So bad and full of character that I loved it.
Ok so, this is one of those games that are just so innocently terrible you can't help falling in love with them.
As of today, 09/07/2012, Skyrim is the RPG everyone went nuts for; well I'm telling you, Skyrim doesn't even have half the character of this game.
If you have played games like Gothic then you will be familiar with the mild-mannered Chuck Norris type heroes these European games feature, and you will love the awkward and stiff dialog! But despite the strange opening and mild yet violent hero the game becomes quite captivating.
I'm not going to give even slight spoilers, the story is actually pretty original and told in a unique way as well; what I will say though is that there isn't the usual "Hero vs 'Evil thing with silly fantasy name'" (although there is plenty of silly fantasy names), instead you are searching for your sister who has been kidnapped and held ransom.
So while doing jobs as part of the ransom you get to travel across this very fleshed out world: you will start out in filthy peasant lands but will travel to military outposts of a Roman-like empire, visit large trading citiescastles and you can choose different factions to side with.
You can buy horses which are actually useful (the world is quite large, probably bigger than OblivionSkyrim and laid out in a more sprawling fashion) and do tons and tons and tons of odd jobsquests etc (work for merchant guilds for example).
So it's not just a big empty world! And if you travel around you will scare the crap out of yourself, you will come across weird powerful creatures and outposts; there's a sense of danger from the wilderness that just isn't found in Elder Scrolls games.
Now for the combat: very actiony, you have a Diablo style random loot system combined with a Devil May Cry third person action approach.
For those who aren't familiar with the genresgames I mentioned: The lootequipment you wear regularly increases in quality and abilities, it makes combat and treasure hunting exciting since it is randomized, you will always look forward to checking the shops out or hunting for treasure chests. When fighting you have different abilities depending on what style of combat you are after, melee characters can learn different attacks and magic characters can craftlearn different spells.
The character development is actually quite deep and there is no level limit, so you can take your time and dive deep into this game; all its mechanics are expanded nicely; Magic, Combat, Archery, Alchemy, Adventuring, Story path.
It's unpolished, awkward and has retarded rock dragons, but when you play a game where the developers were willing to try new things and actually bring a little life into their game you can't help but have fun with it.
For the price GoG are asking it's hard to fault the value, very big game and fun to terrorize in.
12 gamers found this review helpful