Completed Rise of the Argonauts (PS3)

Well, after many nights of wandering, talking, and getting a thumb cramp from killing so many enemies, I've finally finished "Rise of the Argonauts". It was worth the time and effort, and aside from a few technical glitches (I'd assume it is the rather raw Unreal Engine on the PS3... of course I have read reviews that say the glitches I saw in the PS3 version are the same on the 360.)

The game is a half action half dialogue driven RPG. The concept of the story is a familiar one to anyone who's taken Western Civilization. It deals with King Jason of Iolcus and his quest for the Golden Fleece (which will give him the power to restore his bride-to-be Alceme back to life.) The plot starts off with the murder of Alceme by a shady group of malcontents called Blacktongues. Blacktongues have a prominent place in the game, as they are the "adversary" of the gods, if you will. They worship the Titaness Hecate. Of course according to Greek Mythology, the gods defeated the Titans and banished them to Tartarus where they reside to this day (well, you get the idea.) Hecate has great plans for the Argonauts and Greece herself, but you have to figure out what in your travels. You meet the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi, who gives you the quest that starts you on the journey to find the Fleece. Along the way, you meet Centaurs, Satyrs, and a whole host of other nasties (including Manticores), in your quest for the fleece. You advance Jason's abilities by performing deeds and then dedicating them to the god of your choice. You do this by killing X enemies of a certain type, doing a good deed for the less fortunate, and completing the main quest line... For instance you get a deed that can be dedicated if you take an interest in Centaur culture and learn some of their language. Once you do get some deeds, you need to dedicate them to a god. That's as easy as picking the god's shrine (or from your star map), and selecting the deeds you want to dedicate. That dedication gives you aspect points that allow you to buy abilities, like speed, stoneskin, and healing powers... Your d-pad lets you load up 4 of your favorite god powers to use in battle, and like all the games before it, you've got mana that has to recharge. You sometimes get weapons and armor for doing a battle, completing a quest and so forth. Jason can have a few armor and weapon choices that he accumulates over time and stores on the Argos. At any time he's on the Argos, he can switch is battlements to whatever he chooses. It's not an "item run" sort of game like Diablo... as there are only a fixed amount of weapons and armor Jason can have in the game. It's not a bad decision, since the armor and items are detailed enough to change when Jason switches them.

The basic steps of the game are to find the bloodlines of the gods, Hermes, Apollo, Aries, and Athena, which will allow you to find the Golden Fleece, free Alceme and get on with ruling Iolcus. The bloodlines are what divide the game into sections, and each one of the bloodlines takes you to a different island. Along the way, you'll fight in the Mycenaean gladiator tournament, kill a monstrous evil that plagues the Centaurs, and other neat things I won't spoil for you... suffice to say, once you find all the bloodlines, the game gets VERY interesting.

The only problems I had with the game, technically speaking, were some of the voiceovers getting muddled in the music, so it was hard to hear some of the dialogue. It is an easy fix, and it happens rarely. There's an option for subtitles in the menu that helps quite a bit. Some of the voices lost sync with the characters a time or two, but nothing serious. Sometimes you'd see texture "pop in" on large, complex environments like the jungle island where the Centaurs live. It's nothing monumentally game-breaking, but when there is a great deal of undead summoning by the blacktongues, the green ooze from whence the husks appear is like a splash, and if you get too many of them around you, you can lose your way and sense of direction for a second. So don't rush to kill the blacktongue until he's summoned his first wave (it makes it easier on you...)

Combat is spaced properly between exposition of the plot and travel to locations, and you don't feel like it's a slugfest to get from one place to another, even when Hecate's minions are trying to summon their undead army. The map could've been better placed, because you have to pause and get to the menu to see it. It's sparse as well, with little in the way of landmark indications (unless a certain part of the map is integral to the quest.) But that's a minor criticism, since the game's maps are rather linear. No mazes here. If there's any criticism of the game mechanics, I'd think the narrow focus on what is explorable in the game is a problem. You know where to go pretty much all the time, but once you're running from point A to point B, you sometimes lose bearings.

Controls are fluid, with the exception of throwing your spear... which requires an R2/circle button combo that sometimes doesn't "Register"... in some battles. It's a necessity, though, so practice it for later in the game. Music is top notch, and the voice acting is on par with most video games (as in it's not oscar-worthy). Along the way you hear new music related to the location that makes the soundtrack never seem stale.

There's not much replayability in this game either. It's more along the lines of Uncharted, and similar games that once you find the solution (or finish the quest), the game's not altogether all that fun. I'm sure down the road I'd like to try this again... because there were some side quests I didn't complete.

Overall I give this game an 8 out of 10. It's not perfect, but it's not too bad... definitely a good game to snag used or after the first price drop. :)