 |
|
6.7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RISE OF THE ARGONAUTS Posted by Joe Anderson on Dec 28, 2008 15:34 (Dec 28, 2008 15:34) |
||||||||||||||||
The Greeks are soon to hit our shores in the form of Rise of the Argonauts, an RPG which is based loosely on Greek Mythology. But can a game such as this appeal to the masses or are there only a limited few out there who would give this a second look?
There is no doubt that Rise of the Argonauts is a blend of action and RPG, gone are the usual constraints that accompany the combat side RPG’s and in their place is a fast paced system which has you worrying more about what buttons you are pushing to hit the enemy rather than wondering what spell to use or if it’s time for healing. On the other hand though, this game is still very much RPG based, which you will notice as you wander around the lands talking to people and trying to figure out your next move.
 The game certainly starts with a bang as Jason’s wife is taken from him after being killed by a mysterious stranger, this then results in him swearing that he will travel the lands in order to find a way to revive her, and so your adventure begins. As briefly mentioned once you get started you will get talking to all manner of people, these conversations allow you to decide the direction of the conversation by giving you several options, helping you get to the point or helping you to find out more information. Having sat through the majority of these conversations, I can easily say that in general they don’t tend to change the outcome of the game in anyway.
The combat system in Rise of the Argonauts sees you presenting a list of your accomplishments to the Gods, this then earns you favour points which can be used to purchase new abilities. The abilities that you will gain are nothing too special though with most of them just offering you the chance to cause more damage or regenerate your health. The abilities can also only be used a limited amount of times during combat due to them needing to recharge themselves.
Most of the battles you will be involved in encourage you to use simple combos such as X,X,Y, with there not being much reason to do things differently, the other downside to this is that the majority of the enemies, (be they demons or other beasts) that you encounter will be able to be defeated in this way, which is a shame really as a bit more variety wouldn’t really have hurt anyone much. The only time you will get a break from the rather stale fighting is when you face the bosses, although like in most games of these types, once you master the timings of these big bad guys, they can be easily brushed aside.
Another downside to the game is that although you are accompanied by such powerhouses as Achilles, Hercules, and Atalanta, you simply cannot control any of them, sure it’s nice that they fight by your side, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could be the one crushing an enemies head using the might of Hercules rather than the computer doing it for you? This to me is a big oversight from the developers and one that certainly damages the playability factor.
 Graphically although the cutscenes are of a decent standard with the only major annoyance in this area being that the framerate is very sloppy due to it constantly dropping, especially when the screen gets a bit crowded. It is a pity really because in general the game looks pretty good, the characters and their equipment are well detailed and some the environments which you will pass through on your mission look stunning.
The presentation elsewhere is of a decent standard, the voice acting is passable, while the soundtrack really helps add to the atmosphere of the game. The dialogue can drag on a bit sometimes however the developers have done a good job in this area of the game.
Rise of the Argonauts is a bit of a mixed bag really, exploring the lands of ancient Greece is certainly going to appeal to some people and in this respect the game just about gets the pass mark it needs, however if you are looking for an RPG to immerse yourself in and which will keep you busy for months then you may want to look elsewhere.
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
Comments |  |
