1. Renegade Ops (PC)(Multidirectional Shooter)2. Borderlands 2 (PC)(FPS/RPG)3. Gunpoint (PC)(Puzzle Platformer)4. Robotrek (SNES)(RPG)5. The Tick (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)6. Alien vs Predator (SNES)(Beat 'Em Up)7. X-Kaliber 2097 (SNES)(Action Platformer)8. Metal Slug (MVS)(Run and Gun)9. Shadowrun (SNES)(RPG)10. Quake II (PC)(FPS)11. The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang (SNES)(RPG)12. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number (PC)(Action)13. A Story About My Uncle (PC)(Platformer)14. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC)(FPS)15. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith (PC)(FPS)16. Catacomb (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)
17. Catacomb Abyss (PC)(FPS)18. Catacomb Armageddon (PC)(FPS)19. Catacomb Apocalypse (PC)(FPS)20. The Catacomb (PC)(Top-Down Shooter)21. Catacomb 3-D (PC)(FPS)22. EarthBound (SNES)(RPG)23. Quake II: Ground Zero (PC)(FPS)24. Quake II: The Reckoning (PC)(FPS)25. Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (PC)(RPG)I started playing this one a year ago and got through the vast majority of it before quitting to try the summer challenge. This year I figured before getting into the summer challenge, I would reinstall it and finish it up. If only I had known I was basically one weekend away from finishing it, I might never have stopped in the first place!
Lionheart is an RPG based on an alternate Earth where an evil wizard used the bloody fury of the Crusades to crack open a rift in reality and unleash magic on the world. As a result, Richard the Lionhearted and Saladin were forced to join forces to combat the new monstrous menace that invaded our planet, as all manner of mythical creatures sprang forth and new supernatural powers suddenly flowed into the 12th century world. Now it is the 16th century, but while the figures we associate with the Renaissance are still busily working on their works, in Lionheart they are also trying to survive in a world gripped by both politicking and mythical evil. Unfortunately now a mysterious figure wants to take the rift and rend it fully open, and he has all manner of cults, monsters, demons, and dragons to support him in his endeavor. To make matters worse, his agents are now controlling the diplomatic actions of the English throne, and they are threatening war with Spain. And you, the distant relative of Richard the Lionhearted, are now stuck in a slave camp just outside of Barcelona, which is in the tight grip of the Inquisition. Good luck.
Yes, Lionheart plays a bit fast and loose with history. Over the course of the game, you'll meet or befriend the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, Nostradamus, Galileo Galilei, and Niccolo Machiavelli. You'll have to travel from Spain to France, to England, and eventually to Persia. You'll slay or outwit demons, dragons, druids, and the living dead, all within the confines of a modified SPECIAL system from Fallout. And you will supposedly be given the option to do this in a variety of ways... But you shouldn't. Trust me on this, if you play this game, build a range-based combat character. For reasons.
Those reasons are Lionheart's troubled development history. You see, Lionheart was in development in 2003 from a company called Reflexive Entertainment, with backing from Black Isle Studios, a division of Interplay. Interplay had gone through a series of bad years since the late 1990s, and by 2003 was trying to find ways to save money and cut loses. As a result, Lionheart's development was rushed, causing severe issues with game balance, particularly in later sections of the game. Only four months after Lionheart's release, Interplay shut down Black Isle Studios entirely, thus ending the run of one of the best PC RPG developer/publisher houses in the business.
For that reason, Lionheart has a reputation for being difficult for non-range characters to get through the final areas. As someone who did it with a non-range character, I can fully say that it deserves that reputation. 2/3 of this game is well-balanced, allowing characters who are designed around diplomacy, magic, thievery, melee, or range to excel and get through different areas using different means. But in the final third, England invades Spain, and you must move through their portals into the home of the druids, then fight your way through to Persia where the druids' real master resides. England is hard for a non-fighter. The desert would be impossible for anyone not equipped for combat and rough for most that are. And after the desert comes the temple, where the difficulty just gets higher as melee characters now have to rely on superior skills to make it through certain assassin-laden floors. Just remember, the desert is the crux, the place where the men are separated from the boys, where your combat skills will be tried. In the final dungeon, your abilities to aggro enemies, pull and misdirect ranged and caster-based enemies, use items and magic effectively, and exercise caution will be tested. If you cannot handle yourself, you will not survive the gauntlets that you must traverse.
I mean that about gauntlets. I made it through with a two-hander melee build, and it was rough. The game forces you to run through corridors as hordes of enemy archers and casters rain pain down upon you and acid fills up the floor behind you, forcing you to continue pressing forward until your likely demise. Range characters can pick off enemy archers and casters from a distance to thin their forces before hand. Melee? Good luck. Diplomatic? You're screwed. Thieves? I don't know how high your sneak has to be to make it past, but I doubt you'll have it high enough. The funny thing is, the major bosses in this part of the game can all be defeated through diplomacy if you focus on it, and one of the absolute best endings is the diplomatic one! But good luck getting there. My character was a hoss, and I still had to make careful selection of potions, scrolls, and magic buffs to survive. And then there was the final boss, which is a beast of a fight. I had already been carrying gear to protect myself from fire due to the previous boss. I'm glad I didn't get rid of that stuff, because I would never have beaten the final boss without a Fire damage resistance rate of 98%.
But that is the final third. The rest of the game is marvelous, which makes the final third that much more grating. There are many ways to circumvent the challenges you face, and it is all backed by excellent music, top notch voice acting, and writing that is well done. Quests offer a variety of means to get through them, and the world feels vibrant and alive, even if it is harassed on all sides by all manner of monsters.
If given proper development time and playtesting, Lionheart would likely have ended up being another jewel in Black Isle's crown, but in its current form, it's the bastard child that could have been. For RPG fans who enjoyed other Black Isle developed/published games(read: FALLOUT 2, BALDUR'S GATE, BALDUR'S GATE 2, ICEWIND DALE, ICEWIND DALE 2, PLANESCAPE: TORMENT), it is worth trying out, but more for its pedigree and to see the highlights than to really finish it. If you do decide to try for the ending, well, bow is the way to go, plain and simple. But if you build your character wrong...well, you can always export your character and start the game over. I beat it at level 43, so a second playthrough would likely give you all ample opportunity to reach the 50s or 60s and easily dominate whatever gets in your way.
I'm looking forward to reading about someone else playing this one. I hope you pick it up man.
