In a world devastated by a natural catastrophe, the human population centers struggle to make prevail the ideals that have allowed them to rise again while dangerous beasts, mutants and looters lurk in every corner. Our role in history will be crucial, but the first thing is to survive.
ELEX, analysis
ELEX comes with the shadow of the Gothic sagavery presentin the minds of those who have been waiting for its release since it was announced. So much so, that it is not strange to conceive this new title as an evolution of the original formula proposed by Piranha Bytes at the beginning of this century, with key differences such as that mixture of fantastic and futuristic medieval ambience. The truth is that it is not a very distant image of what the game is really,logical and remarkable evolution of what is seen at the playable level throughout the Risen saga.
Forging a legend
Magalan was a prosperous and advanced land until the impact of a comet forced her to be reborn from her ashes. The men, deprived of the social structures and the technological means that directed their previous lives, are repopulating and recovering the control of the land, founding new populations with values and ways of seeing life very characteristic and differentiated from each other, what also gives rise to to disputes between them. But the appearance of a new element around which all human action will turn will be especially important: the Élex, a substance with a power out of the ordinary that will govern the events of the first centuries of history after the cataclysm, and that will also motivate the greatest rivalries between the different peoples of men. It is not clear if this element came with the comet from outer space or if it was already in the bowels of the earth and the impact only dispersed it, making it visible, but its discovery marks an era in which we have participated.
We incarnated Jax, commander of the Albos, the most advanced and technologically powerful faction that is willing to reduce all the others to take all the existing Élex in Magalan. Fanatics of the Hybrid cult, being superior that is nourished continuously of this substance and in the name of which they trust to be the chosen people to carry out the following evolutionary ladder of the human being, they use Élex for everything: they consume it to suppress their feelings, trusting in the power of the purest logic ; they use it to develop first-rate weapons technology; they offer it to the Hybrid to win their favor and, of course, use it as a bargaining chip, something that all factions have in common.
When Jax is introduced to the player, we see him piloting a bomber that is attacked and shot down. Without time to react, Kallax, another alb of high rank, appears to execute the sentence that must be suffered by anyone who fails in a mission: death. His mistake becomes evident when we take control of the commander and we see that, although weakened and stripped of his belongings, he is very much alive. However, from the moment that consciousness returns to Jax we can only find reasons for intrigue and revenge in his head: what happened with Kallax was very strange and something smells like chamusquina, we will have to clarify things. And, of course, the looter who has taken advantage of his dying state to take his armor must be found and executed. ButMagalan is a huge and very dangerous place for a single man and unarmed , so it seems that the road to his purposes will take many turns and will include many more top-level actors.
Human warmth and cold freedom.
Not even a Commander Albo can completely use himself to travel through all the regions of the continent, let alone one that is under the influence of the Élex monkey and tries to get used to what it means to feel emotions. Not only do beasts and looters lurk, omnipresent dangers for any adventurer, but everywhere there is a special grudge against those dehumanized people who are willing to wipe out everything and everyone to extract and possess every last drop of Élex. Therefore, to establish friendship with members of other factions and to be careful when relieving data from our past will be a constant. Cities are, in general, very quiet places where nobody will try anything against us without previous reasons, so they give us the opportunity to stock up, look for allies and gain experience and money by completing commissions.
The cities usually belong to a certain faction, although there are places where people live independently of their origin. The life that is breathed in them depends to a great extent on the actions that we carry out, since we can interfere in many private matters and resolve them in very diverse ways that can raise grudges and sympathies in equal parts, and not only towards us, but also among the very characters NPCs that maintain rivalries among themselves. The best thing about all this is to feel that our behavior influences our environment, something that can be extended to the future of a story that will depend to a large extent on our actions.
Cultural plurality
The differences between factions are many and are perfectly designed to directly influence the playable section. We have already described the Albos de Xácor above, characterized by their adoration of the Élex and a leading weapon technology. They are intransigent with everything that opposes their will, so they are usually considered a common enemy for all others. The Clerics are the faction closest to them in terms of characteristics and way of life, since they also base their worldview on a religious cult and are scholars of cutting-edge technology based on the Élex, although they do not consume it to make themselves very cold of mind and strong of body.
At the opposite extreme we have the Berserkers, primitivist court, nature lovers and aware against the Élex, which they consider responsible for the contamination of the world, which is why they reject all forms of technology, something strictly controlled by a code legal that regulates the behaviors within its borders and to which they must respect. Since their armament, based on medieval hand weapons, bows and crossbows, seems rudimentary, they compensate with the ability to cast magical spells thanks to the power of the mana, a refined form of Élex.Finally, there would be the outlaws, an ideal faction for individualists who do not want to hear about social or communal responsibilities. United exclusively by their desire for profit, the outlaws are guided by the law of the strongest and only recognize authorities based on intimidation. They are armed with technology prior to the impact of the comet, which is very similar to what we know in our real world.
Of course, the different features are not just mere appearance. The differences of personality and values make that, if we are consistent with a way of proceeding, we inevitably get better with some than with others , giving more prominence in history to a particular faction and forgetting more about others. In fact, choosing a side is something that completely determines our departure, since it unlocks certain events and skills that we will have access to when leveling up, all of which is customized, particularly for each case. In addition, the combat style has its obvious differences because of the weak points of each arsenal, although this is fully compensated to be able to make use of the weapons that we want regardless of the faction to which we belong (however, part of the equipment that we will obtain will come directly from our faction and will depend on the ranks we climb within it).
Action Explorers
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Something that has always characterized the games of Piranha Bytes is its design of open worlds. ELEX offers a gigantic mapping full of places to visit, events to complete and geographical features that will force us to move to several levels, for which it will be essential to use the backpack propulsive , tool that allows us to fulfill the promise of being able to reach any point that we propose. Surviving in Magalan will be the first issue to worry about since we can go anywhere from the first moment and we will be encouraged to travel from one place to another looking for useful things that allow us to move forward and, also, suitable orders for the initial levels.This converts the first hours into a succession of walks, combats and escapes along the length and breadth of the map , being able to feel that we take too long to see some type of improvement in our character, especially in relation to the available equipment. This should serve as a wake-up call for those less accustomed to role-playing and survival games, but veterans will also have their challenge assured if they embark on the adventure at the maximum level of difficulty.
To avoid having to repeat excessively long rides, we have the usual teleport points distributed on the map. The difficulty in this regard lies in finding them at first, since there is nothing that tells us where they are and are not particularly striking structures at first sight in the middle of nature, so it is very likely to ignore them and leave them disabled. However, there are skills that reveal where they are on our map, making it much easier for anyone who wants to. On the other hand, all the HUD's own aids can be deactivated at the player's preference: indicators of enemies, position of objectives in missions, compass, etc. If we want to be purists and we do not like the lack of coherence that is supposed to be recorded in the GPS the hiding place of a lost fugitive, we can disable such help without problem, with the consequent and notable increase in difficulty.
The landscape offers prints for the memory of very diverse nature. The lush forests, pride and hope of the Berserker people, combine with the arid desert, abode of men without law, and with places where winter reigns eternally , especially occupied by the cold Albos. There are also rocky and volcanic areas, achieving a variety of gratefulness although, it must also be said, sometimes the contrasts hit too much. Any place, yes, it is good to observe the ruins of the past world and shattered by the impact of the comet, which in many cases are reused by the people and people who try to come out afloat.
Improving in combat.
Although it is often possible to solve situations in other ways, combat is still the obvious playable basis. The promise to improve in this section after criticism of the Risen system , especially because of its limited range of variables and types of weapons, has been addressed considerably. In the first place, we have up to four categories of weapons : one hand, two hands, light and heavy, which for practical purposes range from swords to flamethrowers to axes, clubs, pistols and plasma rifles. This means that there are several ways to increase the damage caused, which, together with the requirements of attributes in many unpredictable cases, forces the distribution of points of improvement to be considered a lot and encourages a balance that does not always work.
Unlike other role-playing games, in Elex the weapons do not stand out for their quantity, being very strange to acquire one directly from a defeated enemy, being found more commonly in stores or special places, and routinely resolving to spend many hours of play with the same equipment . This, especially at the beginning (when we can hardly face a couple of enemy types with guarantees) enhances the feeling of stagnation, but also makes the improvement and the acquisition of new tools very satisfactory.
The combat system itself drinks directly from the last games of the company, although the possibility of linking blows depends exclusively on our stamina and not on a number delimited in advance. We have a fast attack button and another powerful attack, and we can combine them as we want to give more or less power to each stroke depending on the time we keep the key pressed. Also, if we link a good combo we can execute a final blow that can make a difference in any fight. On the other hand, in the defensive phase we can cover or dodge rolling. On paper we have an attractive system, but in practice the control loses its gauge for reasons of pure precision. Goal setting and, above all, alternating between them when there is more than one, can bring certain headaches. Nor does the speed of response help to feel that we have total control and sometimes we will receive impacts that we will not feel as very fair. The control of firearms, on the other hand, is not as polished as it would be desirable in terms of precision.
A living world
Throughout our adventure we will meet many characters that will give us the option to open parallel argumentative lines that, in some cases, do not detract from the main story at all, either because of a script or pure entertainment and interest. To the possibility of giving shape to our own city are joined the commissions of the allied characters, those who will know and lend themselves to accompany us, and who keep some of the most entertaining and funny stories, although for practical purposes usually consist of a succession of searches or similar phases to each more complicated. A good detail is that the chaperone we have chosen will participate briefly in some conversations but, above all, in what he will react to what we do and say in his presence, changing his mind about us on the fly and not only when we speak directly with him he or she.
But not only are the interactions between our character and other secondary ones interesting, but also the events from NPC to NPC, which sometimes allow us to interfere in their affairs . At the most basic level is the reaction of the characters to find enemies or wild beasts, which will be part of the fighting very often to little that we propose, since dealing with a large rival complicates things and lead to persecutors against others it usually results in a great idea to generate confusion, being able to take advantage of that we are no longer the only target to facilitate our task.
Technical section.
In terms of muscle, it is worth noting the immense extension of the mapping without load times of any kind in between, with a good level of detail and firm performance . We can not say that it is the best exponent at a graphic level, as there are other titles that are also very extensive with a superior visual finish, but neither should we detract from a remarkable and convincing final result, highlighting the lighting, the long cycles of the day and some designs that , in static, they fully convince. Nor should we ignore, in any case, the collection of graphics and bugs that usually appear in games of this type and for which ELEX is not an exception.While most are only uncomfortable to watch and do not have much playable impact (some popping in certain areas, characters that stand up in the air or go through a wall ...), sometimes they can be annoying if they happen at the moment less auspicious The repetition of faces, especially female ones, is not very positive, even in characters of certain importance.
With regard to sound, the truth is that it completes a very good atmosphere. The dubbing (in English, although everything perfectly translated into Spanish) fulfills well, something important with the huge amount of dialogue phrases that the game contains, and the sound effects accompany and transmit seamlessly, especially the noises emitted by the wild beasts . In the soundtrack is missing a main theme really memorable as in past games of the company, although environmental music helps maintain a firm and quality.
conclusion
THE EX is a gigantic adventure full of virtues that confirms the good work of Piranha Bytes, being at the height of what every fan could expect from them. The feeling of influence on the world that surrounds us is the greatest asset of an adventure in which all progress is satisfactory and that presents a very long and challenging challenge. On the opposite side of the scale we must place a control that, while improving what is seen in the Risen saga in terms of combat system and offers an acceptable variety of weapons types, suffers from certain errors of precision that weigh on the final result. The same can be said of the graphic failures that disfigure a great design, but that in no way avoid a global feeling of being in front of a great game and very worked that will delight all lovers of role and adventure.
The best
- The feeling of influence on other characters and history, very successful.
- The size and design of the map and the game in general, colossal.
- Very long journey of improvement of skills and attributes of the character.
- The atmosphere and mix of eras and technologies.
- Total freedom to go where you want, when you want.
Worst
- The control could be polished more, especially when it comes to combat.
- It can convey an initial sense of stagnation, especially due to equipment shortages.
- Technical defects that disfigure the result a bit.
| Game | Review |
|---|---|
| * Platform | * PC |
| * Also in | * PS4, XBO |
| * Launching | * Spain: 10/17/2017 |
| * Developer | * Piranha Bytes |
| * Gender | * Action, Role |
| * Text | * Spanish |
| * Voices | * English |
1-6 IMAGECREDIT
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