ActRaiser

"A very enjoyable god-sim-stylee game with a varied mix of things to keep you entertained and stimulated. Well worth a look :)"

FOREWORD

I was hunting around my local second-hand video games store one day looking for something new that I could play, and I came across this title. It looked interesting so I picked it up, raced home at breakneck speed and slammed it into my Super NES.

Was I chuffed ? Or rebuffed ?? Read on ...

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME

Actraiser is a God game (as in a game where you play a God, and get to intervene with the lives of mere mortals), played primarily in two different modes.

Firstly you have what I would call "God Mode", which is where you observe the affairs of the mortals beneath you from your floating Palace, interact with them (take offerings from them, aid them, punish them, dictate where they build or farm crops, etc., etc.).

Secondly you have what I would call "Action Mode", which is where you physically descend from your floating Palace to do battle on your villagers' behalf (usually to free them from the grip of a Tyrant, or to battle off the forces of evil and ensure your dominion over the region remains strong).

Your objective is to right a series of transgressions that have taken place during a period of slumber you have just awoken from (you went to sleep to heal up after being battered by a group of your nemesis' lackeys, during which time your nemesis - Tanzra - unleashed his evil upon the world beneath you), and reclaim dominion over the world for yourself.

GRAPHICS - 7/10

Graphically this game shows off a number of the Super Nintendo's abilities well. Your floating Palace is well decked-out and godly - a fitting abode for a recently reawoken deity such as yourself.

Your view of the world beneath you is beautifully drawn, and you can move your Palace around from village to village, and interact directly with the inhabitants beneath you (which is depicted on-screen as your palace shifting around the place and hovering over whichever village you choose).

There is a simple set of menus to interact with in God Mode, where you can choose from spells in your repertoire, review items you have been given as offerings and so on, and the graphics for all these are simple, but decently drawn.

Mode-7 scaling is brought into play when you descend from your floating Palace to do battle with a creature on the ground - you can almost picture yourself spiralling down as the character you are playing, rolling up your sleeves and getting one of those "I'ma gonna kick your @ss" looks on your face.

The spell effects are nicely done in the game, and the sprites for your player on the ground and your enemies are also nicely handled (even if the enemies do sometimes look a little childish).

All told, whilst the game isn't going to win any graphical awards, it is well attended-to, and makes good use of the console's abilities.

SOUND - 7/10

A very nice mix of sounds and music are available throughout the game. When you are in your floating Palace you have one set of music; when you are viewing what is happening on the ground beneath you there is another; and a third plays when you take decisive action and hop down to the ground to overthrow one of the monsters (or do battle with Tanzra himself).

The music that is chosen to play is well-suited to the activities you are doing (from being very light and ethereal up in your Palace, to being much more action-driven on the ground).

The sound-effects that occur during play are also generally very satisfying, from casting lightning bolts to destroy things on the ground, to summoning rain clouds to water crops and so on, there is a good variety of sounds available, and all the sounds are at least reasonably pleasing to the ear.

CONTROLS - 8/10

The control method for the game is very good, considering the variety of situations in which you find yourself.

There are a set of menus up in your Palace which you can use to select what spells you will cast, what weapons you will take and so on, when you descend to the ground and enter Action Mode.

When observing the villagers beneath you, you control Cupid and have him move around the map for you. You can use some very simple commands to interact with villagers, fight off dragons and demons, direct how people build, and seal off monster lairs - it's all very intuitive, very simple, and flows together very well.

PLOT - 8/10

I have to say, the plot is actually really quite good ! A bit formulaic, but very plausible from a divine perspective I guess.

You have just awoken from a long sleep which you entered in order to heal-up after having been battered by no less than SIX demons that Tanzra (your arch-enemy) summoned to dispatch you. Needless to say you suffered quite a bit during the battle.

In the period during your healing snooze, Tanzra has divided the world beneath you up into six areas, and appointed one of his monsters as lord of each area.

Your objective is therefore to liberate each of the areas from the control of his monster/s, and to ultimately do battle with Tanzra himself, kicking his butt to the curb, and reclaiming the world as yours.

As I say, it's not INSANELY complex - it's rather formulaic in fact, but it is not the type of game you get to play everyday, that's for sure, so it is both refreshing and challenging to get your head around.

GAMEPLAY - 8/10

Actraiser is actually a REALLY fun game to play, as it strikes a fine balance between styles of play, to keep things varied and interesting.

Each area is basically the same - you descend, do battle with the monsters that inhabit the area to clear it out to a level that it will sustain a modest contingent of villagers, and then oversee the village's development. You can be either a good God, sharing technologies and techniques that other villages offer you as tribute with other villages, or a malevolent God, inflicting pain and suffering on those villages that do not offer you adequate tribute - the choice is yours.

You get to choose where they build, whether they actively seek out and close monster lairs, or allow some of their number to be taken away and eaten as tribute to the monsters, and so on.

In short, you get to rule their lives.

Once enough of the level has been cleared up, you will be summoned to an audience with your villagers, who will tell you that they have found the lair of the monster of the area, and can you please deal with him. This is more like a vendetta moment for you, so it should be your pleasure to despatch the FREAKS that took you down, one-by-one.

This takes you to Action Mode (again). Action Mode sees you enter a 2d side-scrolling platform system, where you must strike (with your weapon), jump and cast spells in order to traverse each level.

Boss fights are enjoyable and varied, with a number of mythological beasts making an appearance, and once the area has been pacified, you can move onto the next area and so on, and so forth.

REPLAY VALUE - 8/10

Believe it or not, in spite of the fact that this is a Super Nintendo game (and consequently rather dated by today's PS3 and Wii standards), it does boast REALLY quite high replay value, simply because few and far between are the titles where this type of gameplay is available.

This ISN'T a Sim-game, but it has elements of it. This ISN'T a purely action/adventure game, but it has elements of it, and the way in which it blends those elements produces a game that is both refreshing and fun to play. The short-, mid- and longer-term replay values of the title are consistent, and high.

VALUE FOR MONEY - 9/10

Considering that you SHOULD be able to get yourself a cheapy cheap copy of this title these days, it represents great value for money. I wouldn't expect to pay more than about £15 / US$ 30 for it though - it is a Super NES game after all.

It should boast hours of fun and enjoyable gameplay, and keep you stimulated and challenged throughout. Great stuff !!

OVERALL - 8/10 (This is NOT an average)

Actraiser is a very enjoyable and complete title that takes you on a different kind of journey to the ones you will most likely have taken before. It shows you that it is both fun and challenging to play the role of a God, and can keep you pleasantly stimulated for many, many hours.

MAIN GOOD POINTS

* Varied modes of play (God Mode / Action Mode) keep things interesting
* Enjoyable plot
* Good use of the console's abilities in terms of graphics and sound

MAIN BAD POINTS

* Each area is basically the same as the area before it in terms of what you have to do and, whilst I didn't find this to be a problem, some of you may feel this makes the game a bit repetitive.

SO SHOULD YOU GET IT ?

If you can find yourself a cheap copy then I would say yep, definitely go and get yourself a copy. Actraiser is a game that reminds you that consoles don't have to be massively powerful with x million colours and Dolby Surround Sound to be thoroughly enjoyable. This little beauty will be with me for a long, long time to come !! :)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/24/07