Underworld Ascendant: Video Game Overview

This autumn veterans of the gaming industry, Brian Fargo (Brian Fargo), as well as the authors team Ultima Underworld, united under sign OtheSide Entertainment, Realized to arrange a real Renaissance in the genre of Dunzhan Croilers. However, I THE BARD’S TALE IV, And now Underworld Ascendant frankly disappointed.

Hurry ..

Underworld Ascendant – This is actual continuation Ultima Underworld. That game produced Warren Spector (Warren Spector), and she came out in 1992 as a branch series Ultima and in many ways it turned out to be a breakthrough – it is RPG, combining a first-person view, real-time combat system and realistic three-dimensional environment. Plus nonlinearity. From her, the genre of Immersive SIM was born, the authors were inspired by it Deus EX And Bioshock. Well, the fact of the fact that the authors did System Shock And Thief (The second part of the series came out from under the pen Looking Glass), also talks about many.

Therefore, when the same developers, uniting in OtheSide Entertainment, Gathered to release although unofficial, but continued, nostalging players willingly financed this idea – she collected 860 thousand dollars on Kickstarter. Expectations were great, and promises – sweets. Say, it will be all the same Immersive SIM, that is, a complete creative freedom in what ways to perform tasks.

Development Underworld Ascendant delayed, but players were ready to wait. The same asked for the press. Having become acquainted with this summer with an early version, journalists whorely asked the authors moved the release for another year so that everything turned out as it should. Did not obey: moved from September first for October, then – for November. Did not help…That’s how it was originally many texts in Russian localization.

Save peace. And one more

In fact, with content, design levels, atmosphere, concept and potential wealth of opportunities laid down in the game, everything is in order. Most Underworld Ascendant In this sense, resembles a mixture from Thief: Deadly Shadows And ARX Fatalis. We play for a certain person who from their world miraculously transferred to the Underground Stygian Abyss – the same, where the events of the original “ultimate” unfolded. He is threatened with a kind of monster named Typhon, which is then going to choke and the native world of the main character.

To save both universes, you need to destroy Rediska, respectively, to destroy, but on a date you will get to get, only if you collect seven keys of the abyss in seven different locations. We also carry out the tasks of three fractions represented by different races – for example, deep elves. Only enlisted their support, we get the final key. Well, and other preferences – like access to unique equipment.

The tasks are understandable – kill everyone with slugs, get rid of ghosts, collect knowledge, find a minotaur armor or, for example, a stolen wagon with goods. Around – Casting stairs, corridors, closed doors and traps. And, of course, the enemies that with each new open location are becoming more dangerous and more interesting.

The levels alternate open-terrain runs with the study of the ruins and all sorts of buildings and temples, where we climb somewhere high, we go down even deeper under the ground. Agree, I immediately remember the third thief.

Three in one

In such conditions, we can act freely, performing tasks, conditionally, like a magician, warrior or thief. For each of these archetypes there is a separate branch of the skills. Thief prefers to move as secret as possible by shooting in torches by water arrows, familiar to everyone who played in Thief, attack from the ambush from the back, flying the docks, and open some locked doors without a key. There are even skill, slowing time, if you rush to the enemy from the shelter.

Warrior relies on the attack by a sword, a constant increase in health and power to be treated, even when you eat (the factor of hunger here, naturally, is present), and powerfully throw the most difficult items. Well, the magician with the help of witchcodes is able to restore health, enchant the undead, raise items into the air and create other wizards wonders. At the same time, for the spells, he creatively mixes the runes in his book – it just kind of sends to ARX Fatalis.

But do not think that we are talking about different classes. The player can alternate magic, the same arrows with water and items raise and throw. You are free creative to study and mix a variety of skills, pumping something one or creating a universal hero, so that the witchcraft are effectively using, and open the doors without a key, and health restoration.Many cards turned out really atmospheric.

Experimenter!

Examples of creative freedom a lot. If you need to get down, but there is no stairs, you can set fire to the wooden floor. And the same to do with a wooden door. If you do not know how to get to the chest with good (and they always shine here), located somewhere high, put boxes on each other. Does not work? Then make the magic levitate these boxes and run on them.

If arrows run out, throw in opponents different (better hard or burning) items. Or drive them into traps. In the same way, for example, a crawling throw of some jug can be activated by levers.

After each mission, we return to the base where we get a reward, choose a new task, sell, buying an increasingly cool equipment, and a special master is studying new skills. And all this – in the frame of a good in general, graphics and tight audio-formations (when you hear the voice of the table, always involuntarily hurt).

Raw dungeon

But do not hurry, reading all this, buy the game. Now she resembles a paid alpha or beta version. In it are full of different bugs, forcing the hero stick in textures and puddles, strange, broken even, the system of saving (you can soze anywhere, but when downloading, it’s still forced to start passing a level from the beginning), bad optimization, long-loading, non-zeal animation. Russian localization on release was such a level that the text to disassemble in many places was simply impossible. With the first update, her slightly corrected, but the key word here is “a little”.Here you can create your own spells. True, the necessary runes come across very rarely.
On the level of local AI, the fact that the enemies often do not respond to hitting the arrows in the face or prefer fun and for a long time to run, riding face in the wall. Or after death loudly and viciously lever, lying on the floor. All this turns what is happening in a terrible horror comedy.

But if such things succeed in rectifying patches with time, then global, conceptual problems will remain. For example, the authors for some reason marinate us for a very long time on the same map. We carry out the task there, we return to the database, and there are four more missions that make it return to the surrounding the enemies and chests to return along and across. And so need to repeat several times before the new location opens. Why it was impossible to make so that several regions with missions were immediately available to the player and he chose himself, where and what kind of task it to perform?

Irritate and the fact that there is often nothing in the chests, or there is no equal equipment for low quality and zero value. From this disappears every desire to look for such “treasures”. And this, you yourself understand, destructive for any “Dunzhan Crowler”.Enemies can arrange such traps.***
All this is very sad, because many, and I, among other things, tied great hopes and with THE BARD’S TALE IV, and S Underworld Ascendant. But if reputation Brian Fargo long ago it is already soaked, then from the game that ex-employees did Looking Glass And Sam Warren Spector, I am not waiting for this. Involuntarily start worrying and for fate SYSTEM SHOCK 3, over which works now Otherside. It is clear that anyway indie, there is little money, and the ambitions are great. We will, of course, optimists – I hope after some time Underworld Ascendant will lead to a feeling and she will bring much joy to fans of atmospheric nonlinear adventures. Well, while it is not worth spending time, nerves and money.

Pros: great potential for creative research levels and nonlinear solving problems;excellently transmitted atmosphere of a gloomy underground adventure;Expressive voicing: Pleasant eye picture.

Minuses: The game is currently frankly raw from a technical point of view;A lot of time has to spend on the same cards;Many monotonous, unnecessary luth.