are the med-packs and 80% hit rolls from the enemies which means you cannot avoid injuries and seeing as there's no healer skill/spell you're going to rely on prohibitively expensive med packs and rare med-pack drops within missions, sometimes forcing a premature mission exit... otherwise, I'm enjoying the game so far, if the devs were to lower the price and increase the frequency on the med-kit drops then this would be a 5-star game!
This is an insult to all CRPG fans out there, sure you could get away with this via JRPGs but not for traditional CRPGs; plus, the Asians look like half Asian, which is bad because they were most likely going for full Asian. But to only offer SIX!? You'd be better off making your own from the thousands of FREE portraits out in the either! beam dog ought to be banned from PC gaming and only develop for consoles! Damn how I miss Interplay, SSI, and Westwood!
