Unepic is not exactly a game title that screams optimism, is it? You may as well call the next CoD something like "CALL OF DUTY: Tedious Boredom" or something like that, basing it on the wordplay here. The thing is though, this is a tongue in cheek play on a genre that gets most geeks running about in a lather and the more hardcore jocks changing the channel.
To explain this as non dull as possible, you are a D&D (Dungeons and Dragons card based role playing game that you play with 3 similar minded nerds) adventurer who is whisked away into a world of demons, snakes and big golden glowing god like things that can bestow save games and health upon all who approach (as long as they work for the dark lord)
The game itself plays out a lot like the "Metroidvania" style genre, in that you unlock certain areas the more you explore the areas that are not cordoned off from the outset. Whilst you do this you encounter many characters who will shove quests or merchandise in your general direction. Now, as much as I am all for some comedy voice acting from time to time, I'd not be lying by saying the vocals in this game are horrendous, but in some instances they are that bad that they seem to have their own appeal (oh, and by the way, how they get away with as many licence rip offs is a new one on me (the end of the video review proves that one))
The fact is, Unepic is a very hard game to lock into one area in terms of a review, and here is why. There are nice little touches throughout, like the laughing skulls every time you kill off a boss, the many sci fi innuendos littered all over the place and the fact that everything seems to be in a lovingly crafted old school 486 PC look and I personally think that is quite cute in an old way.
For all these little pieces of good there are some rather annoying bad parts though. The graphics, as much as they are pixelated old school nice, don't really change that often and you can feel like you're trudging through the same old areas time and time again. It is also difficult to locate the locks for the keys allowing you access to the next section to go into. Some of the in-game quests are a bit drab as well, not to mention extremely irritating, like the first one, which I actually stopped trying after half an hour because I got so incredibly bored.
Underneath the cosmetics though lies a game that isn't THAT bad. It ticks the boxes for the genre it shoehorns itself into and plays well enough to be fun, regardless of the irritations that it can also bring up. I can see why some would avoid it though, as it looks like an overly complicated way to play what is, in essence, a standard platformer with some rather bland weaponry as a starting point. Like most strategy games though you have to chuck the time and effort in to start gaining the rewards, but I can also see why people wouldn't want to.
This is more my kind of game though. I've always been a fan of Metroid and my love of Castlevania is almost bordering on unhealthy, so I can forgive the amateur moments to say that this is a decent enough game to have a laugh with, as long as you don't pay a king's ransom to get it. It does what you would want it to and is funny enough to make it worth your while. As much as I didn't laugh out loud (YES, TEENAGERS..... I typed the full thing out) I did have the odd smirk and happy smile when realising where the joke was aimed to, although the yoghurt one is so lame that I tutted in my house.... ON MY OWN!!!!
Unepic is average, it really is. What it makes up for in charm it gets let down in trying to do more than it is capable, but there is an endearing quality which seems to shine through and I do want to play it til the end, even if the bats are so hard to see that I'm planning on seeing if a dark knight can purchase night vision goggles.
Nothing special, but not pants either. Worth a punt if you're a fan of the genre.
