Enclave

"You either really like it or really hate it"

If you’ve read most of the official reviews for Enclave you will probably think this game is really bad. However I can't stress enough how important it is to check this game out yourself. Reviews aren't always a reliable source when you decide to buy a new game. In fact you might have missed some very enjoyable games already, because the official reviewers considered them to be bad. I will try to explain why I think Enclave is a game that has to be in your xbox library.

Story
A long time ago there was this great war between good and evil. When the war seemed lost a wizard used a powerful spell to split open the earth and create an Enclave. The people on this Enclave started to live a normal life again, but in the rest of the world the evil continued growing. These outlanders waited for the opportunity to attack. In time the earth started to heal and the outlanders were able to reach the Enclave in certain area's. So the war continued. You start the game with a Knight who has been put in jail because he didn’t want to pay his taxes.

Gameplay
You might think that Enclave is an rpg, but it is in fact an action/adventure game. You can't raise the stats of your characters. You start with one character and you obtain more characters during the game. However you can only play with one character at a time. The game consists of two campaigns. A light (good) and a dark (evil) one. The dark campaign isn't available from the start. Each campaign has six different characters not including any secret characters.

Both campaigns contain several missions. Before a mission starts you can choose which character you want to use for the mission. You can also buy weapons, armour and items with gold you find and earn when completing the missions. When you progress in the game more equipment will become available. You will learn that using a different character can make a level much easier or harder. The game forces you to use every character and become familiar with their abilities very early in the game. For instance you can play as a Knight who excels in melee combat, a Druid who uses various forms of magic or a Huntress who can take enemies out over long distances using a bow. These and other characters all have about equal strengths and weaknesses.

The controls are very much like an FPS. Many people compare the controls with those of Max Payne. I was surprised how well the controls work with the very different characters. They are very easy to use, but require some practice. Melee combat may seem a little awkward in the beginning, but once you learn to use your shield and time your blows you will really enjoy it. The standard view is third person, but you can switch to first person if you want. However you will have to decide for yourself which view is best used in certain situations. I only used first person when using the bow and to check the surroundings.

The biggest complaint about Enclave is the lack of in game saves. The missions aren't really that long, but that doesn't mean you will finish them in no-time. Almost every enemy in the game is capable of killing you if you aren't careful. Also many missions will contain traps like spikes rising from the floor or bridges and stairs which suddenly break. Every time you die you will have to restart the mission. This may seem very annoying, but it is definitely not.

The lack of in game saves will keep you on edge during the entire mission. You will actually be afraid of your enemy. This will force you to find the best strategy for a mission and the best character to use. You will find that the enemy AI and the level design allow you to improvise a lot. Off course you will die many times, but eventually you will succeed and you will find that the mission wasn't actually that hard at all. You just didn't know the right strategy yet. The process of figuring out how to finish a mission is the part of Enclave you will either really hate or really love.

Graphics
Games such as Enclave remind you why you bought the xbox console in the first place. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. The detail is by far the most impressive aspect of the game. The environments are all very well designed and every character looks and moves great. This is definitely one of the most impressive xbox games yet. The framerate is constant most of the time. The game supports widescreen.

Sound
The orchestrated music fits the game perfectly and so do the sound effects. Every mission has specific ambient sounds and music gets louder when you engage in combat. I only wish the game had more different soundtracks, but that's the only complaint I have. I really wish more games had music like this. It's almost like the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings. Actually the entire game is a lot like Lord of the Rings.

Conclusion
I think Enclave is one of the best games for the xbox. The games I played recently were all very short and I didn't really feel like they provided the gamer with a challenge anymore. You just seemed to follow the road that had been laid out for you. Enclave may not be perfect, but it's shortcomings never bothered me one second. I really enjoyed playing the missions over and over using different characters and different strategies. In my opinion we need more developers like Starbreeze studios.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/05/02, Updated 08/05/02