Champions of Norrath

"Kill bad guys. Pick up items. Wash hands. Repeat."

You have to love mindlessly wasting an afternoon killing several hundred orcs, spiders, big ants, etc. to gain a level or two. This is the name of the game in action RPG's like Champions of Norrath. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, I'd go look for a different game. CoN hacks and slashes with the best of them, namely Baulder's Gate: Dark Alliance, so if you're a dungeon crawling machine, you will eat this up.
Graphics: 8
You would have a hard time faulting this game for its graphics. It looks pretty decent even when stacked up against Bill's big bad box. Shadows aren't that dynamic, but the texturing is impressive. Also, I love the fact that you can see the upgrades in armor, weapons, and powerups on your avatar....it's the little things. I will take this opportunity to gripe about the framerate, because it inexplicably lags from time to time. It's not too bad because it usually lasts only for a few seconds, but it hurts me to see games lag. I've been spoiled by too many 60 fps games. Also, I don't like that the game seems to stick with dark colors all the time. It makes items on the ground hard to see. These small complaints aside, this game is a peach.
Gameplay:9
This game is seriously addictive. It is sometimes hard to keep yourself from just wanting to clear one more of the game's intricate, randomly designed dungeons or finding a newer, more-powerful weapon. You get to pick from one of five classes of warriors (with a male and a female for each, for all the lonely gamers). You get to customize your character too. Although it's nowhere near The Sims in that department, Snowblind deserves kudos for giving us some freedom. The skill tree along which you progress is disappointingly limited, but it will take a while before you can get to all the stuff. The spells are a little disappointing for all the work you put in (''Yay!A green blob! Yay! A black blob!), but I can get over it. As for weapons, you get to customize them, too. You can add enhancements, giving the blade flame attributes or adding to your mana, but only a set number; most importantly, the changes are irreversible and the enhancements are rare finds, so be careful when you make upgrades. Frustration-wise, it's not too bad. You might toss the controller during some of the boss fights, but otherwise, your death is your own fault. All the meters are clear and the controls are precise, so you can't blame them.
Story:N/A
I'm the world's only hope for repelling the evil hordes...how original. Seriously, if you are playing this, you aren't worried about story. It's in there in case you care, but more than likely, you won't.
Final:7
I know it doesn't quite add up. This is why. The game is kind of buggy. The sound does funky stuff like stopping at random intervals for random amounts of time. Sometimes, the world just doesn't show up, leaving you standing in a dark screen. Folks get stuck on stuff and won't get off. Some of the dungeons get a little too twisty for their own good. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game by all means, it just has some flaws that are hard to forgive. The little things really add up.
Should you buy this game? If you liked Baulder's Gate:Dark Alliance, then yes. This is what you wanted BG:DA to be. If you are new to the action RPG genre, rent it first and play the heck out of it(don't worry, it's plenty big). If you still like it, then I'd say it's a good $50 investment.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/21/04