OXCGN’s Game of Thrones Review

Not Quite Regal

by Kent Sobey

©2012 Kent Sobey

From the massively successful series of books, to an equally successful HBO TV series, the rise of Game of Thrones has been a meteoric one.

Now, the obligatory video game has reared its head, but can it keep up with its brothers?

The Game of Thrones game takes a slightly different stance on the Westeros world, which means you don’t get to play as a Stark or a Lannister.

Instead, you don the roles of either Mors Westford, a ranger of the Nights Watch stationed at Castle Black, or Alester Sarwyke, a Red Priest born into a noble family.

Variety

Mors is a rugged old man whose first task is to hunt down a deserter and of course give him the only treatment worthy of a deserter: death. Alester, not quite as rugged but equally as dangerous, has to make his way home, which he left fifteen years ago, to bury his recently-deceased father.

You get to set each of them up before you start their respective quests and there are some terrific choices you get to make.

All of the usual RPG elements are here, such as weapon classes, ability choices, and so on. The thing I liked most about it, though, was the strengths and weaknesses section which give you the chance to select as many strengths as you want, but they have to be balanced by a weakness of equal weight. This system is ingenious.

Once you’re over the top, it’s downhill…

Sadly though, that’s about as good as it gets and it’s downhill from there.

The combat in the game is clumsy and, to be frank, annoying. There are some good ideas thrown in there, like the ability to slow time and select upcoming moves, but ultimately it’s not enough to keep you hooked or go looking for a fight.

The characters look like they are swinging wildly at the air, and not at an actual enemy.

Customisation options available to you after you’ve set your character up is also pretty standard for this type of fantasy RPG.

You can equip weapons, rings, potions and all sorts of other goodies which help you along the way. It’s a good system but nothing we haven’t seen before.

The story is also great for anyone who is a fan of the mythology of the world. You get to see a few old favourites in there, but the best part is all the new characters that you get to learn about. Again, it’s good but not enough to convert anyone who wasn’t already a fan of the series.

All of this is outweighed though by two very important aspect of any game” the graphics and the voice acting.

The graphics look like they are from the PS2 era with the exception of a few backdrops you come across, and the voice acting is laughable.

It sounds like they’ve just given the script to passers-by and asked them to read what was on the page in front of them.

Endgame

Ultimately, the game promised us so much more than it delivered on and it’s a massive disappointment because of it.

Having said that, it’s probably worth playing if you are already a fan of the books or the TV series, if only to get a look at the universe from another perspective.

With all that said, the game is a great example of poor execution of what could surely have been the next big thing.

“6/10

©2012 Kent Sobey

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Game Impressions, New Game Information, New Xbox 360 Games, PC Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 Game Reviews Tagged: | atlus, game of thrones, game of thrones game, Game of Thrones Review, game of thrones video game, Game of Thrones Video Game review