"Fans of the Exile Trilogy, get this!"

Introduction: Those who have played any of the games of the Exile Trilogy know how it left you wanting more. And that’s what Blades of Exile gives you. Blades of Exile is a scenario-based RPG. What does scenario-based mean, you ask? Well, that means that you can make and play your own custom adventures. The game comes with three scenarios made by the author of the game. You can also download some from the Internet when you get bored with your own.

Story: VARIES
Since you can download custom-made scenarios right off the Internet, I guess that this would get a ten, just because of massive amount of variety.

Graphics: 5/10
The basic, “built-in” graphics are identical to Exile III: Ruined World. The default graphics are not too bad, and you will be able to survive with them. However, the game is still two dimensional, so don’t expect miracles from the graphics. One improvement, though, is that scenarios can contain custom graphics files. That means that you can create or use your own pre-made graphics to enhance the game. However, this feature is tough to get the hang of. Look to the instruction documentation for help with this.

Sounds: 8/10
The sounds are good, but how they seem to you really depends on the author of the scenario. They could use the wrong sound at the wrong time. But the default sounds actually sound like what they are supposed to sound like. A spell sounds like a spell should, and other things sound pretty realistic too. As for music, the game contains none. If you want music, you’ll have to pop in your own CD and start jammin (having no music is probably a good thing)

Game Play: 10/10
Blades of Exile is easy to pick up on, and, once you do, you will have tons of fun. The controls are identical to the other games of the Exile trilogy, which means that they are easy to use. This game is extremely addictive, and you will want to play it for hours on end. The difficulty of the game differs from scenario to scenario, so you will almost always be satisfied by not playing a game that is way too hard or way too easy. One thing I should add is that you can use the same party from scenario to scenario. This is good because you can enter a hard scenario with appropriately strengthened adventurers.

Play Time: 10/10
There are short and long scenarios available on the Internet that will perfectly suit your picky tastes (if you have picky tastes). One scenario might take you six months to complete, one may take you two days or less. It all depends on the scenario and the strength of your party.

Replayability: 10/10
Blades of Exile is a game that virtually never ends. There are hundreds of scenarios available on the Internet to play after you beat the three that come with the registered version of the game. And, should you want to, you can always make your own scenarios for others to play (and you to play also). It will take many years to tire of Blades of Exile.

Scenario Creation: 10/10
It is easy to create scenarios for this game. There is a documentation with lots of help files, should you need it. Also, the scenario editor lets you use many advanced features to make your game as good as (or better than) the Exile epics themselves. You will have tons of fun creating scenarios for yours, and others, enjoyment.

Overall Score: 9/10
Well, the only thing I can find wrong with this game is the 2-D graphics. If it were 3-D, I would definitely give it a ten-out-of-ten. The game is simple, yet a heck of a lot of fun, and it never gets boring. What more could you ask for? To all of you debating whether or not to purchase this game, I say you definitely should.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/03