Game review: Realms of Ancient War

Realms of Ancient War

Genre: Action/Adventure/Dungeon Crawler
Platforms: Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and PC

Let us start our journey with a story that many veteran gamers are familiar with. The disappointing purchase. I have bought many games in my life, but there are few which I 100% would take a refund for. Realms of Ancient War (R.A.W) has made this list. 

R.A.W joins the long list in recent dungeon crawlers. At one point these games became scarce, and were probably the beneficiary of an endangered species protection law. However, it seems we have entered a phase of rejuvenation, with some major titles such as Torchlight and Diablo releasing sequels around the time R.A.W appeared on the market. So surely any developer behind a dungeon crawler would say "Hey, people love these games so lets figure out what thy like, and port it to our universe and have our own unique flair", right? If you said yes, you (like me) should be prepared to be slapped in the face with what I can only describe as the trash that is this game.

In a dungeon crawler I like to look for an immersive combat system, character customisation and some other elements that would give the game some individualistic spark. I played the trial one morning and thought 'Hey, this game could be going somewhere'. Again, I was wrong. I'm beginning to see a trend here with this game. That it's 'wrong'. The combat system is a mash button snoozefest with every mobs attack being identical, as well as their cosmetics. There is no mini map in the game, progression is the same process in every level and if it weren't for the numbers in the stats page I wouldn't even know what the difference is with any of the equipment. Only 3 classes exist in the world of R.A.W, and the campaign for each is almost a copy of the other. Playing with a friend is not fun, as the equipment is aimed mainly at your class and does not adjust for theirs. Basically, there are no features I would expect to see in this type of game.

So, how does R.A.W rate?

Just in case you haven't read the above wall of anger, I'll sum up my feelings for this game. Complete and utter rubbish. I would rather be smacked in my man parts than have to pay for this game again.

I give this game the rating: Stinking pile of s***

This will be the lowest rating I ever give a game. Some may reach the equivalent, but nothing could be worse than this. Especially for a commercial game. WizarBox (the developers), what the hell were you thinking?!