| You Have Done Well, Grasshopper, But You're Not The One Overall, especially in terms of the single-player gameplay experience, Throne of Darkness brings ARPGs a long way from the somewhat stagnating world of Diablo II. Unfortunately, it doesn't come far enough to make me forget the incessant boredom that is experienced after a long time of playing these "hack & slash" games. There was a very unruly feeling to the game that didn't make me view it as the end-all of ARPGS. This, of course, doesn't mean it's a bad game from any objective standpoint. ToD did bring many new ideas to the genre, it finally gave us a new environment, and for any hack & slash addicts out there ToD may very likely prove a welcome addition to their collection.
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| Graphics
- Sound - Gameplay - Depth
- Multiplayer | Reviewed
by John Del Percio |
GRAPHICS
88 % |
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The graphics are in some ways a bit more pleasant to view than Diablo II. The ugly 8bit palleted graphics are in the past, and the design is very nice. Unfortunately, the effects weren't much to talk about, and the cartoon-like nature of the game deminished some of the potential quality it had.
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SOUND
90 % |
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The music wasn't too bad, and the yelling and screaming in Japaneese was somewhat amusing. Still, nothing extraordinary here
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GAMEPLAY
92 % |
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I really debated on this score. From an entirely personal and opinion-based perspective I'd rate it as an 83 or 84. Objectively, though, the gameplay implimentation is done very well, and for what it is, it's a fairly decent contender to the genre, so letting my personal opinion get in the way would not have done the game any justice.
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DEPTH
85 % |
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There isn't much in terms of a deep story here. At times, it feels as though the story was somewhat abandoned, though I think that is a prerequesite for an ARPG. In terms of depth in the gameplay, the learning curve can become a bit difficult as you get used to how to play and what some of the different unusual weapons are. In general, though, ARPGs aren't the most deep games in existance.
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MULTIPLAYER
87 % |
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The multiplayer in Throne of Darkness didn't have the absolute best multiplayer support I've seen. WON.net isn't really the best network for an RPG. In comparison to Blizzard's Battle.net and Diablo II's multiplayer support, I wouldn't suggest purchasing Throne of Darkness if your intention is for multiplayer gaming alone.
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Perhaps I was a bit harder on the game (verbally, not in the rating numbers) than I should have been, but to be truthful, I had some fairly high hopes for ToD, and while it did improve upon the Diablo games quite a bit (for the single player game), I wasn't the dramatic "the Diablo that could have been" game that I so desperately wanted. Combine that with my frequent crashing of the game and it didn't place me in the best of moods for writing a review. To clarify a bit further on who would want to buy the game, if you're heavily into single player ARPGs (Diablo, Diablo II/LoD, Icewind Dale, Darkstone) then you'd probably like Throne of Darkness (I HIGHLY advise getting the demo before making a final decision on this one. While a bit on the massive side, it does accurately demonstrate gameplay and should tell you if you're interested in buying the game.)
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