Reviews / previews
In the short history of Tomb Raider clones, Drakan: Order of the Flame is easily the most ambitious. It's one part 3D hack-n-slash, one part third-person puzzle hunt, and three parts ass kicking, dragon-riding aerial combat. Its addictive gameplay, wonderful use of dragon combat, and incredible attention to detail have made a fan of me.
You play Rynn, a sword-wielding heroine, who watched helplessly as hordes of evil minions burnt her village and kidnapped her kid brother. On a quest to free him, she discovers a way to unleash the powers of an ancient, trapped dragon named Arokh.
Graphics and sound quality in Drakan are very nice. You have pretty polygonal models covered in pretty 2D textures and finally showered in pretty particles effects like blood, snowfall, or even magical explosive effects from one of the game's magic weapons. If you put on chainmail, you immediately see it. If you cut off an enemies arm, it falls to the floor and blood pumps from the stump. The lighting/shadows are to die for.
And the designers have an eye for detail: Flocks of tiny birds take off at your approach and floorboards creak beneath Rynn's feet. And if you happen to be caught under a dying giant, he'll crush you when he falls.
Gameplay is your standard run, jump, and slash--until you climb up onto Arokh's back and it all changes very dramatically! You easily outgun just about everything while riding the dragon. Is it unbalancing in terms of game difficulty? Yes. Is it extremely fun, intensely rewarding, and somewhat revolutionary? Yes!
The only problem I found in the single-player game was slight inclines that appear passable--they're similar to passable portions of the same hill--and aren't. And multiplayer has its share of problems too.
The multiplayer maps, all ten of them, are small and cramped. The three modes of play (air-only mode, ground-only mode, and an "everyone vs. one dragon" mode) are very limiting. They simply don't allow for huge combinations of air-to-ground battles to take place on the same map. For example, you will never see teams of airborne dragons fighting teams of ground-based soldiers in a war of the species.
It's a shame the same attention to detail lavished on the single-player game wasn't devoted to the multiplayer. Drakan could've easily become as meaningful as the word "Quake" to fans of third-person multiplayer.
But taking Drakan for what it's worth, a single-player Tomb Raider-killer, I did enjoy it very much. The graphics are top-notch, the sound is superb, and the gameplay--save the impassable terrain complaint--will keep you coming back for more. I highly recommend Drakan.-- Nash Werner / GamePro
Got an opinion about Drakan: Order of the Flame? Or maybe know a good cheat or strategy? Share it with the world!