BardNecromancer
01-08-2005, 07:35 PM
Forgotten Realms - Demon Stone Review
Well, I just finished FR-DS for the Playstation.
This game was a dismal disappointment in almost every aspect of the game. It's not even that my expectations were too high either. As soon as I knew Stormfront Studios (the creators of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) was involved, I knew I was in for a rough ride.
Let start with the things I liked about the game.
Graphically speaking, this game is a winner. The graphics were really good, with lots of cut scenes. During play the graphics were very fluid and realistic. Every one of the models (characters, monsters, etc) were done really well. I have to give credit to the team that were responsible for character modeling, because it was one of the highlights of the game (especially Drizzt, playing him was uber-fun).
2) Story (Rating 8.0)
R.A. Salvatore did a good job on the story. I would like to get my hands on the original written work. The more I found out about our heroes (Zhai, Ranneck, and Illius), the more I wanted to know. Each one had a background story that I felt help round out the characters. They made the game more enjoyable, because you were wondering what would happen next in the character development. I have always enjoyed R.A.'s writing and have read all the Drizzt books a couple of times.
3) The Characters (Rating 7.0)
Playing Drizzt was really, really fun. In the world as we know it, it seems like people either love Drizzt or hate him. I am in the former, and loved ripping though smelly trolls with his dual simitars.
Zhai has really cool to play, especially when she could use her stealth. Sneak attacks are always fun.
Ranneck and Illius were fun, but I played them more out of necessity.
Alright now the stuff that drove me nuts.
1) Camera Angles (Rating: 0)
In my 30 years of life, I have never seen camera angles so bad before. I remember the camera angles being really bad in The Two Towers. These are worse. In numerous points in the game, you could not see what you were shooting at. You had to guess whether you were actually aiming at something with ranged attacks. In some parts of the game, your hero would disappear almost entire behind walls, or a horde of Slaad. All you do was keep hitting the X button and hope you could get enough hero points to use your super attack and clear enough enemies to see your hero again. Zero effort, zero rating.
2) Environment (Rating: 3)
Why would any gaming company in our modern era ever use invisible walls? The only reason I can think of is laziness. They didn't want want to take the time to develop their environment properly. An great example of this is in Chapter 10 when you are fighting the Slaad in the near the portal to Limbo. Archers appear across the room, and you have to shoot them from the platform you are fighting on. On the platform, there are numerous rocks that block your shots, including the air above the rocks.
Ledges were also a problem. You couldn't fall off them. You could push your oppoents off the ledge, but they couldn't push you off. This 'safety net' takes away from the game.
The whole game you are being lead around by the nose. There is only one way to the your goal and one way out. That's it.
The only reason I gave environment a 4 is because the artists did a good job on creating the locations around the game. They were all different and help create the illusion that you were in the Realms. It really ties in the graphics end of things, but I will leave it at a 4.
3) Gameplay (Rating: 3)
The gameplay was well...a bit boring. There are only two combos in the game for each character (I don't consider X+X+X or O+O a combo) There was only trip (X+O+X) or improved critical (X+O+R1).
The interaction with objects in the area was a bit lame. All you could do was break things, most of which were barriers in your way. Most of them were only there to validate the fact that Ranneck and Illius could break them with the Gauntlets of Ogre Power or Beads of Forces.
Not everything was lame. There is a Wall of Ice that you have to destroy while some Githaryi mages are constantly rebuilding, and there are a couple of switches the Zhai has to jump to. There were also some catapults you can activate, but they were basically pointed out to you and only usable once.
I didn't find the AI of the two heroes you weren't playing to be very smart. They would fail to pickup potions if they were low on health sometimes, or keep firing their ranged weapons even though they were being blocked by the obstacles/invisible walls. They would run around getting picked off by ranged attacks, when a simple block could have saved them. In certain locations, it was up to the player to kill certain ranged opponents. Most of the time I played Ranneck, and in these situations I would try to protect the sorcerer so that he could take from a distance, but rather than target our foes, he would cast protection spells.
Another thing that annoyed me was that some of the opponents would only target their ranged attacks at the hero you were playing. If you switched, they would change to target you. Although it added to the challenge of the game (which I didn't find challenging even on hard in an overall sense; some fights I found very challenging and had to try numerous times), it bugged me.
Demon Stone is a very simple hack-n-slash that is hard pressed to hold the attention of an older gamer like me.
4) Game Length (Rating 3)
The game length was way too short. There are ten chapters, each chapter would only take me about 15-30 minutes to pass (unless I had trouble with a particular battle). I was half done the game my first night playing it, and that is always a disappointment. There should have been at least 5 more chapters, or have each chapter 50% longer.
Overall (Rating 3)
Overall the cons outweighted the pros. I judge games more on their playability rather than visuals. From the beginning to the end, camera angles were a real killer for me. Add in a simplistic, linear adventure path and you have yourself a game that I should have rented for the weekend instead of paying full price.
This game was clearly created for the younger gamer in mind (10 - 16) in hopes of sparking some interest in the Dungeons and Dragons line. It involves no more thinking than try to hit the X button as fast as you can. For all the older, advanced gamers, don't waste your money. Rent it for the weekend or borrow it for a buddy (don't forget your swear jar). If you are used to playing Icewind Dale, Balder's Gate, or Neverwinter Nights, you are going to be disappointed in Demon Stone.
Recommendations for Wizards of the Coast.
I want to end this review with something positive. I know my review is definitely negative, but you can't please everyone right?
Here is the game I would like to see in the future.
First, head over to your local gaming store and pick up a copy of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Play it from beginning to end. Now you get the style of game that I love. Not only is there lots of fighting, but there are lots of environmental interactivity involved. Levers to pull, buttons to press, ledges to traverse, and canyons to leap. In an environment like that, it would be the Ultimate DND adventure.
Next, get your next trilogy schedule and plan a fourth story line. The fourth story line would not be pubished as a novel, but would be the screenplay for the game. The game would take place between book II and Book III of the trilogy. The trilogy and the game could be read/played separately and would not depend on the other, but each would make reference to the other. This is very similiar to the Matrix strategy. 'Enter the Matrix' game tells the side story of Niobe and Ghost.
In a perfect world, the player would play Drizzt on some quest between the latest book 'The Two Swords' and whatever novel is coming next. The game would make reference to books and the books would make reference to the game, but they would both be able to stand on their own.
Drizzt has numerous fighting moves (aka COMBOs!) including the infamous dual scimitar crossover parry with boot to the nose!
Guenhwyvar would be a power that Drizzt uses during gameplay or only appears in certain missions.
For variety you can add in the different heroes like Breunor, Catti-brie, Wuldgar, Regis, or the Bouldershoulder brothers (Oo oi!), but I would stick with Drizzt (personally anyhow).
The final touch would be the unlockable bonus levels. These would be historical battles that Drizzt has been in over the years. Locations like the plains of Icewind Dale, the mines of Mithral Hall, the streets of Menzoberranzan, the sewers of Calimport, or the deck of the Sea Sprite.
Must haves
- 360 degrees camera angles
- lots of combos
- realistic environment that can be interacted with like Prince of Persia
- multiple paths to your goal
Other characters to consider: Liriel Baenre, Arilyn Moonblade, Danilo Thann, Elaith Craulnober. Anyone from the Return of the Archwizards trilogy or War of the Spider Queen characters, etc.
__________________
- Bard-Necromancer
Singing songs of death since 1993
1) Graphics (Rating 7.5) 1) Graphics (Rating: 7.5) 1 - Graphics (Rating 7.5)
Well, I just finished FR-DS for the Playstation.
This game was a dismal disappointment in almost every aspect of the game. It's not even that my expectations were too high either. As soon as I knew Stormfront Studios (the creators of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) was involved, I knew I was in for a rough ride.
Let start with the things I liked about the game.
Graphically speaking, this game is a winner. The graphics were really good, with lots of cut scenes. During play the graphics were very fluid and realistic. Every one of the models (characters, monsters, etc) were done really well. I have to give credit to the team that were responsible for character modeling, because it was one of the highlights of the game (especially Drizzt, playing him was uber-fun).
2) Story (Rating 8.0)
R.A. Salvatore did a good job on the story. I would like to get my hands on the original written work. The more I found out about our heroes (Zhai, Ranneck, and Illius), the more I wanted to know. Each one had a background story that I felt help round out the characters. They made the game more enjoyable, because you were wondering what would happen next in the character development. I have always enjoyed R.A.'s writing and have read all the Drizzt books a couple of times.
3) The Characters (Rating 7.0)
Playing Drizzt was really, really fun. In the world as we know it, it seems like people either love Drizzt or hate him. I am in the former, and loved ripping though smelly trolls with his dual simitars.
Zhai has really cool to play, especially when she could use her stealth. Sneak attacks are always fun.
Ranneck and Illius were fun, but I played them more out of necessity.
Alright now the stuff that drove me nuts.
1) Camera Angles (Rating: 0)
In my 30 years of life, I have never seen camera angles so bad before. I remember the camera angles being really bad in The Two Towers. These are worse. In numerous points in the game, you could not see what you were shooting at. You had to guess whether you were actually aiming at something with ranged attacks. In some parts of the game, your hero would disappear almost entire behind walls, or a horde of Slaad. All you do was keep hitting the X button and hope you could get enough hero points to use your super attack and clear enough enemies to see your hero again. Zero effort, zero rating.
2) Environment (Rating: 3)
Why would any gaming company in our modern era ever use invisible walls? The only reason I can think of is laziness. They didn't want want to take the time to develop their environment properly. An great example of this is in Chapter 10 when you are fighting the Slaad in the near the portal to Limbo. Archers appear across the room, and you have to shoot them from the platform you are fighting on. On the platform, there are numerous rocks that block your shots, including the air above the rocks.
Ledges were also a problem. You couldn't fall off them. You could push your oppoents off the ledge, but they couldn't push you off. This 'safety net' takes away from the game.
The whole game you are being lead around by the nose. There is only one way to the your goal and one way out. That's it.
The only reason I gave environment a 4 is because the artists did a good job on creating the locations around the game. They were all different and help create the illusion that you were in the Realms. It really ties in the graphics end of things, but I will leave it at a 4.
3) Gameplay (Rating: 3)
The gameplay was well...a bit boring. There are only two combos in the game for each character (I don't consider X+X+X or O+O a combo) There was only trip (X+O+X) or improved critical (X+O+R1).
The interaction with objects in the area was a bit lame. All you could do was break things, most of which were barriers in your way. Most of them were only there to validate the fact that Ranneck and Illius could break them with the Gauntlets of Ogre Power or Beads of Forces.
Not everything was lame. There is a Wall of Ice that you have to destroy while some Githaryi mages are constantly rebuilding, and there are a couple of switches the Zhai has to jump to. There were also some catapults you can activate, but they were basically pointed out to you and only usable once.
I didn't find the AI of the two heroes you weren't playing to be very smart. They would fail to pickup potions if they were low on health sometimes, or keep firing their ranged weapons even though they were being blocked by the obstacles/invisible walls. They would run around getting picked off by ranged attacks, when a simple block could have saved them. In certain locations, it was up to the player to kill certain ranged opponents. Most of the time I played Ranneck, and in these situations I would try to protect the sorcerer so that he could take from a distance, but rather than target our foes, he would cast protection spells.
Another thing that annoyed me was that some of the opponents would only target their ranged attacks at the hero you were playing. If you switched, they would change to target you. Although it added to the challenge of the game (which I didn't find challenging even on hard in an overall sense; some fights I found very challenging and had to try numerous times), it bugged me.
Demon Stone is a very simple hack-n-slash that is hard pressed to hold the attention of an older gamer like me.
4) Game Length (Rating 3)
The game length was way too short. There are ten chapters, each chapter would only take me about 15-30 minutes to pass (unless I had trouble with a particular battle). I was half done the game my first night playing it, and that is always a disappointment. There should have been at least 5 more chapters, or have each chapter 50% longer.
Overall (Rating 3)
Overall the cons outweighted the pros. I judge games more on their playability rather than visuals. From the beginning to the end, camera angles were a real killer for me. Add in a simplistic, linear adventure path and you have yourself a game that I should have rented for the weekend instead of paying full price.
This game was clearly created for the younger gamer in mind (10 - 16) in hopes of sparking some interest in the Dungeons and Dragons line. It involves no more thinking than try to hit the X button as fast as you can. For all the older, advanced gamers, don't waste your money. Rent it for the weekend or borrow it for a buddy (don't forget your swear jar). If you are used to playing Icewind Dale, Balder's Gate, or Neverwinter Nights, you are going to be disappointed in Demon Stone.
Recommendations for Wizards of the Coast.
I want to end this review with something positive. I know my review is definitely negative, but you can't please everyone right?
Here is the game I would like to see in the future.
First, head over to your local gaming store and pick up a copy of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Play it from beginning to end. Now you get the style of game that I love. Not only is there lots of fighting, but there are lots of environmental interactivity involved. Levers to pull, buttons to press, ledges to traverse, and canyons to leap. In an environment like that, it would be the Ultimate DND adventure.
Next, get your next trilogy schedule and plan a fourth story line. The fourth story line would not be pubished as a novel, but would be the screenplay for the game. The game would take place between book II and Book III of the trilogy. The trilogy and the game could be read/played separately and would not depend on the other, but each would make reference to the other. This is very similiar to the Matrix strategy. 'Enter the Matrix' game tells the side story of Niobe and Ghost.
In a perfect world, the player would play Drizzt on some quest between the latest book 'The Two Swords' and whatever novel is coming next. The game would make reference to books and the books would make reference to the game, but they would both be able to stand on their own.
Drizzt has numerous fighting moves (aka COMBOs!) including the infamous dual scimitar crossover parry with boot to the nose!
Guenhwyvar would be a power that Drizzt uses during gameplay or only appears in certain missions.
For variety you can add in the different heroes like Breunor, Catti-brie, Wuldgar, Regis, or the Bouldershoulder brothers (Oo oi!), but I would stick with Drizzt (personally anyhow).
The final touch would be the unlockable bonus levels. These would be historical battles that Drizzt has been in over the years. Locations like the plains of Icewind Dale, the mines of Mithral Hall, the streets of Menzoberranzan, the sewers of Calimport, or the deck of the Sea Sprite.
Must haves
- 360 degrees camera angles
- lots of combos
- realistic environment that can be interacted with like Prince of Persia
- multiple paths to your goal
Other characters to consider: Liriel Baenre, Arilyn Moonblade, Danilo Thann, Elaith Craulnober. Anyone from the Return of the Archwizards trilogy or War of the Spider Queen characters, etc.
__________________
- Bard-Necromancer
Singing songs of death since 1993
1) Graphics (Rating 7.5) 1) Graphics (Rating: 7.5) 1 - Graphics (Rating 7.5)