In a world of games that are
constantly borrowing each others ideas, ripping each other off, and trying to
cash in on the success of popular trends, it can often be no small task to try
and develop a game that stands out from the rest. In this respect, Mistmare
isn’t so bad – I honestly can’t say that it was thrown together to make a quick
buck. Unfortunately, I can say that the controls and interface feel largely
unfinished, and this reflects the game’s quality as a whole.
The storyline is
interesting, to say the least. The game takes place in another world, an
alternate dimension where technology isn’t quite up to par with the standards of
today. Though it might be the 1990’s, swords and shields are top-of-the-line
weaponry, and stone architecture and torch-lit hallways are nothing out of the
ordinary. According to the game, the Christian church devised a way to fight
the Black Death via their magical powers, but since then, a dark, foreboding fog
has wiped across much of the world. Your job is to hunt down a man for the
church, while learning magic and upgrading your weaponry along the way.
Magic spells – or as they’re
called here, chords – can be gathered throughout your adventure. There are
several different categories of these – some adding to your strength and other
physical attributes, while others might allow you to better use a certain
spell. There is also an interesting ability to "capture" enemies while in a
fight, and store them, until you need to summon them for help in a sticky
situation.
Unfortunately, the game’s
control is full of many kinks and annoyances. The basic control scheme gives
you a Point-and-Click-esque interface, where you can move the mouse cursor
around the screen and interact with the environment, or navigate the game’s
menus. But whenever the cursor moves close to the edge of the screen, the
camera takes off in that direction. It’s extremely hard to click something
while the camera is moving around – and it is moving around a lot. Plus, dialog
conversations appear in an annoying pop-up window, which requires you to
manually scroll it down to keep reading (even if there are some voice-overs) and
even requires you to close the window once the conversation’s over.
The fighting’s not much more
fun. Imagine how easy it is to click on a stationary object like a treasure
chest while the camera’s flailing around. Now imagine how easy it is to hit a
moving target while the camera’s flailing around. This results in many
frustrating situations. Thankfully, once you double-click an enemy, an auto-duel
sequence is engaged, and your character will keep fighting despite your cursor
movements. Of course, this also means that combat isn’t particularly deep.
This area of the game needed a lot of work.
The graphics in the game are
barely adequate – and despite the latest patch and adjusting the quality of
things in the options menu – textures are very blurry, animation is rather
sloppy, and it often seems is if as few polygons as possible were used to create
many of the models. The graphics as a whole wouldn’t be so bad, though, if the
frame-rate were more stable. Even on a system with well over the minimum
requirements, there was a lot of slowdown to be had and any video seemed
especially choppy.
The sound in the game is not
as bad as some other aspects. Although it’s tunes never really take off, I have
encountered far worse music in other games. Sound effects are decent, and the
voice acting is actually pretty solid; if you find yourself playing this game,
you shouldn’t have to worry about turning your speakers off.
All in all, Mistmare is a
title that seems very, very rushed. It’s crashed many times on me, the control
system is far from perfect (let alone decent), and the graphics are nothing at
all to rave about. Though there’s a decent storyline and some cool concepts
here, you will probably not want to trudge through the tedious gameplay to find
it. Though it’s only $20, you’re probably better off picking up something else
for your time.
Gameplay: 3.0
The control system is in
need of a lot of work – because it doesn’t work very well. Maneuvering the
mouse cursor to it’s target destination is more than a chore with the hap-hazard
camera system, and combat can get especially tedious.
Graphics: 4.0
It almost seems silly that a
game with blurry textures, low-detailed models, and shoddy animations would also
feature a choppy framerate, but I am afraid that is the case. The developers
assure us that performance is being worked on and should be better with future
patches.
Sound: 6.5
Though it may not be
anything to rave about, the game’s sound is easily one of it’s better aspects.
Decent music and sound effects are here, and the voice acting isn’t too shabby.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 7.0
There are some good ideas
here, admittedly. The back-story is certainly interesting, and some of the
magic is rather neat.
Overall: 5.0
Mistmare is a title that
lacks a lot of polish, but also lacks some important fundamental elements. The
interface is barely useable, and the combat is a fairly simple affair. The
graphics are weak, and though the story is interesting, you will probably not
want to play through the game to see the plot go forward.
