So you want to be a Norse superhero? I really can't blame you.
Check out the cool threads; this year's line of chain mail and
animal pelts has everything for the Viking on the go. Check out the
weapons; swords and axes and hammers, oh my. And don't forget
the carnage. Yessir, nobody sprays bloody giblets like an angry
Norseman. But wait, what's that? Being a Norse superhero also
means slogging through repetitive levels and hunting around for
switches and levers until you're blue in the face? I don't remember
seeing that in the brochure. Well if you can survive the tedium,
you may still find some of the action you've been craving in Rune,
a Norse mythology themed game from Gathering of Developers
and Human Head Studios.
In Rune, you play the role of Ragnar, Norse hero, valiant warrior,
and all around good guy. But before you get too cozy in your role
of Odinsblade, defender of your town's sacred Rune, some crazy
warlord bent on freeing Loki from his prison and bringing on the
end of the world attacks and sinks your longboat, killing you and
all your towns warriors. Talk about having a bad day. Odin, being
the sporting father of all gods that he is, and not really looking
forward to Ragnarok, where he gets chomped by a giant wolf,
resurrects you and gives you a chance to fight your way out of the
underworld and stop Loki's plot. Now, where did you put your
axe?
Using a modified version of the Unreal Tournament engine, Rune
is a slicing, dicing, hacking, slashing and don't forget pounding
and squashing, 3rd person action game. Unlike a lot of 3rd person
games, where the camera floats around mindlessly, messing up
the perspective at every given opportunity, Rune plays a lot like a
first person shooter that's been pulled back a step. You can
actually play in first person mode if you please, but you won't be
able to see how you're moving and slashing, which takes a lot out
of the game. Not counting the occasional episodes of weapon
chucking, all fighting in Rune is hand-to-hand, melee fighting with
swords, hammers, and axes. A lot has been hyped about the
combat system, with talk of combos and special timed attacks, but
basically it's a click-fest.
And when you're fighting, the game is pretty good. There are
fifteen different weapons to pick up during the game; five of each
type, with a definite trend towards bigger is better. You increase
your rune power level by finding, duh, power runes as you go
along, and each weapon has its own special rune power. Rune
powers vary from turning you invisible, to shooting fire and
lightning, and even to making you enemies fight on your side for a
short while. The enemies themselves are not terribly bright, but
they are more or less functional in a "we're coming to kill you
now" kind of way. Skeletons, who must be decapitated to be put to
their final rest, are a persistent nuisance through most of the
game. You'll also fight other Vikings like yourself, as well as
goblins and dwarves, but the total number of enemy types remains
fairly low.
Unfortunately, when you're not fighting, things get stale pretty fast.
The levels themselves are beautifully rendered and look
absolutely spectacular. It's really too bad that far too much time is
spent running around them either looking for the next ledge to
jump to, or trying to find which switch to throw so you can get on
with the killing. I don't like to complain about games being too
long, because more of a good game is always better, but with so
much down time per level, and so many levels to get through,
Rune drags on way too long. As far as sounds go, the effects are
nothing special. Goblins gibber, breaking walls make an
appropriate crashing sound, and all the slicing and dicing sounds
are present. Nothing wowing. The music, which fades in and out at
dramatic moments, is reminiscing of that from a Conan movie, and
manages a little success at setting the mood.
Multiplayer is the word on the tip of everyone's tongue these days,
but for Rune there's no redemption there. As anyone who's ever
tried for the humiliation of a melee kill in games like Unreal
Tournament or Quake 3 can attest, getting close to other players in
an online game where everyone is just a little bit out of sync is
very hard. And in Rune, there's no rocket launcher to fall back on.
Connection speed, even more than usual, counts
disproportionately towards your chances of victory rather than any
amount of skills, and unless you have a high-speed connection like
DSL or cable modem, playing Rune online can be a very
frustrating experience.
Still, Rune is an action game that has its moments. If you can get
through a slow start and endure the troubles with bothersome
levers, there is a lot of hack and slash fun to be had. The combat
system is not quite the innovation that it has been made out to be,
but it is smooth and responsive and quite fun to play with. There is
a certain visceral thrill that comes with combating your enemies
up close and personal, and Rune delivers more than its share of
limb lopping and head popping. Multiplayer is a wash, but with the
robust Unreal Tournament engine at its core, there's still the hope
of add-ons and extras from the Internet's mod community
breathing some life into this one yet. If you buy only one game this
month, this probably shouldn't be it. On the other hand, if you can't
get enough action games, download the demo and give Rune a
try. It may not be the best action bang for your buck, but it
certainly isn't the worst.
By: 
