RIFT, DyIng FoR DaylIghT, TRappeD DeaD, zombIe alley
RIFT PC
RE FEATURES
Trion Worlds Fans of MMORPGs (mas-
NINTH CIRCLE DREADLINES
sively multiplayer online role- playing games) tired of traipsing across the mystical realms of World of Warcraft’s Azeroth can now strap on
their pretty little elf booties and hike over to the newest high-quality, subscription-based (pay-to-play) title. Set on the fantasy world of Telara, players must
battle a brood of bickering gods trying to destroy the planet. These destructive deities are tearing through the elemental planes that surround the realm by cre- ating cracks and rifts that spew out hideous armies of skeleton warriors, colossal tentacled beasties and hulking dragons with razor-toothed maws eager to separate your arms from your armour. But before you can bash the baddies, you must
create a character. First, choose from one of the many races that inhabit the planet – including leg- endary dragon slayers called the Bahmi; the Eth, proud desert warriors renowned for their survival skills; or the Kelari, an arrogant race who believe that
00000 E FEATURES
they’re equal to the gods themselves –then select a character class (warriors, clerics, rogues and mages are just some of the choices available). All too soon you’ll find yourself immersed in
the game’s incredibly vast, fully interactive environment, which is dotted with countless
HEADSHOTS: HIGH PRODUCTION VALUE, EASY-TO-CONTROL COMBAT SYSTEM, STUNNING VISUALS MISFIRES: REQUIRES A SUBSCRIPTION, REPETITIVE BATTLES, LINEAR QUESTS CAN BECOME BORING
NINTH CIRCLE
DYING FOR DAYLIGHT PC
DREADLINES
I-Play It’s not surprising that game
makers want to cash in on the
current popularity of vampires and the success of TV’s True Blood, and what better way to do so than get Sookie Stack- house creator/author Charlaine Harris involved in the devel- opment process? The result is Dying for Daylight, a game that features a vamp named Dahlia (one of
Harris’ minor characters) in a world tangentially related to the one she’s created in her books. The game’s goal? Travel with Dahlia to ravaged former vamp hot spots to track down the “legendary sun potion,” which allows bloodsuckers to walk in daylight and is apparently very much worth killing for. Gameplay is a combination of point-and-click puzzle solving, find-the-item challenges and carnivalesque mini-games. None of it is
00 00 HEADSHOTS: OCCASIONALLY WITTY DIALOGUE, ENGAGING CARTOONISH ENVIRONMENTS MISFIRES:NOT ENOUGH LOCALES, OFFERS ONLY PART OF THE STORY, WAY TOO EASY RM66
mountains, dungeons, villages and castles just waiting to be explored. Choose to embark on structured quests as a solitary crusader or assemble teams for maximum monster car- nage as you work to stem the tide of beastly invaders and save the planet. Don’t be surprised, however, if after vaca-
tioning in Telara, you choose to make its rap- idly fracturing reality your permanent MMORPG home.
ANDREW LEE
overly difficult and the hint button is always close at hand if you get stuck, giving one the impression this is more for casual gamers and diehard Harris fans than anyone else. The narrative mystery itself isn’t half-bad if
you can forgive the occasional over-the-top silli- ness of talking undead animals and wildly in- consistent voice work. The comic panel cut scenes are fun, and there are a few macabre, icky moments, though nothing too shocking, as
the whole world is rendered in a cartoonish fashion. While certainly better realized than most budget games of this ilk, Dying for Day- light is unlikely to register on the radar of serious gamers (vamp lovers excepted), but if you do happen to fall for the razor-tongued, undead heroine’s adventures, caveat emptor: this release only gives you the first four chapters of her story – for more you’ll have to pony up for the eventual sequel.
MONICA S. KUEBLER
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