By Jim Rossignol on April 14th, 2009 at 8:07 am.
Well that cocks up my release-day review, doesn’t it? Thanks to Gamestop inexplicably releasing the game early at retail in the US, the release of digital download versions of Demigod have been brought forward to yesterday. Brad Wardell explains the kerfuffle over at his Impulse blog, as well as pointing out that this whole mess should, in theory, “maximise” piracy rates:
“…it was Easter weekend. And many of us had just finished a good solid 8 weeks of massive crunch and were looking forward to the weekend to recover. Instead, we found ourselves back at work having to turn on and configure the multiplayer matchmaking servers… we’ll get to actually see the effects of piracy. Since we know Demigod is an outstanding game with a wide appeal with equal retail and digital distribution to other titles that came out this year with similar demographics we can see how well it sells compared to them.”
Thoughts? I’m liking Demigod very much. Rook SMASH! And if you’re going to get it before you read a more sophisticated verdict than that, buy it on Impulse. We’ll post some more detailed thoughts later in the week.
14/04/2009 at 08:33 Heliocentric says:
My theory, gamestop had the chance to hurt a growing threat, so it did.
14/04/2009 at 08:39 Chris says:
Tried it out first on my friends impulse, multiplayer was pretty shaky cause they weren’t ready for it I guess :( seemed fun, so I bought it and just finished with a 3 hour game, and that game alone was worth the entry fee, hehe
14/04/2009 at 08:50 Smokey says:
there are a few elements similar to teh Warcraft 3 mod “Defense of the Ancients” . Does anything that has played both have any input for a comparison of the two games?
14/04/2009 at 08:53 Deadend says:
Any word on a demo? I prefer to try before I buy.
I will confess to having pirated a few games for the sake of having a demo. A demo matters.
14/04/2009 at 08:59 Vinraith says:
Past experience with seemingly promising games has taught me never to buy before playing the demo.
14/04/2009 at 09:12 df1z says:
I bought this on Impulse today after my roommate snatched the last early copy at our local GameStop. I was a huge fan of DotA and I’ve kept my eye on this for awhile now.
After only having enough time to play a few skirmishes, I must say I’m loving this game. Hands down, if you enjoyed DotA, you’ll enjoy Demigod. There aren’t nearly as many heroes or items yet, but it looks great and plays much like DotA.
Can’t wait to get back home from work so I can jump online and check out some real competition.
14/04/2009 at 09:14 Tertiee says:
Demo has been planned but no timetable has been given yet.
14/04/2009 at 09:21 El_MUERkO says:
/pokes shopto
post meh game
14/04/2009 at 09:25 Vinraith says:
“Hands down, if you enjoyed DotA, you’ll enjoy Demigod. There aren’t nearly as many heroes or items yet, but it looks great and plays much like DotA.”
Not to be a jerk, but if that’s the case wouldn’t I be better off playing DotA (which also has the benefit of being free)?
14/04/2009 at 09:28 bookworm8at says:
I read on their forums that there will be a demo in a few weeks.
“Past experience with seemingly promising games has taught me never to buy before playing the demo”
Wiser words were never spoken. I got weak because of the demi-price ( 30,- EUR is quite cheap).
However, so far it looks like a _very_ good deal. This game is fun.
14/04/2009 at 09:32 Schtee says:
Does this affect UK retail release? ShopTo.net have it for £17.99, however they have the release date down as 29/05. That’s like £8.90 cheaper. But like 2 weeks later. WHAT TO DO?
14/04/2009 at 09:50 unclelou says:
Another game, after Battleforge, I know little about (to the point that I was thinking the two were one and the same for ages).
Is this mainly a multiplayer-game?
14/04/2009 at 10:10 bansama says:
Add another voice to the really want to see a demo crowd, as I’m hardly about to invest 4000+ yen in a game and digital distribution network I hardly know without one.
14/04/2009 at 10:19 Kyr says:
Demigod is very much like Defence of the Ancients (DotA) in many ways. It’s multiplayer (and single too), it’s team game, and it’s looking good and fun to play. It’s nothing like Battleforge which is boring and online.
P.S. Rook smash allright.
14/04/2009 at 10:22 JP says:
That quote is full of bs.
Why would any pirate it? The singleplayer component consists purely of skirmish mode, and a campaign which is just a bunch of skirmishes tacked together. It’s essentially multiplayer only.
If anything the piracy will just help their sales once people get bored of the braindead ai
14/04/2009 at 10:39 bob arctor says:
Thankyou for your descriptions guys.
My question for you is what is DotA like? As the only description of Demigod going is “is like dota ok?”
¬_¬
14/04/2009 at 10:42 phuzz says:
@Schtee: I bought L4D from them for cheap, and then had to sit and watch while everyone else got to play and I had to wait. Apart from that ShopTo were great though.
Personally I wish I’d just spent the extra and got it early (depends what chances you’re going to have to play it between now and when it’s supposed to get delivered)
14/04/2009 at 10:47 Po0py says:
Has anybody reviewed it yet? I thought this thing wasn’t going to be released for months.
14/04/2009 at 10:54 unclelou says:
Cheers, guys. As suspected, then – this focus on multiplayer is, albeit understandable, getting slightly irritating.
14/04/2009 at 10:57 Ginger Yellow says:
I’m sitting out for a while until I’ve had a chance to play through Tales of Valour (I’m such a sucker for CoH content) and Rogue Trooper.
14/04/2009 at 11:03 Bobsy says:
Ugh, what a horrible screenshot. It’s just a mess of lines and smudges.
14/04/2009 at 11:16 Dominic White says:
Just a warning – this is one of those highly controversial games that can and will generate raging flame-wars at the drop of a hat.
There will be Angry Internet Men. Oh yes.
14/04/2009 at 11:32 Heliocentric says:
Yeah, that screen shot is fugly.
The games art style doesn’t seem to have survived the transition from concept art well, or does it look better in play?
14/04/2009 at 11:51 Lomsi says:
You wait years for a decent RTS to arrive and 8 come along at once… I’ve only just sunk my teeth into Empire.
I’m going to wait for reviews on this one, the last time I rushed out to buy a game before reading a review I ended up with Alone in the Dark. Oh, the humanity.
14/04/2009 at 12:03 markcocjin says:
After reading up on Stardock as a publisher, it seems to me that they have been looking to pair and finance certain developers so they could have exclusives on Impulse.
It’s probably not like Gas Powered Games looked at all the publishers and picked the best one. It’s more of Stardock throwing them a bunch of money and saying “hey, make us a game okay!” Being pro-gamer and having that self-serving ten commandments of gaming is merely a business strategy they have for penetrating the market than actual genuine love for gaming.
It makes good business sense to give gamers what they want. I wouldn’t necessarily call them saints though. They could be a young Microsoft in the making.
14/04/2009 at 12:16 SirKicksalot says:
Heliocentric – it looks a lot better, exactly like the concept art and early trailers, and the maps are extremely impressive:
http://i43.tinypic.com/rlj39g.jpg
It’s the most beautiful game since Rise of Legends IMO
14/04/2009 at 12:36 Malcolm says:
@SirKicksalot
Umm, wow! I’m almost tempted to buy it on the strength of that screenshot alone!
14/04/2009 at 12:40 Kieron Gillen says:
That really is one hell of a shot.
KG
14/04/2009 at 12:44 Nick says:
Yeah, that is amazing.. I think I might buy it after seeing that.
14/04/2009 at 13:18 unclelou says:
Great screenshot indeed.
So where *is* Jim’s release day review? Isn’t the official release day today? :-)
14/04/2009 at 13:26 Butler` says:
Probably going to get this. I’m well up for some RTS-style goodness atm and this looks to hit the spot.
14/04/2009 at 13:38 cyrenic says:
Note to publishers: If you have a strong digital distribution presence, don’t send advance copies of your game to Gamestop. I think Gamestop saw an opportunity to do two things: stick it to those fancy pants digital upstarts, and make some quick cash off the advance copies since they’re the first ones selling it.
I wonder how much money Stardock would have lost had they not sent any copies of the game to Gamestop. I suspect most traditional retail PC game buyers go to Walmart, Target, or Best Buy for PC games anymore (at least in the U.S.).
14/04/2009 at 13:52 catska says:
Complete DoTA ripoff.
14/04/2009 at 14:02 Okami says:
@catska: Actually it’s a complete Dune 2 rip-off, since DoTA is a Warcraft mod, which was itself a carbon copy of Dune 2..
14/04/2009 at 14:08 NuZZ says:
The game wont even execute for me. Vista 64bit. I guess I will have to wait till it is fully released before the forums light up with more answers.
14/04/2009 at 14:30 Benjamin Ferrari says:
I’m pleased to see that demigod’s terminology has already been integrated in the English language. In the forum Gnarl asked for a demi-demo, I wrote about it’s demi-price earlier, and it’s only a matter of time until someone desires demi-more .
Also, there is absolutely no argument you cannot counter with “DOUBLE SMITE”.
14/04/2009 at 14:41 Kyr says:
@bob arctor
Defense of the Ancients (DotA) is a custom scenario for Warcraft III, based on the “Aeon of Strife” map for StarCraft. The objective of the scenario is to destroy the opponents’ “Ancient”. The two teams’ ancients are heavily guarded structures at opposing corners of the map. Players use powerful units known as heroes, and are assisted by allied heroes and AI-controlled fighters called “creeps”. As in role-playing games, players level up their hero and use gold to buy equipment during the mission.
Did this answer your question? :)
14/04/2009 at 14:44 Deny says:
That’s coming straight from good ‘ol Wikipedia.
It’s still true though.
14/04/2009 at 14:47 catska says:
@Okami
DoTA was a pretty original mod and has a gigantic community. The entire reason this game exists is stardock and GPG trying to capitalize on someone else’s success by making a retail version of the game. Reminds me of Valve buying out CS and putting it on store shelves.
14/04/2009 at 14:55 Chris says:
@Okami
War3 may be a ripoff of Dune 2.. but Dota is not. Using the same engine in an entirely new way is an entirely new game. Look at Q3 and Unreal
14/04/2009 at 14:57 viper34j says:
@NuZZ
Do you use Comodo Security software? If so, you’ll have to disable the Defense+ active scanning thingama’jigger to launch the game.
Check the official forums, there are a couple stickied threads under the tech support section that deal with the game not starting.
14/04/2009 at 14:57 Benjamin Ferrari says:
“he entire reason this game exists is stardock and GPG trying to capitalize on someone else’s success”
Obviously, but I really don’t understand why you make this sound like a bad thing? Like Okami said: Warcraft 3 was as similar to dune 2 as Demigod is to DotA. Or Halflife to Doom.
Building on existing ideas is the basis on every kind of process. That’s how it should be.
14/04/2009 at 15:01 Tei says:
I give this game 2/5 stars.
14/04/2009 at 15:06 Walsh says:
Why do you give this game 2/5 stars?
14/04/2009 at 15:12 Benjamin Ferrari says:
“I give this game 2/5 stars.”
Wow that’s generous because now you have only 3 stars left!
14/04/2009 at 15:17 RichPowers says:
I give Demigod 39/103 stars.*
*Discloser: I have not played Demigod
The Three Moves Ahead crew devoted an entire podcast to Demigod if you’re interested. They quasi-review the game and discuss how it compares to the boardgame Titan.
14/04/2009 at 15:21 Tei says:
@Walsh:
Maybe is not a bad game, so I don’t want to write my full opinion. The original DoTA is a RPG mod on RTS engine. This one feel like a RTS mod in a FPS engine. It probably has not pathfinding problems because the maps are lame simple.
But the game deserve some atention, and lets wait and see, … maybe zillions will love it. who knows?
14/04/2009 at 15:25 NuZZ says:
@viper34j
Yo, yeah I always have it disabled anyway. Besides, I closed the app altogether with no success… I will have to check the forums again, ty.
14/04/2009 at 15:29 Okami says:
The point I wanted to but then didn’t make, because I just couldn’t be bothered to write complicated stuff in a foreign language, was the following: “Ripping Off” is the foundation of game development. Whole genres get created by one developer “ripping off” another one.
Of course the original Warcraft wasn’t a carbon copy of Dune2 using different sprites. It had such innovative features as selcting multiple (up to FOUR) units at a time, not having to open a menu screen every time you wished to build something and creatures beeing able to heal other creatures.
But it’s fair to say that Warcraft would likely never have existed without Dune 2. And while it’s fair to say that Demigod wouldn’t exist without DotA, it’s still it’s own game, with it’s own improvements on the formula and it’s own visual style.
14/04/2009 at 15:33 Garu says:
DotA was amusing, but the community was faith-in-humanity-crushingly bad. If those people migrate over to this then I will pass.
14/04/2009 at 15:45 Adam says:
There was a reason behind the early release. Apparently, Demigod shipped to them without a release date on the box, and according to Gamestop’s policy, that allows them to put it on shelves as soon as it arrives. This is based off a forum post from an alleged manager, so take it with some salt, but maybe someone can verify.
When I went with a friend, we had to go to 2 Gamestops because they only had one copy of the game each. I’m sick of this “we’ll carry it if you preorder” bullshit
14/04/2009 at 15:46 jsutcliffe says:
I have very little interest in playing strategy-type games online, and this looks interesting to me (I’m a sucker for pretty graphics). Can anybody tell me how useful/enjoyable the single-player aspect of Demigod is?
14/04/2009 at 15:47 Benjamin Ferrari says:
@Garu: One of the most important features in a multiplayer game (for me) is automatching. I want to be able to play a quick game without ever talking to anyone. Otherwise I could never play with all these juvenile know-it-alls and call it fun.
I can do this on public TF2 servers, in L4D campaing mode, in dow2, in Empire TW, etc and also in Demigod.
Imho, the community may suck. But the game should protect me from it.
14/04/2009 at 15:51 Benjamin Ferrari says:
@jsutcliffe: ”
Can anybody tell me how useful/enjoyable the single-player aspect of Demigod is?”
Single player is about the same as in a fighting game like street fighter or mortal combat:
You play a tournament against bots, which are of course much less of a challenge than humans.
I only played the game for a few hours so far, but I guess if you don’t want to play online this is not the right game for you.
14/04/2009 at 15:56 Sam says:
justcliffe: It’s fun, but it will get old fairly quickly. Probably not worth buying for the single player alone.
That said: Yay! I pre-ordered this and was in the Betas, although copious amounts of work meant I didn’t get to play much.
Re: DotA. It’s obviously DotA-inspired, and not in a bad way. However, it’s not a DotA clone. And I say this still playing a shit-ton of DotA.
14/04/2009 at 15:58 yutt says:
Gamers nowadays are hilarious. I’m so glad I wasn’t brainwashed with this pointless-innovation trash the gaming media has inundated people with.
Iteration is what gaming, for thousands of years of human existence, has been based on. The fact it is a better game, based on existing and tested concepts, is a GOOD thing.
You people are so bizarre. Jump on any avenue to attack a game you haven’t played because you have some deep desire to interpret every event you can in the most negative light possible.
14/04/2009 at 16:17 Subject 706 says:
@yutt
In case you haven’t figured it out yet : catska = troll
14/04/2009 at 16:24 jsutcliffe says:
@Benjamin Ferrari & Sam:
All righty, thanks chaps. I’ll wait for it to come down in price a bit first though I do, bizarrely, kind of enjoy single-player in e.g. Soul Calibur and Unreal Tournament.
14/04/2009 at 16:31 unclelou says:
I am in a similar position, jsutcliffe. I did enjoy RTS games online in the past, but I don’t have the time and energy anymore to get good at them online. I don’t really mind if a single-player game just apes the mp part if it’s done well, either.
14/04/2009 at 17:02 Benjamin Ferrari says:
@jsutcliffe @unclelou
I’m not so different from your position. But the cool thing about modern multiplayer games is that if matchmaking works, playing “multiplayer” becomes more like a “singleplayer with (relatively) smart and unpredictable bots” experience.
I mean if you just press a button and the computer puts you in a game with allies and foes that are as good/bad as yourself, and you don’t have to talk to them – Then that’s better than playing bots, right?
14/04/2009 at 17:14 Serondal says:
I used to play DoTA single player, i’d just set up the map and not let anyone else join play it by myself, this of course because when I did play it with other people I got my teeth kicked in :P There are a TON of WC3 mods they could make real games from. There is one where you can play as citizens of a town or the police force or drug dealers ect and each player has their own role to make money.
Also all these tower defence games spawned from Starcraft and warcraft 3 and they’re doing pretty good, I have an awesome tower defence game on my I-pod based on Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced 2 :P So yah, making better ideas from already good ones is the way to go.
I’ll probably wait for a demo as well, the game looks interesting but watching the videos it looks a little hard to handle. Also I’ve become addicted to Men of War thanks to RPS so I dunno if I’d even have time to play it.
14/04/2009 at 17:21 yutt says:
@Subject 706
No doubt, but it is something I hear extremely often nowadays. People clamoring for “innovation” in games, and when they get it calling it a gimmick.
14/04/2009 at 18:22 Rich_P says:
But the cool thing about modern multiplayer games is that if matchmaking works, playing “multiplayer” becomes more like a “singleplayer with (relatively) smart and unpredictable bots” experience.
Bingo. If your RTS game lacks intelligent matchmaking, then I’m uninterested in playing it online. Team games are also more fun because you (usually) get a nice mix of players: some newbs, some vets, and some folks in-between.
14/04/2009 at 18:23 Klaus says:
Damn it, I have so many other games to play. :’(
14/04/2009 at 19:06 Psychopomp says:
@SirKicksalot
I kid you not, the second I say that screenshot, I went out and bought Demigod.
It took me fron no interest, to absolute faboyishness
Thank you.
14/04/2009 at 19:40 Mac says:
I guess my only call is piratebay for a demo?
14/04/2009 at 19:55 Sev3rity says:
That screen shot is awesome, I love that map, inspired me to take some of my own!
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b108/Mcingo/dg2.jpg
14/04/2009 at 20:13 BLah says:
Stardock said a demo is forthcoming. They don’t want to release it ahead of shipping because people will realize how utterly generic and bland the game is and not buy it.
And what is with this Dune 2 ripoff tripe? Herzog Zwei is over hear saying “First Post!”
14/04/2009 at 21:32 Morgawr says:
@BLah:
If you’re going to criticize Demigod at least try to show some semblance of objectivity. Look up ‘generic’ in the dictionary. Demigod is anything but generic.
14/04/2009 at 21:48 Serondal says:
Who decides what is generic and what isn’t ? Is something only generic if it isn’t based on an existing IP? Warcraft was generic when it was released, just a generic war game betwen orcs and humans, now it is grown into this huge IP that can’t be stopped even though it ripped out JRR tolkein and War hammer (Who also did so but with a bit more of a unique idea IMO)
Don’t dis Demigod unless you’ve played it, that is what I says. I loved DOTA not for the hero battles but for the idea that I was a hero in a war that would go on with or with out me. It made you feel more important to know that you were the turning point. It made you feel like Achilles and when you did fight other heros it kind of breaks down and it feels like WC3 again with the crappy micromanagment of hero combat.
14/04/2009 at 22:01 Thranx says:
I played DemiGod FOREVER ago when it was only a single map and no multiplayer… and I loved it then. (pre-ordered at PAX08, got super early beta). I immediately stopped playing it as I didn’t want to burnout or get tired of the game before it was even made.
That and it was only one map.
Anyhoo, I anticipate that it will be as fun to play now as it was then. It’s certainly a unique style. To the guy who said it’s like cramming and RTS into an FPS engine… that’s a load.
this is, just as the marketing fluff says, must more like RTS meets Action RPG. It took me a few rounds to get over not being able to control the minion type units, but eventually you get over it and really enjoy the unique.
14/04/2009 at 22:11 Serondal says:
Men of War is like an RTS with an FPS engine but it is a good thing :P How many RTS games out there let you head shot people and aim are exact parts of a tank? Bad example of RTS in FPS engine is that HORRIBLE Savage game
14/04/2009 at 22:31 Proxii says:
The things I wish I’d known before purchasing this game are:
1) It has no tutorial
2) It has no proper single player (i.e. campaign), just offline ‘skirmish’ game types.
Having taken a few hours and worked out what was going on (and read the GPG forums) I’m starting to really enjoy it. However it really doesn’t feel like a full price game, especially coming off DOW2 and Empire:TW. Considering the pedigree of GPG I’m seriously disappointed at the lack of tutorial; it certainly looks like (from reading this thread at least!) they are just targetting DOTA players.
14/04/2009 at 22:37 Arathain says:
So, Aesops is WRATHFUL, is he? That sounds like the sort of thing I could get behind. Want demo.
14/04/2009 at 22:45 Serondal says:
someone give us a run down of the heros if you have the game.
14/04/2009 at 23:30 GibletHead2000 says:
I just had my first go at this (against the AI) and I had a blast. It’s fast paced, fun, and a bit different. It’s actually really accessible for an RTS.
The “our game is so simple we don’t need to provide a tutorial” arrogance is slightly annoying though. It *is* quite simple, once you’ve played it. I did have to read the manual though, in order to get past the “wtf is going on” stage… Which isn’t something I usually have to do.
14/04/2009 at 23:37 Dorian Cornelius Jasper says:
If this is DotA But Better, then I’m buying a copy. I’d been looking forward to it for a while and it’s hard convincing me not to buy a Stardock-published game. Gotta give people a reason to work with them and their Radical New Ideas and all. (One such Idea: Customer First.)
And I think the people shouting at Okami for saying “Dune 2 ripoff” might be missing the point. He’s calling out someone who shouted “DotA ripoff” by reducto ad absurdum. At least I think that’s what that Latin junk means. Or how it could be applied.
I’d better quit while I’m not too far behind.
14/04/2009 at 23:39 Tei says:
/me reinstall
( my beta version for some reason can’t upgrade to release)
/me wait 80 minutes for download
/me launch the games
/me watch somewhat boring intro, something like lines in a wall and a english voice over “Meh…”.
/me try the singleplayer thing
/me.. hum… theres no singleplayer, only offline skirmish.. hell… oh god
/me launch skirmish… ooppps… I forgot to change teh defaults… again that damn map.. oh noes..
/me start playing… the corrupting bease, I kind of like the mechanic… but I am going nowhere.
note to self: I must change the setting, the defaults are to “ugly and murky”
/me get bored, break the game, return to main menu
/me try to start the multiplayer thingie..
/me game ask for Tei password… Tei don’t remenber his impulse password. geeeezzeers…
/me try to altab to windows to pick the password somewhere…
game frezzee. note to self: this game don’t like alt-tab
/me kill game with task manager
/me try to relog in impulse
/me see message “Server are too busy”.
14/04/2009 at 23:53 bookworm8at says:
See, that’s probably happening to you because you gave away 2 of your lucky stars.
14/04/2009 at 23:59 SirKicksalot says:
I think it draws inspiration from Universe at War and Rise of Legends too…
Glad you like my screen:P As I said, every map has a formidable design.I can’t wait to see what they’ll think of next.
I guess GPG wanted to show everybody that they have skillful artists after SupCom was criticised for the sterile design… And let’s forget about Space Siege. That one must’ve been sacrificed in order to concentrate on Demigod, together with the second SupCom expansion…
15/04/2009 at 00:23 Serondal says:
I actually liked the art from SupCom you just never get to see it if you’re zoomed out all the time. I must admit I played against easy bots mostly just so I could zoom in and watch battles. I REALLy loved the TEC’s assault bot. One time the freaking easy AI tricked me and attacked me with three of those Monkey lord things and I almost panniced until I remembered I had a henious number of cruise missle launchers full and waiting for usage :P any how I’m wantin to play this more and more. Still waiting for someone to give us a run down of all the heros and what makes them special.
15/04/2009 at 00:41 Tei says:
@bookworm8at
I have shot several stars in RPS
But I have NEVER shot stars in real life.
Not because there are no stars.
There are no rock/paper/shotguns
NOT IN MY LIFE.
15/04/2009 at 00:56 DMJ says:
Hmm, according to Sev3rity’s screenshot, Aesops is wrathful.
I’m wrathful.
I have something in common with Aesops, whoever or whatever that is! I could get into this!
15/04/2009 at 01:16 no says:
I bought this. I started to play it. I am confused. There is no manual. No instructions. No guide. No tutorial. No introductory process. You just start the game, and play tournament or skirmkish and hopefully figure it out yourself. Would it have been too hard to include at least a page of “wtf to do”?
15/04/2009 at 07:06 Serondal says:
Hey , the game is treating you like a man. It’s not going to hold your hand like some sissy girl and insult you by assuming you don’t know how to play an RTS game. I mean really who in their right mind doesn’t know how to play an RTS right now? There’s been like 100 of them in the past 8 years and they’re all the same for the most part. Left click select, right click attack. Click on special ability or use short cut key to and click on target. Simple stuff :P
15/04/2009 at 07:14 Tei says:
Micronano demigod manual:
1) Your god gets px and level. With level dings can pick upgrades to his powers
2) Your “HQ” can be upgraded. To make it more strong, etc… and some key upgrades that make the minions that automatically spawn from portals better.
3) You can buy stuff on one of the building of your base, and on some shops. There are gear and consumable. Probably you sould press pause (hahaha) and read all gear, since probably there are “great” combinatios of gear.
4) If you destroy the enemy HQ, you win.
5) If you destroy the enemy god… you pick more gold, (I think).
6) To must pick the flags for some reason, so you own the map (I don’t know why)…. could be maybe because what god own one portal, or can access a shop, or something.
15/04/2009 at 07:58 An Innocuous Coin says:
I like this game. It is fun! Gamers will complain bitterly about anything. :/
15/04/2009 at 08:54 Stromko says:
I’ve just been tinkering around with the single-player mode, haven’t been in a competitive mood I suppose. The tournament mode is a great way to ruin the singleplayer mode for yourself since it has you playing the same character over and over vs the same number of enemies (albeit with different victory conditions).
Not sure what happens at the end because instead of loading the 8th and final match, after what felt like 3 solid hours of slogging through the tournament, the game just hanged. :P
Still I suppose I had fun for about 6 or 7 hours with it so far without even going online.
15/04/2009 at 12:29 Antsy says:
I’ve been looking forward to this so it was an immediate Impulse purchase for me…
Spend 8-9 hours with it now, single-player only till I get to grips with it, and I have to say its a lot of fun.
The first half hour or so is indeed a little confusing. Where’s the tutorial? How do I control all those little blokes? After a while though I came to realise that I was really enjoying trying out the different Demigods, learning their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Now all I have to do is convince everyone I know to grab a copy for some multiplayer fun. If you like RTS, especially if you enjoy them online, then go get yourself a copy!
15/04/2009 at 12:45 TotalBiscuit says:
It’s a commercial version of DoTA, with less depth and less variety, but a shinier engine. Whether that’s worth your hard-earned money is really up to you. Personally I am not finding anything in the game that DoTA does not have more of and am disappointed at the total lack of innovation in the title. All of it’s ideas are taken in whole or part from existing push-maps.
15/04/2009 at 14:09 Tei says:
Originality is not always needed in videogames. Not that type of originality. Is like cooking. Do you really need originality to make a delicious hamburger? nope. Having *some* (read: not all) games as following a formula the better way posible could be delicious. Ok, some originality can make the hamburger better, but it may also ruin it.
We can’t judge a game as “bad” just because is not tryiing to break a mold, but is following a mold. We can judge that game as “un-ambitious”, but not bad.
Thats in my humble opinion.