Spellforce offers the promising blend of RPG and RTS elements. Unfortunately, the game simply isn't very exciting. The plot moves along at a snale's pace, the unit/resource production is tedious, and the empty maps are barren of any personality. The game's biggest problem is that there are relatively little RPG elements to the game, and the much more prevalent RTS elements are stale and dated. One interesting feature the game does have is the unique method for gaining new unit types; unit plans must be discovered in chests or on bodies. Unfortunately, this is the only highlight of the game. While hardcore RTS fans will probably enjoy this one, others should stay far away. Get Lords of Magic: Special Edition instead. That is a game that truly combines RPG and RTS (or RTT) elements to create something truly engaging.
What starts off as a slow-moving Zelda-clone becomes much more in this cult classic from Michael Ancel, the creator of Rayman. The storyline centers on Jade, a photographer who is caught in an interstellar conspiracy. Without giving the story away and with the game being a strong Zelda-clone (the first boss is even a clone of the Fire Temple boss from Ocarina of Time!), one must understand that what sets this game apart is just how skillfully designed and artistically brilliant this game is. Beyond Good and Evil is simply a must-have for all gamers.
After playing Myst (or, more specifically, Real Myst) for the first time, I quickly downloaded Riven. While Riven does have some lovely areas to explore, some great puzzles, and fantastic music, the game itself grows very tedious very quickly. The game picks up where Myst left off: you are to do a favor for Atrus, and then go home. The gameplay begins with the player character aimlessly exploring a series of islands. Unfortunately, this aimless wandering doesn't let up for some time. Pixel hunts are found often, and clues for puzzle solutions are often obscenely vague. Particularly horrendous is the "eyeball puzzle." While Myst did have one or two tedious puzzles (the underwater maze was poorly implemented), it still had some of the greatest puzzles to be found in a game from beginning to end. Riven, on the other hand, does not. Furthermore, Riven has a seemingly non-linear nature: the player can explore several of the aforementioned islands without solving a single puzzle. While this may be nice for the casual crowd, those that actually want to beat the game will find the obscure puzzle solutions and labyrinthine level layout to be headache-inducing. To add insult to injury, this non-linearity is, for the most part, an illusion. Most of the puzzles must be completed in a specific order, and the player will doubtlessly spend many hours wandering about in order to figure out what to do next. Some may find this to be fun. I do not. There is a huge bright side to all of this, however: the presentation. The graphics are great, even in 2010. The entire island seems to come to life with vibrancy and The sound is brilliant as well, and the music is atmospheric and wonderfully composed. It's just a shame that there is no "skip sequence" button, because the player will find himself/herself viewing the same mine cart sequence about fifty times. Nevertheless, the FMV in this game really is great, and the live-action acting is actually pretty good. To conclude, get this game if you are a die-hard fan of Myst clones or a casual gamer looking for some pretty scenery. Otherwise, stay far, far away.
