Can a game that a blogger was so adamant against getting because of low “professionally reviewed” scores be any good?
Surprisingly, the reviewers got it all wrong. However, most “professional” reviewers compared it to what they thought it should be (i.e. what was promised) and they did not review it for how it stood as a final product. However, this game can be summed up in two words: lost potential. Is it still fun?
DO: Cut down anything that moves using the left thumbstick to move and the right thumbstick to attack. Gamepad buttons confer bonuses and a dodge.
TYPE: Third-person action.
PLATFORM: 360
PRICE: $59.99
MEAT: You play as Baldur, a semi-god, who with his brothers protects the human race in the future. The plot loosley follows Norse mythology. Actually, the plot is convoluted unless you know a little bit of the mythology. Even then, don’t try to understand it. There is a surprising twist at the end that does make some sense in the narrative. However, unintentionally, this is a game for just playing. (Did Pac Man need a story to be fun?) Your character progresses by loot grinding through four worlds. (There’s an alternate world that basically offers nothing called Cyberspace–an exploration map that nets you armor perks but is probably there just to frustrate you by getting you lost.) Every item has its own look, perks, and can be color customized. This is a game for weapon and armor customization nuts. This is also a game for those who like to RPG farm. There’s a wonderful co-op mode that blends well with the core gameplay and skips the narrative altogether. It only supports two players, but four may be coming via update. There may be some new classes added to the included five (Berserker, Defender, Champion, Commando, and Bioengineer). The classes don’t change the style of play that much because the enemies pretty much all attack the same way.
PERKS: excellent visuals; satisfying combat (sliding especially); loads of items; replayable for grind nuts; wonderful finishing moves
SCREAMS: to use it’s potential: story, combat, enemy variety; better class distinction; change a couple of boss battles to be fun and not grinds; eliminate enemy ranged attacks for the sake of difficulty–maybe actually code some enemey AI other than “mob the player”; add a defensive move other than dodge; it wants to be epic and there’s glimpses of that, but the potential is lost
VERDICT: Rent. Buy it when it’s a budget title.
Proof being in the pudding. Here’s my gamercard to show I beat the thing.