Game: Nosgoth (PC) - Pre-Release Review (Second Review)

Well back in September 2013 I wrote about my first experience of Nosgoth – fast-forward several months on and we now reach uh well now…

I’ve been one of the privileged to be able to play in the Alpha and Beta and now the NDA has been lifted I can finally open my gob again about this beauty…huzzah! ...and now you know why there have been no game reviews on my blog over the last few months…because I’ve been too busy playing this sexy beast!

The games come on leaps and bounds – get it?? – Reaver – leaps…heh…since the first glimpse – more cool – uh stuff – yeah stuff has been added and the gameplay has come on ten-fold. Of course it’s been a rocky road with the development team getting the balancing right and all kinds of weirdness happening but that’s the whole point of testing it – right? If we don’t get stuck in trees now so many more people would later on! I’m getting ahead of myself – anyway yeah lets get on with this shall we…I’ll now touch on a few different aspects of the game…

Display & Navigation

The first thing you’re greeted with is the title screen and then the navigation screen which shows News, Profile, Armoury, Inventory, Settings, Store and getting in the game. It’s pretty damn nice looking, stylish and modern yet dark and sinister at the same time – dark-grey detail and lighter writing. The place is easy to navigate and the icons are easy to see…though occasionally it can become a bit like ad-vil heh.

I think I have to admit to liking the old Lobby screen and bits more from the Alpha though…I think it’s a bit too modern now for my liking…but I’m sure it’ll grow on me.

Music

The first thing that hit me after the fire and ice crackle Nosgoth title was the music – the game wasn’t online the first time I loaded it and I just poked around a while. I fell in love with the EPIC music instantly – so much so I whacked up the volume on the TV, squealed like a girl and run around the house and let it repeat several times. Every time I load in – I’m still like ummmmm *drool* …but I do feel sorry for my neighbours.

The other thing that gets me is the count down drums…omg…it gets my heart going every time – it sends me into a whirlwind of panic as the game begins – and into a  manic state of destruction as the match comes to a close.

The music in game is a similar epic style to the music in the user interface screens but it’s kind of lost sometimes in the midst of battle – that said you can turn the music up – yay – man it’s so awesome!

Store

Who doesn’t like shopping? This girl loves it – and what better than the nice shiny click of a button purchase shop screen! You can get yourself some nice equipment – everyone needs a flamethrower as an accessory right? Some cool clothes – omg – clothes shopping – some gorgeous get ups for looking stylish in a war zone! Perks and Boosts – to give yourself that extra pick up when you’re feeling a bit down. One things for sure get your wallets at the ready…you’ll find it hard to resist the urge to buy stuff – but don’t worry if you’re brassic you can still save up in game money to buy stuff too!

Gameplay

It’s finally found or a nearly nice balance between Humans and Vampires – it may have yo-yoed quite a lot Vampires stronger…Humans stronger…etc but now alls good. Not much has changed in the basics since I first played as in that its still melee vs range. The aim, abilities and melee are a nice and rounded now – work well and function – they do what they’re supposed to cause a niiiiccceeeeeee amount of damage.

The gameplay itself if very fast paced if you’re not used to playing this type of game it’ll be pretty brutal and will take a while to get used to – you will die a helluva lot! Yep I spend most of my time dying – but it’s pretty amusing in itself when your chosen character goes rag-doll on the screen and plops off of a building as you’ve been sniped to death by a Scout heh.

Graphics

The graphics have always been pretty sexy looking – its got better throughout the Alpha – BUT since Beta *shocked face* since they’ve added different textures etc – the classes look so much more detailed and realistic…it really adds something more to the game. Not forgetting the scenery and levels – this has been detailed up and looks a lot more solid now – compared to what it was…the game just looks so HOT! HOT I tell you – so so sexy.

Abilities & Attacks

We didn’t get to see or play with all of these at the community day back in September and since having more time with Nosgoth I’ve come to play with quite a few of them…I’ve definitely found my favourites. There are some great ones and some not so great ones – but it’s all down to personal tastes and the way you play – what I like you may not.

Some of the abilities and attacks take a while to get to grips with – in that even after a while you can still fail or end up flailing about. My first experience with Tyrant Jump was I jumped straight into the sea in Freeport…it kinda put me off it for a while but it was a highly amusing experience…the same with Sentinel Dive Bomb – yep you guessed it he did a nice pencil dive into the sea too! That said don’t be afraid to try out new things because you never know what you’re missing!

They have some great effects and there’s an epic variety that give some awesome kills…every time you change something out and swap it for a different ability it gives the game a fresh feel and changes the way you need to play – which is pretty damn fun!

Classes

I’ve had chance to play as all six classes (yarp…3 vamps – Reaver, Sentinel and Tyrant, and 3 humans – Alchemist, Hunter and Scout), some are harder than others *cough* Sentinel *cough* and some are more interesting. I find swapping between them does help depending on how the other team is playing, your situation etc. There is a good variety of skills and you will find one class in each race you’ll definitely fall in love with…or despise with a passion.

Here’s a brief low-down on them…

Vampires:

Dumahim: Reaver – Fast-paced assassin – hit and run man

Razielim: Sentinel – Aerial combatant – fly by attacks and snatch and grab

Turelium: Tyrant – tank man – get angry and smash it up

Humans:

The Ironguard: Hunter – multi-attack man – get in the fight head first

Red Sisters of Anacrothe: Alchemist – AOE dealer – lets blow stuff up

Watchers of Dark Eden: Scout – precision sniper – the patient hand of death

This is probably the only real shooting game I’ve played properly…so I pretty much have no aim what-so-ever but the game caters for this too and of course you have the melee vamps to play to make up for it! I’ve had a few discussions with other players about our class loves and hates…some of which we agree and others not so much – the choices of classes and loadouts vary to give you a nice place you can find comfortable.

The classes are all fun in their own quirky ways…can’t wait for there to be more!

Maps

The maps are dreamy – there have been changes made to them over time and things have been added that weren’t there before – buildings appearing, moving – whole parts of the maps being uh re-mapped!?! There have been awesome additions added too – like dead people – lots of them – impaled, half ripped apart – blood splattered everywhere – crows eating the remains – you name it…which makes the place more like the hellish battleground it’s supposed to be. Textures have been improved to give the place a solid feel, and the scenery is lush and beautiful, it is a truly detailed spectacle! I even discovered moths the other night…yes really – moths…serious detail going on there! I like the additions muchly!

The maps are all stunning – especially when you have chance to stop and look around, the views are really really beautiful – some of which have link-backs to previous games and designs you can see where the ideas have evolved from.

There are four maps so far…Valeholm – central location, Provance – mountain town, Freeport – shanty sea-side town and Sommerdamm – it’s a fort!

There’s a nice variety of maps which cater for different types of gameplay, you have to change things up a little depending on where you are, it takes a while to learn what’s where and what works and doesn’t on a map…and how to make it work to your teams advantage. The variety in looks as well as layouts gives the game freshness every match you play!

Sounds & Voicing

There are some great sounds and noises which add to the whole awesome experience, I’m sure more have been added over time. The speech for the characters is high quality – though some of the lines they say do make me laugh…come on you have to laugh when Sentinel Abducts a human and says “lets be friends”.

Of course the language isn’t as dramatic as the previous LoK titles but it is a war zone and the characters are just the day to day bods of Nosgoth…they aren’t as intelligent as Kain and his chums. BUT they’ve all got good voices – and lines that fit in well with the game – they’re not a burden to listen to…and in time you’ll find yourself quoting them in real life…

My Favourites

Humans…Alchemist – I really really really didn’t want to be the girl who plays the girl – just because it’s so lame – and well I have to admit I’ve fallen in love with her – easy and fun to play – not much aim required (I suck) and some cool ass clothing!

Vampires…Tyrant – Hulk smash! I love this guy – no brains and all brawn – just jumping in and sending those humans flying…yeah he may look a bit like an orc but we can forgive him for that because he’s an awesome whirlwind of destruction.

Sommerdamm – this is by far my favourite place to visit…I want to live there – ok maybe not. I love the reach-backs to previous games – like the Malek statue and the Blood Omen 2 inspiration of this one – gorgeous! I really like that it’s night-time as well – gives the place a more darker feel rather than the brightness and light of the other maps…but don’t get me wrong the other maps are still sweeeeeeeeeeeet!

Nosgoth Support Services

Well I’ve become a bit – ok that’s probably the biggest understatement in the universe – addicted to this game. When I’m not in game I kind of end up going into cold-turkey wondering when I’ll get my next fix and not being able to focus on anything other than the game. Yep this game definitely needs its own “Nosgoth anonymous support group” to help out those gamers that can’t live without it whilst they sadly have to function in the real world!

Final Thoughts

It’s still EPIC and FUN…I don’t think I need to say anymore than that – ok well maybe this…what are you still doing here reading this? – GO PLAY IT – OR SIGN UP FOR THE BETA (why haven’t you already?) – DO IT – DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!