Requiem: Avenging Angel

"Repent your sins with this innovative shooter"

'Requiem: Avenging Angel' is probably one of the most original and innovative first person shooters to grace the PC in recent times. In its time 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' was highly underrated, overlooked and neglected due to bigger titles such as 'Half-Life.' The game incorporates an interesting theme to the genre, allowing for some interesting and intense gameplay. ‘What interesting theme?’ I hear you ask. Well, read on and find out!

The world of Earth is between Heaven and Hell, the realms of light and dark, good and evil. There has always been an equal balance between these realms, and no one has dared to disturb that balance, until now.
It is midway through the 21st century, and man now has the capabilities to reach the stars, constructing vast space ships in an attempt to explore and conquer the unknown. It is in this time that 'The Fallen' has chosen to make their descent to Earth, from the deepest depths of Hell. Lead by their demonic God Lilith, the demons have disguised themselves as humans, and have taken influential positions all over the world. They control the government and law enforcement agencies, and rule the world with an iron fist. But it is not their desire to rule the human race, it is their desire to destroy it.
Not wanting to sit back and watch God has sent one of his Angels down to Earth to stop the approaching apocalypse, and stop Lilith and 'The Fallen' before it is too late. This Angels name; Malachi.
The story is great and deserves top marks. The idea of playing as a fallen Angel is a cool one, and has given the developer a lot of creative licence as far as the gameplay is concerned. Luckily the story never gets too religious so it's not going to offend anyone, not even pagans. That's got to be worth something!
Story: 10

The graphics in 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' while not great, do the job well and portray the dark almost noir world rather well. The streets certainly have that dirty and gritty look to them, with papers blowing about and pigeons fluttering around wherever you go.
While the graphics may not be able to compete with other games from its time such as 'Half-Life' and even 'Unreal' they are still to a high standard.
The characters all have great animation, especially the enemies, with some realistic death animations too. Each gun models is well detailed and textured, giving the weapons a futuristic but well-worn look, fitting perfectly with the gritty game world.
Sadly though, the environments can often get rather blocky and bland. Taking a page from Id Software's book the game also seems to have numerous shades of brown for its colour palette. This causes the graphics to look rather uninspiring and depressing, but then again this was the look that the developers were going for. One can't help but feel it is a bit too drab though.
The maps are a good size though, split into smaller section by occasional load times that luckily never become too obtrusive.
There are some good special effects to be seen, which are rather flashy but also very effective.
Graphics: 8

As far as sound goes, 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' is right up there with games such as 'Half-Life.' Voice acting featured in the game is clear and convincing, and luckily never too contrived or exaggerated. Lilith was especially well voiced, as were the screams of the tortured souls in Hell. The civilians will often call for the guards, which is a nice touch as well.
All the guns have great sound effects, which vary depending on what you are shooting. For example shooting an unarmoured guard will get you a sickening thud as the bullet pierces his flesh, whereas shooting a metal plated soldier will result in a metallic clang. Little touches like these add immensely to the gameplay, and help you to absorb yourself into the game world.
The music played was great, atmospheric yet never too overpowering or dominating.
Strangely there were problems running this game on my Sound Blaster Live! sound card, as the sounds would all seem to mix together creating a distorted mess. Whether this was a fault of the game or the operating system (Windows XP Professional) I cannot be sure, but it certainly did ruin the game for me. It would be unfair to judge the game on this alone, so my score will not reflect this fault.
Sound: 9

The key concept that sets 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' apart from a genre full of clones is its use of what the developers call 'Divine Powers.' Think of it as a sort of magic system that can be used at any time during gameplay provided you have enough 'Divine Essence' or ‘mana’ if you will. When you first start out the game only a few powers can be used, but as you delve further into the game more powers become available to you. From simple powers that knock enemies off their feet to swarms of locusts and even a spell that slows time, this game has every angle covered. These powers become invaluable during gameplay, and often the key to survival.
Divine Powers are not the only way to fight your foes though, as secular weapons or firearms as most know them as, are another invaluable part of survival. There are seven weapons in total, which may sound like a relatively small number at first, but each weapon has its own unique use, and when you consider the number of powers available to you, you come to the realisation that your character is a walking fortress. The seven weapons include a pistol, assault rifle, triple barrel shotgun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, sniper rifle and finally rail gun.
During your quest you will encounter a number of non-playable characters, who help to further the story, and give you a better insight into the game's world. Often the NPC's will give you missions that can be extremely interesting and involving. One of the first missions for example has you rescuing a member of an underground resistance group. You must infiltrate one of The Fallen's many bases, and rescue her from their clutches. While the gameplay does boil down to collecting keys and opening doors, it is kept realistic and fun. Never will you find yourself saying 'another locked door' or anything like that, as the game is both involving and interesting.
Some of the environments are great too, such as the empty streets to the sewers and even a hospital. The world is both a gritty and atmospheric one, and the maps go a great way to show this.
As for the controls, they are a breeze once you get the hang of them. The weapons are selected with the number keys like most other first person shooters, and the Divine powers are selected from a drop down menu. Sometimes it can become a little awkward as you try and select the right power mid gunfight, but it never becomes too much of a problem.
Unfortunately 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' is not without its own share of flaws and bugs. While playing one level I found my character killed while he was standing on an elevator. No reason was given for this, he just died. The same thing happened a few times, and this was even with the latest patch installed. Another problem was the tendency for the game to crash to the desktop. Again, this may have just been a problem with my system but it was frustrating none-the-less. Another annoying bug in 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' is that Direct X 6 needs to be installed, and it will not recognise the newer versions at all until the latest patch is installed. A bit frustrating that to get the game to even run at all you have to patch it first.
The last problem with 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' is the games length, which is perhaps just a bit too short for my liking.
Gameplay: 9
Life Span: 7

Pros
+ New concept
+ Great story
+ Sound
+ Map design
+ Atmospheric
+ Divine powers

Cons
- Must be patched on newer systems
- Audio incompatibilities on some cards
- Often-blocky graphics
- Short
- Instant death bugs

Despite its numerous flaws 'Requiem: Avenging Angel' is still a highly entertaining game to play, if you can put up with a few minor annoyances and five megabytes worth of patches. Its innovative concept is executed wonderfully and the story is deep enough to keep you hooked right till the end. Don't overlook this little gem, as it is just as worthy of your time as 'Half-Life' and 'Unreal,' perhaps even more so in some ways. A welcome and refreshing change to the first person genre, and one that is interesting and fun to play.
Overall: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/22/02, Updated 12/22/02