CORPSECORPS The previous two reviewers were extremely disingenuous and i expect that if "board"em (lol) came into play so soon, they were unhappy that there weren't things exploding and that it didn't turn out to be warcraft on a shoestring despite the screen shot. Though matching things IS the dominant theme, if you play through enough levels, new types of play, spells, and other types of scoring are introduced, including bonus rounds which look entirely different. The soundtrack IS of EXCEPTIONAL quality for a game in this genre and price range and it isn't just a loop. It changes as you progress through the quest. All of the graphics are extremely clean, detailed, and unique. I at first made the mistake of choosing "Quick Play" first, in which you are immediately thrown into the game without instruction and it does seem rather samey where the quest is NOT. The changing levels are accompanied by very simple, clear instructions, and the game is rather relaxing. Difficulty progresses at a leisurely pace and it's not a twitcher where your hand is aching after 5 minutes. There are some stereo sound effects along the way that are very subtle, and i once found myself removing my headphones to determine if a particular sound was within the game or something in my environment. In the test game play i never saw so much as a teensy blip in the graphics or the slick user interface, let alone any indication of instability. If this particular sort of matching board game style of play isn't your bag, and/or the soundtrack isn't either, that's one thing, but to dismiss it as quickly and with as low scores as it was given previously is an injustice. It's one of the most finely tuned, glossy games i've seen in a long time. You want an example of a similar type of thing with enormous popularity though horridly repetitive, constrained, frustratingly limited, and nerve jangling, try the Bejewelled games. Runes of Avalon 2 deserves a full test and the author some praise for creating something so clean and pleasant! Given that there are 100+ levels, i would assume puzzle difficulty would eventually play a larger part. |