Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone

Written by Chris Reiter  on December 21, 2004

Review: Three Things You Need Not Forget When Vacationing: 1. Lock the house. 2. Lock the garage. 3. Lock the realms. Otherwise, heroes could just prevail wherever they feel like. Stupid heroes, thinkin' they could just...

Tweet

Comments

Each character has their own special power. Based around combat and puzzle progression, these attributes serve as keys for specific riddles. Rannek's property revolves around smashing through objects or walls by slamming his fist to the ground. Whenever a large chunk of wood or rubble blocks the way forward, pressing R2 as Rannek (which is also used with the other characters) empower him with a flowing, glowing light energy that can tear up any destructible objects along the path. Zhai utilizes a jump technique. Certain areas require that Zhai hop along a set path only she can cross (going up ascending blocks or hurdling over flames) in order to press a switch that can't be accessed any other way. Illius, lastly, charges up an energy ball that allows him to shatter magically sealed pathways. There'll be distinct points in the game where each of these skills and others will sever the tides that try to collide against these heroes. One such type of arrangement centers on Zhai engaging in sneak attacks. Dark patches placed in a number of areas around the game's levels disguise Zhai with limited cloaking. Waiting and watching for enemies to turn the other way lets Zhai sneak up, jump up, and stab or slice foes from the back in a one-hit-kill process. If Zhai is unable to make successful sneak attacks (she'll soon return to normal when not standing in dark spots), enemy forces will begin to uproot in overwhelming numbers.

Another, better type of example for interesting combat elements though relates to the coolest moment in the game -- the defense of an Elven castle. While in this exercise you're not in control of Illius, you are however embodying the only playable character outside your regular team. Named Drizzt, he wields dual blades that are both fast and deadly. What's so great about this particular mission though, is that you've got a lot to kill and a lot to protect all at once (all with an intriguing design). First, the troll enemies you must defeat in this mission can't be taken out with a normal weapon attack. You must first run up to flaming pots, light your blade weapon on fire, and slice and dice a series of seemingly endless trolls dead. It's the only way to defeat each individual one. Along with inhabiting Drizzt, Rannek and Zhai and dwarf helpers aid you in guarding different sections of the fort -- from the gears that hold the gate together to defending the gate itself. All the while you're dashing back and forth between igniting blades ablaze, to pinning down trolls, to demolishing a catapult, and finally eliminating the troll boss. It's a fast-paced stage that forces you to put some thought into how you exact your attacks in the time you're given.

Other stages have you slitting through spider webs and spider patrols, to repelling wave after wave of demonic forces. One part that comes to mind is where you must figure out how to cripple four warlocks that magically safeguard a door, and then penetrate through a secondary barrier of ice. While the shield is down in what little time you have before the warlocks reappear, you'll need to smash that ice before you have to restart the process all over again. There's even a time when you'll come face to face with a dragon, after using Illius to sufficiently target its wings from the middle of tangle with demons. Afterward, it's off to dodging its bombardment of fire spitting and avoiding becoming its chew toy, as well as bashing its head in with your sword. But let me just point out that while all this is going on, and you have yourself controlling one character and whoever else is left in your team in the computer's hands, one of the biggest problems with the game is that the computer is only smart enough to handle itself in battle and itself alone. The computer, for example, isn't even smart enough to know how to toss its projectiles into puzzle elements. That warlock door I was talking about before -- you have to bring down each warlock, especially with the weakest melee combatant Illius, and especially when the computer hardly can take care of an excess of invading enemies that will surround and pummel you often. Where Demon Stone sends in droves of snake men, trolls, orcs, and other nasties, you're doing most of the work in keeping everyone alive and everything together, including yourself.

That brings up another interesting aspect of the game. It's called the Hero Meter, and it's affected by the deaths you pile up. Located in the bottom left corner, this gauge features the image of the selected hero you are currently in control of (as well as each individual's life gauge and amount of throwing daggers or axes they hold). Giving blows to tons of enemies causes a white bar to appear and increase the more successful combo attacks you make (I'll get to that in a bit). But when your character is injured, the meter depletes. So, you obviously want to try and block incoming attacks. Because, once the meter is full, this is when you're able to unleash a specific knockout move like Rannek's fiery blast that hurls all enemies around Rannek right off their feet. This maneuver can help unclog the screen when it gets a bit too cluttered with enemy stink. What's more is that if all three characters' meters are full, you'll notice a glowing aura around the Hero Meter that tells you when you can activate a most devastating attack where all three characters combine their "hero power" into one massive surge of energy (good for you, bad for them). Now, about those combos. Every time one of the game's missions is passed by, you're brought to a status screen. Here you can upgrade both your character's skills and items set. Gained from experience and gold pieces collected in each level (which are hidden inside breakable barrels), you can spend the points you've gotten toward gaining new properties in two different venues. Let's say you wanted better armor, a more effective weapon, or a ring that gradually regenerates life; and these are just a small portion of the many item upgrades you can grab. On the other end, there are skill upgrades as well, that relinquish numerous combos your characters can initiate in battle from that point on. Consisting of things like spells for Illius (such as party healing), fiery sword attacks for Rannek, improved jumping attacks for Zhai, and bunches of others, there are multiple character upgrades to buy and use. The only problem is, not only are these combos a bit hard to remember (with there being so many, there are ample three button presses to memorize), it's that you don't actually need to acquire these upgrades in order to get through the game. For the most part, while you will find moments where it's better to side with Illius or Zhai, it's always best to stick with the wrecking ball of the crew, Rannek. His strength and his easy-to-master triple X and triple threat sword advances have a greater edge over Illius and Zhai's weaker moves.