Loki
Preview
Gameplay is fast and furious and not for the faint hearted
by Sergio Brinkhuis
previewed on PC
No Epics
Is it me or have things quieted down on the RPG front of late? It seems that we are back into the same sort of RPG drought that happened in the second half of the 90's. Sure it is not as bad as back then. Titan Quest for instance, was one of the highlights of 2006. Yet, I can't help but feel we are missing something. Where are the epic games like Baldur's Gate? I am not sure if Loki will fill that hole, but the game has definitely caught my attention.
The game's publisher, Focus Home Interactive, is a small but slowly working towards establishing itself as a place where relatively unknown but high quality titles find their home and get a chance to flourish. Call of Juarez was among the most surprising games that I played last year and the TrackMania games traded in their well earned cult-hit status for mainstream recognition last year as well. Loki may well prove to be the next step in their 'career'. We will know for certain a couple of months from now, but today we will take a small peak into their future.
Shaman you
Loki is a hack&slash RPG that takes players through several different ages and does so by putting them smack in the middle of some of the most interesting of ancient mythologies. At various intervals the player will be confronted with the age old stories of the great civilizations of old like the Aztec, Egyptian, Norse and Greek. The game sports four different playable characters. On top of the more mundane Fighter and Warrior classes, the familiar Magician and not so familiar Shaman are available to you upon starting the game. They each have a unique playing style, drastically altering the way you play the game which should help with the replayability factor.
Contrary to most recent RPGs, the game's maps, items and weapons are generated randomly: a feature that contributed considerably to Diablo's longevity so it is good to see this appear in Loki. The developers have taken this one step further by adding customizable weapons. The more familiar way of finding 'addons' for your weapons is being expanded with the ability to forge your own weapons from bits and pieces that you can obtain throughout the game. It should be interesting to see what sort of unique weaponry players can come up with.
The 'bestiary' is fairly large and reasonably varied because of the addition of mythological creatures like Cyclops, Satyrs and Harpies. With four different mythological worlds to choose from, the possibilities are endless. But your foes will not always be mythological creatures, or even human. Loki is all about the old mythological Gods and some of them are having trouble to behave. It is up to you to either bring them to their knees, or teach them some manners - the hard way.
Familiar
The interface has been kept fairly modest and accessible and should be familiar to anyone who has played RPGs before. The chosen third-person perspective works well for the hack&slash genre and while the perspective is set, you can rotate and zoom the camera freely. Weapons and armor affect what your character looks like and at times your character can look so fierce that it is hard to believe he is the good guy. Good! A Diablo-like skill tree (It is rather strange that nearly 10 years after the game was released, we are -still- comparing new games to Diablo) helps you form your character. The available skills depends mostly on what God you chose to worship as it is that God that grants you your powers. Loot shows up on little bags on the floor so that things don't get cluttered and dropped items are easy to find.
Co-op play is all the rage again and Loki does not disappoint here as a co-op mode is included in the multiplayer options. Another interesting mode will be the Arena mode where players can choose to go head to head or take on AI enemies together. In the latter, wave upon wave of creatures get thrown in your direction which definitely sounds entertaining.
The Barbarian in me
Loki should be on the shelves this summer and has a good chance of being the game that will get us through to the holiday season. Gameplay is fast and furious and Loki is not for the faint hearted: the gore level is pretty high and to be honest, that is just the way I like my games. At times there is so much happening on the screen that the carnage that you are dealing out colors most of the surrounding area red, all very much to the satisfaction of the Barbarian in me.
