Confrontation
Review
Aarklash moves from the table-top board to PC
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
Cluttered squads (cntd)
And once you select your warriors, there are times when they get in each others way. This sort of pathfinding issue is really annoying in Confrontation. Having two members of your squad stuck outside a doorway because another of your squad is sitting in front of the doorway while your final member gets pummelled from all sides is aggravating. It is issues such as this that can ruin the fun to some extent because when they don’t occur the battles can indeed be a heap of fun.
One part of the interface that was handy is the mini-map. Not only does it show you the usual details with nearby enemies and walls and such, but it also shows where your squad has been, essentially making it easier to continue on your way without having to cover ground that has already been much travelled.
Linear story
But having said that, you won’t be travelling back and forth too often. The way the story is told lends itself to the game being quite linear. It is not like the usual RPG where you are given quests from multiple NPCs. Instead, you go from one mission to the next with cut scenes and the story told between missions. Of course, you are able to take paths off the direct line from time to time, but there is little need to do so. Yes, on occasion, you’ll stumble upon a weapon or shield upgrade or find some bandages, but most can be found along the main pathway anyway.
Although the story is quite linear, the main plot will still take gamers over 20 hours to complete. Cyanide has put plenty of effort in getting the Aarklash story from the table top game board to the PC. As mentioned, the story is told between missions in a narrative story or in in-game cut scenes. It works rather well and keeps the story flowing nicely without the need for huge passages of dialogue to read from NPCs as is the case in many games of the genre.
Narration
And the story narrative is fully voiced. The clear, easy to understand narrator does well to tell the story of Aarklash and what is required of your Griffin squad to progress. Your squad members too, are well voiced, although it doesn’t take long for them to repeat their few phrases over and over again. The background music sets a tense ambience throughout the story.
The controls work well despite the interface problems mentioned previously. The initial levels give a brief account of all the important controls at your disposal, as well as giving small hints as to how to best use them. Battles can be paused so that commands can be issued and simply be pressing the Shift key, a series of commands can be ordered. More commands can be issued to your warriors as they become more experienced and gain new skills. Confrontation actually makes it quite easy for those who are unfamiliar with squad based action RPG’s to learn the basics. But as with most games of the genre, you’ll learn more along the way as you progress.
Old fashioned
Confrontation is a throwback to a much loved era in gaming. Not only are the visuals quite dated, looking like something out of the original Diablo, the game style follows suit. The game plays as a squad based action RPG in the mould of the classic Baldur’s Gate or games of that ilk. Though having said that, Confrontation is more action oriented than full RPG. There are no quests given by game characters, as the game follows a linear mission path. The pathfinding issues and the somewhat cluttered interface are definitely annoying and detract from the fun and tactics of the game though. And with some more polished RPGs released recently, you may want to look elsewhere if you’re a hardcore role-player.
6.6
fun score
Pros
Controls are simple to learn and use. Additional squad members provide variation to gameplay.
Cons
Graphics are outdated. Interface can be somewhat cluttered. Squad pathfinding can be troublesome.
