Author: Logan Pendragon
“Champions of Norrath returns, even better”
Champions of Norrath Video Game Review
Overview
This game is considerably better than the first one for many reasons. It is longer, has more characters, has better sound and music, has a better battle system, and it is overall a more high quality game.
Game Play
Game play is not much different than the first. It has the same controls, battle system, features. The only difference is the game is better policed, and brings a few additional features to the table that were not available in the first one. There are some special play modes and new characters that also add a lot of depth to the game.
Story Line
The story line is still stale. The Champions of Norrath series never had the best stories, but the voice acting and ideas behind the game were good enough to allow them to get away with that. The good thing, is this one picks up right were the first one left off. This means that if you just got finish playing the first game, you would feel as if you were still playing it just an addon for it. They did a great job of making the gameplay seamless.
Graphics
The graphics were heavily upgraded. Load times are also better. The character models also look a lot better this time around. Not to mention they added better camera control so you can see the graphics. They pulled over the old graphics engine and upgraded the areas that needed it, overall better than the first.
Engine
* Good battle system (skill distribution, and minor details).
* Very good acts system.
* Co-Op gameplay..one of my favorite things about this series is there very well integrated co-op gameplay, the second pulls this feature off a lot better than the first. This featurea lone can add a lot of replay value.
Sound and Music
The sound, music, and voices were all upgraded heavily this time around as compared to the first one, and the first one was very good. They did a good job of pulling this together, in a good manner.
Replay Value
The game has as much replay value, if not more than the first. You also have to consider the additional characters, additional skills, and many other things that make this game, overall, bigger, and longer than the first one.
Overall Positives
* Good battle system
* Good length
* Good character models, enemies, and areas
* Good music, sound, and effects, especially when compared with the first one, and other games in the same Genre
Overall Negatives
* It seems they could not fix that error this time around, except this time around it can get even worse. Especially if you lose something yellow in this game, which wasn’t as much of a factor in the first one, because it didn’t just happen, but it happens more often in the second one. It is not a big deal, just a minor annoyance.
Closing Remarks
Very good game, it has many good points, and the only complaint is that one the second out of the series they should have had plenty of time to fix that glitch.
* Everything in this review is from the perspective of a programmer; I do a lot of programming, so some of it comes from a technical point of view. I have been playing game’s as well for a very, very long time, so when I do a review I do it with a lot of comparison’s in between other game’s and based on the game’s engine (and comprised systems).