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Loki - Hands On Preview
Chris Leyton
25/07/2007
Cyanide Games tackles Norse, Greek, Egyptian and Aztec mythology in its forthcoming RPG...
Beyond THQ's Titan Quest fans of "click-click" hack n' slash RPG's haven't had a great deal to shout about during the wait for Bizzard's Diablo 3. Thankfully, French developers Cyanide Games and 93 Games are hoping to answer these demands with the forthcoming release of Loki for the PC.
Designed in the same vein as Diablo and Titan Quest, Loki wraps the experience in layer upon layer of lore and mythology. Unfazed by the idea of focusing purely on one mythology, Cyanide Studios have stuck their heads into the books and worked tirelessly to bring the four cultures of Norse, Greek, Egyptian and Aztec to the game, represented by the choice of four different characters each with their own unique storyline. Attempting to bring these four distinct mythologies together, Loki's central narrative centres upon the resurrection of Seth, the Egyptian god of chaos and evil, and his plot to vent his anger upon the world with the discovery of paths crossing from one mythology to the other.
Unfortunately, the build that we're playing only offers the Norse campaign, which nevertheless provides an insight as to what to expect when the final build arrives. Beginning with the typical Fed-Ex styled quests, the Norse campaign initially revolves around the destruction of your hometown and the largely unemotional death of the main character's father. Battling against wolves, bears, gnomes and elves (that look suspiciously like goblins), the first few hours suggests that combat comes quick and often in Loki. Complimenting the frantic nature of the action, Loki's Fury gauge provides additional combat bonuses by clicking just that little bit faster during the battle. Later stages in the game intensify the fight with greater opponents such as Medusa, Fenrir the Wolf and Fafnir the Dragon providing the opposition as formidable boss encounters of screen shaking proportions. Featuring depictions of various historical events such as the siege of Troy, the Spanish invasion of South America, Ragnarok and many others, it appears that Cyanide Studios have spent a great deal of time researching the mythologies to ensure Loki remains factually true throughout the experience.
Using the standard Action Bar that has become commonplace in RPGs since the genre's inception, the core gameplay appears to offer little beyond the "click-click" combat popularised by the likes of Diablo, which certainly can't be a bad thing if you're a fan, but probably won't change your mind if these types of RPGs have always seemed a little pedestrian. Following a similar implementation in Titan Quest, Loki's vast array of weapons and items can be assigned to two configurations, providing the chance to swap tactics at the touch of a button.
Although there's little on display at this stage to suggest Loki will provide a groundbreaking RPG experience, there are signs to suggest a game that will cover the principal elements with enough conviction. Beyond skill and attribute points, the experience system introduces the concept of a Faith bar, replenished by sacrificing 25% XP at shrines dotted throughout the land. Each of the four characters' has three individual Skill Trees assigned to a particular god such as Thor, Tyr and Odin in the case of the Norse warrior. Unlocking over 50 skills and abilities per character, the choice of multiple trees should provide a greater degree of variety to the tactics and strategies available.
Naturally, character customisation and the hunt for Achilles Armour or Thor's Hammer provide the compulsion behind RPG's geared in the Diablo design. Although discovering something like a shield in the fresh remains of a wolf seems slightly strange, Loki looks likely to provide a compelling experience for hoarding fans with suggestions of over 500 unique items to collect. By collecting Runes players will also have the ability to craft new weapons, imbued with unique attributes and adding a further sense of customisation to the main character.
One area of concern stems from the apparent limited size of the maps on offer, although it's entirely possible that these will increase later in the game. Splitting the gameworld up into smaller randomly generated maps isn't a bad thing for replay sake, but it does incur frequent loading as you travel between maps and appears to limit the sense of adventure and exploration offered by the game.
