Hunted: The Demon's Forge

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I will leave the story out of this review since there was a lack of it (main complaint).

This is a straight-forward button masher and dungeon crawler. Caddoc is the melee character (equipment includes swords, axes, and maces along with a shield) but can switch to a crossbow for long distance targets. E'Lara is the sniper/distance fighter that mainly uses bows, but will use a sword and shield. Both characters start with basic equipment, but you can find stronger equipment left by enemies, weapon racks, or at random places in each level (including armor). I find that you have to change your shields frequently since they will break after too much abuse. They have enchanted weapons scattered around the levels that will help you in the game. Plus you cannot hurt your partner in this game.

The game starts with a prologue with chapters (six of them). Each chapter is divided into a further six sub-chapters (which are further divided into areas). You begin in a forest, then a ransacked town, then dungeons, etc. till you reach Kala Moor (the final level).

Graphics: Gorgeous vistas to gritty and bloody dungeons can be found in this game. You will see lots violence (hearts or eyes ripped out, people being stabbed through, people crushed by falling debris, blood spurting over everything, etc.). The peasants look roughly the same (although I had to laugh at how all the women of the game are proportioned but it is a sell point for a particular market).

Gameplay: The gameplay is linear, but you can branch out into sub-quests. The sub-quests are just for stronger weapons or key items that can get you even stronger abilities. You will be given riddles or hints on plaques to indicate a potential sub-quest is nearby. The enemies do get stronger and more varied as you progress through the game, which makes it less predictable and fun to play. I also like the fact that when you dash in a level and want to find particular cover, you dash to it and your character immediately hides for cover. You can snipe enemies using this method while progressing through the level.

Sound: Voice acting is well done (Lucy "Xena" Lawless as Seraphin was a surprise I thoroughly enjoyed). The music is remarkable, and I felt that it deserved recognition.

Crucible: This is an online, multiplayer option in the game. You can create your own dungeon with the option of adding multiple enemies to them, adding siege weapons (ballista, catapult, etc.), or add limits/buffs to the characters. The only way to get any of these additions is to play the game and collect as much gold as possible to unlock particular options.

Replay value: Medium to high depending if you want to try out the crucible, go through the game via co-op, or just getting the trophies.

Weapons: The enchanted weapons are valuable during gameplay. You are restricted to the number of times you can use a weapon's effect (poison, frost, arcane, etc.). I love the fact that if you hit an enemy once with it, the enemy suffers a sustained effect but will not deplete the number for the weapon's effect if you keep hitting them with it. Once the enchantment reaches zero, it becomes a normal weapon.

Magic: Each character has 6 different spells can be further upgraded by using crystals or 5 pieces of crystal shards. The crystals can be found throughout the levels or shards can be dropped by enemies. You bring them to this rift which is a transaction point to upgrade these spells. Caddoc has a rage (attack strength and speed goes up), dash (lunges and knocks enemies back), whirlwind (lifts surrounding enemies up and slams them back on the ground), brimstone (explosion attack), lightning (connects with multiple enemies if they are close), and pain (a stationary circle surrounds you and damages all enemies that step into the circle). E'Lara has the same brimstone, lighting, and pain spells. E'lara has an exploding arrow spell, a freezing arrow spell (slows down or freezes enemies), and a shield-shattering arrow spell. You can also do a battle spell enhancement (by holding the cast button [R1 for PS3]) early in the game, but you can also use a spell link (chain of energy between the two characters) later in the game.

The Sleg: It's the silver liquid that has monsters and people addicted to it. You have a chance to drink this liquid multiple times to enhance your strength, but it will deplete your health after the effects wear off. If you drink this stuff frequently, your characters will make a dash to the liquid giving the enemies a chance to hurt you.

Complaints:

-I played this as a single player campaign, I notice that my AI partner either freezes in place or wanders away from the main battle where I need them the most. You will notice this a lot of chapter 5 and 6 (this will most likely be corrected soon).

-I like a complex, well rounded characters and both Caddoc and E'Lara have something that can be fleshed out in the game. Instead, you get snippets of their history and was never mentioned in the game again. I like their pasts giving them their drive and doing the things they do in order to make a game epic.

-I was freeing captives when I noticed that I started to hear crying, weeping, and sobbing in surround sound. It was saddening at first, then it got really annoying after some time.

-Playing an RPG (even a dungeon crawler) requires save points, and the only ones offered in this game are at random points at the end of an area. You cannot backtrack to the previous area without playing the sub-chapter all over again.

Overall: The game is excellent, but I feel that it is left unfinished. I believe there are multiple endings for this game, but I am not sure. The game offers at least 25+ hours of gameplay. I enjoyed the bickering between Caddoc and E'Lara through the game (I had to smile when spiders came up in the conversation). I will say that there is potential for a sequel to this game. I would have given it a perfect 5 if the story was more complex.

Personal Thoughts on the game:

-Characters: I believe that what Bethesda Softworks touched on in this game does work. Caddoc evidently had a history of rash decisions (that caused the death of his love) that caused him to behave like a tactician rather than a soldier. He does tend to whine more often in the game than E'Lara. E'Lara is brash and is someone who comes in with "guns blazing" type. Both are evidently obsessed with gold, but I wanted to know the reason why they want gold so badly. Was it because Caddoc didn't have the money to save his love? Did E'Lara could have prevented the destruction of her race with more cash? Unfortunately, the game doesn't reveal this and barely touch upon the main characters which could have been an epic story and game.

My stats:

Gold: 26,800 (Tier 16 of 30)

Trophies: 49%

Magic: Mastered all spells

Crucible objects acquired: 50%

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Going into Hunted, I had no idea what to expect. I took the leap because it was on sale for $13 (well worth it) and, almost in a panic of preemptive buyer's remorse, I started combing through reviews after the fact. I was initially scared by reviews talking about glitches and unsatisfying gameplay, and how the levels are too linear. Then I read a review at GameCritics.com that compared the game to the old Capcom Dungeons & Dragons arcade beat-em-ups.

What an apt comparison! If you're looking for an RPG, Hunted is not for you. If you're looking for Gears of War with arrows, Hunted is not for you. However, if you can keep an open mind and are willing to try a unique mix of, let's say, Demon's Souls art design and cover-shooter gameplay, Hunted might scratch an itch you never knew you had.

It's actually a very hard game to describe because while it seems to borrow conventions from other games, it doesn't fall neatly into any one genre. But much like Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons, you are essentially on a linear path in a dark, Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy world and killing everything in your way. There is no "leveling-up," no items to purchase. There is loot and gold, but the former has only minor variances (high-end weapons are reserved for the end of the game's elaborate optional puzzles) and the latter is used only to unlock features in the game's largely extraneous map-building mode. That's right, if you're so inclined, you can create and download new maps (some of which have been designed by the game's developers) ala LittleBigPlanet, although by no means as cohesive or extensive in its sharing capabilities. It's also extremely hard to unlock content for said map builds (by the end of the game, I had only 50% of content unlocked). Unless you just REALLY like amorphous dungeons, you'll probably avoid the creation mode altogether.

There are also plenty of secrets, and collectible items in the form of gold, gemstones (used for upgrades), souls (which are quite well voice-acted and used in the same way modern FPS's use voice recordings to tell backstory), and prisoners, with trophies/achievements associated with each.

Let's get the bad out of the way, because as you might have discerned from umpteen other reviews, Hunted is by no means perfect. The lack of polish in the game is discernible, from ugly/pop-in textures to broken scripted moments (that may require a re-load, although that only occurred once for me in an optional dungeon) and dubious collision detection for environments and your A.I. partner. A.I. pathfinding is also a problem at times, although it never once caused me to get irreparably stuck (the A.I. partner teleports in to meet you at checkpoints) and this won't be a problem if you choose to go co-op.

However, the biggest possible detraction--and one that very well may be a deal breaker for you--is that playing as Caddoc, the sword-based character, is not a whole lot of fun. That is, both characters wield swords and shields and both characters can shoot arrows, but each of the two characters is geared toward one particular style of combat. Caddoc is the aforementioned, requisite "melee guy." Now, to be clear, this game isn't trying to be Conan (which was a similarly uneven beat-em-up, but more in the God of War vein and not particularly fun), but when one of your two gameplay options is not really that satisfying to control, it may turn off fantasy lovers who are eager to hack some Lord of the Rings-style monsters. You don't HAVE to play as Caddoc (although if you're playing co-op, one of you will obviously have to), but if you do, get prepared to be disappointed by some lame/unwieldy spells, unresponsive blocking, and floaty hit detection.

However, if you choose to play as Elara (and you can actually switch between both characters at several points within levels, although I never opted to switch after the prologue), the game can be an absolute blast. The skill trees are very limited (this isn't a real RPG), but once you get the powerful frost and fire arrow spells, you'll be afforded some of the most accessible and satisfying archery combat ever put into a video game. Nothing says "badass" like freezing a group of orcs ("wargars," whatever), having your partner float their frozen bodies in the air, and then blasting them all apart into a million pieces with one well-placed fire-arrow spell. Unlike Caddoc, Elara actually controls pretty well. There are cover aspects of the fights, which are sometimes necessary to utilize, and because of this you'll accidentally jump into cover when trying to run forward (much like Gears of War), but for the most part, she is nimble enough to take down giant minotaurs with her arrows while evading their charges. It's not quite a shooter, not quite Elder Scrolls archery, but somehow it just works really well. Plus, while auto-aiming is enabled by default (and works very smoothly), distance aiming takes actual skill.

While we're on the subject of gameplay and controls, I should note that there are "finishing" moves mixed into the combat that seem to pop up randomly. They're not particularly elegant in their execution, but thankfully you can just ignore them.

The last problem worth mentioning here is the game's ending, both in terms of final boss (which is awful) and ending. There are multiple endings (I won't spoil what factor alters the ending), but the "bad" endings are short throw-aways and the "good" ending is predictable and trite.

Here's the (very) good, aside from the aforementioned archery gameplay:

The art and enemy design is excellent. Each of the six chapters features rather varied terrain (not all of them take place in dungeons, although the second and sixth are decidedly dungeon-filled) and while the texture work is not particularly solid, the design of the levels themselves is excellent. Similarly, the enemies and bosses LOOK ferocious, and while there isn't great variety in enemy types, encounters and puzzles are mixed up enough to keep the game's pace brisk and the battles fun. Similarly, the music is fitting and well orchestrated. Voice acting is serviceable although by no means remarkable (on the level of, say, Heavenly Sword or Enslaved), but with the exception of stranded NPCs who are likely to repeat their woeful lines ad-nauseum, the voices never really grate.

Difficulty balance. On the medium difficulty setting, the game hits that perfect balance of tense without ever being frustrating. You probably won't die often because, as with Gears of War, your A.I. teammate can "revitalize" you (and at a distance, too--something Gears could learn from). At the same time, there will be moments when you'll be scrambling for health and magic potions in order to defeat a particularly nimble foe, and enemy damage is quite significant, especially against Elara.

The characters. The story is hit-and-miss, although there are parts that are particularly well scripted, especially in a moment two-thirds into the game when Caddoc and Elara must come to terms with their misinterpreted status as "heroes" and choose to do something unselfish. The villains are, again, trite and predictable, and you never really care about their motives for evil. However, the world itself is beautifully fleshed out by the aforementioned "souls" scattered about the levels. The protagonists are fitting stars, not because they do a notable job of defying fantasy stereotypes (they LOOK the part of a dark fantasy aimed at teenagers, and Caddoc even comments about Elara's "slutty" outfit at one point), but because their banter is interesting, diverse, and fun to listen to. Furthermore, I should note how refreshing it is that, while dressed in skimpy attire, neither protagonist is particularly sexualized. Their relationship is completely platonic without seeming cold, and while a love story wouldn't necessarily ruin a fantasy game, it's nice to see a male/female pairing based on amiability and respect rather than hormones. You get the sense that these are two old friends who have come to terms with the shallow lifestyle they've chosen, and they often support each other, albeit begrudgingly. They're not particularly three-dimensional characters but they're FUN without being obnoxious.

My favorite part of the game is the handful of puzzle dungeons spread throughout the chapters. They're a welcome departure from the otherwise linear levels and while the puzzles therein aren't any more devious than, say, those found in a Tomb Raider game, they're satisfying to solve. More than anything, each puzzle is elaborate without being time-consuming. It's as if someone plucked some of the best dungeons from Oblivion and stuck them in a linear beat-em-up. You don't HAVE to complete them (if you can find them, although I didn't find any of them particularly difficult to access), but they're so interesting that you'll want to, almost like the optional dungeons in Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood.

Even if you don't choose to play through the elaborate side-dungeons, the linear parts still feature plenty of secrets. Some are painfully obvious (particularly when pointed out by the voices of departed souls) while others are pretty well hidden. It's not Return to Castle Wolfenstein or Quake-level devious, but they're fun to seek out.

Still with me? If you are, I know this is a lot to take in, but just know this: Hunted: The Demon's Forge may not be for everyone, but I'd be remiss if I didn't at least recommend that you TRY it. I had zero expectations going in and had a blast. If you're not expecting the next Elder Scrolls, or Dark Souls, or even Gears of War, you just might agree with me that Hunted is a pick for Diamond in the Rough, 2011.

Buy Hunted: The Demon's Forge Now

Hi,

I bought this game the second day it was out and have had 3 two hr sessions so far.

I think they delivered what was promised it is a co op fantasy hack and slash with ranged weapons melee weapons and you can use cover.

First and foremost it is a capable shooter. When there are a lot of enemies chasing you, you are able to shoot or fight fluidly. Also when there are enemies far away you are able to shoot from cover well. I would compare this to heavenly sword with the world and puzzles and bulletstorm also with the world and combat, minus all of the crazy combos in bulletstorm. This game gets pretty hetic though just like the 2 games I mentioned.

Also as a single player I have been the female elf and the male character has saved me various times as well as draws a lot of enemies. I think it is the best computer controlled companion I have played with so far.

Also there is magic for your bow and your melee.

Also the graphics in my opinion look great. The characters are large and the world is huge and varied. I am only on the second level but have already been through a town and a lot of dungeons. The levels are huge. It took me about 6hrs into the second level. Also it is challenging and I have died a few times.

The characters are very cool to me too. I always like playing mercs. The story is good to me too so far.

I have not finished the game but will update as needed.

I read all of the player and pro reviews and feel that this game delivered as promised. The negative remarks in most reviews I have read are not very significant or are subjective or I have not even noticed the problem.

Oh yah the game reminds me of a better champions of norrath also.

All in all the game is fun and just like a good movie I am not watching the clock while playing it.

If you are interested but not playing because of some of the fair reviews at least rent it and decide for yourself. I think some that will like it may never play it otherwise.

Kevin

Update

July 7, 2011

Finished the game and had a lot of fun. Don't want to spoil the ending but I am going to play through again I have a feeling there are 2 endings. Anyway fun game lots of different enemies, some huge cool bosses, and a whole lot of varied and long, long levels. I played as the archer female and at times it felt a little like borderlands. Using her it is a very fun shooter. I had one of my save games ruined, but I am not sure that is the games fault. It happened after I did a ps3 system update. No other bugs encountered. I think maybe it froze once. Pretty solid game though. I recommend it, especially at the lower price. I love the elf character she was super hot and cool. A lot like the female character from Mercs 2.

Also tried a lot of the puzzles that are kind of like side quests to find weapons and stuff. Didn't finish any of them. I was never good at puzzles. I read that the puzzles were easy, but not for me. Anyway, it is cool. You can choose to do the side quest puzzles or just stay on the main quest. The reviews say this is a linear game, but I have to say that I used the L3 button a lot to show me where to go. The levels are huge and there are some places to go off of the path.

Kevin

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Ok let me start this quick review off by saying that I have not finished the game yet. I just got it when the price dropped to $18. I've played to Chapter 3 so I think I am well enough in it to give an opinion but I will update this later if I see that things have gotten better or worse in the game. So here is a quick good vs bad.

Good:

-Simply fun to play. You know how some games get slammed for graphics and stuff, yet you find this guilty pleasure in playing it... cause it's just simple mindless fun without all the complicated controls and long story cut scenes? You know how when you come home from work and school and just wanna chill and play a game and kill stuff without worrying about the mechanics? This is the perfect game for that. Think Splatterhouse. Horrible reviews, but a huge guilty pleasure for a lot of people.

Magic spells and moves. Not as many varieties as I'd like but it is fun to use these.

Simple story. Well, this is a con too as it's sorta boring but they don't seem to take it too seriously at all so you don't really feel like it's in your face. It's just enough to move it along for what it is.

Variety in environments. To me this keeps it from feeling repetitive.

-Co op. I have a friend who got this the same time i did so we can play together. Awesome idea and very fun.

Plays seamlessly. You don't sit and look at loading screens hardly at all. They did a good job of loading during door opening animations that don't take long at all to happen.

AI seems to do well in battles so far.. but i heard it can get bad later in the game which I haven't experienced yet.

Bad:

Cool environments but some horrible textures at times. Some of the textures you can clearly see them tiling on the models (ie dungeon walls) and they are pixelated and have no normal maps or bump maps on them. It looks really bad cause some of the other textures in the same environment look good. Overall, it looks and feels unfinished in this area. Pop in textures all over the place but that doesn't bother me as much.

AI character gets in the way ALL THE TIME. This is minor but can get annoying since they went out of their way to make a few audio clips like "Hey get out of my way" etc but they didn't take the time to just make sure the AI doesn't just stay in FRONT of you and force you to push it a out of the way. It seems small but after a while it can get really annoying.

Glitches. I only ran into some minor ones like the character shaking weird but then on time I went past an invisible wall and it looked like maybe i found a secret area.. until i fell through the floor and was floating then died. That really made the game seem like it was in BETA stage for me...

Online co op is basically usless. Hard to find a match at all. But that's not really the game's fault that not a lot of people bought this and play this.

Sound can be lacking some times. There are areas where there is no environment sound at all, but you still hear a few birds and foot steps... but no atmosphere. It just sounds odd. But then other areas they add it. Again, feels unfinished.

Worst title screen ever. Who designed that? It just makes the game look low budget right from the intro. Looks like little to no effort was put into making it. Come on guys, show some love for your own game and make the title screen look good. I know this seems nit picky, but I want to feel excited to press start. With this game, I feel like taking it out when I see that title screen.

Hit detection a little off. Not too bad but sometimes you have the enemy right in the middle of the cross hairs and you shoot but it doesn't hit them at all. Not too often this happens but it does happen. Not so bad that it ruins gameplay though.

Can't go backwards after opening doors. Some times you may open a door just cause you are curious and it turns out it is the way to the next area. You can avoid this by using your direction indicator with L3 that shows you where you need to go, but some times you will forget. So if you open that door, you can't go back and pick up things you missed. Again, this can add to replay value and it's not a huge problem, but it will frustrate you from time to time.

Overall this game is fun. Splatterhouse got HORRIBLE reviews and it was still a blast to play in my opinion. This game seems more glitchy than Splatterhouse... and the latter has more exciting gameplay, but this is still fun. So why all the hate? To me a game may be perfect in every way and still some how end up being boring to play.. I'm looking at you Mass Effect 1 and Dragon Age 1. Sorry but those are great games that managed to put me to sleep when I tried to play them after a long day at work. The long cut scenes and dialog was good but just not very fun when it comes to actually PLAYING a game. This game doesn't have the awesome graphics, is glitchy and has almost no story... yet I can play for hours and feel like I had fun, relaxed and not bored. Guess it comes down to taste and what you prefer at different times. This is the game you want when you are looking for mindless kill monsters fun. It's cheap enough now to warrant a purchase in my opinion. If this game didn't have fun gameplay then I would say don't bother... it sucks. That's sorta how i felt about Lair.. but that's another review lol.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Happy gaming.

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I ordered this pretty much sight unseen based on Bethesda's name. That may sound a little naive--but I feel that they have earned my trust over the years, what with Elder Scrolls and Fallout. I love the idea of a dark fantasy combat game, and I gotta confess, I'm a sucker for a good dungeon crawl. So I was pretty eager to get my hands on this baby, and I've been pretty occupied since we got it. Let's break it down:

Graphics: Background graphics are just what you would expect from Bethesda. Fantastic. Very detailed, darkly beautiful, well rendered graphics. I find the scenery and environments very satisfying, but they definitely earn the "M" rating--this is not for your kids. Costumes are racy, blood is everywhere, and overall there is a feeling of doom and gloom that is great, but scary. Just what I want, but not for the little ones. My slightest reservation about these graphics, however--they are not *quite* as advanced as I had hoped for. The bar is set VERY high for me for this particular game type and publisher. Elder Scrolls knocked my socks off...several years ago. These graphics are somewhat better than that now, but given the fact that the game can tend towards some linearity, I would have expected a little more attention to sheer over the top graphic excellence. So, overall, I really love the background graphics, but I can't go into the raptures that I had hoped to do. The characters themselves...well, they are good, but once more not as great an advance as I had hoped for. So, if it seems that I am doing a lot of subtle griping about a game that I have awarded 5 stars, it is because I really expected something completely over the top, and didn't quite get it. What I got is great. But...knowing Bethesda, a little more polish should have been applied here.

Story: This is the weakest point of this fine game. To use the same word again, let me say that the story is fine--not exceptional, but fine--but once more I was expecting a little more than just "fine". I can enjoy a simple hack and slash with the best of them, but I feel that a little more attention to unification of story line, and with a little more immersion, this could have gone from great to epic. That said, I enjoy the main characters, and feel that the voice acting is superior, even in an environment in which voice acting seems to be getting better and better. Also, as this is an early review, the story may deepen. I've waited until I'm pretty far into the game to comment on this, so although I am hopeful, I'm not gonna hold my breath that this will suddenly become the equivalent of a great novel.

Sound: Uniformly excellent. Enjoyable music, great sound effects, I've already commented on the quality of the voice talent. I'm very pleased with the surround effects. The spells and attacks are good, if not innovative.

Game play: Easy to master, still pretty fulfilling. I'm quite pleased with this. If you are a fan of complicated control schemes and multilevel windows, this will disappoint. But if you like pretty streamlined controls and good responsiveness (and who doesn't) than this should fit the bill pretty well. Someone else has mentioned targeting difficulties and such; I agree--targeting should have been better done. Even so, I've had a ball playing these folks. It does take a little adjustment to your usual style.

Length: It's pretty long. I'm not done yet, and I've played more than I'd like to admit since I got the game. I'm a pretty dedicated gamer, and am pretty good at getting through a game the first time. I'm pleased that I'm getting my money's worth. I think that the big attraction for this game is the multiplayer options, and I confess that this is not something that I care about. I know, that makes me weird, but I just tend to play with one person (my wife), and we tend to play one player at a time and watch the other play. It's just our thing. Still, the options are there, and this looks to be great. The in game dungeon editor is pretty easy to use on first pass, but I haven't explored it as thoroughly as I plan to. I'll probably update this later.

So is it worth 5 stars, really? Yes, I think this is a well designed, fun, immersive game. I'm pleased with my purchase, and happy to have bought it. I have a few reservations because I wanted this to be a six star game! Nevertheless, I think that we will be enjoying this game for quite a while, and I expect to play it through a couple of times. The value will be enhanced if you are a die-hard multi player gamer. I can't emphasize enough, however, not for the littler ones. Too scary for them--but just perfect for late night dungeon crawling at its best!