Rise of the Argonauts
Preview
Huge muscles and tiny heads!
by Zkylon
previewed on PC
Jason of the Argonauts is here... again
Liquid Entertainment, known for their often overlooked RTS contributions to the gaming industry, and publisher Codemasters present Rise of the Argonauts, a new adventurous take on the old Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. The premise isn’t the most novel you’ll find out there but Liquid seems to have an ample array of fresh ideas to add, correct and perfect the action RPG genre.
I am Jason!
Rise of the Argonauts tells the story of Jason, a man who, like so many heroes - Greek or not - starts his laudable journey by losing someone he loves dearly. After his bride-to-be is murdered on their wedding day, Jason literally embarks on a quest of revenge against the responsible evil doers. His quest also involves searching for the Golden Fleece, which has the apparent power of bringing back to life a fiancé or two.
It’s a common trend in RPGs to begin stories by erasing all the main character’s connection to the world by memory loss, by burning down his home town or other overused narrative drivers. Rather than following the path of the compliant, Rise of the Argonauts constructs and presents the actual Jason, as the king he is and as the experienced fighter he has become. Hence, it takes out the story steam losing segment of learning the basics and hunting rats and goblins for two coins of gold, a small potion and a rusty sword that would probably be more at ease on a dining table than a battlefield. Like the Liquid president says, those endeavours feel janitorial and bring nothing to the overall game experience. Instead, the idea of ascending from greatness is an intriguing initiative for an RPG.
Following that fashion, the developers are introducing a levelling system that sets very few boundaries for the player. Instead of choosing a single permanent character class, the player will be able to gain favour with one of the four gods that watch over Jason. Through god-specific deeds, the player will improve Jason’s expertise in both combat and diplomacy in a way that evokes the favoured god’s distinctiveness. Levelling, then, will become a process of balancing Jason’s attributes without limiting his chances in neither dialogue nor battle. For instance, choosing Ares as the player’s preferred god will enhance Jason’s mace wielding skills and will also reflect as intimidation dialogue branches in conversation. Were the player to pick Athena as his currently favoured goddess, he’ll be more proficient with the spear and more judgemental as far as dialogue is concerned. The exciting about this is that the players can transition between favoured gods and develop Jason as they see fit without being concerned of becoming unable to turn things around or cornered with a single-talent character.
