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Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm

Score: 85%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: Crave
Developer: Treyarch
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: Action/ Adventure

Graphics & Sound:

The graphics in Draconus are absolutely gorgeous, with great character models and interesting enemy design. I really liked the way that the goblin-style enemies looked, and it was easy to discern between the various baddies that assaulted you. Not to mention, the environments that you roam around in, from the deep dungeons to the sweeping forests, ooze character. You feel like you’re really there, which is more than can be said of most games of the genre. There are some weird issues, though -- you can often see the ‘white misty void’ through seams in the polygons, only to have said seams disappear as you near the area in question. It’s distracting, but not all that terrible.

The sound in the game is excellent, with groovy music and (for the most part) good voice acting. The main characters, Aeowyn and Cynric, both have great voice actors, with a sarcastic tone that Ash would be proud of. The rest are a mixed bag, with some of the enemies (notably the goblin-derivatives) really grating on my nerves, while others being quite good. It’s easy to overlook such problems, though.


Gameplay:

If Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm had pretended to be some deep action/adventure/RPG like Deus Ex, it would have been a failed experiment. Instead, Treyarch’s little adventure has a little fun with itself. You take the role of Aeowyn the Sorceress or Cynric the Warrior, out to save the world. Yadda, yadda. The plot is hackeneyed, leading you from one fetch-quest to another, but that’s not where the game is trying to go. What Draconus does well is throw you into the thick of entertaining battles and interesting landscapes, letting you roam around levels looking at the pretty scenery and slaughtering monsters. And it’s a damn fine romp. You’ll find yourself busting it up on everything from massive Minotaurs to tiny little goblin-dudes, and you’d be surprised which ones can kick your ass the easiest. One on one combat is always entertaining, with you able to block the enemies’ attacks, and then wail on them with your weapon of choice. The game gets a little spotty when it comes to multiple enemies, though, as the action seems to mainly favor the enemy wailing on you. I found that playing with Cynric made it somewhat easier, as I could just pound the attack button until all but one baddie died, and then switch back to strategic combat. Not the best solution, mind you, but one that worked.

As you play the game, you’ll be sent on mini-quests in each map. Save X, get Y, bring to Z. They appear on your map as red X’s when you haven’t completed them, and green X’s when you have. This way, you can always keep track of where you’re going and what you’re doing. And since you can’t actually ‘save’ but between levels, the game lets you place a Mark, which is basically a quick-save that disappears when you turn the power off. This is -insanely- handy, and I recommend this sort of thing to any game designer that can’t afford a true save-anywhere feature.


Difficulty:

Much of the difficulty in Draconus comes from having to fight more than one enemy at a time. When you don’t, you’ll find that you can whip through levels with barely a scratch. I found that it was easier to play as Cynric than as Aeowyn, because he could do more damage and take a little more. But as the game goes on and you upgrade your characters, they seem to converge to both decent spellcasters and good damage-takers. I still prefer Cynric, though, which is actually rather surprising, considering my love of magic.

Game Mechanics:

As mentioned before, you choose a character at the beginning of the game that determines your starting concentration. As you play, you find Wisps that let you upgrade after you find five. In addition, after each level, you get a free upgrade. This allows you to customize your characters as you like, getting the spells and armor that you want. I found this to be a nice touch. The controls are tight, if a bit unresponsive at times, while the menus are clear and understandable. Draconus isn’t the gods’ gift to the human race when it comes to action/adventure hybrids. But neither is it a bad game. Its flaws can’t hide the fact that, underneath it all, Draconus: Cults of the Wyrm is a damned fun title. It may not be deep, it may not be a System Shock, but it’ll keep you hella entertained for a few hours. And that’s why we play games anyway, isn’t it?

-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications
AKA Phil Bordelon

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