A tense, spooky fps full of exploration
Quicksave/quickload smooth over the games age and its occasional pacing or difficulty spikes. What you are left with is some pretty classic fps gameplay paired with strong atmosphere and a plat that, while simple, keeps you propelled to see what you will face next. The spell system takes some of the pressure off of saving every bullet, because your mana will respawn over time, which frees you up to explore your fairly competent arsenal. Levels are expansive enough to be fun to explore without spiraling out of control too much. Set pieces and new threats and abilities are paced well providing strong variety to keep you from getting bored. Graphics and sound set a strong mood.
I played with the renewal mod which made the weapon/spell selection wheels work better, though I think my biggest nit with the game is how often the game seems to want you to switch weapons/spells, and the selection wheel is still a clumsy way to do it. Some of your spells are buffs, and it's annoying to switch to them, activate the spell, and then switch back to either an offensive or defensive ability.
I really must commend the level design. Like half-life, the team did an excellent job of connecting the levels making it feel expansive even if you are mostly following a linear layout. You sometimes can return to previous levels to pick up things you miss, but for the most part you are blocked as soon as you progress, so make sure you have poke around a bit and find some of the secret areas before moving on.
1 gamers found this review helpful