Of Orcs And Men

Of Orcs And Men to ciekawy RPG fantasy, który odwraca klasyczny schemat – tym razem to ludzie są agresorami, a orkowie i gobliny walczą o przetrwanie. Sterujemy dwójką bohaterów: potężnym orkiem Arkailem oraz goblinem Styxem, którego później poznaliśmy z jego własnej serii gier. Jeden świetnie sprawdza się w otwartej walce, drugi w skradaniu i cichych zabójstwach. Największą zaletą jest fabuła i nietypowy świat. Historia jest mroczna, brutalna i pokazuje konflikt z perspektywy ras zwykle przedstawianych w fantasy jako bezmyślni przeciwnicy. Walka odbywa się w czasie rzeczywistym z aktywną pauzą i pozwala wydawać obu bohaterom kolejne polecenia. System jest ciekawy, choć momentami dość toporny i powtarzalny. Technicznie gra mocno się zestarzała – animacje są drewniane, lokacje liniowe, a sterowanie wymaga przyzwyczajenia. Nadrabia jednak charakterem, historią i świetnym duetem głównych bohaterów. Niedoskonały, ale bardzo charakterystyczny RPG, który zdecydowanie warto poznać. Polecam.

Of Orcs and Men is a rough-around-the-edges AA RPG that has way more charm than polish. The biggest thing it has going for it is its unique perspective: instead of playing the typical human hero saving the world, you play as an orc warrior and a sarcastic goblin trying to survive in a world where humans are basically the oppressors. That alone makes the game stand out way more than a lot of other, by-the-numbers fantasy RPGs from the same era. The real highlight is the duo of Arkail and Styx. Their personalities bounce off each other really well, and a lot of the game’s charm comes from their banter and interactions. Styx especially steals the show with his sarcastic comments and sneaky personality (which makes sense considering he later got his own stealth series). Gameplay-wise, it’s a mix of action RPG combat with tactical pausing. There’s actually some decent depth to managing abilities and coordinating the two characters, especially early on. The problem is that the combat starts feeling repetitive after a while, partly because the game throws a lot of similar enemy encounters at you. Movement and animations also feel pretty stiff, and sometimes the low-budget nature of the game becomes impossible to ignore. A plus is that the game's actually short for an RPG, around 10-15 hours depending on how much you enjoy exploring. Still, there’s something oddly likable about it. The world has personality, the darker tone works surprisingly well, and the game clearly had ambition even if it couldn’t fully deliver on everything. It’s definitely not a polished RPG, but if you enjoy older AA games with good character chemistry and don’t mind some jank, Of Orcs and Men can be a pretty enjoyable time.

Любопытный опыт: тактическая ARPG с двумя героями под параллельное управление и боями, проходящими в реальном времени с возможностью активной паузы. Сама игра линейная, с опциональными доп. квестами, которые не особо-то влияют на мир (хотя [u]очень сильно[/u] пытаются убедить в обратном), но рассказывают лор, подкидывают шмот и помогают фармить опыт для прокачки через сражения. Уровни чрезвычайно коридорные и пустые, апогей стратегического использования которых представляет из себя догонялки по кругу на обширных аренах — не чизинг, а фича, мне думается, иначе зачем ТАКИЕ масштабы — да забрасывание гоблина на возвышения к стрелкам. Местный стелс — песнь весьма трагичная и тоскливая, но к нему вынуждают прибегать, чтобы убрать часть врагов до начала боя и [b]значительно[/b] повысить шансы на победу. Суть его сводится к тому, что по-тихому можно устранить только определённых противников, при этом болванчики патрулируют по своему рельсу, НИКАК не реагируют на трупы, а Стикс ни прыгать, ни карабкаться [ещё] не умеет, зато успешно застревает в колоссальных щелях между объектами и спотыкается о пятисантиметровые пороги. Так что прёшь под инвизом по равнинной кишке и решаешь в голове загадку, в какой последовательности и кого из вакантных мишеней лучше убить и при этом не попасться другим на глаза. Издержки, так понимаю, жанра, но зубы от непривычки сводит: урон в ближнем бою по тебе проходит, если ты хоть на секунду оказался рядом с врагом, пусть он на тот момент и не думал замахиваться, а урон от дальнобойных атак спокойно преодолевает и время, и пространство, [i]и текстуры[/i], так что даже за каменной стеной от арбалетного болта не скрыться, а от дубины отлетаешь, находясь уже далеко от противника. Первые две главы составляют львиную долю хронометража игры, а дальше всё развивается быстро и… как-то [i]легко[/i]. Я проходил на максимальной сложности, и в начале было [b]ОЙ КАК ТЯЖКО[/b]: в частности когда уповаешь на рандом и надеешься удачно выкинуть «кубики», ведь других путей нет (Лиса побеждается только молитвами, [i]prove me wrong[/i]). В конце же у меня оставалось много лишних очков навыков и характеристик, которые я не вкачивал <на всякий пожарный>, тем паче что и без них справлялся успешно. Откровением после прохождения стало, что центральный кружок в дереве прокачки ТОЖЕ навык, который улучшается, но что поделать, десу. Сюжет годный, персонажи симпатичные, а развязка отдаёт замахом на невышедший сиквел, ибо финал хоть и доводит основной квест до логического завершения, в глобальном смысле обрывист и оставляет героев в гнетущей неопределённости.

[b]Of Orcs and Men[/b] es una aventura de rol en tercera persona para un jugador con combate en tiempo real con pausa dinámica. La historia, personajes y guion en general resultan muy entretenidos y bien hechos. El simple y a veces impreciso combate y ciertas decisiones en la progresión y estructura de ciertos encuentros puede desesperar a más de uno. En general creo que es un juego al que merece la pena darle una oportunidad pero sabiendo dónde te metes. [h1]La rebelión de los pielesverdes[/h1] El Emperador Damocles ha iniciado una guerra para sumir a todo el continente bajo un mismo regidor y una misma religión y así gozar de siglos de paz. Su campaña de dominación ha ido bien hasta llegar a las tierras del sur, controladas por los orcos. Pero una alianza con elfos y enanos comienza a tildar la balanza en favor de la humanidad. Nuestros protagonistas son Arkail, llamado el Carnicero, un orco que lucha con la resistencia para acabar con el Emperador, y el Estigio (Styx), un goblin mercenario contratado para ayudarle. Viene con voces en inglés y textos en español. El mundo creado es bastante interesante. La discriminación hacia lo diferente, el fanatismo de la inquisición, avaricia y traición, la historia avanza a buen ritmo con un par de giros aquí y allí bien llevados, con dos protagonistas bien recreados, diálogos bien escritos y una música muy adecuada que acompaña la acción. En el tema de la presentación le pondría un pero a los escenarios, bastante poco inspirados, con zonas muy similares entre sí y bastantes muros invisibles. La mayor parte del tiempo controlaremos tanto a Arkail como el Estigio en combate en tiempo real con pausa dinámica (la acción se ralentiza). Contamos con varias habilidades pertenecientes a distintos grupos, en función del grupo asumimos una postura y nuestras estadísticas varían ligeramente. Así, Arkail cuenta con una postura ofensiva y otra defensiva, mientras que el Estigio tiene una de ataque cuerpo a cuerpo y otra a distancia. El combate es simple, pudiendo acumular hasta cuatro acciones que se completarán en orden. La pega principal es que no hay una gran variedad de habilidades y lo mismo ocurre con el equipo que podemos llevar, apenas existen tres sets con valores que no los diferencian en exceso. El sistema de progresión y la forma en la que están enfocados ciertos encuentros también conllevan ciertos problemas. Cada vez que subimos de nivel conseguiremos un punto de atributo y otro de habilidad. Los atributos son Fuerza (daño cuerpo a cuerpo), Agilidad (daño a distancia y posibilidad de crítico), Resistencia (vida) y Mente (aumenta la energía necesaria para el uso de habilidades). Por otro lado, podremos conseguir nuevas habilidades o mejorar (una única vez) alguna que ya tengamos. Sobre el papel es simple y funcional pero viene con dos problemas. El primero es la inhabilidad de reasignar los puntos. Si nos atascamos en algún punto y nos gustaría probar otras combinaciones, no hay otra que empezar de cero o bajar la dificultad (hay cuatro: fácil, normal, difícil y extremo). Y el segundo es que no todas las habilidades escalan de igual manera, hay algunas bastante más útiles que otras pero no hay forma de saberlo sin utilizarlas debido a una escueta y poco clara descripción. Es una pena que el combate se interponga con el disfrute del juego, ya que tanto el ritmo como el mundo creado son interesantes, con secundarias que lo expanden sin sentirse forzadas. Hay un par de picos de dificultad en especial, con varios combates seguidos sin posibilidad de guardar entre medias que testarán la paciencia de más de uno. Jugar en fácil o normal o mirar con anterioridad alguna recomendación sobre atributos y habilidades pueden hacer el viaje más ameno. Es por ello que me parece un título recomendable pero sabiendo a qué atenerse, lo cual no es para todos. La campaña debería durar unas 12 horas, con alguna que otra extra en caso de completar el contenido secundario. Una vez terminado no se desbloquea nada nuevo.

The combat is certainly dated and odd but the story is fantastic and worth your time.

I really like the idea behind this game, it's very unique, it has Styx in it! It's armor is historical (For the humans of course), the plot puts you in the boots of an orc, and it's combat system is ambitious and very unique. Sadly that last part is the issue, this game is very hard on hard, this is good, it's also VERY unfun, this is not good. For the 100 minutes I played this game, I was doing everything I could to be at top dps, Styx high damage, the orc guy tank, surely that's what I'm supposed to do right? When then is most of my game time me running circles around the humans to revive the orc, heal up, he dies, repeat. It's trying to do turn based in real time, this is very interesting and it works for the most part, however, however, the game is not well balanced and this really ambitious system makes it nearly unplayable. It's the sort of game that doesn't have a base, there is no 'normal' class, the orc will go berserk and murder Styx when (And I do mean when) he reaches low enough hp and styx is this very odd ranged / melee assassin character, you'd have to play to see what I mean. This means that this is the sort of game that, if well done, will appeal to the hard core gamers, but since the gameplay is so unbearable that's unlikely and since there isn't any standard baseline to start out with most of the average gamers will drop it to (I might be the later when it comes to anything but sandbox games). I played this game, it was interesting, I'm glad to have it as a Styx fan (Can't play the latest game since it's in UE5 however, this little box of mine runs a lot, but it's not made for gaming, UE5 is not going to run, sad) and have 99% the second game on Xbox (If you're reading this, then you're a hard core fan like me and you know what I'm talking about with the 1%). I stopped when I ran into the mercs, oh my goodness, the worst 'you need to fight me' game moment I've ever seen, far too goofy and I couldn't beat the first guy after getting the ONE upgrade I could afford and the other I picked up. Worse, I had to play as the orc, but I had spent all my time learning Styx since he's actually fun. Was defeated three or four times, had enough and uninstalled the game. I'm sure it would be a fair enough time on easy, could be a lot of fun, but I like games that are hard enough to make me think, and this game on easy will without a doubt be a brainless smash em'. Take or don't, it's not expensive and you'll know if you want to keep going or not after the first 30 mins.

https://cinematicdiversions.com/of-orcs-and-men-2012-review/ There are games that fail because they lack ambition, and then there is Of Orcs and Men, which fails because it bites off far more than it can chew. If you appreciate strong storytelling and world-building, there is a lot to love here. The narrative cleverly flips traditional fantasy tropes, casting humans as an expansionist, oppressive empire and the orcs and goblins as desperate survivors fighting for their existence. The odd-couple dynamic between the hulking orc Arkail and the cynical goblin Styx is genuinely fantastic. Styx steals the show so completely it’s no wonder he eventually earned his own excellent stealth spin-off series. Unfortunately, to experience that excellent narrative, you actually have to play the game. The real-time tactical combat system expects you to juggle both protagonists, manage stances, and track cooldowns, all while fighting a deeply clunky interface. Playing with an Xbox controller borders on self-inflicted punishment, feeling less like commanding a battlefield and more like wrestling with the game's mechanics every step of the way. The real villain, however, is the companion AI, which actively ruins the experience. You aren't managing a party; you are babysitting two suicidal adults. Whenever you control one character, the other immediately auditions for the role of first casualty. It is utterly baffling to watch Styx, whose entire character archetype revolves around being a cautious stealth assassin, sprint headlong into a group of enemies just to introduce his face to their swords. It’s a frustrating disappointment because the potential is so obvious. The lore is rich, the dialogue is snappy, and the subversion of genre clichés is incredibly refreshing. But a video game ultimately lives or dies by how it plays, and Of Orcs and Men simply isn't fun. Every interesting story beat and plot development is walled off by another exhausting, miserable combat encounter. The juice just isn't worth the squeeze.

A genuinely fun and lovable albeit messed up cast of characters in an oppressive, engaging dark fantasy world marred by mind boggling game design and occasionally spotty writing and voice acting. I want to get the positives out of the way first because I think Of Orcs and Men does some really good stuff worthy of high praise. It's writing, overall is relatively great, particularly in it's worldbuilding. I love the parallels to the real world that they are alluding to and they feel more fitting than ever in the current climate of the world. I think the atmosphere of the game perfectly matches the grim story, there is some downright horrifying and awful imagery in the level design that really sells the horrible life orcs and goblins have been handed in this world. Styx practically steals the show, and that's not even a knock on Arkail's character. He is so charismatic, the voice actor knocked it out of the park and a few of his one liners got a genuine hearty chuckle out of me, an especially impressive feat when I usually find myself unamused by comedy in games. Arkail is less of a comedian, but is fighting his own internal turmoil, and the twist on Orc "rage", and his desire to suppress and viewing it as a weakness was an intriguing and well done concept and he definitely becomes more lovable as the story progresses. A few of the side characters have questionable voice acting that can't seem to keep the same urgency and tone in their voice, definitely a fault of the direction of the voice acting rather than the quality of the voice acting itself. There is also a particular portion of the game that co-opts a particularly touchy word/concept to fit a different definition in it's own world, and it comes across as a bit juvenilely "edgy" and is overall pretty uncomfortable. The soundtrack also goes a long way to upping the emotion of the story, it is standard fantasy affair, but it's quite well done and placed sparsely enough to hit when it needs to and not be played out. The main theme in particular is pretty great. Where things start to really fall apart is the combat. I don't want to deep dive it because it would frankly be boring for both author and reader, so I will put it like this: It's frustratingly playable. The game wants you to have an archetype of a tank and dps, but then particular scenarios leave one of your characters alone and if you are not making a hybrid build, these become incredibly tedious and/or challenging when the crew being together is relatively breezy in difficulty. Hands down however, the most frustrating part of the combat is the game's insistence to play itself (incredibly poorly mind you). If you kill an enemy, all characters targeting that character will target someone else and do whatever the hell they want. Sometimes characters will decide to target a different enemy and do whatever the hell they want without a trigger. This becomes especially heinous when Styx decides to target somebody you don't want him to and all of a sudden he draws the aggro and gets one shot, all outside of your control because the computer decided it was time to screw you over. If you are going to give me a real time pausable tactics game, don't ever wrest control from me, like what the hell man! To top it all off, sometimes the computer WON'T do anything and your character will just sit there getting beat up unless you babysit them. If you're going be a pain in the ass, at least be consistent with your annoyances..... Finally, you cannot cancel actions.... if you input an action in the action queue (of which you can have 4 lined up) and then all of a sudden need to do a heal or accidentally input the wrong one or need to grab aggro with a character, good luck, you can't cancel it and need to wait for the animations to play out fully. Especially heinous with Arkail, who has painfully long animations. If these things weren't a problem, the gameplay would actually be pretty good and have a decent amount of depth, but the mechanical imperfections work against the depth and you will ultimately find yourself working alongside the imperfections and limiting the depth of your gameplay, rather than exploring that depth. I used the same 4 or 5 skills over and over my whole playthrough because it was what could be consistent. Despite the frustrations, Of Orcs and Men was not a regrettable playthrough, Styx is a character I have a new found fondness for, and I'm excited to play through his other games and see how the world of this franchise continues to be expanded upon. If you can put up with some serious jank for a lovable adventure, you will like this, but if gameplay matters most to you, you will probably have a bad time.