Product ReviewsEtrom: The Astral Essence (PC, 2007) - European Version

A Decently Intriguing RPG, Despite A Few Flaws

One thing you'll definitely want to do if you hear ETROM calling your name is think of downloading the official patch. This will definitely come in helpful should you want to buy a copy of this overlooked action/RPG. Patched, ETROM feels like a PC game with console sensibilities and though it has a few issues, the open structure and freedom to tackle certain quests in almost any order can make this a bit of fun to play. Of course, if reappearing enemies, difficulty spikes and some slight camera problems make you go crazy, you'll want to think twice about this one.

The storyline puts you in the boots of an ex-soldier armed with a magic axe who finds out he's part of a mystical prophecy and needs to locate first, a seer that can tell him more about his fate and then quite a lot of creatures to dispatch in order to fulfill that prophecy. Or something like that. ETROM has a ton of text to read and I'd recommend spending time to do so. Cut scenes are generally a bit vague and often, you'll find yourself needing to read your journal just to make sense of certain plot points.

The game does a few unique things with the usual RPG mechanics. Initially, you'll need to complete the first dungeon before you can even save your game (!), something that's quite odd, but effective in its own way. You're told NOT to explore the city you start in and for the most part, this is sort of true. Running around too far from your first goal (and yes, that save point) will get you killed if you come across a pack of tough enemies that can whittle your HP down in seconds. Feel free to gain a bit of experience if you like in that sewer level by going back and forth, however.

Another twist here is you level up by killing enemies, but you don't gain the skill points to raise your states until you reach that save area. It's the only one in the game and you'll be seeing a lot of it. Also, you gain the ability to warp back to this area once you reach it, so you can zip away from tough fights in order to take a break and restock. That axe can be upgraded with numerous magic powers and you can also use a selection of firearms that range from handguns to beefed-up rocket launchers. Having skills in both weapons is totally necessary, as some enemies are shielded against either physical or ranged attacks.

Visually, the game screams more late PS2 than high-end PC and dungeon designs repeat quite a bit throughout. On the other hand, levels can be vast and packed with dangerous enemies (one thing the game has plenty of). There are too many repeated gangs of the same types of enemy, but you'll be wiping them out as soon as you see them anyway. The sounds are mostly generic and most of the music sound like someone imitating John Carpenter's 80's scores (which makes the soundtrack interesting until the looping makes you want to turn off the music entirely).

The patch fixes the game camera and adds a few tweaks while allowing a weapons shop cheat that makes the game a bit easier in the long run. I'd say avoid the cheat if you can, as the game is much more difficult and forces you to plan a bit before heading out to that next dungeon. Overall, as a single player experience, ETROM won't win any "Game of the Year" accolades, but if you're looking for a game that's a bit different in some ways and familiar in others (and have about 40-50 hours to spare), well, it's cheap and should run on your PC (if you've got XP and a decent 3D card), so go for it.Read full review...