User Reviews (1 - 8 of 8)

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A surprisingly good game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 20
Date: December 07, 2007
Author: Amazon User

When I saw "ID Software" as the game launched, my opinion of this splurge purchase went up. I knew it was an old-style dungeon romp, which could have been good or bad, but ID usually has good level designs.

It's turn-based, but simple to click through 5 turns in a second. The level designs are great so far. Many varied monsters, and interesting bosses and missions. Good sound effects. Excellent writing. All in all, an absorbing game so far.

A really good game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: January 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This review is actually from my son, who is almost twelve:
It's a great fantasy RPG with a very good story line and quite a bit of comedy. It's filled with monsters and magic and evil plots. You get to interact with lots of people, for example bargaining with a dragon and drinking with dwarves. It's a unique experience for me, unlike most other RPG's I've played. There is a three-dimensional setting and although the monsters are two-dimensional, the graphics are excellent. The work they put into the small things, such as the way dwarves talk and the graphic details of weapons is impressive to me. Instead of just a different color as you change blades, the flaming sword, for instance, actually has moving flames around it. I also found it interesting that you see the game from a first-person vantage point, and on the bottom screen you actually see your belt and feet (instead of just a menu). I recommend this game to fantasy lovers and role players!

amusing enough if you can get it cheap

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: December 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is really obviously a cell phone game. The visuals are poor even for a GBA title, much less a DS one. That said, if you can get it for $20 it's interesting enough to play through to the end and what else were you gonna do with that $20?

Replay value is about nil.

Good RPG-Lite-Lite Dungeon Crawl with good writing.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This review is for the Nintendo DS version of Orcs & Elves - designed by iD Software and published by EA. I give the entire package a 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

Fun Factor: 3.5 of 5 Stars. Very simple, but enjoyable and well written.

Replay Value: Low. Play 3 Difficulty levels, but nothing of substance changes.

Overall: 3.5 of 5 Stars. Great Manual. Fun game. Okay price.

Don't believe the marketing hype. Understand this is an RPG-Lite-Lite (redundant on purpose). If you want a fun hack-n-slash dungeon game you can pick up and play a few minutes or hours at a time, this is perfect. The Pros outweigh the Cons, but if you require slick graphics and deep gameplay, pass on Orcs & Elves. I don't mind poor graphics if the game is fun. And I can overlook marketing spin if what is actually delivered is still solid. Others may not be so forgiving.

* PROS *
+ FUN - IF you like "old school" hack-n-slash dungeon-crawler games. This isn't a "modern" RPG with a spike-haired, bad-boy anti-hero character. It is single player game and the "character" you play has a name, an arm to hold weapons and that's about it.

+ Well written.

+ Decent sound/music. Basic, but effective.

+ Decent monster variety. Some interesting monster weaknesses/strengths to figure out and a couple of big battles were well balanced challenges.

+ Pretty good level design that mixed up tasks enough to keep things interesting throughout the game.

+ Very good manual! Something of a rarity for games lately!

+ End-of-game Rank. This is a decent addition if you're the type to replay a game to get a better time/score.

* CONS *
- Very short game - on "Normal" difficulty it took 7 hours to complete and that was with a LOT of backtracking to search for hidden rooms to get "100% completion" of levels. On "Nightmare" it was around 10, due to longer fights and more enemies. They call the levels "Massive." I'll just say I disagree.

- I take to task the marketing hype: (1) the "AI" is extremely basic - monsters can't even open a door! (2) "Puzzles" = a few spots where you have to move a couple things or flip switches. (3) calling it part "Tactical RPG" is pushing it. Attack with a handful of weapon types. Drink some potions. Repeat. Only a few battles require strategy. (4) "Over 35 enemies." This is slightly misleading. There are about 15 basic types. They vary some in strengths and body colors to fill out the "35" number. Still, I thought what they had was pretty good. Pro and a Con.

- Graphics are poor. This is Cell phone game ported to the DS - and EA published it. That means there was no meaningful effort to upgrade the product for the superior platform. (Of course they added touch screen ability - that's mandatory on the DS). People who NEED good graphics on their DS will dismiss this game quickly.

- Not much replay value, even on highest skill level. I also thought the way the designers added "challenge" to the Nightmare level was a lazy design gimick that wasn't fair (I won't spoil it for you, but I'll say the next game needs a targeting system for the "Nightmare" difficulty gimick to be fair).

This is way better on the DS!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 28, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I first downloaded this game and played it on my cell phone a few months ago (after playing Doom RPG which is an awesome cell phone game as well). I recently purchased this game for the Nintendo DS and I have to say that it is like a whole new game now!
I can now view my map the whole time I'm playing (via the dual screen feature) and the graphics are a nice improvement over the cell phone version of this game. I hate turn-based games usually, but this is so fast and fun, it isn't like the typical turn-based RPG's. This game is a must have game if you want an RPG that is presented in the first-person view. There is a lot of stuff to kill and collect. The writing is well done and clever. I hope they bring Orcs and Elves II to the DS too. I'd pick that up for sure!!!

The Perfect Distraction

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: June 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I'm writing this review in hopes of convincing the game makers to put out another one. The game is a straightforward dungeon crawl with little thinking involved... absolutely PERFECT!!! There is the occasional bit of humor, and just enough of a story, to keep the game from being dull... but not so much that you get bogged down in the details. Instead, during those few minutes of the day you have some free time, out comes the DS and you can simply romp through various dungeons killing all sorts of creepies as you go along. Doesn't matter where you stopped before, or exactly what you are trying to do at the moment, only make sure to get the next of those monters and explore all of the map. Please, whoever you are, keep 'em coming...

Elves are cool??!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I got to the third section of this and stopped, because the only thing I figured I was supposed to do was to go back thru the 3rd section and get it at 100% to be able to go further. It is fun to see all the monsters and be able to go thru the mazes and find hidden items! I haven't seen myself (my character) yet, but would like to see what I look like.

O & E a disappointment in depth.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 04, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am somewhat new to the console game genre. I am not however new to the idea of a dungeon romp. This game had the potential to be a decent product, but it was cut short after what could be considered a demo. It took 10 hours of gameplay to complete every mission and level. I took my time and went back a couple of times to extend it to 10 hours.

There is a natural progression of ability and all of the standard pieces that one would expect from this sort of game. It is just missing the rest of the depth that this game could have developed. I have never sold a game before, but this one is not worth going back to.

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