R.A.W.: Realms of Ancient War

Overview

Realms of Ancient War (R.A.W.) is a fantasy-themed top-down action-RPG created by Wizarbox. Like many games of its type there is a heavy emphasis on finding and equipping loot. R.A.W. features three predefined select-able characters, A dark Wizard, an aged barechested Warrior and an agile female Rogue. Each character has unique campaign starting levels and comes with unique skill trees that are customized by the player as he/she plays through the campaign. R.A.W. offers a limited two-player co-op option in the campaign.

Story

Ten years prior to R.A.W., a very long and brutal war was ended during a mysterious event called the Summoning of the Four Kings. What was thought to have been a parlay for peace ended in tragedy as the Northern King was killed and the three other kings were badly wounded to the point of being unable to relay any insight to their people what had occurred at the peace summit.

Nonetheless, with the loss of their regents, an uneasy peace ensued between the four kingdoms. Despite the newly won peace, the damage from the war was severe. All four kingdoms, the two human kingdoms and the kingdoms of the elves and dwarves, lie in ruins and are actively being looted by endless raids.

Immediately prior to the opening levels of the game, the kingdoms had attempted to investigate reported mysterious otherworldly attacks on the peripheries of their territories. These recon excursions were all wiped out, none succeeding in bringing back any information to their dispatchers.

However, three unrelated wanderers would find their fates intertwined into a desperate quest to save the world from the Hordes of Nothingness.

Playable Characters

The player can choose from three predefined characters at the start of the game, which largely adheres to the standard Dungeons and Dragons-esque archetypes.

Rogue

The Rogue serves as the versatile character with a balance between melee and ranged skills. She can use bow as well as knives as well as having secondary skills often associated with the Dungeons & Dragons thief/rogue archetype such as traps and Stealth/Invisibility. Her defense is less than the Warrior's but stronger than the Wizard.

Warrior

The warrior serves as the close combat Melee masher character. He can equip heavy armor and dual wields heavy weapons such as Axes & Swords. The Warrior has the strongest defense.

Wizard

The Wizard is the heavy offensive ranged character. His magic attacks and spells are heavily reliant on mana as all his skill requires large does of it. While his attacks are the strongest of the three playable characters, his defense is the weakest.

Gameplay

R.A.W. features a linear level-based campaign from a fixed camera top-down perspective with three playable difficulties. Once a level is cleared it can be revisited by the player at any time. The player must finish the level successfully to retain any progress or loot discovered while playing it. The player must guide their character through hordes of enemy NPCs well continually upgrading their character through acquiring new equipment and leveling up. Occasionally in the levels fetch quest and "kill this guy" side quests are available from quest giving NPCs for extra experience, gold or loot.

R.AW. controls in a manner similar to most games of its' type. However, unlike most modern games in this sub-genre, it features absolutely no mini-map. The player has health and mana points, both of which regenerate over time and can be replenished through the use of potions found or purchased from NPC merchants in-game. The player's skills and items are mappable to eight buttons. There is no standard "attack" as each attack is an upgradable skill.

The player can customize their character by allocating skill points into their classes tech tree. Each level-up earns a single point for the player to spend.

The character also carries and can find Soulstones limited to a maximum of 9 which serves as means to instantly revive upon death.

Later in the game, the player acquires the ability (requires of class selected) to use the Incarnation skill, which allows him/her to possess a weakened monster for a short time.

Co-Op

R.A.W. also features a 2-player co-op mode where players can have another player join them at any point in their campaign, however the second player cannot choose the same class as the Host player. The invited player is buffed to the Host player's level if need be and can retain all loot and experience obtained in the mode. However, only the Host player retains the campaign story progress achieved in their playtime. If the second player rejoins the Host's game in another session, they will have to create a new character.

PC System Requirements

• OS: Windows XP SP3/Windows vista SP2/Windows 7
• Processor: AMD/Intel Dual-Core 2.5 GHZ
• Memory: 1024 MB (XP)/2048 MB (VISTA/7)
• Graphics: 512 MB 100% DirectX 9 and shaders 4.0 compatible . ATI Radeon HD 3850/Nvidia Geforce 8800 GT/Intel HD 2000 or higher
• DirectX®: 9
• Hard Drive: 2 GB
• Sound: DirectX 9 Compatible
• Internet: internet connection required for activation of game

Links

• Official Website