Orcs & Elves

What comes to mind when you think about developer id Software? Probably all of the great first-person shooters the developer has created over the years. Yet id Software has decided to jump into the realm of RPG’s with the release of Orcs & Elves. Instead of pushing technical boundaries, which id is known for, we get a rather straightforward role-playing game.

The game has you playing the role of an elven adventurer who was given a magic wand named Ellon by your legendary father Eol. Ellon soon receives a mysterious message believed to be from King Brahm, a friend of your father. You set out to talk to King Brahm only to discover his kingdom of Mount Zharrkarag has been overrun by orcs. To make matters worse the king is nowhere to be found and your wand Ellon has suddenly weakened. It’s up to you to find the king and find out what’s happening with the sudden attacks by the orcs.

The gameplay of Orcs & Elves can best be described as a throwback to classic first-person perspective role-playing games of years gone by. The gameplay is presented in a first-person viewpoint, which takes place entirely in a dungeon setting. Movement is done by moving one grid or spot at a time on the map. This might seem a little strange for new gamers since the movement can feel a little choppy. The game can be played with either the touch pad or the d-pad and movement requires a screen tap or button press.

Combat in the game is a mix of action game and turned-based RPG. You can press the A button or tap the Use button to attack with a weapon but you need to take notice of your movement. Since every time you move is considered a turn you need to be careful and not run straight into combat carelessly. The monsters will almost always be able to take an extra turn to your one turn while engaged in combat. This can easily result in you jumping head first into an empty swimming pool if you’re trying to run away from combat.

Besides combat using any of the items you collect in the game falls under the same movement rules. Every time you want to use an item in the game it counts as a turn. During combat it almost makes no sense to bother using an item, especially if you’re facing stronger monsters. I found using magic spells and enhancements before combat offered a better chance of survival than during combat.  All of the items in the game are your typical RPG fare such as Potions, Rings, Weapons and Magic spells for your wand Ellon.

What we end up with Orcs & Elves is a standard, almost vintage, type of RPG that plays well for the DS. While movement in the game might seem restrictive it really adds to the strategic elements. Running straight into combat without supplementing yourself with potions or spells can result in dire consequences. You need to make sure you explore every corner in the dungeons and pick up all of the items you discover. Leveling up isn’t a huge requirement in the game since monsters rarely respawn but being as powerful as possible helps when you run into a boss monster. Saving the game can be performed at anytime. Orcs & Elves is a good RPG game for the DS that won’t win you over with flash and special effects but will reward you with a solid portable gaming experience.

Gameplay: 7.7
Everything you would expect in a RPG is included in Orcs & Elves. The turn-based movement setup helps in building strategic elements gamers wouldn’t expect with a first-person perspective RPG.

Graphics: 7.0
Visually the game won’t be winning any awards. The character models all look like they came from a mid-90’s first-person shooter. Each character is made up of just a few animations that you will see repeated over and over again. The best part of the visuals is when the game freely shows you different parts of a dungeon by swooping through parts of the map, unfortunately controlled completely by the computer. However, for a DS game Orcs & Elves doesn’t fall flat on its face.

Sound: 6.5
The sound effects and music offer nothing too exciting or catchy to keep your headphones plugged in.

Difficulty: Medium
You can select from three different difficulty levels when you start off in the game. Make sure you follow a slow and cautious approach during combat or the easy and normal difficulty might seem harder than you expect.

Concept: 6.7
This type of game doesn’t come along that often, probably because new gamers have been brought up expecting RPG’s to offer the same visual overload found in current Final Fantasy games. What some of them don’t realize is that at one time this type of RPG would be considered revolutionary. Unfortunately that was several years ago and now the game can almost be considered “vintage.”

Overall: 7.0
Orcs & Elves is a well-balanced RPG that plays well on the DS but doesn’t offer anything new or exciting we haven’t already played. All of the elements you would expect in an RPG are included, but when you play this on the DS it still works.