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Role Playing Games have really never been a favorite for me. The first RPG I actually played through was Dungeon Siege, and I loved it. I played Diablo and such, but never really liked them. I also tried Final Fantasy and hated them. When I saw the screen shots for this game I thought it was a 3rd person FPS. After playing through the majority of this game, I finally found a style of RPG that I enjoy playing.
Graphics
The graphics in this game are simply outstanding. I’d even say they were perfect in most aspects, but there are a few flaws. Everything has such detail it’s unbelievable. I was also blown away by how well the game ran on my computer.
The models themselves are highly detailed. From the fishnet leggings that the Druid wears to the tattoo on Zale’s face. Their movements are very fluid and well connected. When you stand still, and move the mouse to look around, instead of seeing the body float you will notice it twist and then the person takes a few steps to move.
The weapons themselves look damn cool. You can see reflections on swords and armor; I found this made the game a little bit more realistic. Even the weapons have some nice detail on them, like blood and runes and such. All magic spells look different; it gives a lot of variety to the game, instead of seeing the same thing over and over again. Explosions and other animations are top notch. This game also has the best water I’ve ever seen, better than Morrowind. If you just watch the water and nothing else, it looks pretty realistic.
On some levels your surroundings get blown up, which looks very cinematic. Instead of you just floating through the debris it actually stops you and hurts you. Watching boxes and bricks fall and fly across the room is quite neat.
The menus in the game show the quality of what’s to come. The animations of the menus are really good and somewhat unique. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to play around with the menus. Walking around the maps you get to see a lot of eye candy. The scenery is breathtaking; quality of the trees and the buildings is astounding. All the levels are different, from the basic above ground to the underworld; you really get a spectrum of scenery.
The few gripes I do have about the graphics is that some people are just ugly and flat faced. Also the lips don’t synch very well with the voices, which is a shame. However, I believe this game has set a new standard for a graphics engine. I really haven’t seen anything run so well and look so good.
Sound/Music
The voices in Enclave are great as well. Very high up there with the graphics, but in these days good voice acting is starting to become the norm. The people that read the stories have a lot of emotions in their voices. I wouldn’t have anyone else tell the stories but them, they do a fantastic job setting the mood for the game. Voices of the characters are great, although your character hardly speaks, if ever. It is apparent that the company has put a few extra bucks making sure even the smallest character sounds perfect.
Sound effects from weapons are your basic swoosh and clang, nothing wondrous here. Although there is an array of sounds for each weapon, helps bring down the monotony of hearing the same sound all the time.
The music in the game is captivating. If there’s one thing I like about games, is their great soundtrack. Music is one of the key ingredients is making a great game, and this game has it all. The adventurous tone of the music and the slow mellow tone help bring this game to life. Too bad they don’t sell game music in stores.
One thing I noticed is that in cut-scenes and in the game the voice doesn’t follow the character. Sometimes it fades away for no reason and is nearly impossible to hear. Luckily the cut-scenes have subtitles so you can always read. Overall the sound in this game is great, the voices are superb, the sound effects are ample, and the music is just engrossing.
Gameplay
The story begins with a great wizard defeating a powerful demon and creating a large rift in the ground. The rift causes two groups to emerge, the light, Enclave, and the dark, Dreg’Atar. Time passes and the rift begins to close, the Dreg’Atar begins to attack the Enclave and it is your choice to choose who you want to fight for. Will it be for the Enclave or the Outcasts?
There are two campaigns for this game, dark and light, which offer two great stories to play. There are also about 16 characters for you to play, so you have an almost endless supply of how you want to play this game. Each mission you choose your character, whether it be a brave knight, or a powerful druid. Some missions you gain new characters that you can play as. Each level also has a lot of money which can be found which can be used to buy weapons and armor.
The characters have their own pros and cons. The knight can carry a crossbow, but can’t use any special arrow. The huntress can carry a bow and crossbow, but no shield. The druid uses her mana as her source for shield and weapon. The balance in the game is a bit sided to the huntress, as her arrows do some of the highest damage in the game.
The checkpoint system in the game is very well done. Instead of it saving your current position at a check point it saves whatever you have done up until you die. If you get a checkpoint, and fight on for 30 minutes and die, you start back at the checkpoint, but what you did between the last save and your death is saved.
The game requires a bit of a thinker to get past some areas, or to get to some of the treasures on the map. There are tons of enemies in each level to fight in each level. As you progress you face some fierce foes which can offer a great challenge. When you start off you have a helping hand to guide you as you go.
Conclusion
This game offers a great story and an addicting style of game play. After playing for a few days I really found my new standard. The graphics in this game are impressive and far above the graphics standard. I just can’t get enough of them. The sounds are above par and the gameplay is there too.
After a while the game starts to get a little repetitive, but this is true of most of today’s games. Some people might feel they are doing the same thing over and over again, but I enjoy this game for its great graphics and story. Also, the variety of characters to choose from gives you a lot of choices to make this game last a lot longer since it doesn’t have any multiplayer features, which is a shame. The story evolves quite quickly, most levels end with a new part of the storyline. I found that I didn’t get bored with this game very quickly since it is pretty fast paced.
Most people will find this to be a great game. If you are afraid you won’t enjoy this game because of its style, please try it to check out its incredible graphics. For many hardcore RPG fans the style of this game may be a turn off, but before you make up your mind I encourage you to try it. I enjoyed playing this game and I hope you will too.
