Champions of Norrath

"Glitches Galore"

I really, really like this game... When it works. The graphics are sublime, the music draws you in, and you feel like you are taking part in the action.

The biggest possible fault of this game is that for a lot of us this game freezes, glitches and boots us for no reason. If you do a search on Gamefaqs for this game under; bug, glitch, freeze, and disk read errors, you will find an unusual number of post.

Sure the graphics are tight, the gameplay is superb and all the good stuff you want in a great hack and slash are there, but something is wrong. I hate to take so much space in an intro but it has to be said, this game has so many glitches that it's not worth dishing $50 bucks for... No matter how nice the graphics, sound and gameplay are in the 2/3 of the game are. I'm about to reach LVL 50 which is top level, and I've still not been able to meet the final boss, let alone play the second and third to the last level...

On with the review.

Graphics 10/10 - Pure Eye Candy

The graphics were good in Baldur's Gate, but in this game, the graphics are stupifying. No detail is spared, from crabs skittering across beach caverns, to crows flying overhead. There are many WOW moments in this game, like arrows sticking out of enemies and slash marks in enemy flesh. The game world and inhabitants are alive, we are drawn into the gameworld so fully that magic is really magical, not some cinematic effect that takes 5 minutes to take place, but something that is useable. Eveything moves fast and keeps the pace of the game going.

Each character has a unique look and you can customize there armor, hair style, hair color, skin pigmentation, even tattoes they were. The bad guys have a lot of variety and the animations for everything are first class...

The best part is being in the midst of combat with your camera zoomed in close to you. Every swing, parry, miss, and all the damage done to your opponents shine with brilliant detail. Your armor and personal appearance are rendered so well you feel like you are really there. And the textures are unbelievable.

Sound FX 8/10 - Takes You There

Sound is extremely important in this game, but there are some really minor flaws here and there. Overall everything works so well I should give the sound a perfect 10. The only problem is the Voice Acting and female sounds of battle. For instance, my female Barb's Cyclone attack uses a male voice. I really think one more sound file wouldn't have taken that much more work, and added a whole lot more to the game. The script in the Voice Acting was very poor, and took away from the game, there should have been less emphasis on the story and more emphasis on what was at stake. (Example - instead of explaining crap and chit chatting, I would have enjoyed a sense of urgency more. I would have prefered a line like this, ''You have to repair the pump before our town is flooded with lava.'' than one like this, ''Our lava pump is broken so you can't pass through this gate.''

I did enjoy the ambient sound to the fullest though, and the music was the bomb...

Music 10/10 - Where It's At

A lot of games could learn from this one, when I say every detail was not over looked I mean it. There are so many tracks of really great mood setting music, I really felt like I was in a fantasy world, doing my hero thing.

Variety and mood are the main thing that makes the soundtrack strong.

Control 10/10 - Smooth, Intuitive

I've played tons of Hack and Slash games but this one even beats Gauntlets and Diablo's control scheme. There is way more depth in the control scheme than Gauntlet's and is way more simple and intuitive than Diablo's.

The Hotkeys are easy to set, you can use two at a time but some spells give you enough time to switch them mid game, the controller is a way better input device that a mouse since you don't need to click at every strike and mashing things with your thumb is way better for your hand than clicking away at something with your index finger.

Each character controls different and has a different set of rules that you have to play by and the enemies vary in form and function so it never gets old.

Gameplay - 10/10 (2/10) Perfect (unplayable)

I'm so torn with this game, it plays like an angle when it works, but when it messes up it's totally unplayable. The gameplay is perfect in every way, I don't understand why so many glitches and bugs were left in it at launch.

The hack and slash action in here is perfect, it never gets old, I haven't even seen the last two levels because my game keeps crashing even on my brand new PS2, but I can tell you that the first 3 levels are the bomb.

All the characters have different skills you can choose from every time you level up ala Diablo II. It's more simplyfied than Diablo II but that is way ok with me, it works, and there is enough variety to keep you playing each class at least 3 times through. Like Diablo II you can socket Items, and hunt or shop for new ones. A nice change from Diablo is the 3D element and the amount of detail put into the game world.

Online 7/10 - Lacking Yet Fun

Online lacks a lobby and trading menus but is still way cool, and fun. It supports Keyboard and Headset Chat, but is very bare bones. I wish there was more time spent by the developer's fleshing this part of the game out.

Conclusion

Perfect, but completely flawed, I hope this is not a trend. It seems like they made a really great game, but left all the bugs and glitches in because of developement deadlines, I hope this is the last major mistake SOE makes or we might just have another Video Game Depression...

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/04