Heretic Kingdoms: the Inquisition - PC

The idea behind this game is great. That, however, was the only thing about the game that I liked. Early battles take a lot out of you and resting when you need to is not an option. (I've seen references to a cheat code that allows you to rest, but the instructions to enable it are not clear.)Maybe if healing was an option I would like this game. As it is, it's a waste.

The concept behind this game is a novel one: you are a government enforcer for a state that has abolished religion a la Soviet Russia (had it existed in an alternate fantasy world). Unlike most CRPGs, you cannot choose between a variety of characters; this is not necessarily a bad thing, seeing as how Planescape: Torment---quite possibly the greatest CRPG of all time---sported the same "this-is-your-character-whether-you-like-it-or-not" philosophy. Unlike that classic game, however---which abolished character choice for reasons integral to the game---it seems arbitrary here. But that's the least of its problems.Perhaps if you're a Diablo fan (of which I most certainly am not), you will find something of value here. But there's way too much dungeon-hacking and way too little plot/character development to hold my interest. This is unfortunate, because Heretic Kingdoms could have been a most artistic and philosophical addition to the CRPG genre, but instead opts for non-stop pointless fighting and, worse yet, sports one of the worst "healing" systems since....since I can remember.Once again, if you were a fan of Diablo, you may very well find this game perfect for your collection. But if you value intelligence in a CRPG, look somewhere else. Like Planescape: Torment, for example.Planescape: Torment

Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition is one of many games that I - along with most gamers and reviewers - overlooked when it was released. Playing it in 2011, the game is clearly dated in terms of look and feel, yet this does not detract from my enjoyment of it at all. At a time when it seems that anything marketed as an RPG requires micromanagement of resources and dealing with buggy group AI, playing a single-character game with a limited number of relevant stats and skills is actually a breath of fresh air. There were some negative comments about how short Heretic Kingdoms is, but so many modern games struggle to keep a player occupied for more than a few hours, so between the main quest, side quests and random exploration, I found it to be quite satisfying. On the other hand, I didn't spend more than a couple hours at a time playing, as many of the battles tend to get pretty repetitive.Character customization is limited, there is very little spoken content, and the game employs illustrated (not animated or "live") cut scenes that seem a bit simplistic by current standards. However, there are so many types of armor, weapons and abilities (mainly in the form of item-based attunements) that the game actually has a great deal of depth if you spend a little time getting accustomed to it. The Dreamworld environment, unique healing system and a couple of opportunities to buy a house kept it from being too run-of-the-mill. Other than a map bug that was fixed with a patch, I didn't run into any problems, but that's not to say that the game is flawless. Minor annoyances concerning inventory management and targeting, and the click-fest combat later in the game, made some of the dungeon-based quests a chore to get through. Furthermore, while there certainly are some situations where choices early in the game can affect NPCs' disposition toward you later on, this is not going have the same impact found in games where faction or reputation have a major bearing on your progress. While there are different endings available depending on choices made along the way, I didn't find there to be much motivation to play through a second time.If you're like me and enjoy the old-school approach to RPGs, but don't want to spend half the time second-guessing decisions about stats (Baldur's Gate) or spending most of a too-short game (Fable) rehashing things you've already done, Heretic Kingdoms finds a good middle ground. For me, it is one of many games that I can play casually in between sessions of MMORPGs, with minimal investment of time and money.

Tired of seeing the same game mechanics trotted out over and over again? This might be the action RPG you're looking for. With many innovations, and a dynamite story this is a great game for fans of the RPG genre.If, however, you need your graphics to be cutting edge; if you wouldn't play an old game on an emulator because you can't give up your million poly budgets or you generally only play the "hit" games - this game is definitely not for you.I like to believe there are lots of RPG fans out there who would play another Ultima or Baldur's Gate or Diablo or whatever even if it didn't have greatly revised graphics - provided the game was fun to play and/or the story kept you interested. I'm not saying this is a bad looking game - seriously, compare the screenshots to the games I mentioned above and you can be in no doubt this is the best looking isometric RPG ever made. Trouble is, of course, most people aren't making isometric games any more, so to many people it will look dated.If its gameplay you're looking for, I reckon Heretic Kingdoms has it in spades. It *does* take a while before you really appreciate it - as you have to unlock about a dozen or more (of the more than a hundred attunements) before you really appreciate the system. In this respect, it's a slow burner and the demo really doesn't do it justice.I mentioned innovations. How many people, like me, are tired of most RPG games coming down to how well you can stockpile healing potions, or spotting that you need to use a healing potion... I'm certainly bored of this. HK does away with this old chestnut of a mechanic and instead gives you healing items that you can use infinitely. However, they don't heal you perfectly... For that, you need to make it back to town and rest up. The result is that you sort of explore the world in expeditions - heading out and trying to last as long as you can before you're forced to return and heal up to full. It's a very different feel to most RPGs and really quite refreshing.The Attunement system is also really satisfying. It allows you to completely customise your character as you go - as you can swap in (and swap out) any of the Attunements that you unlock. The downside is that there isn't much of a system to getting them (each item has an Attunement which you can unlock) so it lacks a sense of directed progress - but the plus side is that you can set up some really dynamic character configurations. By changing my Attunements I was able to make my character absolutely fatal to the opposition in some areas (and some apparently useless Attunements have secret uses that are very satisfying to discover!). There are also some great combinations of Attunements - combining one that reflects attacks onto the foes with one that has a chance of instant death gave me my best "tank" configuration, which caused mages to drop dead of their own spells!The character mechanics are very simple, which I didn't mind, but might disappoint people who like tenty different attributes to play with. The Attunements are the meat of the game mechanics, and allow you to create the character class you want (and change it if you don't like it).The story, though, is what really drives the game forward. This game starts where most epic fantasy games end - an evil dictator has been overthrown and freedom has been won. But without the control of the Theocracy, civil order starts to break down. Political instability is rife, and into this chaos steps the Inquisition with its dogmatic plan to erradicate religion forever.I really enjoyed following the story of the central character, and near the end I actually wasn't sure who I was going to side with. The game lets you do what you want with many of the quests - you can make your own moral choices, and the game doesn't punish you for what you choose. (Not to mention that some of the choices are also very funny!) That aspect of the story alone was highly satisfying. The fact that at the end of the game you can decide more or less the fate of the world is also a real plus for me. This is not the case of the ending having been decided for you and you just have to beat a certain boss. You'll know the characters you have the option to fight by the end of the game, and if you're like me, you'll know where your loyalties lie when you face the choice.(It really doesn't hurt that the cut scenes are voiced by Tom Baker, who I could listen to reading a takeaway menu and still be enraptured....)So, by now you should really know if this game is for you or not. If you played Divine Divinity and thought "wow, there's some interesting RPGs coming out of Europe" then you owe it to yourself to check out this game, especially at its low price point. If you need the cutting edge graphics to enjoy the game, this isn't going to be for you, but if you'd like to see a fresh new take on the old chestnut action RPG, Heretic Kingdoms is absolutely worth both your time and your money.