I have to tell you that I like playing online, but I long for the days of the single-player RPG. I got lots of gaming glee playing Fallout 3 this past winter and a lot of that had to do with the fact that I enjoy playing single-player RPGs. For the most part, RPGs are made and marketed to appeal to large-scale gamers who want to go online and game together. And hey, I have no beef with that; I play online all the time, but sometimes (usually when the cable modem acts weird) I just want to slay monsters and face perils alone. So I am glad to tell you that Drakensang does scratch a particular itch. It doesn't do everything right, but it has plenty of appeal to it.

In Drakensang you act as a de facto police detective, only in a swords and sorcery type of a world. Lets just say that while stumbling through the investigation, you will come across all other sorts of missions and semi-interesting characters and finally (*gasp*) the speaking of a prophecy! Yes, the game use many, many tried-and-true cliches for the genre. Sooooo, here we have a cast of characters that will seem awfully familiar in a series of events that seem awfully familiar with a set of quests that seems kinda familiar in a game that has a somewhat familar plot. *Sigh.*

 
"We finally find a house big enough for our needs and wham! It's got a pest problem."

Now I can see by my review so far, that I've swung both ways in the tone of the review, and I will admit, there isn't a lot to get excited about when you talk about the cliches that practically litter the landscape, but I will say the game is well made. Sure the same sort of ideas are implemented, but at least they are implemented well. You can tell the whole game has had a good dose of production value and it shows clearly with the end product.

Now this is a pretty big game; I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the twists the storyline does take. For all its cliches the game manages to get some things by you that you simply won't see coming. This is why the game is worth picking up. Many of you RPG purists will spot lots of things that look and seem familiar, but at the end of the day, the game will sate your appetite for all things swords and sorcery. If there is one thing that may be viewed as a problem, it is that you can become embroiled in other side quests, some of which are long and tough, losing sight of the game's overall objective. I thought this was a players' prerogative type of thing, but there are some gamers who want to be led around by their nose while adventuring only to stray from the path temporarily. Not here, you can really get off the path to he point where it may be hours and hours (possibly days, depending on how much you play) before you get your ship steered in the right direction. Again, player preference, but still needs to be noted.

From a gaming gore hound, I have been hard pressed when it comes to games' visuals as of late. Maybe my frustration has slowly boiled over, but I tire of seeing shoddy graphics in games when a lesser company can sometimes produce magic. In other words, if a studio is so ambitious to make a 75+ hour RPG, the thing had better look good. And while I had my reservations at first, I couldn't help but think the game does an admirable job of coming across nicely, there could have been some sharpening in the graphics dept. Monsters and characters all seem to possess that stiffness that seems to come with these games, I know, I may be being too hard, but the texturing of character models is quite nice. The texturing of the actual locations, maybe not so much but still not too bad. I thought the game had a lively clip when the in-game actions are going and the title is rife with good atmosphere.

 
"Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we g....CHOMP!"

I would like to say that the controls are a thing of pure glee, but truth be known, the game's combat system isn't as friendly as I thought it should be. You see, like many other games in the genre, you will pick up party members who will join your quest. Controlling them in a turn-based combat dynamic is somewhat frustrating. You can have the characters automatically engage in combat but they always seem to be two or three steps behind. Oftentimes I would roar into a battle only to have my teammates get caught up on some part of the environment and finally catch up to the action late. You can directly control those NPCs and have them really cover your back, but it seems to lose something when you are playing a game of this magnitude. I suppose some players will take command of the party in full control mode, a la a more traditional RPG experience, and in the end, this is what I did. Still, the developers could have tightened things up when it came to controlling this sometimes unruly party.

The game has some pretty stand-up-and-salute audio going for it as well. The voice work is very strong and commanding, but there isn't as much as there should be. Its as if they hired a voice actor, but after a short amount of time realized he was charging them $3,500.00 a line, so they simply cut it out. The accompaniment that purrs on in the back ground is very well done and makes for a really well-rounded experience.

Like so many others, Drakensang has your character leveling up and gaining new abilities as you complete missions and carry out your overall investigation. You find all sorts of characters to join your party but only three will join you when combat erupts. You know the general outline of how this game is going to go if you have ever played an RPG before. No, Drakensang does not reinvent the wheel, but what it does do, it does very well.

Gameplay: 7.0
It dances the fine line between real time and turn based which steals a bit of something from how comfortable it is to play. Controlling the party can stink and often does. You do get used to it, but fortunately the other aspects help you get to that point.

Graphics: 8.0
Pretty sharp, some dull points, but the particle effects during magic can help sway your opinion. Textures are hit and miss when you compare characters to locations.

Sound: 8.2
Really cool musical score, strong, but underused voice acting, the fullness of the audio improves the gameplay itself. You want to play the game thanks to it.

Difficulty: Medium
An overall good challenge for RPG players. The fact that it is quite long is a plus for some, a minus for others. You know what kind of player you are and if you are up to a really long game then this would be it.

Concept: 7.6
When you find a game that takes many tried-and-true elements such as this, you may be want to dismiss it, but rarely does a game take so many well-used ideas and get it right. This game is a great example of an RPG that hits the mark more often than not.

Overall: 8.0
The sum of its parts does not always equal the end score. This is a good, quality title that has few bugs, an engaging story and maybe more than a few cliches.