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| Drakan Demo | // review |
| A few weeks ago I valiantly downloaded the Drakan Demo early one morning, ready to upload it to BarrysWorld for everyone else to download. I had a little look around at some websites, saw some of the screenshots, and decided to have a play. To be honest, I was expecting nothing more than a standard 'flight sim' based on flying dragons. The display engine looked capable, and the models looked half decent. After rebooting into Windows 98, I loaded the Drakan Demo. Flying is fun! Swimming can be an interesting experince in a fast-flowing river Psygnosis have always been know for the amazing beauty of their graphics, with some of the corporate image (along with their 'owl' logo) being created by fantasy artist Roger Dean. The introduction sequence, once you click past the "Warning! Beta!" window, is a continuous seqeunce through the developer credits, past the introduction screen and into the menu. The various sections of the menu have been hit with the pretty stick too. Moving the mouse over one of the options starts the center jewel rotating and changing colour, with a text explanation of each option display at the bottom of the screen. After selecting New Game (the obvious choice) you very quickly you find yourself flying through the air on the back of your friendly dragon, wondering what to do. Following the river seems a logical option, and after a bit of swooping and diving whilst figuring out how to control the dragon, and a little bit of just plain sitting there marvelling at the scenery, I set off. Heading upstream, your first enemy encounter is with another flying dragon, then very quickly with a few more. Running into this much trouble so early in the game made me re-evaluate how I was starting out. I originally thought this was a flying-only level, until a little more investigation, and a few more level restarts I finally figured out how to land, and then how to actually get off the dragon.. Suddenly, there were two games rolled into one - a flying game and a 3rd-person shooter. Near the beginning of the demo level I noticed an un-destroyed cottage, so decided to investigate on foot. Walking up to the door elicited no response, so I tried the 'use' key I had just configured, and found myself in a cut-scene, very well done and explaining what I had to do. I also ended up with a key and a stone rune. The developers have taken pains to ensure that your introduction to the various control systems are as easy as possible, so your first task, clearing out a cave of spiders, is commensurately easy. You can get to the cave (behind the first cottage) either by walking or by flying. Once there, the 'use' key comes in handy again as you have to open the door to the mines. Inside, you find yourself being attacked by hordes of spiders, though thankfully they are fairly easy to dispatch. Working deeper into the cavern, your character speaks up giving extra clues as to what you must do. I won't give any more of the demo away just yet - it may only be half of one level, but there is hours of gameplay built into the demo alone. The transition between flying and walking is flawless, as the engine appears to handle both modes natively. When you land on the grounds, you have the option of running around still seated on the dragon, or you can jump off, a manouver that is handled by a short piece of game-engine animation. Once on the ground you are at the mercy of ground-based enemies, however they are not purely ground-based. The distinction between flying and walking just doesn't exist, except at a viewpoint and control level. You can attack ground troops from the air, or you can go head-to head with a club, a sword or any other weapon you can lay your hands on.. Wielding a sword or a club against Wartoks is much more fun than blasting them from the sky, though! That said, it does take a little while to get used to the different control systems. The Third-person view for ground level play is a mix between that found in Heretic II and that in Tomb Raider. This is one of the areas that needs improving, as it is nowhere near as accomplished as that found in Heretic II, so far the only third person game I have come across with a reasonable control system. Controlling the flying dragon requires a different set of movements. It, too is Third person, yet the designers have incorporated a glide featurel, making flying the dragon an interesting experience when you first try. Dogfights are also a new experience, as yes, dragons can strafe while in the air... The engine is not without it's problems, most of them having to do with how your character responds to the environment. I found some of the interaction strange, such as the way the character turns to face a steep slope if you jump onto it sideways, and how some slopes appear shallow enough to walk up, but you can't. The engine itself though can deal with an amazing amount of detail, and the levels are quite simply huge. I don't know how the transitions between interior and exterior locations are done, whether they're different maps or whether they're all part of the same environment. A lot of work has also gone into the creation of the player and enemy models. Each model has a large range of movements, and Rhynn (your character) can perform some quite amazing jumps, tucks and rolls whilst battling against an enemy. The Warthogs, Dragons and assorted monsters all get in on the act as well. The Wartoks are funny when they growl at you, openeing their mouths wide enough for you to stick your club into. Like a traditional adventure game, additional items, besides weapons, need to be used via an inventory screen. I died many times before realising I had to actually 'use' a health potion rather than just walk over it. The same happened with armour once I found it. First, I had to rid myself of the old armour, then use the new armour, leaving the old behind for the next poor sole following in my footsteps. One criticism I did have was for all the beauty of the engine in leaving arrows sticking out of things, not being able to pick them back up is annoying. Good news, though, as it appears the developers have added in this ability, with a random chance of a retrieved arrow breaking from use. One thing that really struck me whilst playing this game was the similarity to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons experience, moving from vast outdoor areas to dank dungeons. I understand the developers have included deformable terrain in the game engine, however for now any changes made to the environment are planned rather than dynamic. This does not detract however, as things like walls being destroyed, doors opening and so on are done very well. Also included in the demo are a number of tasks you need to perform, the first of which I mentioned above. Other tasks include side-journeys which are not necessary to the completion of the game but can yield useful items, and hidden areas that can only be found by exploring. Also mixed in are the traditional 'find the key to open the door' type puzzles, but since this is more of an adventure game than an action game, you may have to perform several other tasks before finding the correct key. The pure scope of possibility inherent in the game is astounding. Enormous continuous landscapes that you can run over or fly over, dark subterranean tunnels, and hidden dungeons. The demo contains half of one level, and the developers promise at least 10 full sized levels to enjoy. The engine shows great promise in the vast number of details it can cope with. The mix of first person (or rather third-person) action and the exploratory adventure genres, mixed in with a graphical rich game engine make this a game to watch. Personally I can't wait until it's released. | |
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