Depths of Peril reviewed twice more
Depths of Peril reviewed twice more
Review - posted by Elwro on Fri 18 January 2008, 21:42:35
Tags: Depths of PerilThe innovative cRPG by Soldak Entertainment has recently received two more reviews. Here's an excerpt from the first one, by GameTunnel:
In most RPGs, you’ve got a world full of things that need to be done by you, the hero. The quests don’t change much, and they will wait for you, the player, to get around to them – even if it takes years. The game will wait for you.
Depths of Peril is not that kind of game. The world changes as you play. Threats to the city build up if you – or one of the other factions – don’t stop it. An uprising of a particular monster type in an area, if not stopped, will give rise to a very powerful (and hard-to-kill) “boss” that rises to take leadership. If you (or the other covenants) don’t take care of this specific foe in a timely manner, it will gather together a kind of “posse” of powerful henchmen that will make it even more difficult to eliminate. Leave this new “super-group of evil” alone long enough, and they will unleash their evil plans upon the city – which could make life there very difficult for the NPCs, all the covenants, and your character.Sure beats those invasions which patiently wait for the player to come by we sometimes get in other games. Anyway, while the author criticizes small dungeons and lack of diplomacy feedback, the verdict is "Buy".
The second review comes from Gaming Nexus.
Most entertaining, however, are the missions handed out by potential recruits. They essentially place their fighting/healing/magic-using resume out on the table, and allow the competing barbarian covenants to win the recruit over. The recruit will make a certain demand -- collect X amount of materials, slay Y amount of beasts -- that you must fulfill in order to get the recruit onto your payroll. A timer starts counting down, and in case that isn’t enough time-pressure to place on a mission, it’s important to remember that the other NPCs are already out there, scouring the map, snatching up X amount of materials, or slaying Y amount of beasts. Prioritizing recruiting efforts, general quests, and controlling your inventory would be game enough. But Depths of Peril also adds political ingredients to the stew. Negotiating with your fellow barbarians is a fully-realized scenario that takes its cue from Rome: Total War. Money shifts hands, trade routes open and close, equipment is hauled back and forth, all in the name of temporary peace. Because the hands you shake today inevitably become the hands that squeeze your windpipe later.Check out the demo to see how windpipe-squeezing compares to collar-grabbing.
Spotted at: Blue's News
In most RPGs, you’ve got a world full of things that need to be done by you, the hero. The quests don’t change much, and they will wait for you, the player, to get around to them – even if it takes years. The game will wait for you.
Depths of Peril is not that kind of game. The world changes as you play. Threats to the city build up if you – or one of the other factions – don’t stop it. An uprising of a particular monster type in an area, if not stopped, will give rise to a very powerful (and hard-to-kill) “boss” that rises to take leadership. If you (or the other covenants) don’t take care of this specific foe in a timely manner, it will gather together a kind of “posse” of powerful henchmen that will make it even more difficult to eliminate. Leave this new “super-group of evil” alone long enough, and they will unleash their evil plans upon the city – which could make life there very difficult for the NPCs, all the covenants, and your character.
The second review comes from Gaming Nexus.
Most entertaining, however, are the missions handed out by potential recruits. They essentially place their fighting/healing/magic-using resume out on the table, and allow the competing barbarian covenants to win the recruit over. The recruit will make a certain demand -- collect X amount of materials, slay Y amount of beasts -- that you must fulfill in order to get the recruit onto your payroll. A timer starts counting down, and in case that isn’t enough time-pressure to place on a mission, it’s important to remember that the other NPCs are already out there, scouring the map, snatching up X amount of materials, or slaying Y amount of beasts. Prioritizing recruiting efforts, general quests, and controlling your inventory would be game enough. But Depths of Peril also adds political ingredients to the stew. Negotiating with your fellow barbarians is a fully-realized scenario that takes its cue from Rome: Total War. Money shifts hands, trade routes open and close, equipment is hauled back and forth, all in the name of temporary peace. Because the hands you shake today inevitably become the hands that squeeze your windpipe later.
Spotted at: Blue's News
