Developer: id Software
Publisher: EA Games
Genre: RPG
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 16 Nov 07

Score 10 (Best) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (Worst)

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Overview

id Software, most known for their work on the Quake and Doom franchises, has joined up with Electronic Arts to create an action RPG for the Nintendo DS. This probably wasn't the first thing people thought of when they saw the two come together, however maybe id Software was looking for something different. The game is Orcs and Elves and it hopes to become as big of a classic hit as the likes of Doom and Quake. But does the game have the needed elements to hit that status? Read our full review to find out!

Gameplay

We have hit a time in the industry where there are two paths developers are taking, either going for new innovative content, or going back and using retro ideas and trying to make them fresh again. Orcs and Elves goes back to the good old days, where the good old pen and paper RPG's were alive and well. For those who don't know, Orcs and Elves came after the success of the Doom RPG on mobile phones, and had its own deal of success on the mobile phones as well. However I think both EA and id Software saw the potential to bring this game from the phone to the DS, and both jumped on the opportunity.

Orcs & Elves is a pretty straight forward action RPG, it doesn't necessarily take any big risks from the transition from the mobile phone game to the DS. In fact, one thing I was surprised to find that for an RPG that has some spell casting, it makes little use of the DS touch pad abilities. Most of your time will be spent on the top screen, leaving very little use of the touch pad. The controls are yet very intuitive, very easy to get used to, and make for a solid experience.

Orcs and Elves itself is a pretty straightforward action RPG, there aren't that many surprises along the way. The game has been expanded from its original version to make for a much deeper overall experience then had they just ported over. The biggest issue I had with the game was that for such a classic idea there was no movement forward. I say this because this is literally no different from the dungeon crawlers of ten/twenty years ago. With all of this being said, it still manages to offer up a very diverse and solid rendition of the games of the past. For those who want a trip down memory lane, Orcs and Elves might just be what you're looking for.

Graphics

Visually I was quite worried that the developers were going to port the visuals from the mobile phone version, but it looks as though a lot of it has been retooled and updated for the DS version. The visuals aren't perfect by any stretch. There are signs of the old mobile version in the game, but for the most part the work that has been done to the game really does help. All this makes it a pretty solid looking game rather than what could have been a big blunder.

Fun Factor

There are times when a trip down memory lane is a good thing, and for Orcs & Elves they manage to really nail that mark. Although there is nothing new or fresh about this experience, it is still a very good look into a genre that really isn't tapped into all that often anymore. I think a lot of old gamers own DS because they do have a lot of classic genres available, and Orcs and Elves falls into that category. Although it is not an old game, it uses old mechanics and ideas very well and makes for a great experience.

Overall

There is no doubt that fans of id Software are probably going to be a bit disappointed with the fact that there really wasn't anything that stands out about this game. However fans of the older RPG's are going to sit back and really enjoy this game, not only for its old school mechanics but also its overall experience.

Gameplay
8.0

Graphics
7.0

Fun Factor
8.0

Overall
8.0

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