ShadowFlare is a downloadable, episodic role-playing/action game that was
released in Japan in 2001 and quickly became a best selling game in that
country. Now the game has been released in the US, and can be had for
$14.99 and a 94MB download. After playing the game, it is easy to see
where the inspiration for the game came from. ShadowFlare owes a lot to
Diablo, but throws in a few new features of its own.
ShadowFlare takes place in the future after the arrival of a demon into the
world nearly destroyed humanity. Now small villages of humans try to hold
out against the demon and his evil minions. In this world you are a male
or female mercenary who accepts missions for profit. These missions
usually involve slaying evil creatures or retrieving lost and stolen items.
Completing missions rewards you with items and experience, allowing you to take
on more dangerous (and rewarding) missions.
As you gain experience you'll also gain levels, improving your character.
Unlike just about every other game in the genre, though, you won't have any
control over which stats improve when you level up - this might cause a few RPG
fans to go through withdrawal. However, after a few
levels you'll be able to specify a profession, either sword fighter,
wizard/witch, or hunter. Sword fighters are warriors who specialize in
melee combat, wizards and witches are spell casters, and hunters are archery
specialists. After you select your profession, your skills and attributes
will improve according to your selected profession.
Control in ShadowFlare is a simple point and click affair, with the mouse
used to set a destination for your character, to attack enemies, and to target
spells. You can also assign items to hotkeys to make them readily
available during combat. If you've played any of the Diablo games, you'll
know how to control ShadowFlare without even consulting the manual; control and
the entire interface is virtually identical to Diablo's.
To its credit, ShadowFlare does add some new features not found in its
inspiration. You are accompanied on your adventures by a dog companion.
The companion can be commanded to target individual enemies, or given the
freedom to attack at will. The dog is a tough customer, and is a big help
early on when your character is weak. In an interesting touch, you can
carry pieces of meat that when used will restore the health of you dog.
Another interesting feature is the increased power mode. As you slay
enemies, you fill a power meter. When the meter is full, you can receive a
temporary boost to your speed and fighting power. Needless to say, this
can be quite handy when facing a tough opponent.
ShadowFlare also gives you the ability to place land mines. You deploy
the mines on the ground, and they will explode when an enemy steps on them or
after a short period of time. They are pretty powerful and can be a big
help in clearing out large groups of enemies.
While the game has its charm, it is definitely not on par with Diablo or the
genre's other leading games. The graphics are a few years behind the
times, and there is not a large variety of enemies in the game. The enemy
AI is competent enough, but the pathfinding for your hero has some problems.
Your character will try to take the direct route to the point you click, even if
there is an obstacle in the way. The game is also too challenging at the
beginning, mostly because it is impossible to find new weapons and armor early
on. Couple this with the fact that you can only save the game while
exiting, and you might have to replay the first part of the game a few times.
ShadowFlare is an episodic game, with future episodes to be available by
download. In addition to single player play, the game allows up to four
players to quest cooperatively over the Internet.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
62%. It's cheap, can be downloaded straight from the Internet, and has
a few novel features, but don't expect it to be on par with the leading games in
the genre. It's the poor man's Diablo.
System Requirements: Pentium II 450; 128 MB RAM; Mouse.
