After five years in development, Severance - Blade of Darkness was finally completed by Rebel Act and published through Codemasters (who were champions back in the days of Amiga's Commodore 64/128, Amstrad's CPC 464, and the legendary Spectrum 48k with it's futuristic rubber keys and an unheard of 7 shades of grey). Was the five year wait worth it's weight in gold? Let's have a look..

In The Beginning

Severance is a game of hack and slash, let there be no doubt in that. There are puzzles throughout the game, but it's certainly not the place to train up for your Mensa IQ test. Severence falls into an area of gaming which cannot really be defined by any one conventional genre, instead slipping into RPG, Action and Adventure all at once.

Die by the Sword was the first game of this type to be released, a few years back now. It had an impact similar to the first Tomb Raider, in terms of originality, though didn't quite catch on in the same tidal-wave way. Looking on to Severance, it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to picture it being developed by the same team, though it is definately a far more up to date version.

Let's start then with a look at Severance's Engine and general physics. The first reaction is that of marvel. The five years development were definately well spent, it would seem. It's immediately obvious that the lighting effects are to be envied and looked up to by almost all other games currently on themarket. It's impossible to show exactly what makes it's so special on a static screenshot, but you have to trust me on this one; you'll find yourself noticing how realistic it seems, even if you're quite far into the game. Sometimes even during battles your attention may slip to small details like this which really bring the game's engine to the forefront. Every movement you make, and every flicker of flames, will be perfectly shadowed on nearby objects and walls.

'So what else does this engine do?', I hear you cry. Well, object physics are extremely well worked out. Blood trickles down grates and drips onto the floor below, the same applies to any objects which it might trickle down, like boxes or a staircase. If that doesn't seem anything extraordinary, there are everyday objects such as torches, which you can light up on a nearby torch and throw it as far as you can, if your heart so desires. If it lands on a slope, for example, it might well roll down to the bottom before coming to a stop, depending on the gradiant of the slope, and how it landed initially.

The amount of realistic phyics which the game can boast is endless, ranging from those which set the standards of what games should be aiming to beat in future, down to those you would never notice unless you were looking for them specifically. Severance was massively hyped before release for it's amazing engine phyics, and with good cause. I certainly hope that these qualities aren't forgotten. In fact, looking around for a patch, I was unable to find one on either Rebel Act's site, nor Codemaster's site. This would suggest to me that either they've created a 'fire and forget' missile of a game, or they tweaked it to such an extent that it simply doesn't need a patch. The latter would definately seem to be the truer of the two.

Game Layout

One of the rather generous things they've blessed upon the game, is to give each of the four characters their own set of levels to trudge through. Commonly with games which give you a choice of characters, you are restricted to a single set level. There are two side effects of this, however. The first is that while the individual levels are very large (as levels go, compared to the average game), there are only about half a dozen levels per character. Still, they do last quite awhile each. The second side effect is that not having a single plot means that each sub-plot is somewhat non-existant, to be perfectly honest. You won't find yourself following a storyline with your eyes drying out from lack of blinking so you don't miss a second, but instead you'll be battling through your foes with vengence on your mind because you died a shameful death late in the level but hadn't saved it for a long time. I'll go more into that jar of flies a bit further along.

Still, I must say that I prefer how they went about making a level for each character, it does work out far better for Severance. Besides, the level design is a thing of beauty. I wouldn't say that you'll remember every part of every level for years to come, but while you are playing the game, the levels are a joy to be in, especially the attention to detail on the scenery. A straightforward example of this would be on levels which have castles or forts; often on the walls, even parts you wouldn't really look at, you'll find detailed carvings and masonary work depicting battles and events, which adds mood to the setting.

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