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| Try not to spend too much time checking yourself out in reflective surfaces | This is what happens when you let machines get it on |
Jessica Simpson might seem to be an irrelevant reference, we're talking about a game in which you slaughter monsters over and over again after all, and Jessica Simpson slaughters nothing but lyrics to well known songs, however there IS a connection friends, as I have a strong feeling that Jessica Simpson may well have been an important part of the Silverfall design team. Read on to find out why.
To start in the beginning, a very fine place to start, Silverfall is an action RPG in which you select your race, build a character, and race off to kill bad things. It's a solid premise, and in Silverfall you can choose between being a human, an elf, a troll, or perhaps a goblin if you're that way inclined.
In an inspired moment of madness, the underlying theme of the game is choosing between nature and technology. Which will you align yourself with? Depending on which you choose, you gain acess to different “skill trees”. Here's where you might start to get a little frustrated if you like just being about to pick up random skills as you see fit.
To explain, if you're the type who likes to play Necromancer/Barbarian/Hairdresser type characters, you're not going to be happy. This is because Silverfall requires skills to be built upon, and every skill you learn opens up some options and effectively blocks others off. It's all a bit like life really, unfair.
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| He has no leg, or arms, maybe you should just let the beast eat him | Don't be afraid, be VERY afraid of the insectopeople |
The choices you make don't only effect your character, they also effect the fate of the world, so choose carefully alright? There's nothing quite like the guilt of screwing up a whole planet.
To begin with you're fleeing a town which has been all but razed to the ground, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and generally discombobulated. Thus begins the mandatory tutorial, which I am not going to complain about because it saves readng a manual or realising halfway through the game that you can actually use your sword to hit things. The tutorial is a bit of a teaser though, temporarily giving you powers beyond your wildest dreams, then leaving you impotent to start the game.
The control system leaves a little to be desired, because this is one of those bloody point and click jobbies, and lets face it, they're dammed annoying. Whatever happened to just going with facing your character in a particular direction and then going there system? It's simple, its intuitive, and it doesn't treat you like a bit of a retard whilst making things a whole lot harder.
Camera work also leaves a lot to be desired, as with many point and click games the camera can tend to get a bit out of control whilst playing and I can't tell you the number of times I was left spasaming at the controls while the camera merrily jaunted about the screen, finally settling on my character's left foot whilst I was slaughtered mercilessly.
Of course this all means that you basically use one strategy for almost the whole game, 'click to kill'. Need something to die? Click your mouse like you're having an epileptic fit, the more clicks the better. Atari might want to watch out on this one, they may be heading for a whole bunch of RSI related lawsuits.
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| A lovely day, sun shining, birds singing, corpses on the ground | OMG, Would you LOOK at him, SO CUTE! |
Now, I mentioned Jessica Simpson, didn't I? There must be a reason for that, and there is. While the story line is a little lame and obvious, the character design is amazing, as are the abilities to acessorize (okay 'equip') your character with various kinds of weaponry and whatnot. Much care has been taken with character, monster and environment design, so even if it is all a bit boring and repetitive, and insists on making obvious statements, it sure is pretty to look at. Just don't marry it.
Top Game Moment:
SILVER FALL VERDICT
to be a totally satisfying gaming experience, because it is without a doubt, prettier than a fleet of Jessica Simpson mastheads, and you can imagine how pretty that would be.
TOP GAME MOMENT
Making myself pretty with new clothes. OMG Soooo Cute!
