Summoner Preview

It is also important to emphasize the approach the designers have, towards basic concept of gameplay. They're determined to implement game features both for action-game players and adventure RPG fans. The first 'kind' enjoys the dynamic element of the game, while the other takes pleasure in every single detail of the sidequests (which will be the key part of the adventurous aspect of Summoner). Completing these side-quests can be achieved in different ways. A lot of situations will have an easy way out, which will allow players to avoid tiring puzzles and finish the game in swift and straightforward manner.

The combat system is in real-time, although the player will be able to pause it so that he can give out orders to other party members. This is a rather comforting game attribute and it goes along with another feature that will greatly enhance the combat system. A player can deal with enemies using a chain attack, which helps him avoid sustained hits when assaulted by multiple enemies. The is also a combo hit that pushes enemies back, giving you a breather of a few seconds and providing you with a chance to repel attacks more efficiently. Summoned creatures can also manage chain attacks. Spells and summoning will be your main combat trump. The spells we've seen look fantastic.

Thanks to the efforts of the developers many of the visual effects like lighting, shadows, and fog are maintained in the PC version of the game. The weather effects will be present in the game, but they won't change in real-time. They specifically appear according to the scenery in which the missions and quests take place. Locations in Summoner will not be restricted to indoor areas; there's whole range of outdoor regions. In all aspects, PC gamers shouldn't be discouraged by the fact that this will be a conversion from the PS2. Converting the PS2 version to the PC is no simple task for the designers of Summoner. Developers have had a hard time trying to make the game less demanding for the PC technology and at the same time it needed to appear advanced enough to compete with other forthcoming RPG titles. Optimizing the game's performance for the PC platform consists of adapting it to popular graphic cards, which is what the development team is currently undertaking. Graphic features will include a support for three standard resolution modes: 640*480, 800*600, and of course 1024*786. To sum up the graphics bit, Summoner will feature dynamic lighting, highly detailed character models, and level geometry complexity. It uses a 3D graphic engine with a free camera.

The PC edition of the game is set to have a specific Interface (as opposed to other console conversions, where the UI's have been blatantly copied from the console). On lately released screen shots we were able to see the rather simple User Interface. Let's hope it functions as good as it looks.

Another addition to the unique characteristics of the PC version is the multiplayer mode, which will support up to four players. Playing in a cooperative method, gamers will enjoy a variety of multi-player features. However, several issues need to be looked into until it all seems functional enough. Designers are still remodeling combat modes, items and character appearances. One of the things that matters the most is how the players will store their character info. Since this will be done locally, not by using an on-line storage system, it may alarm a few players that might wish to keep their characters safe. But, the developers said that the factor of cooperative playing should prevent any potential hacking.

As for the music, that is yet another "delicious" feature. Some samples can be found on the official site, and they sound great. The score is done buy one Wally Shaw, who managed to create an impressive 150 music scores for Summoner alone.

When we talk about the whole crew of Volition, I think they have all the rudiments a game company needs for making an excellent game: a creative team, plenty of experience, and a lot of hard work invested in the project so far. Knowing the experience of this company and the successfulness of their titles (Descent, Freespace), we can be sure that this game won't lag behind the many RPG's that will be competing this year. Naturally, we still have to wait a few more months to see which RPG will set a memorable mark in the gaming industry. Without any hesitations I think Summoner has a reasonable shot at being one of the best.

Needless to say, there's the buzz that Volition Inc. will also be involved in making games for Microsoft's 'next generation' console, X-Box (scheduled for release in fall of 2001). So far Volition have proven to be efficient developers for both PC and PS2 platforms (PS2 version of Summoner already got great reviews).