Enclave Review - PC Game Reviews

Enclave Review

The storyline is pretty deep and non-linear. The serene kingdom of Calenheim is entering dark times. Legends speak of a certain demon lord called Vatar who assaulted humans with the help of his hordes. The end seemed to be near when wizard Zale's action saved the natives of Calenheim. In a single night the demon was assumed to have gone forever and so was Zale.
Zale's magic was so powerful that it created a bottomless rift around Calenheim. Light and dark separated. But, the rift is growing narrow every instant and the dark are becoming stronger. Sooner or later the dark will cross the rift and claim what they consider belongs to them.

In this game you can pursue either the path of light or dark. Both the campaigns offer you 6 characters each to choose from. In the light campaign there is a knight, a huntress, a druid, a halfling, an engineer and a wizard. The dark campaign offers you an assassin, a berserker, a sorceress, a goblin, a bombardier and a lich. In addition to these characters two new characters one in light and other in dark get unlocked after you complete their respective campaign. All the characters have unique abilities, which separates them from the rest. Because of this feature players will have to think wisely before they play a mission. The characters get unlocked as you progress with the game.

Enclave offers you the luxury of choosing between a first person and a third person view. Depending upon the type of weapon you are carrying you can switch between the two views. For instance if you are carrying a crossbow the first person view will assist and on the other hand if you are carrying a sword, the third person view will support. Also the first person view can be useful in surveying the surroundings for useful items. This feature may be a boon for some gamers but for others it is really frustrating. Switching between the two views is frustrating; also mastering a particular view may takes quite some time. This makes combat pretty tough to master especially in the higher skill levels.

Level designing gets a strict ok. Most of the levels are simple and straightforward and do not tax your brains much. What taxes your brains is how to find the location of gold and other gems, which contribute to your total treasure collected during a mission. With the help of the treasure collected you can buy yourself better weapons, ammo (for bows), shields, health potions and armor. There are also a few extra levels, which you can access by finding their maps hidden in some maps. They basically provide you with opportunity to earn extra gold. The more treasure you collect the better equipments you can buy, the better equipments you buy the easier the next level becomes.

There is also no proper save-game feature in the middle of a mission. What the developers have included are 'checkpoints' or spawn points which when activated allow you to respawn after you get killed in a particular level. In some levels the checkpoints are present after a series of traps and if you get killed while clearing a trap you have to start the level all over again. This is really frustrating.
Bad A.I. is another frustrating feature of this game. The game is pretty easy to beat when there is a single enemy to beat but when there are multiple enemies to fight the game is ridiculously tough. Some baddies can't even jump across ledges and most of the times fell into the gap. And I never saw any enemy change his tactics from offensive to defensive even if his health is literally down to nothing.

Enclave does feature some bright points alas they are the only saving grace of the game. Graphics are outstanding! The textures are really well done and are immensely detailed. The player models are pretty nice and level, which gives them a realistic look. Voice acting is top notch and the in-game cutscenes are gorgeously done and contain straight to point information. A few levels like "The guardian" (in the dark campaign) are absolutely stunning. The in-game animations are too attractive. Although there are little flaws like at one time an Orc seemed to be suspended in mid air while jumping from a ledge. Another conspicuous major flaw is that the blood doesn't seem to fall on the ground; instead it disappears in mid air. But, these glitches do not affect the overall performance of the game.

Sound in Enclave is fantastic. Great effects with equally good soundtrack just gets your blood pumping. A special mention goes to the clashing of different metallic objects, which sounds crisp and realistic.
The longevity of the game is another great feature. If completing a particular level is troublesome switching between characters proved quite handy. This feature might annoy some people but gamers who are looking for deepness will find it appealing. Also there are two campaigns, the Light campaign and the Dark campaign, which offer two different endings to the game.

Finally, despite of some hindrances, Enclave is fun to play. The gameplay is straightforward as the story featuring a balance magic and battle system. Don't expect too much from it and you'll not be disappointed.

RATINGS

Gameplay - 6/10
Graphics - 8.5/10
Sound - 9/10
Technical - 6/10
OVERALL - 7/10

Note- The Overall rating is not an average but reflects the reviewer's thoughts on the game as a whole.

Pros - Great looking game, fabulous sound, lots of playable characters, multiple endings.

Cons - No proper in-game save feature, dumb A.I., level designing could have been better.

The Final Word - Enclave is a clear-cut action packed hack-and-slash game and should not be ignored by players looking for a deep storyline and plenty of action.

Minimum Requirements -

-700 MHz. Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor
-128 MB RAM
-4x CD-ROM/DVD drive
-2.5 GB hard disk space with space for saved games
-DirectX 8.1
-Minimum 16 MB Direct 3D-capable video card with DirectX 8.1-compatiable drivers
-DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
-Keyboard and Mouse

Recommended Requirements -

-1.2 GHz. Or higher Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon processor
-192 MB RAM
-4x or faster CD-ROM/DVD drive
-2.5 GB hard disk space with space for saved games
-Minimum 32 MB Direct 3D-capable video card (with hardware T&L) with DirectX 8.1-
compatible
-Directsound compatible sound card