Champions: Return to Arms

"I'll have the usual (more of the same)"

Intro - Champions: RTA is the sequel to Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest that came out on the PS2 last year. There was quite a buzz around the game because quite a bit seemed to work well and the variety of characters and difficulty modes made for lots of replayability. The sequel offers the same experience with very few tweaks here and there. Let's just get this out of the way first: this game is a sequel to a successful game. The developers would be loathe to change anything that "worked" in the first one. Therefore, you have to expect a certain amount of similarity here (even more so since both games use the BG:DA engine).

Gameplay (1.5/2) - The controls are exactly the same as the original. Attack, pick stuff up, two default spells, quick buttons for potions. This control scheme is both simple to grasp and effective. The camera hasn't changed very much but it was one of my only complaints with the first game. The "far" view is too far, the "close" view is too close, but the "mid" view is not what I'd call just right. It doesn't completely hinder the game, though, and I fear that no one will ever invent the "perfect" camera.

Story (.5/2) - The story of the game has been built up by buzz-words like "engrossing" and what not. Personally, I thought the presence of a story was incredibly lacking at the beginning of the game. As a standalone, it would be semi-acceptable to give a player so few details at the start. But, being the sequel that this is and allowing one to import their characters from the previous games, I expected there to be at least some tie to the previous game that jumped out and grabbed you at the beginning. Sadly, the story seemed to veer off sideways, more like a stepchild than a real sequel.

Graphics/Sound (4/4) - The graphics have slightly improved. Those who have not played the original recently may not notice the "cleaner" textures. The two new races were done exceedingly well; the berserker being very much a cat man and the shaman being very reptilian. The death animations of your foes have greatly improved; they die in various ways now (some even explode upon their death). I thought this was an excellent addition to complete some of the details of the game instead of all enemies just falling at the same angle (as we tend to see so often). Sound-wise, it seems they saved a lot of money sticking with their original sound effects for a lot of in-game actions. The music is very different though not many will notice as (just like in the first CoN) it fades in and out rarely. I think this keeps it from being obtrusive as well as keeps the player from getting sick of the gentle melodies that play. I have no complaints with the sound or the graphics.

Replayability (2/2) - Here is where the CoN "franchise" comes through for us. As I stated, you are able to import your characters from the previous CoN and level them up all the way to 80 (you could only go up to 50 in the original). So, with 4 difficulty modes now, 7 total race/classes, 4-player capability, online mode, player vs. player, and an overall increase in difficulty this game has quite a bit to offer, over and over again.

Final Word (8/10) - This game gets an 8 is because it lacks the area where it sorely needed to keep from sagging. Most other areas of the game survive and shine because they were already done well in the first game.

I will take more hack-n-slash action from CoN because it is done very well but if you expect more from this game than you got from the first one you will probably be disappointed. If you own the first one, rent this one and see if it is worth adding to your collection. If you get bored quickly or have little patience for hack-n-slash (why are you playing this game in the first place?) then you may want to avoid this title. If you've never played a hack-n-slash with the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance engine running it, by all means buy and be dazzled by Return to Arms.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/10/05