Apocalyptica English Review

I usually avoid making an opinion about a game until it is release, or I see a demo or beta version. Screenshots and trailers can hide the negative aspects of the game, while boosting the good ones. Take for instance Bloodrayne, with its superb movie trailers and screenshots. I spent a lot of time playing the demo of the game, and I was utterly disappointed when the final version came out. I promised myself that from then on that I will be much more skeptical about the game trailers that are released by the producers to promote their games. Being an optimist by definition, I soon broke this self-imposed rule when I saw the in-game movies from Apocalyptica, which I thought at the time that it would be a 3D Action game, based on the Quake III engine.

As the title suggests, Apocalyptica is a game with religious connotations. After a devastating war, which in the Bible is known as Armageddon, mankind was forced to leave a scorched Earth and move to other planets. Although defeated, Satan is reborn after thousands of years, under a different name, but with the same purpose: to destroy mankind. You will lead a team of four characters against Neo-Satan, and fight in four major locations: the planet Jerusalem V, the SS Ariziel, Nu-Hades (Earth’s new name) and in Hell, where the final showdown will take place.
The game offers thirty-two characters, divided into good and evil ones, the last of which are available only in multiplayer. There are eight classes in all: on the good side there are Nuns, Templars, Seraphs and Combat Droids, while the Black Knights, Vamps, Wraiths and Ripper Droids are the evil ones, each with their own characteristics: firepower, combat skills, speed and faith. For instance, Droids are very good with ranged weapons, but weak in melee combat, the Nuns rely on their speed and agility, The Seraphs heal other teammates and use spells for offence, while the Templars use their swords with deadly accuracy and effect. And despite the fact that the four classes differ in aspect, they are symmetrical to each other, which lowers the diversity of the multiplayer.
Like in Bloodrayne, each character can fight using both hands, holding a staff or sword in one, and a firearm in the other. Religious connotations can be found in the weapon names too (The Eye of God, Martyr Gun, Bible Basher), names under which we will find classic First Person Shooter weapons: rifle, machine gun or rocket launcher. The offensive or defensive spells range from Fireball, to Void, Divine Intervention or Repel, the last of which is pretty irritating, because it acts just like Force Push from Jedi Academy.
Depending on the direction you’re moving and the succession of attacks, you can make combos, which are not very spectacular, but very effective when you’re surrounded by enemies. The enemy attacks can be blocked as long as there is stamina, which replenishes itself over time. Through a menu which resembles the one in Devastation, you can give orders to you’re teammates (single or as a group): solo, stand, guard, follow. These orders will sometimes allow you to complete the levels in a more tactical manner, rather that charging like a madman and killing everything in sight. The tactical aspect is further increased by the fact that you can change weapons, spells or swords during missions, their diversity being affected by the runes that you find in the previous mission.