Marksman Gaming - Review

Author: Daemon

Type: PS2 Game

Released: 2000

Designer: Volition, Inc.

Publisher: THQ

Genre: Role-playing game

You look back from your workplace in the fields to see that your village, Masad, is burning. You rush into town to find that strange men have come and are killing everyone. You fight your way through some of these men and end up in the stables. There, you hope you can hide until they leave. You enter one of the stalls to find that it is already occupied by a young girl. You ask her what is happening to which she replies they've come for Joseph, the boy with the mark. They've come for you!

Released in 2000, Summoner is, in my mind, the mother of all RPG's. Summoner has a variety of characters, weapons, skills, and this spells allows hours of intense game play. Summoner was my first pS2 game and was immediately my favourite. The main characteristic that this game has is of course the ability to summon. Not only do your summons aid you in battle but they also gain power by being used.

In Summoner, not only is there a variety of weapons, spells and skills; the map itself is huge! There are several cities and locations on the map that at some point need to be visited. For example, the village of Masad is where the game starts and it acts as a tutorial mission, also I use it as a level up zone when I get new characters. Then there is Lenele, the capital city of Medeva and the greatest place to go for trade. Summoner introduced a system that I think has never been duplicated. When traveling the map there are random encounters that can be quest-related or simply, well, random.

Summoner also has a numerous amount of optional quests that all have some sort of lucrative reward, be it armour, weapons, gold, or experience; sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll get all of them. Also (of course) there are the main quests that must be completed to progress in the game.

Characters in this game are also all unique. The main character, Joseph, is The Summoner and has the power to summon; he is also a healer and can be made to be either a ranged trooper or a melee man. Then there's the quintessential thief, in this case a woman named Flece. She can steal from people while fighting them and can learn dark spells. For all those magic junkies out there there's Rosalind, a dashing young novice of the monastic Order of Iona. She can be quite effective with a bow and as a healer. Then for the those people who just like to bash the hell out of their enemies there's Jekhar who is skilled in the art of melee combat and can eventually learn healing magic.

The weapons in Summoner range from short swords to giant crossbows of death. Each weapon in this game has its on purpose. For example, weapons such as swords do little damage to enemies such as stone golems or living statues; for enemies like these you need to use blunt weapons, such as battle hammers or a good kick. Bows and other ranged weapons deal good damage verse enemies like mummies or other slash-resistant foes. The sword, however, is of course your basic weapon and is effective versus most foes.

Breakdown

Graphics: 8/10

Graphics in Summoner are very angular and when moving far away objects are "drawn in" which can sometimes be annoying, though nether of these graphical traits detract from the overall game-play.

Effects: 7/10

Summoner's effects are fairly decent. Every spell has a unique sound and visual, while weapons each have a few specific sounds. However, the visuals can get a little repetitive.

Gameplay: 8/10

The game play is smooth and well-programmed; in most cases everything happens quickly and smoothly. But in some circumstances the game can lag or have glitches, like Joseph using up all his mana to heal someone who's only missing 15 health.

Replayability: 10/10

Summoner is one of those games you can't get tired off: there's just too much in the game that can be done and is fun to do. The numerous options you are faced with in this game make it impossible to get bored of.

Overall: 10/10