The graphics are superb and the landscapes are gorgeous. Arokh's model while flying is believable-looking enough to rival Draco in Dragonheart. Muscle and sinew are visible under his scales as they ripple with each flap of his great translucent wings. The game engine moves seamlessly between ground and air movement; Rynn can mount and dismount in one fluid move. Flying back and forth through an area that has already been cleared of monsters just for the sheer joy of it is not unheard of. Rynn's travels will take her and Arokh through snow-covered mountains, tropical islands, lava-vomiting volcanoes, and another dimension. All the different lands are full of color, detail, and realistic weather and lighting effects. Travel on foot is also full of flavor. Rynn will traverse infested caves, haunted catacombs, wartok-guarded mines, a goblin stronghold, succubi caverns, and many other areas. The sound in the game is extremely well done. The background music sets the perfect setting for either cruising between snowy mountains or giving a sense of foreboding dread in the catacombs.

The sound effects in combat give off satisfying ker-CHUNKs! and ker-THAKs! when a weapon cuts into an enemy (or a weapon cuts into you). Wartoks bellow war cries at you, orcs mock you, and they all scream deliciously when they die. Unfortunately, the model the developers used for Rynn had the looks but not the voice-acting talent. While not terrible (a la Rebel Assault 2 or Jedi Knight) she doesn't sound very believable most of the time but her lack of personality is more than made up by the more vocal and wise-cracking Arokh. The NPC's Rynn will come across in the game play their parts well, however, so Rynn is pretty much the only one that needs acting lessons.

Combat in Drakan is something that should bring an eager smile to most gamers. The controls are easy to use yet still provide power. Special moves are executed by tapping the arrow and attack keys in a certain order in quick succession. All the monsters have their own distinctive personality and AI. The huge, boar-like wartoks are aggressive, mean, incredibly tough, smell bad, and can squish Rynn with their huge weapons like a sledgehammer smashing a soufflé. The smaller orcs are more timid yet faster on their feet than their oversized comrades and enjoy ducking under Rynn's swings and closing in with a swift lunge. There are also primitive giants and war giants; not something you want to mess with on a daily basis (now you know what a roach feels like when it gets stepped on). Enemy dragons excel at aerial combat and work to get every advantage they can over the mighty Arokh. There are a host of other creatures as well, ranging from demonic Crimson and Ebon knights, seductive and half-reptilian succubi, giant spiders, ghoulish scavenger creatures, goblins, and more. To add even more personality to the various monsters, some of the creatures use different weapons and armor than those of the same species and they also come in different sizes. A wartok wearing a shield and platemail armor and wielding a double-axe is a far more dangerous foe than a wartok wearing nothing but leather armor. Sometimes though prudence is the better part of valor; that's where Arokh comes in. He can roast ground enemies and air enemies with equal efficiency and he doesn't have any qualms about frying a large group of creatures that are chasing Rynn on foot.

The gore factor in Drakan is bound to please everyone as well. Don't like the way that wartok is menacing you with his long reach? Cut off his hand or arm! Think his snout is too long? Give him a nose-job with a longsword! (Yes, you CAN cut off only their snouts as well as their heads) Players will be rewarded for their hard work with gouts of blood spurting from the stumps of limbs and will have the distinct pleasure of watching their foe bleed to death and fall at their feet. The bigger the monster the longer it takes for them to bleed to death. Be warned however: just because you cut off a wartok's sword arm doesn't mean he still can't shield-bash you or give you a good backhand before he keels over. Well, what are you waiting for? Cut off his other arm! What's he going to do then? Bleed on you? Oh, and don't worry if an oversized corpse blocks a door or hallway; you can chop it up into bite-sized pieces and kick the gibs around if you like (an orcish head bouncing down a mountainside is hilarious).

A huge arsenal of weapons is at Rynn's disposal as she progresses through her journeys. Ranging from the magical to the mundane there's always something interesting to use. One particular aspect I enjoyed immensely was the bow. Each arrow you shoot stays where it lands (a la Turok 2) and there's a chance that you can recover it. A large, angry wartok riddled with arrows is truly a sight. The weapons, armor, and inventory system follow something much like Diablo: Weapons and armor have a limited amount of hitpoints before they break and the inventory is a box with a limited amount of space. There are also other items that can be used, such as healing potions, invisibility potions, invincibility potions, and plenty of other good stuff.

With a recent patch, the multi-player aspect of Drakan has been greatly improved. Players can compete in free-for-all or team deathmatch on ground-only or air-only maps or play Master of the Dragon in which there is one dragon on the map that will allow the first player to find his soulstone to ride him. Those left on the ground try to shoot him down using bows; the person who shoots down the dragon rider then automatically takes control of the dragon. There are also a bunch of magical weapons in multi-player that are not found in the single-player game and each have their own personality (weapons with a personality, cool is it not?) Psygnosis also plans to release an editor for players to customize Drakan to make multi- or single-player mods. Expect to see a multitude of user-created maps in the near future.

Gameplay is also well developed. Although you eventually have to get to the other side of the map/area there are plenty of other places to explore and quests to undertake; you never feel as if you are continually being pushed forward to go to only one place. The maps and areas are absolutely enormous; look forward to spending many enjoyable hours of exploring new places.

In short, (too late); Drakan is an excellent game with superlative (I hate that word) graphics, gameplay, sound, and overall fun. It suffers from only two things: Main character's personality is weak and the ending is rather lame (but its an obvious teaser for a sequel). This one stands high on my list and I heartily recommend it to everyone.

· · · Mithril