Take a twist on the Greek God Zeus and add a twist of fantasy, sprinkle in some Dawn of the Ancients (DOTA) from Warcraft III and you get the basic recipe for Demigod. Currently released by Stardock and Gas Powered Games, Demigod, pits competitors against each other for the right to ascend to full god status after the disappearance of the All Father. Each competitor has its own unique story and background that can be found on their website
.At the start of the game the opening CG movie does a decent job of telling you just enough to give you a background on the story. As you start the game you have the option of selecting single player, multiplayer, and your options to select from. For the first time player I highly suggest doing a couple of skirmishes before venturing into the multiplayer realm. Our introductions to the eight demigods that are battling it out are relatively short. You are gifted with an animated model that is exquisitely detailed and has a description of the hero's strength and weaknesses as well as a short description of the hero himself/herself.
The game plays as a mix of a RPG and a RTS. Choose your demigod that you want to lead into battle and get ready for some bloodletting. The characters are broken down into two categories, Assassins and Generals. Assassins have a strong melee or front line element to them while the Generals hold more of the buffing and leading small groups into battle. You control your hero with no general command over the rest of the army as you fight your way to your opponent's citadel. Along the way you capture flags that help your side raise gold and experience to advance your character. Items such as armor, potions, scrolls, rings, or trinkets allow you to customize your character to a battle style of your choosing. You can pick up weapons also but expect to have to capture a certain point and have some gold saved up.
After the initial start up of the game you are exposed to a vibrant opening splash screen of a vibrant sky. The developers of this game really tried to capture a fully detailed looking model of the different demigods. Each model had its own characteristic about it that would make it stand out and look unique. Let's take The Rook for example; the story is that he is a living castle that animates in time of need. The detail is noticeable most when you zoom in on your hero during the game. The Rook's details on the skin show different stones that make up the entire figure of the Rook, and towers that are built on the shoulders each show animation through out the battle such as arrows launching out of windows or a trebuchet built on the top to launch rocks at your enemies. As you upgrade him, different models are added to him and more animation is shown fluidly with out lagging down everything else that is happening on the game. The map visuals also provide different environments to enjoy. Some maps provide serene scenery and flowing waterfalls, while another may show off a dark and evil background while you battle your opponent. Even your army seems to be detailed enough to recognize what the different units are. The buildings on the other hand do seem to be kept to a basic model to minimize the screen clutter since they only really provide a support role other then the Citadel in which serves as your home base.
I will have to say that the sound quality in the game environment surpassed my initial expectations. The battle starts with some capturing music running in the background. You can hear the sounds of your army as they battle your opponent in savage combat. One thing that did seem to annoy me just a bit was the repetition of the voices of the demigods themselves. At first hearing the different comments and voices really sells you on the complete immersion of the characters, but soon some of them degenerate into a much more repetitive rambling of repeated taunts and comments that seem to be triggered a little too often. The overall sound did a great job of locking you into the combat and feel of the game.
After spending some time with the game and really getting to try out many of the heroes in this game, it leaves you coming back for more. With the option to play single player skirmishes or tournaments, it allows you to practice and get a good grip on the game and different demigods. Once you feel confident with your skill you can venture forth into multiplayer mode with online or LAN matches with friends. One thing that this game can really use is a tutorial mode to introduce you to all the different things that you can do in this game. The game really throws you into a trial by fire situation which may discourage some players from wanting to venture to deep into the game. The maps are symmetrical so no one side has a distinct advantage then the other. Having to figure out the tech trees for your army as well as your hero can be confusing to figure out on your own. The game will throw you at the opponent with little more then a prayer to the gods and you to figure out what exactly to do. Despite its short comings and few issues Demigod provides a solid game play package with hours of replay value that will leave you wanting more and with the promise of more demigods in the future.
All in all if you like DOTA, I believe you will get a kick out of Demigod. Interesting game play mechanics with just enough storyline to make you care, and variety with the beautiful graphics will have you coming back for more. Now if you don't mind I have some face smashing to get back to.
Score - 8.0/10.0
- Arcgore
article id: 502 | poster: OG
