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Harbinger

Score: 50%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: DreamCatcher Interactive
Developer: Silverback Entertainment
Media: CD/1
Players: 1
Genre: RPG

Graphics & Sound:

Harbinger is an isometric 3D action oriented role playing game (RPG). It's graphics and sound are not revolutionary, or even evolutionary for that matter, but they are adequate, with crisp 3D environments and simple, decent sound effects and music. Its animation is choppy, lacking the fluidity of most similar titles, and the ambience of the entire game is pretty lackluster.

Gameplay:

Harbinger is an RPG that is set in a science fiction universe. The entire game takes place aboard a space ship, with a simple system used to move around from one area of the ship to another. Like the aural and visual trappings, gameplay is rather simplistic, with a limited combat system, basic role playing elements, and a rather lame storyline.

While the game does offer three character classes, Human, Gladiator and Culibine, they don't differ all that much. Each has its own set of gadgets, and the Culibine has a different melee attack, but they all play about the same. All of the classes have a ranged attack, and this is what you end up using most of the time. The melee attack is ineffective against most foes, so combat boils down to continually pounding away at foes with your ranged attack, moving away from them as they get closer to your character, and repeating the ranged attack until they are dead.

There are a number of items to find and buy in the game, but unlike almost every other RPG on the market, this isn't a very fun aspect of the game. While it is necessary to buy health packs, and there are some items worth buying in the game, there isn't the same level of excitement in obtaining weapons and armor that you find in most RPGs.


Difficulty:

Harbinger is a fairly easy game, with a combat system that can be easily mastered. Most players will find the gameplay fairly transparent, and the result is a game that is neither challenging nor difficult. A deeper combat system would have helped make the game more challenging, but as it stands, the game just doesn't compare to other action oriented RPGs.

Game Mechanics:

While somewhat unfriendly, Harbinger's user interface also isn't too difficult to get around in. Load and save times are decent, and movement in the game is straightforward. Screens to buy, sell, and equip characters are simple, and overall, the game is easy and simple to use.

Harbinger's user manual makes one think it has excellent gameplay, but it falls far short. It has average graphics and sound, poor combat, a very shallow RPG system, and only decent presentation. One could consider it worth buying simply because it has a low price tag, but the fact of the matter is, Harbinger is not worth playing even if it was free.


-Gordy, GameVortex Communications
AKA Gary Lucero

Minimum System Requirements:



PIII 500 or equivalent, 128 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 16 MB VRAM, 650 MB disk space, DirectX 8.0.
 

Test System:



Windows XP Home, 2 GHz Pentium 4, 256MB RAM, GeForce 4 Ti4200 w/64MB RAM, SoundBlaster Live! Value, 32x DVD-ROM.

Windows Gorasul: The Legacy of the Dragon Windows Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated