This game turns 180 degrees on what has been the trend on cRPGs in recent years: Instead of boasting about sandboxes and freedom it prefers to offer an intricately interwoven and compelling storyline told in a carefully engineered pace. On the surface this game does not offer the super-great choices at every step and it's gameplay consists mostly of fighting yet... it's been years that I have been so immersed and so addicted to playing a game, and this includes the vastly more ambitious Wasteland 2. The elements that add-up to this immersion and addiction are "manyfold": - The quality of the writing: Excellent, top-notch quality. It's immersive, no-nonsense, to the point, and never boring. Interesting team characters with personal agendas, colourful and diverse outside characters are at the core of a story that unfolds at an excellent pace that keeps you glued on your monitor. - The soundtrack: It's excellent, so much as to deserve special mention. It doesn't simply add to the game quality, it manages to actually act as a multiplying factor. In conjunction with the graphics really creates an immersive cyberpunk world full of dark secrets, plots interwoven into sub-plots, and all of which sprawled onto a humanity still under shock in front of the brutal advent of both super technology and magic. - The fighting: I played it at Hard difficulty which is perfect for a serious yet not frustrating challenge. Many tactical choices, lot's of different ways to approach the tactical challenges and some missions add a time constraint which really makes for memorable races against time. - The general atmosphere: The writers of the game have really done their studying. Despite having Orcs, Elves and the like, the world is really Cyberpunk, keeping true to all relevant elements as the great writers like William Gibson envisioned so many decades ago. In all a refreshingly and genuinly enjoyable experience, I recommend it to anyone.
This game was a pleasant surprise. What captivated me initially (and hence its purchase) was the hand-drawn, exquisitely detailed graphics. Fortunately I found a very well thought-out platmofrmer that had a fair share of thinking behind each and every of its elements. The gameplay has very carefully balanced difficulty which is challenging but not frustrating. it also manages to avoid being repetitive, given the different nature of its levels and mission objectives. You'll be cavern-crawling in a level searching for a way out and then you'll be gravity-jumping around floating pieces of earth trying to find various pieces of your broken spacecraft. Weapons are also varied and allow for different styles of play which adds a further element of freedom. The soundtrack deserves special mention as it is head and shoulders above any usual game soundtrack: It is an electronic ambient score full of texture and clearly made by someone of very high talent. I thoroughly enjoyed this game, recommended to all who like adventurous journeys to alien planets :)
