Wanderlust: Rebirth

When I first saw this game in the Steam store, my first thought was, wow it looks like a SNES game, I'm happy they still make these kinds of games. I then began doubting if it actually was any good so I linked it to a dear friend and asked what he thought and he instantly said: "I want that... and I am buying it, right now...". And yes, he liked it and we've now played through the game once together. I therefore thought it only proper that I review it.

Wanderlust: Rebirth is in most part a dungeon crawler with simple controls. That's all on its own, but there's quite a bit of complexity hidden underneath.
You can choose from 4 different classes and 4 people can play at the same time. It's definitely recommended that you play this game with a friend, this is especially true in the later stages.

The controls are responsive and an obvious inspiration source for controls and visuals is the Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past. The style looks great, but you may want to adjust the settings to remove clouds because they can severely get in the way. 

Your rewarded for playing well and the level up system is out of the ordinary. You get points that you use to get new skills after each level depending on your performance. For example if you get a 90% score you get 90 points to unlock skills. If you then replay the level, you can ever only recieve 10 points more from the remaining 10% you missed. 

The loot system is a mixture between a crafting system and a drop-system. The games biggest flaw is the small stash-size for loot. This makes it difficult getting all the ingredients you need for a certain recipe, since you always need to throw away stuff to make room (stuff you would have actually needed later). This can be a hassle and requires you to always be aware of what you have and what to get, which honestly is a bit frustrating.

This is a minor issue though and a patch could easily remedy this problem.

Though there is story and dialog , chances are it won't entertain you that much. Ramming down hordes of enemies and collecting loot is what you came for and what will keep you interested.

Much like the Diablo games, the end in this game, isn't quite the end. In order to get the best ending it's a requirement to play through the story several times. So for those willing, there's more than just the 5 hour campaign to get here.

If you're looking for a 10€ hack and slash adventure game to play for a couple of hours with your friends, I definitely recommend this title!

the Witcher Review

Video-review:



Written-review:

The witcher is a singleplayer RPG similar to games such as Knights of the Old Republic and Dragon Age. You play as white-haired monsterslayer Geralt of Rivia also known as the white wolf. The intro sequence shows Geralt with memory-loss being carried towards Kaer Morhen home and training grounds for the witchers, mercenaries genetically modified to slay monsters.
Shortly after Geralt is reunited with his forgotten friends who long thought him dead Kaer Morhen is attacked by a gang of thieves and a mysterious sorcerer intending to steal the witchers secrets. Desperate to retrieve them Geralt and his friends set out on a quest for revenge on these myserious bandits called the Salamandra.
The story-line is deep and contains satisfying plot-elements and keeps you on your toes throughout the game. It's divided into chapters and each chapter represents a new zone to explore. Being a mostly linnear you still mantain freedom in the choices you have to make deciding who to trust in a world full of conlfict and despair.
The combat in the game is made up by three core mechanics, magic spells; called signs, alchemy; granting you potions and bombs by combining ingredients you find and finally swordplay.

Geralt uses two kinds of swords, one for humans and another for monsters. In battle you choose between three stances called styles; heavy, quick and group. They are useful in context to what situation of combat you are in. To attack you simply click an enemy. By clicking continiously with the right timing you can perform combos to rack up the damage. While fighting you are free to move around which, this is useful to find more strategic positions or avoid damage. All these elements put together gives the game a fluent feel that keeps the game action-packed and intresting.

In the witcher potions play a big role since they give you a temporary status boost that can be essential in the more pressing battles. The spells at your disposal are few in number and very straight forward, but fun to use in their given situations. Among their uses are stunning your opponent, setting a trap or escaping an otherwise certain death.
All these aspects of the game are upgradeable through the games talent-system. After each level gained you acquire points that you assign, giving Geralt new skills, status upgrades and combos for your 3 combat styles.

In my opinion the game is best played with the usual FPS type of controls of WASD and mouse. But, you have the option of playing it like a more traditional action-rpg in the vein of Diablo using mostly the mouse.
The cutscenes in the game are of high-quality and the voice-acting of especially Geralt stands out. His personality is very intresting and fits both the hero, and anti-hero archetype depending on your preferance for the story. He has a lot of intresting backstory that unfolds along the adventure.

The artistic design shines with beautiful lakes forests and believable medievil townsettings. Characters you encounter are highly detailed but are lacking the animation vareity, especially in dialouge sequences. You will also see the same type of models being re-used a lot. The musical score is often fantastic and does a great job at portraying the grim world Geralt travels. There are though some moments the music feels out of place and overly dramatic during the night sequences.

The sequel "witcher 2 assassins of kings" has been released, and picks up right after the first one. You have the option of importing your save from the witcher 1 when starting a new game in the witcher 2.
If you're looking for a deep mature and story-driven classic-styled RPG then you should definately check out the Witcher. It can be bought very cheaply on download-services such as Steam or GoG.com.