Nox, to me, was the game that got me into Diablo-like games. Yes, it was a bit of a knock-off but the game did it with style! The humor was very well placed, the feel was so different and everything felt alive in this world. While Diablo 2 felt flat and 2-dimensional, Nox was alive with moveable objects, tough puzzles and exciting gameplay that really drilled home the action and adventure. Breakable objects felt breakable and the lighting effects, at the time, were beautifully done. Movement felt slick and navigation wasn't a chore when you moved. While the character development and customizing was fairly limited, the game didn't need an in depth system to highlight the finer points of the game. Warriors learned special skills on cooldown that made them ridiculously fun to play: Oh how I miss you "GET OVER HERE!" harpoon...so many games have ripped you off to ill-effect. Wizards learned ludicrously (Yes! Ludicrously!) powerful spells while conjurers were a mix of summoner and Wizard. While it was limiting in these fields, the game ensured every spell and skill was satisfying. You often found yourself experimenting with other abilities instead of replacing them quickly and forgetting about the others long gone. What did Nox do that made such a lasting impression? It set you in the shoes of a lone-wanderer cast into a fantasy world with the balance of life and death on the horizon. War was breaking out and you had to bring an end to evil in one of three ways: The Warrior, The Wizard or the Conjurer. The humor was rampant and tongue in cheek and kept the story moving quite quickly. The further you got, the less you wanted to quit. Each path brought a different light on the story. This was one of the first times I felt that my actions made a difference in a game. As a Warrior, you trained with a brotherhood and with Wizards and Conjurers you went to their appropriate areas as well. But what really made this game a blast that so many loved? The multi-player. If I could count the amount of hours I spent playing Capture the Flag or Team Death Match in this game I would easily dwarf my hours in Diablo 2 hands down. It was fast, ferocious and absolutely non-stop fun. When my friends talked about PvP in Diablo 2 I laughed at them and shook my head. THIS was competitive PvP. THIS was an adrenaline rush where everyone had a fair chance. I still hear the sounds of the Force of Nature spell bouncing about in my head like an echo of a time long past. Or the random spell words dancing about a little character as he cast Lightning Bolt. Or the cry of the Warrior harpooning and charging a foe into oblivion. Ah. Those were the days. When PvP meant fun and not frustration. There were the cheap moves that 1 shotted you, but that's what made it so fun. It took skill to use most of them and aiming. Everyone was on a level playing field and people who innovated succeeded! Nox will forever have a place in my heart. It was an absolute thrill of a game and, RIP Westwood, a throwback to times when a clone of a game actually rivaled the fun of its predecessor. I cannot express my love for this game anymore and I would pay 50 bucks for it today if the servers were still up :(
