this game 'feels' a lot like an older and very good game called Darkstone, which came out in between Diablo and Diablo2 and was in a 3D environment,lets you change camera angles, download different skins for your character, etc... probably in the bargin bins if you want to try it.
anyway, DS's character models are rendered nicely (you can choose from different faces, bodies, tec) but it's really the environments that stands out; outdoors can snowing, have fog, etc. in the dungeon you can light the torches and look for levers on the wall -- all done with enough detail so it's not distracting from the gameplay but very discernable.
the game seems mostly bug free and the pathing AI is ok. aiming isn't the best especially since the screen centers on the character (you have have up to 8 in a party) you have selected -- the screen jumps a bit when you want to micro manage a big confrontation. you can set different reactions like an abbrevated version of Baldur's Gate's combat scripting.
the advancement of skill level and attribute is strictly tied into how you use your character(s). have someone always use a bow and their dex and ranged skill level will advance quicker. use prodominently spells (there are 2 schools, nature and combat magic that you can choose between) and the intelligence and magic (nature or combat) levels will advance faster. so there are no points you need to manually distribute once a character gains enough experience.
the plot itself is very linear (not necessarily a bad thing) with some subplots and very little in puzzle solving (up to chapter four where i am at the moment)...
all in all a good game... i know that 3 stars looks low but excepting for the multi-character party, if you've played Darkstone, you'd probably see this as a progressively better game but not revoluntionary nor a big leap over Diablo2.
this game 'feels' a lot like an older and very good game called Darkstone, which came out in between Diablo and Diablo2 and was in a 3D environment,lets you change camera angles, download different skins for your character, etc... probably in the bargin bins if you want to try it. anyway, DS's character models are rendered nicely (you can choose from different faces, bodies, tec) but it's really the environments that stands out; outdoors can snowing, have fog, etc. in the dungeon you can light the torches and look for levers on the wall -- all done with enough detail so it's not distracting from the gameplay but very discernable. the game seems mostly bug free and the pathing AI is ok. aiming isn't the best especially since the screen centers on the character (you have have up to 8 in a party) you have selected -- the screen jumps a bit when you want to micro manage a big confrontation. you can set different reactions like an abbrevated version of Baldur's Gate's combat scripting. the advancement of skill level and attribute is strictly tied into how you use your character(s). have someone always use a bow and their dex and ranged skill level will advance quicker. use prodominently spells (there are 2 schools, nature and combat magic that you can choose between) and the intelligence and magic (nature or combat) levels will advance faster. so there are no points you need to manually distribute once a character gains enough experience. the plot itself is very linear (not necessarily a bad thing) with some subplots and very little in puzzle solving (up to chapter four where i am at the moment)... all in all a good game... i know that 3 stars looks low but excepting for the multi-character party, if you've played Darkstone, you'd probably see this as a progressively better game but not revoluntionary nor a big leap over Diablo2.