Revenant (game)
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Revenant is an action-RPG computer game by Cinematix Studios, released in 1999 by the publisher Eidos Interactive.
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[edit] Story
The main character is Locke D'Averam, a revenant named after the house that raised him from the dead. His real name is never revealed in the game. Locke is sent on a quest by his new master, who is the advisor to the ruler of the island, to locate and rescue the king's long-missing daughter. The advisor actually has much control over the warlord as his magic is much stronger than the military force of the guards the castle.
[edit] Gameplay
The main novelty of Revenant was its combat system that came in two flavours. Locke could be controlled by the mouse, performing standard attacks. However, the player could control Locke with the keyboard, performing different attacks and even attack combos, some of which resulted in special death animations (fatalities). Locke gained extra fighting abilities after a level cap had been reached, thus providing the drive to go through the level grind. It was also possible to combine certain movements to a fluid cycle of kicks and thrusts. A trainer in town provided Locke with the necessary instructions whenever he levelled up.
There were a number of talismans which could be combined to cast spells. Certain combinations could be found in scrolls. Spells varied from freezing to poisoning, and certain spells locked opponents in place allowing Locke to combine a magical attack with a special combat move, resulting in spectacular effects.
[edit] Presentation
The game had 3D visuals with attention to detail, pretty advanced in its day. The game featured a day to night cycle and the sound effects were good. However the game demanded a high end PC in its day, a problem which is obviously solved by now. Both armor and weaponry were excellenty detailed, but the rate at which they were discovered made saving money for new items pointless. The game did however allow one to add and exchange any and all armor which each other, allowing for a near endless combination of gloves, boots, body armor and helmets, and thus a near endless combination of looks. As these were excellently modelled, the end-result was stunning.
Movement of Locke and his human opponents was very smooth, and showed much more attention to detail. Apart from a few pathfinding issues it was nearly seamless and perfect, and the animations were also excellently done.
[edit] Game problems
Revenant was unlucky enough to be caught in the fall of Ion Storm's Daikatana. Eidos had made handsome contracts and when Daikatana flopped, Eidos proceeded in budget cuts and attempted to cash in on its other projects. Thus in Revenant, NPCs will be completely oblivious after some point in the game and they won't respond to your heroic actions. There are even some NPCs who promise to join you later, but do not. The game rather deflates after the middle of the story. After this point the game rather becomes one big outdoor dungeon crawl. The vast variety of armor, combined with the lack of time between the pieces and the lack of accomplishment when acquiring new armor increases the feeling of a rushed game. And the story lacks certain vital details, leaving the player somewhat confused about the backstory and motives of the characters.
