I beat this "entry" (mini dlc) in the series in about 3 hours. Theres NO soundtrack (no radio at all), NO customisation, the plot is terrible (at least the others had a plot). Theres a distinct lack of character to the game, along with a completely meaningless reason to exist. If the developers / publishers intended to have a purgatory simulator, they managed it. Not sure why they would want that, but they did it. Regardless of how much you might want to play this, how much you need a new entry in the series, just dont give into that sin of temptation - the Devil has been at work - and the Devil is a lazy old so n so.
I've played about 500 hours of this over the last few years. Some things you need to know 1: its not your standard RPG - you dont get any points to place in skills because you dont level up: everything is learned by doing. Want to get tougher? Gte the crap kicked out of you. Want to be better at defending yourself? Pick some fights and set that character to block. Want to be better at stealing? Go steal things (and probably get caught and get in fights). 2: its not your standard RPG - there are no quests. Various books about the place, along with some NPC conversations will slowly build the lore of the world around you. Its more about exploration and discovery. 3: fighting itself is done rather automatically, with player control emphasizing stance, positioning etc - this is where the tactical portions come into play (along with the building elements). there are no powers / cooldowns to be triggered - though your squad will learn new techniques as they increase an ability (various kicks for example with martial arts).
The groupe mechanic in this game is interesting at best. Most of the time it plays out as frustration - as does the interface. The puzzles themselves are nothing less than cumbersome and annoying, and have no doubt pushed many people away from the game in the early stages. My advice: pick it up cheap, or if you've survived plenty of much older point and click adventures.
No options. None. Basic Unity launcher popup that does very little. Awful controls, horrible sound levels. Bad design - looks like its made from leftovers from the first Spellforce game. Script is so bad they've had to add jaunty oddball music to remind you its meant to be funny. Its like being sat at a comedy night and the promoter is behind you slapping you across the back of the head yelling "HEY THIS IS FUGGIN FUNNY! LAUGH! YOU PAID FOR THIS YA MORON!" Review based on the Steam version - where you cannot leave a review right now.
Just finished this. A nice departure from the usual trappings, though at times the game feels... well, not unfinished, more half done and squeezed out to shipping. Thats not a terrible thing though - one of its strengths is the fact that with a simplistic combat system, the game isnt too long (I spent maybe 24 hours on it), but compared to other games of the genre (and Bioware games in particular) the last couple of acts feel heavily edited down. If you find you don't ever seem to have the time to fully enjoy something like Kotor or NWN, maybe give this a shot. The look of the game is top notch, as is the OST, and some of the characters are pretty memorable. Similarly if the mentioned flaws are putting you off, but you enjoyed other bioware games, give it a shot. However, if you're looking for a full on action game, this is probably not for you! Oddly would have made a great animated series as well.
