Severance
Oh, this game was bad ass. It came out around 2001 and was a 3-d fight-fantasy-gore-fest. But not the kind of gore that makes you slightly disgusted, the kind of gore that has you shouting in glee while you hack your enemies to pieces. Now to put this in context it should be said that this was around the time Baldur's Gate 2 had come out. The graphics were simply mind - blowing. Full 3d animations with real-time combat and a great uhh..... story. Okay the story was pretty non-existent, but when someone like me doesn't really notice, it means the game is so kick ass that it doesn't need one.
You could play as one of four classes; Barbarian, Knight, Dwarf (Yup, it was a class) and Amazon (Yup, you were a girl). After introducing some semblance of a plot you were unleashed upon your enemies. The barbarian came out swinging, butchering his foes before they could organise any semblance of defense. The knight had you escaping from a dungeon and fighting crafty with sword and shield. The dwarf .........never played him. The amazon.......was boring. I would like to state that I am not racist or sexist in real life, but when playing games, women have one role, captured and awaiting rescue. As for dwarfs, well they are okay for npcs but ummm I like looking my enemy in the eye, rather than at their groin.
The game play was glorious. By current standards the movement is fairly clunky and complicated, but at the time it was pretty good. You could attack freely however, when in the vicinity of an enemy, you were able to lock on and make combat more fluid. The combat is where the game really shone. When you engaged an enemy you could perform a variety of directional attacks; overhead cut, diagonal cut, thrust and roundhouse slash. These could be strung together to create a series of combos. Imagine, if you will, a frantic duel with both combatants parrying and cutting furiously. The fighters are covered with a variety of cuts, slowing their movements while sapping their strength. The barbarian lets out a furious howl throwing his opponent off guard while dealing a furious backhand blow removing the creatures head from its body in a shower of blood.
Check the link (Really, you gotta see this)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_qZ2_C42IfQ&NR=1
This was the sensation when entering combat and overcoming foes that tested your skills to the very limits. That is not to say that all the fighting was difficult as there are plenty of weak enemies to build your skill level. However once you pass a certain point in the game you have to be prepared to grind your teeth and prepare yourself for some tough times ahead.
I know that my experience of this game is coloured by my memories, and perhaps it is not quite as amazing as I remember it. However, if you are able to get your hands on this game and make it operable on our current software, you just have to give me a call cause I WANNA PLAY IT AGAIN!!!
You could play as one of four classes; Barbarian, Knight, Dwarf (Yup, it was a class) and Amazon (Yup, you were a girl). After introducing some semblance of a plot you were unleashed upon your enemies. The barbarian came out swinging, butchering his foes before they could organise any semblance of defense. The knight had you escaping from a dungeon and fighting crafty with sword and shield. The dwarf .........never played him. The amazon.......was boring. I would like to state that I am not racist or sexist in real life, but when playing games, women have one role, captured and awaiting rescue. As for dwarfs, well they are okay for npcs but ummm I like looking my enemy in the eye, rather than at their groin.
The game play was glorious. By current standards the movement is fairly clunky and complicated, but at the time it was pretty good. You could attack freely however, when in the vicinity of an enemy, you were able to lock on and make combat more fluid. The combat is where the game really shone. When you engaged an enemy you could perform a variety of directional attacks; overhead cut, diagonal cut, thrust and roundhouse slash. These could be strung together to create a series of combos. Imagine, if you will, a frantic duel with both combatants parrying and cutting furiously. The fighters are covered with a variety of cuts, slowing their movements while sapping their strength. The barbarian lets out a furious howl throwing his opponent off guard while dealing a furious backhand blow removing the creatures head from its body in a shower of blood.
Check the link (Really, you gotta see this)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_qZ2_C42IfQ&NR=1
This was the sensation when entering combat and overcoming foes that tested your skills to the very limits. That is not to say that all the fighting was difficult as there are plenty of weak enemies to build your skill level. However once you pass a certain point in the game you have to be prepared to grind your teeth and prepare yourself for some tough times ahead.
I know that my experience of this game is coloured by my memories, and perhaps it is not quite as amazing as I remember it. However, if you are able to get your hands on this game and make it operable on our current software, you just have to give me a call cause I WANNA PLAY IT AGAIN!!!
4 comments:
That video reminds me of Kengo in a way - all that side-stepping and trying to outmaneouvre each other.
It actually does look like an awesome game. The goblins sound EXACTLY like the ones from Oblivion, or I might be dreaming.
on a pedantic note,
second paragraph, it should probably be "non-existent" rather than "non-existential"... fourth paragraph, "strung" instead of "stringed"
cheers for the corrections + comments
It's decided. I'm bringing up my copy of Severance and you guys have Kengo. Think about it. Simultaneous old school action. PC and console working side by side. It will be glorious.
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