which
generally involves the exact same reasons and events; the cutscenes that are shown
are few and fairly uneventful, and don't add anything to the game, story or otherwise.
However, not everything I have said may be the experience you go through.
That is because Return to Arms features a Good and Bad system. Those looking
for a contender to Knights of the Old Republic or Fable will be
disappointed, because the choice isn't gradual, but a one-time question at the
beginning. The difference isn't drastic, either; it simply changes where the player
buys their goods, the last boss, and some level alterations, like where they enter
and their primary foes. It's a bit of a letdown in that it doesn't allow for the
terrorizing of towns or fighting against one of the other selectable characters
as a once-good hero gone bad, but it does add a slight twist nonetheless.
The planes vary in theme, but many resemble each other. There will be planes for
war, disease, fire, valor, and so on. The difficulty level in each is a bit unbalanced
due to some creatures that are given incredibly strong and cheap attacks. There
are several enemies who can bulldoze you and attack you on the ground, which can
take away a full bar of health within a few seconds. This is really what I came
to dislike about the game: the difficulty. Some areas will be extremely easy,
allowing for a quick breeze through, while others, for no apparent reason, are
ramped up in difficulty by having enemies laid out in ways that can make for situations
extremely tough to tackle. Those rocks that are larger and should provide cover
won't, and that weak enemy that is worth little to no experience turns deadly
whenever it pounces with six of its friends in a tight corridor, bouncing you
around with attacks that make it impossible to respond without taking serious
damage. Having peon enemies that can wipe out a full bar of health within a few
attacks really downplays the psychological aspect of leveling up. Most RPGs handle
leveling up by giving the player more challenging and gruffer looking enemies,
but here, a bug that looks only slightly different than from the hundreds that
were killed before suddenly has the ability to shoot explosives. There are also
several enemies that can strike while being struck, which isn't possible to block,
making for some trying and tiring battles.
The heroes can dish out damage
as well, though. Leveling up allows for points to be given to broad characteristics
(strength, stamina, dexterity, and intelligence), that enhance the characters
in a number of ways, as well as points to allocate to either attacks or spells.
Increasing blunt or slashing weapon proficiency will help with melee attacks,
the same with long-range attacks, but the real fun comes in toying with the branching
spell system. There will be spells to heal, regenerate mana faster, summon badgers,
leave disease trails, and all sorts of other fun stuff. Each spell can be further
increased with each level. The spells are unlocked according to what level the
player is, and toying with this is one of the more fun parts of the game. There
is also a nice defensive move, aside from blocking, that heroes can use, which
involves tapping the shoulder buttons to do an evasive move; this not only makes
combat feel more engaging, but also ties in well with the momentum-based melee
attacks the game seems to employ.
What makes titles like these so much
fun is the immediate rewards. The player is never left to wander about, going
town to town, checking out the sights; they are either in a mission or on the
way to one. And one of the most immediate methods for gratification is good drops
- items left by enemies. What really adds length to these games are all the nooks
and crannies waiting to be explored, with their hidden treasure chests and barrels
filled with potions and swords, along with the multiple items that fall from dead
enemies that need to be taken, inventoried, and examined. Money can be made haggling
with vendors to sell off decent weapons in the hopes of scoring a better one on
the battlefield or purchasing one, and this really takes up a solid chunk of time.
However, the drops in Return to Arms, for lack of a better word, suck.
I found one good weapon that I was able to use, and that was thanks to each item
having four slots that allow for special items to be placed inside to increase
certain attributes (more hit points, enhanced strength, etc.), for over half the
game. The armor was a similar situation. Now, no game will have good items all
the time, since that would ruin the excitement in finding a powerful item, but
the ratio here was absolutely horrible. I spent most of the time being weighed
down and dropping useless items, and useless in the sense that only two or three
instances did I actually pick something up that was better than what I had. Purchasing
items is the same story, due to the vendor(s) having a horrible selection. The
money I found was primarily used for health potions, with only one good weapon
having been bought. Without the lure of an awesome sword or special chest plate
to make the gamble of combat worthwhile, the personal involvement becomes rather
lacking.
While the problems in the game might deprive players of an incentive
to play it more than once, the developers did a good job in finding a way around
that. They did so by adding tons of side missions, an arena, and a fairly robust
multiplayer mode. The side missions aren't in the levels, which went a long way
and making them feel too linear, but as medal quests that can be played after
a plane is completed. Winning these can result in unlocking maps for online play,
items, or a point or two to go towards the hero's stats. These are a pretty varied
bunch: one round is Pac-Man inspired, with the hero running around a maze
and squishing a certain number of frogs while avoiding their guards; another involved
sneaking through a dungeon with no weapons, using only the exploding barrels to
kill enemies, and freeing entrapped souls. The arena is an entirely different
option that lets the player, solo or with friends, fight round after round of
the various enemies found throughout the game, or they can fight one another to
see just how good their characters are. Multiplayer can be done with the standard
two ports, with four players via a system link, or online. Online games are played
through Sony Online's servers and now feature keyboard and voice chat; oddly enough,
players from the single player campaign cannot be played online, which doesn't
mesh well with the fact that they can be brought into the arena and that characters
from the previous title can be brought over, but the upside is that it is stored
on Sony's servers and keeps levels equal for when friends do play. Unfortunately,
whenever a team mate talks to someone or goes into a shop, so do you; you can
leave before them, but the problems caused in them being able to speed through
story elements and the general annoyance of having been kicked to the screen to
begin with was unnecessary.
Controlling the heroes is only made difficult
by the fact that terrain is a bit of an illusion - many objects are not as tall
as they seem, and shadows make it difficult to know if something is elevated or
not. The game follows the standard control scheme: long-range and melee weapons
can be switched on the fly; quick spells are assigned to two of the face buttons,
and the directional pad opens up the spell book. The problem with the terrain
may be inherent in the genre, but it could have also been fixed with some graphical
tweaks. Considering the game doesn't look all that different from the original,
or the original Baldur's Gate title, some polish could've been added to
make it come across as a new release, which also may have nipped the occasional
slowdown in the bud. The music isn't bad, but the voice queues ('I'm already carrying
too much') can be a bit late. While Return to Arms certainly doesn't look
or sound bad, it could definitely have benefited from a bit more refinement. Overall:
7/10
The truth is that I'm a sucker for
these games. While it isn't difficult for me to see why some would find them shallow
and repetitive, the packrat in me loves collecting all the goods and sorting through
them to help create a demigod, and my impatience allows me to appreciate the core
RPG elements put into them so that I can get a hint of the experience without
the serious time investment. While Champions: Returns to Arms has several
problems that I found a hindrance (poor drops, lack of variety, and unbalanced
levels), it is still inherently fun in the 'smash & grab' sense - although the
grab is a bit weak here. The additional play modes and the option to play so many
ways with friends is a definite plus. However, for my dollar, I would go back
and purchase Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2, and only after playing the
back catalogue of these titles (Champions of Norrath and the previous Baldur's
Gate titles) would I consider Return to Arms. On its own, it's a fairly
fun and addictive title, but it pales in comparison to its pedigree.
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