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Champions of Norrath
Hack, slash and bash your way through this action RPG.
by Susie Vee
| PLATFORM:
PS2 |
| PUBLISHER:
Sony
Online Ent. |
DEVELOPER:
Snowblind |
GENRE:
RPG |
ESRB:
Teen |
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Games like Diablo and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance
are always marketed as “action RPGs,” a term that can
be a major turn-off to girl gamers who may be allergic to the micromanagement
and geek appeal of traditional role-playing games.
But, games like that, and to an even greater extent, the new Champions
of Norrath, are really much closer to arcade action games.
They offer a lot more pick-up-and-play fun than you might think.
The best analogy we can think of is to paint Champions
as a modern-day version of the classic action game Gauntlet.
 The
recent Gauntlet remakes fell short because they just took
the same 2D gameplay and put it in a 3D setting. Action RPGs like
Champions of Norrath take the button-mashing and group
play of Gauntlet, but add a real storyline and much more
strategy and variety.
Champions takes place in the venerated Everquest
universe. Like the Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic,
this game is set in the ancient past, long before the events of
the main EQ franchise. Of course, there’s some great
evil threatening the world that must be stopped, and it’s
up to you to do it.
After a little bit of traditional long-winded prolog action, you
get to choose your character and assign a few bonus points to your
stats. All the classic types are there – the barbarian, the
dark elf, etc. Basically, each class has a different magic-to-fighting
ratio, and some specialize in different forms of magic or in using
different weapons. As is the standard these days, each character
class comes in male and female varieties, but the difference is
purely cosmetic (you’d think the female characters would be
smarter, at least).
The real fun comes in when you get a few of your friends to join
in. Either through the internet or by sharing a screen, you can
have up to four characters in your party. This is where the Gauntlet-style
mayhem comes in, and you and your posse can lay down some serious
pain on the endless stream of monsters who come your way.
 The
game is played from an almost top-down perspective, making it hard
to see what’s right ahead of you. Graphically, the character
models and terrain are acceptably detailed, but not groundbreaking.
We were however impressed with the special effects, with especially
nice water and spell animations for a PS2 game.
Don’t be scared off by the RPG tag or the Everquest
branding. Champions of Norrath can be an engrossing game
if you’re looking for a button-masher with a little depth
– and with co-op play, it makes a great party game if you’re
in the mood for some classic arcade-style action. The quests, monsters
and randomly generated dungeons all start to seem the same after
a while, but the ability to play with your friends and the butt-kicking
female characters make Champions of Norrath a recommended
title.
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