Demigod (PC)
4/15/2009 7:10 PM | 19 Comments | Page 1 of 2
What's Hot: Multiple levels of strategic gameplay; Interesting units with unique abilities
What's Not: No story; No single-player campaign; Nasty alt-tab crash bug
John Keefer
Status: Reading da Crispy content and playin' games.
Bringing a new idea to life in the strategy genre is tough. Unless the game has "Craft" or "Civilization" in the title, or an established franchise to back it up, finding an audience large enough to make the game successful is an uphill battle.
However, it is a battle that
Demigod seems prepared to embrace. This "action strategy" game does have some things going for it: the combined pedigree of publisher Stardock (
Galactic Civilizations) and developer Gas Powered Games (
Supreme Commander), and gameplay like that of the popular
Warcraft III mod called
Defense of the Ancients. Those are some solid pluses.
The Zikurat, a smaller multiplayer map.
The gameplay offers several variations on the same theme: Use your demigod to capture so many flags, destroy so many structures, kill so many other demigods, or just dominate the map. Gold collected from gold mines or killing other demigods can be used to upgrade your base, or to buy stat-boosting equipment for your demigod. Points you are awarded at the end of each match can be used to buy other special items as your tournament ranking and expertise in the game increase.
Demigod is a multiplayer game, pure and simple. It makes no attempt at a story, although the intro has such double talk and highfalutin language that you can vaguely make out that you are part of a tournament to ascend to godhood. There is no single-player campaign, just a series of eight matches against the artificial intelligence designed to get you familiar with each of the characters. The name of this action strategy game is multiplayer, and
Demigod has that cold.
Skirmish mode is recommended for newcomers. You choose one of eight assassins or generals, and one of eight maps used in both single-player and multiplayer, the largest being capable of 5v5 games. Assassins are solo characters, while generals can command six to eight supporting units. Each character has a variety of skills that can be increased as experience is gained. The AI has four levels, with easy and normal being a bit too easy, and hard starting to give seasoned strategy gamers a decent game. Nightmare AI opens up when you have bested the hard AI in a single-player "tournament."
The Queen of Thorns exhorts her minions.
What makes this strategy game different is that you only need to focus on your demigod. You don't micromanage resources and you don't manage a ton of different units. While the game gives you the feel of massive battles, your only concerns are augmenting your demigod, fortifying your base, and surrounding armies with upgrades. The AI controls your little armies, while you only control your demigod -- and, in the case of a demigod general, his very small contingent of forces.
It provides a rather refreshing change from traditional strategy games in that there is no micromanaging. The gameplay's simplicity allows for putting all your efforts into tactics and overcoming your foe. That's not to say there aren't decisions to be made, but the decisions are at the leader level, rather than deciding where to build a mine or a new base.
The art style is like an animated poster.
Demigod utilizes a variation on Gas Powered Games'
Supreme Commander engine, allowing players to zoom in as close as they want to get an incredibly detailed look at the character designs and battles, or zoom out for a full tactical view. The game doesn't take itself too seriously. Each character comes with its own variety of wry quips and quotes when responding to commands, capable of providing a chuckle or groan. One winged assassin character, as he is reborn after being killed in battle, pronounces that he will "take these broken wings and learn to fly again." Har.
