Of Orcs and Men
Of Orcs and Men is an action rpg in which you play Arkail, an orc berserker and Styx, a goblin assassin trying to kill the Human Emperor who is seeking an alliance to destroy your people. There is a decent variety of areas you travel through, from open areas like city streets and islands to large buildings like temples and catacombs.
You don't have too many attributes- just four for each character- which you choose which to increase with each level up. You also get a skill point to either learn a new skill or increase a skill you already know. These are offensive, defensive and special for Arkail and melee, ranged and special for Styx so you can level them to suit your play style to a certain extent. Some skills are a lot less useful than others though so you might want to look at a game guide/walkthrough if you want to play on a high difficulty level. You also have a bit of loot which you find along the way. They can all be upgraded by armorers too.
The combat is quite similar to Dragon Age and Knights of the old Republic. Like them at the beginning, when you don't have many skills, the combat can be a little boring. Things get better as you have more skills but having only two character is a disadvantage. In chapter two you also have many long, very similar fights- against heavily armored swordsmen, spearmen and crossbowmen. At other times you fight orcs, goblins, priests and a few bosses. Although it seems lacking in variety. it makes a good change from the usual fantasy staples like skeletons, zombies, giant rats and spiders.
Before the fights you can normally use Styx's stealth to scout around and assassinate enemies who are alone. If you don't those you attack will sound the alarm and all the enemies in the area will attack. Generally if there's six or more against you, you will have no chance and have to reload and to try pic more off. After chapter two the pacing is quicker and most fights a lot shorter. Another complaint about the game is the level design and yes it is very linear.
I imagine some would have been unhappy with the length if they paid the original price. However I think on sale it's an enjoyable game if you're looking for a rpg that isn't 30+ hours. It's also worth playing if you're thinking of picking up the prequel, as it gives a better introduction to what is an interesting world. The short length also meant it could be all voice acted. The writing and voice acting is pretty good but there is a lot of swearing that at times feels forced and unnecessary. Maybe in the original French it works better. I think the combat would have got boring again if it was longer- unless they added more characters which join you in fighting for a while and I guess they didn't have the budget for that.
Rating: 6/10
Normal Price: $29.99
Recommendation at max discount ($5.99): 6.5/10
The combat is quite similar to Dragon Age and Knights of the old Republic. Like them at the beginning, when you don't have many skills, the combat can be a little boring. Things get better as you have more skills but having only two character is a disadvantage. In chapter two you also have many long, very similar fights- against heavily armored swordsmen, spearmen and crossbowmen. At other times you fight orcs, goblins, priests and a few bosses. Although it seems lacking in variety. it makes a good change from the usual fantasy staples like skeletons, zombies, giant rats and spiders.
Before the fights you can normally use Styx's stealth to scout around and assassinate enemies who are alone. If you don't those you attack will sound the alarm and all the enemies in the area will attack. Generally if there's six or more against you, you will have no chance and have to reload and to try pic more off. After chapter two the pacing is quicker and most fights a lot shorter. Another complaint about the game is the level design and yes it is very linear.
I imagine some would have been unhappy with the length if they paid the original price. However I think on sale it's an enjoyable game if you're looking for a rpg that isn't 30+ hours. It's also worth playing if you're thinking of picking up the prequel, as it gives a better introduction to what is an interesting world. The short length also meant it could be all voice acted. The writing and voice acting is pretty good but there is a lot of swearing that at times feels forced and unnecessary. Maybe in the original French it works better. I think the combat would have got boring again if it was longer- unless they added more characters which join you in fighting for a while and I guess they didn't have the budget for that.
Rating: 6/10
Normal Price: $29.99
Recommendation at max discount ($5.99): 6.5/10
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