My 2 Copper
Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:59 pmThis game was a big surprise, almost a diamond in the rough, I found myself considering it. It has a bit of flaws knocking it down from there, and yet, still so much unique quality. I normally don't post ratings and the like for games, but I felt this one deserved it, being what seems a slight push from being just "very unique niche worth playing" to a "Surprisingly awesome new franchise." ((Lil bit of spoilers))
The story was intriguing, and it certainly left me wanting to see/know more. Put perhaps too much so. It was straight to the point of the campaign. I was interested in seeing simply more of this world and more interactions with the characters, and "more" in general. The ending was actually pretty cool and clever...but felt abrupt and a lil unsatisfying. I'm really hoping that more comes from this, in terms of a solid DLC or even sequels or the like. I would have loved a New Game+, preferably with more story or content unlocked with it, (The replay value of the more difficult modes just isn't quite appealing enough). I loved the characters, Cyanide is great at having unique characters in these sort of games, and rarely do I find myself disliking them. The variety in them is incredible in its own regard, and I really did wish that there were more indepth interactions between them, like the little conversation between Frinz and Knokka.
The gameplay was something I had been looking for, for some time. I was always a fan of the storymode's to RTS's that focused on the heroes, strategies, and combat rather than building, and I'm a fan of MOBAs in general, however, Aarklash gives me 8 heroes, 4 at a time, in a series of well-designed strategic encounters that gave me fond memories of mmorpg raid encounters and how to approach/deal with boss's unique abilities. Of Orcs and Men was a step in the right direction, but it was lacking in the fact you only had the two characters; Aarklash succeeds in correcting that flaw by a great deal. Though, I honestly would have enjoyed having more situations that forced me to use different combinations of the heroes, as once I found my "favorite 4"...I didn't feel the need to continue with the others, despite the fact I'd have enjoyed the mix-up.
The Skill-Spec system was great for further advancing the characters and designing strategies with them, and...while some of the choices seemed questionable in terms of comparing them (Some seeming obvious choices to others seeming relatively pointless), the variety, and choice for having them skill-specific with variations, was excellent. The item system, I honestly kinda liked. It was streamlined and quick, no need for money, selling, or shops. Considering the story and all, it fit really well, though I suppose it is a bit of a bump in the road to often stop and compare items every so often, but that's just a common facet of variable-stat loot games.
The major downsides I would consider to the game would be, well, one, the puzzles were gratuitous. Ridiculously so. A few are okay, but a giant mass of them back to back were just time-consuming and keeping me away from the parts of the game I enjoyed. Other than that...really, the game just needs expanding. A lot of the story could definitely do with more delving into; who're the people in the world? what exactly was the artifact we picked up in the beginning that seems to protect us from the mindcontrol? what other awesome things could our heroes be getting into? and what other awesome wheelswords might Cyanide create?
Like I said, this game could do well with a sequel.
The story was intriguing, and it certainly left me wanting to see/know more. Put perhaps too much so. It was straight to the point of the campaign. I was interested in seeing simply more of this world and more interactions with the characters, and "more" in general. The ending was actually pretty cool and clever...but felt abrupt and a lil unsatisfying. I'm really hoping that more comes from this, in terms of a solid DLC or even sequels or the like. I would have loved a New Game+, preferably with more story or content unlocked with it, (The replay value of the more difficult modes just isn't quite appealing enough). I loved the characters, Cyanide is great at having unique characters in these sort of games, and rarely do I find myself disliking them. The variety in them is incredible in its own regard, and I really did wish that there were more indepth interactions between them, like the little conversation between Frinz and Knokka.
The gameplay was something I had been looking for, for some time. I was always a fan of the storymode's to RTS's that focused on the heroes, strategies, and combat rather than building, and I'm a fan of MOBAs in general, however, Aarklash gives me 8 heroes, 4 at a time, in a series of well-designed strategic encounters that gave me fond memories of mmorpg raid encounters and how to approach/deal with boss's unique abilities. Of Orcs and Men was a step in the right direction, but it was lacking in the fact you only had the two characters; Aarklash succeeds in correcting that flaw by a great deal. Though, I honestly would have enjoyed having more situations that forced me to use different combinations of the heroes, as once I found my "favorite 4"...I didn't feel the need to continue with the others, despite the fact I'd have enjoyed the mix-up.
The Skill-Spec system was great for further advancing the characters and designing strategies with them, and...while some of the choices seemed questionable in terms of comparing them (Some seeming obvious choices to others seeming relatively pointless), the variety, and choice for having them skill-specific with variations, was excellent. The item system, I honestly kinda liked. It was streamlined and quick, no need for money, selling, or shops. Considering the story and all, it fit really well, though I suppose it is a bit of a bump in the road to often stop and compare items every so often, but that's just a common facet of variable-stat loot games.
The major downsides I would consider to the game would be, well, one, the puzzles were gratuitous. Ridiculously so. A few are okay, but a giant mass of them back to back were just time-consuming and keeping me away from the parts of the game I enjoyed. Other than that...really, the game just needs expanding. A lot of the story could definitely do with more delving into; who're the people in the world? what exactly was the artifact we picked up in the beginning that seems to protect us from the mindcontrol? what other awesome things could our heroes be getting into? and what other awesome wheelswords might Cyanide create?
Like I said, this game could do well with a sequel.
