After playing
through Champions of Norrath: Realms of Everquest on the PS2 several
years ago, I was convinced that the genre was headed in the right direction.
From the gorgeous visuals to the near-infinite replay value, almost everything
in Norrath seemed to fit together perfectly. It appeared that the age-old
formula introduced by Gauntlet nearly a decade ago had finally managed to
mature into the total package, complete with enough variety and gameplay options
to propel it out of the one-trick pony department. Unfortunately, nearly all
progress stopped there.
Eventually
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II, the sequel to the smash-hit Dark
Alliance, and Champions: Return to Arms, the sequel to Realms of
Everquest were released, but unfortunately, both seemed like mere shadows of
their former selves. Sony even released their very own IP, Untold Legends:
Brotherhood of the Blade on the PSP, and although it provided fans with a
decent handheld journey, it offered minimal advancements in innovation. All of
the convincing progress that the genre had made over the years appeared to
suddenly halt, unfortunately sending us back to the stone age of video games.
Perhaps it’s not
that bad, but it does raise one question. Why does the hack ‘n slash genre seem
to lag so far behind in the innovation department? Will it take a game of
System Shock or Deus Ex proportions to convince developers that the
genre can move forward? Maybe having a near-perfect example like Champions of
Norrath to draw inspiration from is not enough. Maybe hardware or software
limitations are the real cause, and maybe publishers and developers have been
chomping at the bit to provide users with experiences they will not soon forget
for some time now, and just haven’t been able to.
Well, the time has
come. It’s officially the next generation of gaming. We have Blu-ray discs that
can hold nearly 50GB data, we have motion-sensing controllers that can mimic our
movements onscreen, and we can see what our friends are doing hundreds of miles
away by just turning on our Xbox 360s. But, will anyone actually use these tools
to innovate, redesign, and push the envelope on the software side of our gaming
experiences?
Certainly, the
name Sony Online Entertainment comes to mind as a contender, especially in the
hack ‘n slash genre, considering they have developed and published over 20
titles in that category. Unfortunately, however, it seems that more than
experience and a decent record of accomplishment are required to innovate,
because their latest effort, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom for the PS3
falls considerably short of reaching that goal. In fact, to say it even comes
close would be a complete lie, and an unkindly slap in the face to some past
games that have strived so valiantly to evolve, rather than replicate.
Most of the game’s
mediocrity is present right from the beginning, as you only have the option to
play as three different pre-formed characters. Therefore, unless you are fond of
playing through as a warrior, ranger, or mage, then you are going to be out of
luck.
What is sad about
the character creation process is that as a whole, games have progressed
immensely in this department (Oblivion), and yet Dark Kingdom
offers a creation set that is more suited for the mid to late 90’s. Honestly, we
shouldn’t expect the good old hack ‘n slash to be as deep as some of the larger
scale RPG’s, but I don’t think that offering gamers a few different options is
too much to ask. Being able to add a little flavor and slight resemblance to
yourself is something many gamers find enjoyable in role-playing, and sadly, it
just isn’t doable here.
Another startling
factor is the lack of attention towards equipment, and how it affects your
characters appearance overall. One of the greatest parts of Champions of
Norrath was its gigantic armor inventory, all that looked astonishingly
polished and unique, while at the same time allowing for near-endless outcomes
aesthetically. Kingdoms most certainly has plenty of armor pieces
floating around, but very few of them change your character’s exterior the way
we would have hoped. It all just seems shallow when compared to past efforts,
which is a shame considering the PS3’s power and disk capacity, which is most
assuringly greater than what is being displayed.
Quite possibly the
game’s biggest problem has nothing to do with monotonous enemy after enemy, or a
lack of customization options, but rather with your ability to deal with the
horrendous camera angles while trekking through the land of Dureth, which is
filled with numerous obstacles such as rocks, trees, and gigantic walls by the
way. All of which do their best to impede your view and character when and
wherever they can. While zoomed in the camera twists and turns to the level of
nauseam, and zoomed out it constantly tries to find the correct viewing angle
for you, which is usually very far away from the action, where of course all the
aforementioned objects seem to block your view of the action. This usually
results in a lot of fine-tuning manually, and unfortunately, it stays this way
for most of the game, even while you are fighting off multiple enemies at once.
Even with all the
downfalls, many people will still find Dark Kingdoms enjoyable. Problems
like these have existed for years in the genre, and to say that they alone will
stop the game from selling would be naive. For those of us who are expecting
something more for our money, especially since we have now drifted into the next
generation of video games, offerings like these are becoming less and less
acceptable. I hope that SOE will take these criticisms to heart, and turn the
next installment in the series into a truly next generation experience, because
if history has taught us anything, it’s certain there will be one.
|
Review Scoring Details Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom |
Gameplay: 6.0
Dark Kingdom does very little to innovate or provide veterans with
something they haven’t seen before. Even the new essence and weapon crafting
system seems shallow considering the hardware. The constant drops in frame rate
also hinder some of the enjoyment, but having said that, most fans of the genre
will see the adventure through, despite the numerous issues mentioned above.
Graphics: 7.0
Visually Dark Kingdoms excels for the most part, but it does have its
drawbacks. Frame rate drops pretty significantly sometimes, and gameplay is
nearly stopped at certain points while locations and landmarks are being
rendered. In addition, load times are a little longer than most people will
expect, but to help make up for it the game looks sharp, stunning, and beautiful
at times.
Sound: 7.5
Most of the voice-over in Kingdoms lacks conviction to say the least, but
the amazing score helps overshadow most of that. The audio effects from battles
are also very well done, but something still seems missing from the overall
formula.
Difficulty:
Easy/Medium
Concept: 6.0
The concept of the
hack ‘slash is nothing new, and neither is the concept of taking the same exact
experience from past years, adding a coat of visual flare, and reselling it.
Dark Kingdoms doesn’t exactly fit into that category, but its lack of
innovation certainly doesn’t help separate it either.
Multiplayer: 7.0
Gamers who enjoy
playing cooperatively will like what is offered here, as up to 4-players can
join the battle online. What is cool about this feature as you can take your
game saves online, play for a while, and then continue your journey offline when
you are ready. Unfortunately, all problems that existed offline are present in
the online portion as well, but at least you can experience it with friends.
Overall: 6.5
A mediocre attempt at furthering a genre that has almost completely stalled in
its progress. Thankfully, fans of the genre will continue to feel right at home
with Dark Kingdoms, but they will have to suffer through some annoying
anomalies to fully enjoy it.
