Rather than collecting a certain number of souls to transform into a demon - as with recent FPS Painkiller - all you need to do is ensure you have enough magical power (the blue bar in the top-left corner) and hit a key. Yet it's Shade's clever trick of transmogrifying into a scaly monster of Hades that could prove to be the game's major selling point. The platform elements are coming along nicely however, with Shade automatically grabbing hold of a ledge with both hands if you fall off one, saving your blushes and your (after) life. You don't get the impression that your supposedly hefty chunk of sharp metal is actually hitting a solid body, even though the sprays of blood and flailing animation of enemies look decent enough - but hopefully this will be sorted before release. With a few months left of development, the swordplay in Wrath Of Angels is still a little unsatisfying. Set across 31 levels and four different themed time zones - the present, medieval, Egyptian and the disturbing Shadowlands - Shade has the self-titled human/demon hybrid vanquishing mummies, skeletal warriors, undead knights and all kinds of salivadripping nasties.Īt your disposal is a range of over 26 weapons including guns, crossbows and various swords that can be upgraded, as well as enemy weapons such as huge axes that Shade can pick up and stab towards the nearest servant of Satan.Ĭombat is simply a matter of tapping the left mouse-button to produce different attack moves, although by pressing the right mouse-button, the shotgun and crossbow both have rather nifty over-the-shoulder views available for uncomfortably close-up kills. Shade follows the blueprint of such action-adventure franchises as Legacy Of Kain Soul Reaver and Tomb Raider, featuring a mixture of platform jumping, combat and stealth-type sneakery. Eighteen months on and Czech developer Black Element has been busy using its dark powers to summon a game that, if certain gameplay elements can be banished to hell, could turn out to be devilish fun. A third-person hack n' slasher, it involves a main character who could usefully transform at will into an angry, vengeful spell-casting demon - a bit like our editor Dave Woods. Solve more of the game's puzzles with your puny human brains or brawn and you might just finish the game without horns.īack In The veiled mists of time, we hitched a ride to Prague for a first look at Shade: Wrath Of Angels. However, there is a price the more often you let your dark side take shape, the less human you become. Rather than fight to suppress the evil, players are free to unleash the demon whenever they wish. Whereas Maxwell Payne had a thirst for vengeance (and, judging by the look on his face trapped wind) festering inside of him, the hero of Shade has a demon inside, eager to break free. Of course Shade is no simple bad guy-killing spree. The graphics - already share much of the variety, mood and detail, not to mention the visual perspective, of Max Payne, which is about as high a commendation as a game can get at this early stage. From a gloomy and unremarkable little horror game six months ago, Shade has emerged looking technically impressive and assured. the new branding is only appropriate given the renaissance the game has undergone in other areas. While the name change had something to do with tedious copynght wranglings. Under construction for a little under a year, Shade might be remembered by diligent readers under its previous guise, Nefandus: Wrath Of Angels. All we're doing is helping out with the technology." The story, characters, the whole design and development are being done by Black Element. "We liked what they were doing and we wanted to help out," says Spanel on the acquisition.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |