Official Site: http://heroesofruin.com/
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment
Developer: n-Space
Publisher: Square-Enix
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Genre: Action-RPG
Pros:
+ Easy drop-in/drop-out multiplayer for local or global play
+ Steadily paced and good sense of progression
+ Each class provides a different experience
+ Challenging, but manageable
+ Visceral combat system makes fighting fun the whole way through
Cons:
- Weak end-game content (Max level is 30)
- Gold is pointless as vendors rarely carry good items and maxes out at 99,999
- Loading times are way too long
- Lots of dead ends in each level
Recommended: Yes, Action-RPG and Dungeon Crawler fans will like it
An old war led a few men into channeling the powers to become Ruinlords so that they may protect the lands. Years later, the Ruinlord Ataraxis was cursed into a deep slumber and heroes across the land gathered to find a way to awaken him once more. As one of the heroes in the story, the player will run between the town and one of four areas to fulfill quests that will help the people of Veil, find ways to awaken the Ruinlord, and of course fight enemies to gain more experience points and find bountiful loot. The game is a lot of running around, fighting, and solving light puzzles. Each of the 4 classes have 3 main skill branches they can gain abilities from and can be mixed in any way they please. The game can be perceived as a bit repetitive, but the well crafted combat system makes for a satisfying adventure into the dungeons each time. I have finished through the game once with the Gunslinger and have tried the other classes and I found the game to be mostly enjoyable; however, there isn't much to do after you've completed the main quest other than to max out your character level. The game provides a decent amount of gameplay time and replay value as long as interests still holds for the player.
Aesthetics
Art Style: 3D Rendered Overhead
+ The 3D works pretty well, especially during scripted scenes
+ Each piece of equipment is reflected on the character, good sense of detail
+ Everything worked well together for a satisfying combat system (art/audio/etc.)
+ The town is pretty large and felt lively which made it a bit more immersive
+ Inventory system felt weird at first, but turns out to be really organized
+ For a handheld game, the voice acting was pretty good
- Without the 3D on, the graphics look blocky and clumped up together
- Two of the dungeons can look a bit boring after a while (1st and last were good)
- Some of the reaction times and animation to skills are sluggish
Aesthetics: 8/10
Buttons
Controller: All aspects of the 3DS except for the Camera and G-Sensor; Face keys, shoulder keys, circle pad, digital pad, touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Microphone
+ Utilizes the touchscreen and digital pad really well along with the other keys
+ On the fly skill swap is great
+ All the keys are mapped out really well
+ Quick Equip/Sell on the digital pad is genius, I'd like this system in other RPGs
+ Quick potions on the digital pad keeps the flow of the game going, no menus
- Some skills execute sluggishly if at all
- Dodge felt clunky, especially with block on the same exact key
Buttons: 8/10
Concept & Content
Core Concept: Grab a quest, kill some enemies, collect some loot, repeat
+ Combat system is really satisfying and keeps things interesting
+ The ability to mix and match skills from different branch suits any playstyle
+ Quests are straight-forward and rewards generally help a lot
+ Drop-in/Drop-out Online Multiplayer is where the game shines
+ Having the quick equip/sell really helps
+ Each class has a unique style of play and different builds to go for
- There are a lot of dead ends with no enemies, items, or purpose in levels
- Gold is really pointless in the game, nothing worth buying all the time
- For a Dungeon Crawler/Action-RPG it lacks end-game content
- You couldn't pull back the map to see the entire dungeon, that was troublesome
Concept & Content: 7/10
Duration
+ Approximately 20 hours to finish, a good amount of gameplay time
+ The flow of the game was routine and easy to get into
+ Cinematics were never too long but still built the backstory rather well
+ There are 4 character slots, 1 for each of the classes to provide a different experience each playthrough
- Loading times between each area are incredibly long
- Once you complete the game, that's it. No New Game+, hard mode, or anything
Duration: 7/10
Fun
+ The game eased me in pretty well and I caught on how to play fairly quickly
+ Fighting enemies is satisfying and finding better loot was exciting
+ Boss battles were well though out and provided a decent challenge
+ Daily achievements were a nice way to gain extra XP
+ I liked the use of the 3D, it brought aspects of a level to life
- I hated waiting for load times, they took a really long time to finish
- It's sad to max out gold at 99,999 and not find anything worth buying
- There isn't much incentive to continue playing after finishing the main story
Fun: 7/10
Overall
n-Space crafted out a really entertaining dungeon crawler for the 3DS. They did a lot of things right such as the feel of combat, quick equip/sell/potions, and online multiplayer. The game itself wasn't spectacular with a weak story or incredible graphics, but it was a lot of fun and provided a decent amount of gameplay time. The loading times were a bit frustrating, but there was always something that made me want to keep playing and get farther into the game. It's definitely a game I'd recommend for Dungeon Crawler and Action-RPG fans. Overall: 7.4/10
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