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Combat, Movement and other little treats

Combat is one of the main aspects of the game. It's made all the more enjoyable by the ability to use special abilities with each weapon type as you gain experience and levels. You can also learn new attacks and combos as you gain levels, which are very similar in implimentation as some of the more popular console-based beat 'em ups, where it's all about pressing up+attack followed quickly by right+attack then up+attack again to pull out that combination of moves which is almost certain to bring your opponents head off.. after an arm and perhaps both legs, of course.

Saving is an area which I'm not entirely sure I agree with. Your overall performance is rated by how many times you saved the game, and while that does add a certain thrill to each encounter or trap/jump you come across, it can really be a pain if you have to do the level all over again, as mentioned above. If you're anything like me, you usually save the game often, not because you lack basic motorary brain functions, but because you don't want to have to sit down to the hour of level you've just done.

The unfortunate truth is that I can't speak too highly of the movement in the game. If I have any gripe which I would like to see them patch, it would definately be in this area. When running, it tends to throw your view around a little too much, and even the slightest adjustment to your direction, if you're not going as straight as you'd like, could mean your character turning much more sharply than you'd told him or her, and running right off the edge of that narrow bridge you were trying to cross. Someone should invent hand rails, I say.

To be honest, that's just a minor setback, though it can definately mean your death when it shouldn't. There are two other problems with movement though. The main one is that there is no sidestep, and you will miss it greatly, most noticeably during fights, and especially if you're a hardcore FPS (First Person Shooter) games player, straight out of Quake III Arena, Half-Life TFC/CS and Unreal Tournament. The other problem is with climbing. You have to press forward and jump at the same time to climb, which is a big big No when you're climbing up high with long drops to either side, as most of the time it'll jump instead of climb, no matter how adept at it you may be, and it's lights out Mr.Bump.

There are the gripes out of the way though, and while these problems are irritating during gameplay, you do get used to them a few levels down the line. Also, they are the only real problems with an otherwise exceptional game. Glitches and bugs are just about non-existant really, certainly nothing noticeable unless you were looking for them, and even then I don't think anything found could really be classed as a real bug or glitch.

Enemy AI is very good though. They'll often try to work their way around obstacles and team up on you, often attempting to surround you if possible. Some enemies in-built attacks, like these undead warriors in the screenshot, who can and will vomit acid at you if you've chopped off their sword arms. Enemies will also be more than happy to flee from you and find a dark corner to cower in if they can no longer fight effectively. Not only that, but I should not fail to mention that you can sneak up behind enemies for easy hits and increased damage. You can even sneak up in front of them if they're asleep on the job.

As if that wasn't all glorious enough, why not pick up the severed limb of your opponent and smack them around the head with it. Go on, just for a laugh. Should I mention that there is enough gore and gibs to satisfy all your secret needs. Most countries have added an 18 certificate to the game which is [probably] well deserved, though in all honesty, I've seen similar levels of gore get away with no certificates.

Also, it's worth noting that letting your guard down is not a good idea.. Enemies will take advantage of the fact you've suddenly stopped fighting to admire the craftsmanship of a nearby leaded window, and see it as an invitation to part your head from your shoulders. Though you won't lose any arms or legs unless it's a blow which would kill you anyway, it's a good idea to remember that an easy shot will end up with your poor character in alot of pain. It's a nice touch, then, to notice that enemies can get in the way of each other in a fight. It can be highly amusing to watch a swinging sword which was aimed at you, suddenly hitting another enemy who got in the way, and a full-scale riot breaking out between them as a result.

Thoughts and Comparisons

So, is this game worth it's weight in pyreals? Definately.

Is it a classic? Personally, I don't believe so. Just a very good game that's worth buying and should set a high standard for any similar games coming out in the future.

To offer advice on how it compares to it's most successful counterparts:

Die by the Sword: While being the first of this kind of game to appear, it's too outdated to buy as a comparison, but if you've played it, just think of Severance as an up to date version.

Rune: Personally, I think Rune is the best game in this genre. It's very tight between them, but I found combat and movement to be much smoother and enjoyable, the storyline and characters to be exceptional, and the levels to be some of the most beautiful to look at. I would recommend Rune without a doubt, and think if you like one of these two, you'll quite probably like the other.

Performance

Computer 1

Computer 2

Severance runs at resolutions of 640x480 up to 1280x1024 at 16bpp (bits per pixel) or 32bpp depending on your video card abilities.

This game requires a beast of a computer, and on Computer 1 with it's Voodoo 3 PCI, the game suggests running at 640x480 resolution at 16bpp, and it's no surprise once you play the game really. At any resolution above 800x600, with detail levels set at medium or high, fighting more than about two or three enemies in a detailed area, especially with lots of fire, water or fog, it can be almost impossible to fight properly. On Comptuer 2, running an NVidia GeForce 2 MX 32Mb AGP, playing at 960x720 with 32bpp on High Detail seems to run well for the most part. You can especially notice the difference during fights or while turning sharply, but you can still encounter poor frame rates in some levels with lots of items and enemies moving about.

On Computer 1, it spoils the splendor of the game to play at low resolutions and still have low frame rates, so to be perfectly honest, unless you have a system around Computer 2's standard or better, it might be worth saving the game to one side or buying it another time, so you don't miss out on alot of what the game has to offer.

Below are the official System Requirements set for the game. They're accurate if you can play at a few frames per second :)

Minimum:

Windows 95 (not A), 98, ME or 2000
Pentium II 400 CPU
64MB RAM
16 bit DirectX compatible Soundcard
DirectX 8.0 compatible 3D graphics card with 8Mb RAM
8x CD-ROM
750Mb Hard Drive space (after installation)

Recommended:

Windows 95 (not A), 98, ME or 2000
Pentium III 500 CPU
128MB RAM
16 bit DirectX compatible Soundcard
DirectX 8.0 compatible 3D graphics card with 32Mb RAM
24x CD-ROM
750Mb Hard Drive space (after installation)

Supported:

3dfx Voodoo 2, Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo3, Voodoo4, Voodoo5
3D labs Permedia 3
ATI Rage 128, Radeon
Matrox G200, G400
Intel i740
Nvidia Riva TNT, Riva TNT2, GeForce 256, GeForce 2
S3 Savage3D, Savage 4, Savage2000

I hope the above review has been of help. I believe I've pointed out all the flaws, but only scratched the surface of what makes the game great when you play it.

If you have any comments, questions, or would like to add something of your own to the site, such as screenshots or your own review, please E-Mail me at reltrethan@hotmail.com or if you are sending anything, please use aew21@globalnet.co.uk to avoid Hotmail's limited space allowance.

Andrew (Starfire21 / Reltrethan)