Northmark: Hour of the Wolf announced
Rake In Grass cite Betrayal at Krondor as a major influence for Northmark, stating that they “wanted to draw on some of its strengths (namely the intriguing story-telling) to enhance the dynamics of our game.” Here is the premise:
The game begins with an attempt to kill the Lord of the Northmark castle. Throughout the game, you shall discover many different areas of the kingdom and get to discover their complex relationships to central Northmark.
Northmark bears some similarities to other games of the “battle-card” genre, yet it successfully manages to differentiate itself by being a full-scale RPG with a focus on a strong story. Its unique battle-card system further emphasizes the original grand vision of a thriving Northmark region. As a player, you shall adventure across the fantasy lands of Northmark with its varied locations – Vibrant cities, Deep dark woods, Deserted lost ruins and the Ancient mystic sites sacred to the Druids and Elves.
The main event here is, of course, the aforementioned card-based battle system. The developers were good enough to provide some beta footage showing off the current state of the game, where you can see the combat system in action:
Northmark is due for release this fall on Windows. Rake In Grass are currently running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for Mac and iOS ports as well; head on over if you want to pitch in.
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Dud game, frankly. My wife and I purchased it.
1) She completed it in 5 hours–so not much gameplay.
2) The thing is ridiculously easy. You’re given so much money (and even find it, free of charge) that you can buy all the cards you need to win every hand. I lost only once, in my first battle. Dozens of wins followed.
3) Side quests are no more than “Go to this spot, fight one battle, and report back for your gold.” That’s it. No meaningful choices among quests or rewards, etc. And there aren’t very many of these side quests, either.
4) The storyline is ridiculous. You know within 15 minutes who the guilty party is, but your character plays the idiot for hours.
5) The artwork is great, the fantasy environment visually very real. But then they throw in gags relating to films and books that completely blows the carefully constructed sense of unreality. Why set up such a scaffolding, if you’re going to knock it down the next second in this fashion?
Not worth the money.