Of Orcs And Men
Reviewed By Luke "Lukaz" Withoos
Everyone has seen fantasy worlds with humans, elves, dwarves and orcs. It’s an age old scene where humanoids fight against each other. A type of story that seems so standard that originality is almost impossible to come by when thinking of these races.
These were my initial thoughts when looking at the pending release of Of Orcs and Men. “What more can they do with a third-person combat title with this genre?” I asked myself as I installed the game. When the title started, however, something different was very apparent.
Of Orcs and Men is about greenskins. Orcs and goblins. But it’s not just about them; it’s about playing as them. My mind was blown with such a simple thing. A game where you play the race that everyone else would consider evil? Surely they must be joking. This can’t be a good thing.
It is good. It’s very good.
Of Orcs and Men is set in a time where the evil Emperor of the human race has taken his throne and is seeking to extend his influence. In the process of doing so, he pushes his troops further and further into greenskin territory; an action the Orcs are not too pleased with.
The Emperor sends regiment after regiment of soldiers at the greenskins; enslaving those that surrender and murdering those that resist. A great wall is constructed to protect the domain of man against foes such as the greenskins. A wall several stories high that is built by the enslaved orcs due to their insurmountable strength.
The story takes place with Arkhail, “The Butcher of Bay Harbour” and member of the Bloodjaws; a strong and elite group of orcs. After receiving orders from his chief, he joins Rakash, a goblin with a keen eye and a stealthy personality. They are sent on the greatest quest of all; to kill the repressive Emperor.
Conversation cut scenes are very well rendered. Initially there was concern about the lip-synching of the characters faces to their voices. These concerns were quickly quelled as the game started to take off and conversations increased.
If there is criticism concerning the cut scenes it is that they are often drawn out quite extensively. With no ability to pause these cut scenes on the PC release, there was little option but to skip much of the dialogue before it becomes too tedious.
The characters are very well written. The interaction between Arkhail and Rakash is fantastic. Both characters have clever personality traits and for a repressed race of beasts, they were easily relatable. This makes the extensive cut scenes and conversations bearable and more enjoyable.
When the story begins to ramp up, combat takes place that is surprisingly well structured. While the title contains many design aspects that relate the title to console gamers, PC gamers are not disadvantaged in any way for combat. Combat is designed in a live/strategy format. While live combat is going on, you are able to issue commands to Arkhail and Rakash that suit their strengths.
While this may seem simple enough and without direct interaction with the characters, it is important to issue commands in a timely manner as time does not freeze time completely while these commands are issued. Confused? I know I was to start with.
You do not initiate each attack individually; it is not turn-based; it is not cinematic and each attack is interruptible. It is indeed a hybrid of several combat systems that feels smooth and responsive. Queuing attacks in real-time and slowed time is enjoyable; and if a target dies before the full attack is over, the attack can be cancelled mid-strike and another target selected immediately.
The RPG aspects of the title are not overwhelming and there is less emphasis placed on gear; with more focus on abilities and how these abilities are executed. These more enjoyable components of the game make the title considerably more fun and even more customisable than a complicated gear system would be.
I have been unable to put the game down since receiving it. This title is incredible and I am extremely impressed with the work of Cyanide Studio to release an extremely high-calibre game.
The characters are well-rounded, the storyline is interesting, the combat system is well designed and we were very pleased to have played it. A highly recommend game to anyone that seeks a first/third-person perspective title with a hint of strategy based combat and a strong story.
Game: Of Orcs and Men
System: PS3
Developer/Co-Developer: Cyanide / Spiders
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
