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Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone is out
- Thread starter ManaByte
- Start date
ManaByte
Gold Member
Basically imagine a super upgraded LOTR: TTT in the D&D setting. So when you're upgrading your character and armor you buy D&D abilities and weapons like Sword +4, etc.
You are able to switch between the three characters at any time. I generally stick to the Fighter, but the Theif can use stealth to do sneak attacks while the Sorcerer has unlimited magical range attacks but can still kick ass with his staff. Each character has a "hero meter" the builds up to their special move, and when all three have their meters maxxed you can do a group special.
Unlike TTT where they basically said "Here's Amon Hen. Go play in it", the story is more tied into the game here. Like when you beat the first boss in the second level, the party loots him in an in-game cutscene where each character gets thier magical item that activates their R2 ability. The Fighter gets gaunts of ogre strength to smash through things, the Sorc gets these beads that are like fantasy C4, and the Thief gets a ring of Jumping that opens up her jumping attacks.
The engine is greatly upgraded from TTT with what looks like more characters on screen, better detail, better lighting, etc. The soundtrack is also very good. Also, a nice little touch is that the in-game character model changes depending on what weapons and armor you have upgraded to as well as what magical effects are applied to your weapons.
So far, it looks like there are ten levels.
You are able to switch between the three characters at any time. I generally stick to the Fighter, but the Theif can use stealth to do sneak attacks while the Sorcerer has unlimited magical range attacks but can still kick ass with his staff. Each character has a "hero meter" the builds up to their special move, and when all three have their meters maxxed you can do a group special.
Unlike TTT where they basically said "Here's Amon Hen. Go play in it", the story is more tied into the game here. Like when you beat the first boss in the second level, the party loots him in an in-game cutscene where each character gets thier magical item that activates their R2 ability. The Fighter gets gaunts of ogre strength to smash through things, the Sorc gets these beads that are like fantasy C4, and the Thief gets a ring of Jumping that opens up her jumping attacks.
The engine is greatly upgraded from TTT with what looks like more characters on screen, better detail, better lighting, etc. The soundtrack is also very good. Also, a nice little touch is that the in-game character model changes depending on what weapons and armor you have upgraded to as well as what magical effects are applied to your weapons.
So far, it looks like there are ten levels.
TekunoRobby
Tag of Excellence
Is this game a hack 'n slash a-la Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance? Sorry I never played LOTR: TTT.
CrimsonSkies
Member
The demo made me think it had rental written all over it. Too bad because I really like Salvatore's work. Why can't someone make a deep RPG using Salvatore's Drizzt stories. That or Dragonlance by Weiss & Hickman would be great.
Mr_Furious
Member
I'm contemplating waiting for the Xbox version but am hesitant based off the two previous efforts being inferior on that platform (TTT & ROTK).
Mr_Furious
Member
IIRC, the Xbox version had more slowdown regarding foggy areas or something.Soul4ger said:
Played through the first 4 lvls of this tonight. Awesome game that is much better than the last 2 LotR games IMO. Music and voice acting is top notch and all 3 characters are really cool. The D&D liscense is perfect for this. I have a feeling the game isn't very long though. Sadly, no multiplayer but it would really diminish the switching between 3 characters gameplay.
ManaByte
Gold Member
Rhindle said:
As the last poster said, Stormfront did The Two Towers and created the engine. EA did ROTK internally as Stormfront was working on Demon Stone.
And actually, after finishing Level 5 I think Demon Stone in terms of level design is much better than ROTK. There is just so much more going on in each level and the variety is much greater. Also, the levels are much more interactive with "danger zones" that you can knock enemies into to kill them. The level in the Wizard's Tower with the magical tower itself helping you fight off the armies is cool as is the giant animated golem you use to clear your path to the boss. Then Jungles of Chult just looks so damn awesome.
If it had multiplayer, it would probably be the better game than ROTK.
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Borrowed it tonight. Was thinking of picking it up on Xbox down the line, but maybe I can just beat it now. Graphics are impressive. More later 
Really flying under the radar.
btw, I've owned both ROTK's and I had no graphics problem on Xbox. It's a beautiful game on both systems. If the Xbox version of this isn't shipping with extra options, I see absolutely no reason not to own it first on PS2 as it's really nice looking.
Really flying under the radar.btw, I've owned both ROTK's and I had no graphics problem on Xbox. It's a beautiful game on both systems. If the Xbox version of this isn't shipping with extra options, I see absolutely no reason not to own it first on PS2 as it's really nice looking.
Nah, you nailed it. That's exactly it. It feels like you're cutting through tissue paper. The hits are the exact opposite of "meaty." If you're going to make a game about hitting stuff with a sword, then please, make it satisfying to hit stuff with a sword.kaching said:
You should be a game reviewer!
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
BenT said:
wow, you are right on. It totally takes away from the satisfying sense of combat as well. The LOTR series is not nearly that bad. It's a shame because you have some decent combo and ability options with the characters. As a matter of fact, the leveling up seems the most interesting part of the game which isn't good news. They really take a lot of the level design from the other series, including the interaction with level props and camera angles. Beside that, it's extremely generic with an especially lame story considering it's written by a major fantasy author. Bad humor too. I would not actually buy this title for anywhere near full price.
I just finished level 2. Going off to Zhai's village right now to check on the dark elfs. I have differing thougths on the fighting - i don't see it as paper tissue at all - there were several enemies that i had to hit multiple times and i def. had to wait a little to hit again if i got really tired. sometimes i could 'feel' them knocking me down too. now maybe i don't get what paper tissue is - but the fighting didn't take away from the game for me....i have to say - i really thought that the 3-d environment was super cool. like in the start how i could see all this stuff going on in the background and had to go along the path to get to it. pretty cool for sure.
I'd say even less than paper tissue actually. LOTR:TT, ROTK and the Demon Stone demo I played all feel like you're swinging at nothing for the most part. The only thing that informs that there is an enemy in front of you is the visual onscreen and the fact that your character is blocked from walking that way. Attacks don't convey any substantial sense of connecting with anything. I thinks its a weaknesses in both the audio cues and the attack animations that don't communicate a clear end to each attack action. Thus, I never feel particularly comfortable with my timing.