Realms of Ancient War's storyline is an easy fantasy storyline to understand and immediately get into, even if there is a slight lack of depth in its first outing. The various creatures and races of the world were once at peace and worked together well as a cohesive unit. Then one day, an evil force drove the world into darkness and the world's various clans went there separate ways divided among elven, dwarven and human factions, and many of the groups became bitter enemies. The action in Realms of Ancient War picks up 10 years after these events with your adventurer exploring the war ravaged lands in the face of an even more imposing threat. The game's storyline is told through a character driven narrative with various cutscenes scattered throughout the game to provide further clarity. If the game wasn't fun enough to play on its own, Realms of Ancient War's storyline would keep you playing until the very end anyhow.
Luckily, Realms of Ancient War is even more fun to play than to watch as the storyline progresses. You begin the game by choosing your character from the Warrior, Wizard and Rogue, and each class comes with their own skills and a unique fighting prowess. You're always outnumbered by your foes in Realms of Ancient War, so the Warrior is obviously a good choice as he charges headfirst into combat with dual blades swinging wildly. You can also play as a Wizard and cast powerful magic at your numerous foes while keeping your distance and making sure to keep both your health and mana replenished as needed. Then there is the Rogue; sticking to the shadows and striking when opponents are unaware of her presence is this characters style, and she is nearly as deadly from distance as close range, plus a variety of traps are at her disposal for snaring unsuspecting enemies. Realms of Ancient War plays out like any typical action RPG with players visiting towns to replenish supplies, attain new missions and turning in completed missions. You'll slowly level up and progress in skill efficiency, while finding and purchasing new and stronger equipment is the key to defeating the game's toughest enemies.
Realms of Ancient War isn't a difficult game, and you'll find and acquire magical soul stones that will allow you to come back from the brink of death. All of this content is packed into an exceptional looking game, and the few scenes that actually have voice acting are well done. You will notice the game skip and stutter around during some cutscenes, but it's hardly something that will detract from the fun you'll have in the game. A nice presentation is rounded off with an enchanting soundtrack that will keep you immersed in the dungeon crawling, level grinding and looting you've come to expect from this great gaming genre. While Realms of Ancient War will take multiple hours to complete during your first run, there is a ton to do and see in the game. The game comes packed with three difficulty setting for those looking for an even greater challenge after completing the game, and you can face the game's overwhelming odds with a friend in cooperative play if you so choose. You'll also want to explore the game in search of collectibles known as the Statues of Kilthi in order to 100% complete the game.
Realms of Ancient War isn't perfect, but it's one of the best expected downloadable titles of 2012 and a good excuse to invite over your friends to go dungeon exploring in search of the best loot on the hardest difficulty setting. Check out Realms of Ancient War in your favorite downloadable marketplace when it releases.
Realms of Ancient War will be available for Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC and can be purchased for 1200 Microsoft Points or $14.99. Realms of Ancient War is rated T by the ESRB for Blood & Violence. For more information on the game, check out the official Realms of Ancient War website.
Game Features:
Game Information:
Developer: Wizarbox
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Platforms: PlayStation Network, Xbox LIVE Arcade & PC
Release Date: September 19, 2012 (XBLA), September 25, 2012 (PSN) & October 4, 2012 (PC)
