"I shall send your rotting carcass to the depths of Hades......"

Codemasters have been developing for a good while now and are widely known for their success with the Colin McRae series of games, so the arrival of the action/RPG "Rise of the Argonauts" comes as a bit of a surprise. Codemasters have never really been one to develop lack lustre gaming experiences, so expectations for Jason and his Argonauts are quite high.

Graphics and Presentation

Most reviews I write skip the opening screen and delve right into the good stuff like the gameplay and game world itself but "Rise of the Argonauts" opens with such a pretty front-end screen, I just have to mention it. The game opens displaying a beautiful vista of a cloud filled sky and with each option selected the prospective of this vista changes with a smooth panning camera, definitely a nice opening.

Moving on to the games' environments which are huge. For the most part they look quite good, dare I say, even verging on beautiful. So there's definitely a lot to see in this one, although these same environments can feel a little sparse at times.

Players will be exploring everything from Boiling molten caverns to mist swept beach heads in this action RPG adventure and although the game is far from the most terrible game I've played, it does have a few joy sucking and immersion destroying glitches, such as texture pop in, incomplete animations with combat moves occasionally missing their mark.

Combat can get a little frantic and choppy at times especially when the games frame rate drops,although that said, combat is still fun for the most part. While slaughtering the oncoming hordes your character becomes splattered and stained with crimson which adds quite nicely to effect. However, once combat ends those smearings vanish instantly. Overall the "Rise of the Argonauts" is actually quite gruesome. Enemies will lose limbs, be sliced in two, suffer decapitations and impalement all at your hand. One scene early in the game sees you tapping square as the main protagonist Jason, batters his wifes' murderer with a mace, leaving the screen dripping with crimson.

One thing I personally didn't like about this game is the fact that during combat you work hard to defeat your foes in spectacular fashion and as you stand proud towering above their slain carcasses, gazing upon your artistry, their bodies vanish with no warning at all. I mean I can put up with bodies dissipating with a dissolving or smoke effect, but just to vanish with no warning is in my opinion, terrible. This does not destroy the game, but for me is a negative aspect.

Sound

Voice and Music Work are to a decent standard throughout the duration of the game. Considering most of the game worlds conversations are voiced the game does a good job of not being to 'alike'. On occasion however, some NPC voices can be a little off. A point of mention for the music lovers among us, is the fact that "Tyler Bates" produces the games musical score.


Gameplay

Rise of the Argonauts is a Standard Action RPG. Combat is handled rather well throughout, and once immersed in the game, can be enjoyable. Combat consists of mainly blocking and attacking. Blocking enemy attacks will reduce damage from enemy strikes and can provide ample opportunity to retaliate with an attack of your own. Enemy shield will degrade and wither with each strike from your weapon and can be completely destroyed once enough damage is inflicted. Basic attacks are preformed with square and heavy attacks preformed with triangle, R2 is a special attack modifier and when pressed in conjunction with the attack buttons, perform special attacks. Players can also perform a roll to avoid enemy attacks by pressing circle. Weapons range from Swords and Shields to Spears and Maces.

When not in combat, players will have to make a host of dialogue choices and these are a big part of gameplay in Rise of the Argonauts. As you play through the adventure you'll be given various opportunities to converse with the game worlds NPC's. Some of these choices have little effect on your character and just effect the world around you. Frequently you'll be given choices aligned to a specific Gods and by choosing one you'll gain favour with that specific God and later be able to trade that favour for aspects and God Powers.

God Powers and aspects can be acquired and upgrades through both dialogue choices and dedicating deeds to the Gods. There are four Gods from which these skills can be attained,  Ares, Athena, Apollo and Hermes. Each has a different move set and the choice is left completely up to you, the player. Another way to gain Aspects and God Powers is by dedicating deeds. The majority of tasks you complete are written in the stars "literally", by pressing start you'll be able to select the stars option to see all the tasks you have completed thus far.

One thing that irked me during gameplay, was the lack of an on screen map. To access a map the player has to press 'start' and then select the map option to get bearings. This, initially, starts out as a niggle but soon becomes a trusting spear in the side of your cranium. With so many games using this simple option on screen, it's a wonder why codemasters didn't do the same.

Closing Comments

"Rise of the Argonauts" is not a bad game, but at the same time it's not the greatest game either. On occassion it verges on being beautiful and has some very nice ideas, but the sometimes frantic and choppy gameplay coupled with dodgy animations and texture pop-in let it down. There's definitely fun to be had with this action/RPG as long as you can see past the games flaws. For those looking for a life changing and epic action/RPG "Rise of the Argonauts" will unlikely be it. If,on the other hand, you're after a decent RPG to fill the gap between now and "Final Fantasy 13" then "Rise of the Argonauts" could be just what your after.


3.5/5

Simon Currie