Gods And Heroes: Another Great Review!

I can barely keep up with all reviews! The latest one comes to us from the fine folks over at MMORPG.

One of the great things, to me, about the Game Developer's Conference this year was that it was held in San Francisco. Not only is San Fran a great place to visit, but it is also the home of Perpetual Entertainment, the people who are bringing us the historically-based MMORPG, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising.

On Tuesday last, I had the opportunity to not only tour Perpetual's studio, but also to get some hands-on time with Gods & Heroes. That being said, let's start with the cosmetic side of the game. How does it look? Well, I have to be honest when I say that it looks great. On top of the graphics, which are competitive with this new generation of MMOs, it's the animations that really set this game apart. Combat, for example, doesn't feel repetitive as your character not only acts to attack his opponent, but he also moves as not to be hit. I was pleasantly surprised when I killed an opponent and noticed that not only had I reduced his hit points to zero, but that I'd also literally buried my sword to the hilt in his gut. Mobs also get their own love, with special attacks that come with special animations. I watched, helpless, as one of the tiny goblin-esque creatures that I was fighting somersaulted under me, knocking me over, at which point I found myself with the creature on my back, pummeling me by jumping up and down. The animations weren't clumsy either, and the overall effect was quite real. If you're the kind of MMORPG gamer that enjoys graphical quality and interest, you're definitely going to want to at least give this new title a look.

Looks aside, it seems as though Perpetual is set upon the idea of giving players something new. This isn't your typical fantasy MMORPG. The typical fantasy MMO is set in a fantastical world. Gods and Heroes is set on Earth. The typical fantasy MMO includes many different playable races, while everyone in Gods and Heroes is Human. Typical fantasy MMOs rely on the idea of a player having control of only one character. Thanks to this game's minion system, Gods and Heroes allows you to control both your character and a number of minions. Obviously, this isn't your typical fantasy MMO.

Character creation, even at this stage in the game's development, is fairly impressive. It gives the player enough options to compensate for the game's lack of other playable races. I was able to feel as though my character weren't just generically pumped out of a mould, which I think is an important aspect of a game dominated by humans. Not only do you choose your character's class in this area, but you also have to choose your character's God. This choice plays a vital role in the progression of the game for your character.

While they might be the only playable race, the Humans certainly aren't the only race to appear in the game. Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising was built to take advantage of the plethora of real-world lore that comes out of the mythology of the ancient world. Centaurs, Cyclops and their mythological kind all have a place in Gods & Heroes. The petty and powerful gods of Olympus play an important role, guiding their children (the game's characters) through the game, and on to glory. With an idea like this, the game's makers are already talking about expansions. These expansions would add new areas of the world. Egypt, as only an example, is equally as rich in lore and mythology as were the Romans. "In five years time", says Chris McKibbon, the game's Executive Producer, "we want this whole thing to become Mythology Online".

The game itself though, should hold up to the history buffs among us (you know who you are), as the game is based in real-world history. "You can Google this stuff", said McKibbon.

Now that we've got some of the background out of the way, let's dive in and talk about game play elements and features for this game. After all, McKibbon said that the design included "Reward driven, excitement driven gameplay".

You can read the rest of the article over at MMORPG.COM!