Azurik: Rise of Perathia

Azurik: Rise of Perathia Description

With an emphasis on true 'Next Generation' game standard, Azurik: Rise of Perathia classes itself as 'Multi-Genre' - combining elements of epic adventure, fast console-style gameplay and intriguing, story-based RPG gameplay - quite an achievement. Without breaking too much from the norm, as far as typical role-players are concerned, the story involves a young man with a mysterious past on a heroic adventure, an ancient apocalyptic prophecy and a planet spiralling towards the edge of oblivion. A slightly greater dilemma than that of your average Joe Public, but nothing that our blue-skinned, spikey-haired protagonist can't handle. Perathia, the ill-fated planet in question, is built up of over 4,000 virtual acres, alive with enemies, creatures and puzzles. To save the inhabitants from extinction, our hero Azurik must locate the elemental disc fragments which have been scattered across the realms of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Central to the combat dynamic is Azurik's weapon, the Axiom. Passed down to him by the Lore Master, Eldwyn, this large, double-bladed halberd is able to draw on the power of the Elemental Realms to create a variety of damaging effects. If Azurik is a suggestion of things to come, then the XBox's future could be a little brighter than is currently being suggested. On the graphical front, the machine certainly seems to be living up to Microsoft's original hype - the worlds are fabricated with impressive polygon counts, detailed textures and faithful lighting effects, and the characters (especially the enemies) feature highly realistic detail and animation. This is certainly a game that hints at the direction in which the latest generation of games should be heading.