Depths of Peril review

Game: Depths of Peril

From: http://www.gamingnexus.com/Default.aspx?Section=Article&I=1721

The major impetus behind the gameplay is the presence of multiple non-player covenants moving about the map at break-neck speeds, hungry to rob you of your objectives, and motivated to diminish your wealth and influence. Monetary wealth is a largely closed affair between you and Jorvik’s merchants. Swords get longer, shields grow sturdier, and armor gains more and more metal rings attached. Copper, silver, and gold dropped out in the fields of battle, as well as traded for in the marketplace, work to narrow the gap between you and that next piece of slightly higher-grade equipment.

Most entertaining, however, are the missions handed out by potential recruits. They essentially place their fighting/healing/magic-using resume out on the table, and allow the competing barbarian covenants to win the recruit over. The recruit will make a certain demand—collect X amount of materials, slay Y amount of beasts—that you must fulfill in order to get the recruit onto your payroll. A timer starts counting down, and in case that isn’t enough time-pressure to place on a mission, it’s important to remember that the other NPCs are already out there, scouring the map, snatching up X amount of materials, or slaying Y amount of beasts. Prioritizing recruiting efforts, general quests, and controlling your inventory would be game enough. But Depths of Peril also adds political ingredients to the stew. Negotiating with your fellow barbarians is a fully-realized scenario that takes its cue from Rome: Total War. Money shifts hands, trade routes open and close, equipment is hauled back and forth, all in the name of temporary peace. Because the hands you shake today inevitably become the hands that squeeze your windpipe later. That is, if you don’t manage to ally with the all the remaining covenants, destroy the ones that won’t, and end up with the greatest influence (a measurable stat) by the end game.

All of these gears of war clank noisily together, and the momentum driving Depths of Peril is undeniable. There is a wide-ranging monstrous compendium to tackle across the lands of Aleria. The map is randomly-generated from game to game, and the canvas is squarely-cut between pine forests and badlands, homesteads and dungeons. The flora is slathered over the countryside, rarely taking a breather, and the ground maintains a level plane, which makes for oftentimes unmemorable albeit obscuring scenery.

Otherwise, the combat is visceral with its chunky hammer hits, deep-cutting blade action, and glittery spell effects. The beasts of the land gutter and growl with conviction in their roles, and the soundtrack aims for the bold.

The difficulty level sometimes spills into outright unbalanced scenario

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