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Date |
: Nov 12th, 2001 |
| Genre |
: Strategy |
| Developer |
: Nival Interactive |
| Author |
: Multiple |
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Etherlords Beta Review
Many turns ago, I read about a game in development by Nival Studios called Etherlords. I looked at many screenshots thinking "Wow! A fantasy RTS to tide me over until Warcraft 3!" I was shocked when I actually did some reading and found out this game was to be turn-based. "Again!" I shouted! I've already got 3 Heroes of Might and Magic games! I don't need more, I need real-time, I ranted to anyone who would listen. Incidentally, the family cat seemed totally oblivious to my diatribe. Fuming, I sat glaring at my screen. Yes, Nival Studios were the geniuses behind Rage of Mages, one of my favorite games, and Evil Islands another, albeit flawed, classic. So why would they make it turned based?!? Nevertheless, I persisted, knowing I owed it to the company after the hours of fun I had with Rage. As I read on I couldn't shake the feeling that this had all been done before. Heroes of Might and Magic has done this, and number 4 is around the corner. The more I read however, the more interested I became. A fusion of turn based strategy and card games using what appeared to be the Evil Islands engine. Maybe it isn't HOMM4 with a different name! I had taken the bait and all that they had to do now was reel me in.
Now don't get me wrong. I have never been a fan of those card games like Magic : The Gathering. They always seemed too geeky for someone of my level of coolness. In other words, my simple mind couldn't comprehend them so I make myself feel better by mocking those who understand the intricate decks and draws and what have yous. Etherlords however, provided a way for me to get to know them…if they're making a strategy game with them then it has to be easy, right? It was a tantalizing thought, card-based combat accessible to the masses. I read some more and liked what I heard, so I signed up for the beta.
So now, after many turns have elapsed, I eagerly install the massive one-gigabyte beta. Shuddering, my 56k modem groans contentedly, happy to simply check e-mail. With a sudden, terminal sounding burst of machine-gun fire my hard-drive reaches its climax, and it is done. My expectations as hot as my modem, I load it up. For the sake of you all I will spare you the saga of the Detonator 4 drivers, and thus allow the article to make it past the censors. Rather than shock you with the near-limitless cursing vocabulary of that tale, I will instead get back to the point : Is this game going to be Heroes with a new name?
The answer is a resounding NO! And I praised the heavens as I played the game... I had a lot of time for prayer as my Celeron 366 struggled to load a large single-player map. The important thing is that Etherlords is nothing like Heroes. Sure you can draw similarities, and I imagine many a critical reviewer will scathingly do exactly that, probably because he still can't work out the combat system and needs to say something. Yes, the game has a fantasy setting. Yes it is turn-based. Yes it has heroes. Agreed, some of their skills are similar to those in the Heroes series. But here the similarity ends.
The most obvious differences are aesthetic. Etherlords looks remarkably like Evil Islands, and is true 3D so you can zoom and rotate till your heart's content. The colors are rich and vibrant and quite enjoyable to behold. Once in combat, you are presented with an isometric view which not only looks good but is extremely practical, and allows you to view your own forces and the enemy's with ease. However, graphics maketh not the game, so rather than dwell on this aspect, I'll move onto the important stuff: the combat.
Combat in Etherlords is remarkably innovative, and could not be more different to that of similar games. Your hero does not wander around with legions upon legions of skeletons and dragons; instead, he must summon creatures to fight for him when engaged in combat. These minions engage heroes directly in combat, and victory is gained by actually killing the hero, not his army. This changes the strategic emphasis of combat, in a manner not unlike that of the Commanders in Total Annihilation. Minions can attack the hero directly if no enemy creatures oppose them, but risk leaving their own leader exposed in doing so.
Even in its beta-stage, the Etherlords combat system posses a kind of symmetry that draws me to it. Thrusts meet counter-thrusts, a victory which seemed assured can be turned around in an instant. Part of this poetry is that combat is essentially limited in duration by what is called Ether Disturbance. After a certain number of rounds, the Ether your hero manipulates turns against him and begins to deal increasingly large amounts of damage at the end of a round. While a number of testers have expressed concerns about this feature, I believe it is one that enhances combat immeasurably by limiting cowardly defensive tactics. Another excellent feature is that the number of spells you can carry is limited to 15. This requires you to plan out a strategy in advance and decide on the type of deck that you wish to use. The sheer number of spells can be very intimidating at first, and I am not ashamed to admit that I died horribly many a time due to lack of comprehension. But once you endure that humiliation ( and assuming you learn from it quickly, unlike myself ) a few times, the spell system is a joy to behold and there is a genuine sense of achievement at defeating the tougher enemies.
What makes combat so innovative is that it winning isn't based on having more massive army than your opponent. It is reliant on having a balance of spells and good tactics to go with it. In Heroes you could wear down even huge heroes with a series of smaller ones before he could recruit more. Try sending a series of weaker heroes against a strong one in Etherlords and you'll end up looking very foolish indeed. The stronger the hero the more Ether Channels he commands. These channels essentially limit the amount of Ether your hero gets per turn. By the 8th turn a level 7 hero will be gaining 6 or 7 Ether a turn while a level 1 hero would only have 4. This alone makes the game miles apart from Heroes.
As I mentioned above, the hero summons minions to fight for him in battle, so by now I'm sure you're all wondering what the castle does. Not much is my answer. So far, it is the only aspect I haven't been happy with. You don't build structures inside it or upgrade it; rather you upgrade captured structures to provide you with resources. Nor do structures provide you with new creatures directly. Several key structures allow you to purchase new spells. The variety of spells makes it essential to command as many of these structures as possible to get the best range.
This is only scratching the surface of Etherlords. Suffice to say a comparison to the Heroes of Might & Magic series is baseless. That is not to say that fans of the series won't like the game. Quite the opposite, Etherlords breathes new life into a genre flooded by Heroes clones. If you love turn-based strategy or any of the Heroes saga, I challenge you to set your preconceptions aside and play Etherlords. Likewise, fans of card-based strategy games will find the game a joy to play and will relish the chance to master the decks and the strategies that Etherlords offers. Simply put, Etherlords has something for everyone. Except my cat who still isn't very excited by the whole thing, but he'll come around.
- Dominic Clarke
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