Rarely does a game catch me off guard but in a positive way such as this one did. Stepping in to the shoes of a mercenary has not been this fun since Bulletstorm (it was a blast to play I thought). Instead of stringing combos together with a gun, you have swords, axes, daggers, spells, and traps at your disposal. Not every fight has the same answers but you are more welcome to explore the complex combat system which is easy to quickly get a handle on.This was using a keyboard and mouse. The game boasts full controller support but I little luck really getting my PS3 controller working well or my Steam Controller. Given that the game also has a console experience possible, seeing updates to improve controller support outside of a Xbox 360 would be handy as the game has released on Sony platforms so it would not be a stretch.

With three skills at your disposal, the warrior and ranger tend to offer players two alternate ways to play the game with fire mage complimenting them both equally. There are times when something just needs to burn and that is handy to not have to go just magic only. Bear in mind, potions to restore health and mana are sparse and should be used with care, not spammed. The crafting system offers a solution to this but letting you craft your own provided the resources are not being used elsewhere in a quest or upgrading gear or more.

The game tends to hold you by the hand in terms of story to the point the named the main character Vulcan despite given you the option to enter your name in as whatever. It makes sense if you are trying to tell a cohesive story about a single character but either don't call him by name in the voice acting or just remove player choice of name. It wont kill us if we cant name a guy for the sake of immersion. Vulcan and the rest of his fellow mercenaries to tend grate with out of place profanities combine with made up words that insinuate curses. It feels like its aiming for shock value but just because they are mercenaries does it mean they can only express themselves with colorful language. Its a stereotype that seems out of place by today's standard of good writing.

The game offers a bleak outlook against an ever growing army of undead controlled by 7 ice lords. An unfortunate accident thrusts you in to the limelight as a new tool against this overwhelming army, The cost could prove too great but the choice is out of your hands. Speaking of choices, you are only able to pick and choose one team member at a time. Given that stealth is never my forte (unless its accompanied by a Batsuit), I often choice a healer for a comrade to try to keep me up while I am hacking away at things in between fireballs. Outside of dialogue options and possible romance, there is little choices involved. They appear to always be your level and require no gear at all. You can change their stance to offensive or defensive. I think a dialogue wheel with more options would improve this. Give them a chance to attack their own target or always assist me would be good. A way to control at what percent of their life they run away would also be handy. Many times I tried to fall back to regroup but my caster is still just standing there acting like a tank and not a good one at that.

What you do get with this game is an enjoying romp akin to Dragon Age and Kingdoms of Amalur but not quite as indepth. It just might scratch your itch until Inquistion. The game certainly has a lot to offer and is worth giving a shot. This game was played on a Steam Machine and ran beautifully is worth mentioning. The color pallette of the game gets quite diverse from area to area and having to re-tred your own footsteps because of quests and side quests will often leaving stopping to admire a new detail you might not have noticed before. Music is one of the game's strongest points which often erases the screeching left behind by some of the voice actors. Scotland does not exist in this worth as far as we know. The accent stands out a bit much in certain characters. If different characters should sound different, make their appearances reflect this. I am not expecting every one of them to be Troy Baker but him in at least one role would be a game changer.

I give this game praise up and suggest you give it a shot of you like your action steeped in talent trees, crafting, and other rpg elements. A good time is certainly waiting to be bad. I hope to see more entries is this new world to explore.