Neverend - Review @ GamersInfo

Dhruin

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GamersInfo has an unconventional review of Mayhem's Neverend. It's a bit hard to work out the value of the article but Neverend gets little coverage, so it's worth a look if you are interested in this title. The author seems very impressed with the story but hasn't finished the game - or even worked it all out:
I'm going to pause here in telling the story to talk about one portion of gameplay, that being spells. I have no CLUE how to use spells in this game. At least, not yet. The game doesn't really have a tutorial, just a book manual, and from having read the manual I still can't tell how I'm supposed to use spells. You see, there are these scrolls. And they say that they have a certain number of uses. And I can put them in my spellbook. And there are runs that somehow get combined to do something. But, well, that's about as much as I've been able to figure out. I have yet to successfully cast or use a spell, which seems like it would be rather important to be able to do given that Agavaen is a magician. It was because I was trying to figure out how magic worked that I went looking for a walkthrough. Didn't find anything, unfortunately. However, I can say with confidence that this hasn't stopped me from both playing and enjoying the game. I just have to use the best weapon I can find, and rest after combat, that's all. At least, at the level I've reached it works.
More information.
 
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Average review of this game is 4.8/10:

"Visuals straight out of a late-'90s golf game; unbalanced monster encounters; dated, ineffective turn-based combat engine; ludicrous dialogue and voice acting."
 
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@zakhal

Quoting Gamespot is pretty lame. Maybe you are in the wrong board.

90s visuals = stunning, detailed 2D background
unbalanced monster encounters = no level scaling
ineffective combat = turn based combat
ludicrous dialogue and voice acting = witty dialogue and full voice overs with an excellent protagonist

Not to mention the good story, the interesting setting, the nonlinear gameplay and the full VIDEO TUTORIAL that explains everything there is to know about the game, including spell-making.

Neverend is certainly not a perfect game and it comes out of the box with some game breaking bugs. Nevertheless I would rate it higher than, say, Oblivion.
 
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Intresting is the video tutorial ingame, seperate disk or a download off the main site?
It would be pretty cool if it was off the main site, since this would allow people to see how the game works and there by bring in some new customers.

Iirc this is a budget/indie title and it does sound kind of Gothic like in the sense of, don't go too far off the path till your stronger or you will get eaten.
 
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The video tutorial is in a seperate directory in the game's DVD and you'll have to use a media player to watch it. There is also an option to enable a mini-tutorial ingame.

It is certainly Gothic-like in the sense that venturing too far into the wilderness or even choosing the wrong dialogue options and failing to complete certain quests results in certain death. On the other hand you always have the option to run away from a particular fight and you can recruit temporary companions through questing to help you out.
 
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@zakhal
Quoting Gamespot is pretty lame. Maybe you are in the wrong board.
"Wrong board"? Why are you so touchy about this perticular game? Turd is a turd. Just look around. Internet is full of bad rep about this game.

If you dont like gamespot (?) then perhaps gamezone:

"Playing Neverend, all I really wanted was for the game to not live up to its name and die a quick, merciful death. From the miserable graphics to the flat yet somehow wildly unbalanced combat, there are a host of flaws in Neverend that drag down the parts of it that are at least average (the sound, for instance). The net result is a game that is boring, difficult (due to poor design) and repetitive. Sorry, adventurers-- you'll want to look elsewhere for your epic fantasy fix."

Or Gaming Nexus:

"The only other change of pace granted Agavaen comes from fighting an endless and game-stopping series of crash-to-desktop bugs. Coming from a game that's grasping at straws, that's the final straw."

There are 12 reviews alltogether all saying the same:

GameZone ** 4.8 / 10 Oct 19, 2006
Game Chronicles ** 3.5 / 10 Nov 27, 2006
Gaming Nexus ** 2 / 10 Nov 23, 2006
Next Level Gaming ** 74 / 100 Nov 8, 2006
Game Boomers ** 70 / 100 Oct 30, 2006
GameShark ** F Oct 25, 2006
Ace Gamez ** 7 / 10 Oct 2, 2006
Computer Games RO ** 56 / 100 Jul 29, 2006
JustPressPlay 5.6 / 10 Oct 23, 2006
PC Gamer ** 32 / 100 Dec 25, 2006
PC Zone UK 48 / 100 Mar 27, 2006
Gamespot 3.3 / 10 Oct 13, 2006
Neverend is certainly not a perfect game and it comes out of the box with some game breaking bugs. Nevertheless I would rate it higher than, say, Oblivion.

"Hate of oblivion is strong in this one."
 
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personally if it wasn't for the bugs i would say this game is better than gods:lands of infinity which many here like including myself. the turn based combat i thought was better. it at least attempted to have voiced dialogue, which although i thought the main character was charming and done-well the rest were comical at best. the game has personality and is certainly not a turd unless for some crazy reason the person playing it is expecting a big-budget game. but it is basically an adventure game with turn-based combat--think zanzarah. if you liked that game you should probably like this slighty more 'adult' game. i'm still waiting to find a cheap u.s. copy as the uk import i bought last year off ebay was an illegal copy and thus couldn't be patched. i thought the video tutorials were a good idea as many in-game tuturiols are either intrusive to the story or simpy idiotic.
 
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@zakhal

Maybe instead of repeating other people's opinions you would like to share yours with us.

If you have one that is.
 
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@zakhal

Maybe instead of repeating other people's opinions you would like to share yours with us.

If you have one that is.

Life is too short for spending time on every C-class buggy cRPG that gets released. So thats why som people choose to pick their games with open eyes instead of using blindfolders.

If you want good turn based cRPGs with 90s graphics try the 90s cRPGs. Thers many there including PC and console ones that are much better than Neverend could ever be. And they dont even have bugs.
 
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i'd say its more 'eye opening' to look to the future and give questionable things a try than it is to hold fast to or return to 'sure things' of the past. but i only speak for myself.
 
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Vitriol aside, I've not plunked down the cash for Neverend yet ... seems a bit of a tough call - I like paying small devs to at least *try* to do something ... but at the same time I'm trying to make better purchase choices. I'm still in holding pattern on this ...
 
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i'd say its more 'eye opening' to look to the future and give questionable things a try than it is to hold fast to or return to 'sure things' of the past. but i only speak for myself.

Actually its quite the opposite. Discovering all the superb rpgs on consoles that I had never heard off was quite an eye opener for me. Final fantasy / chrono series for instance has been voted the best rpgs of all times. I always skipped rpgs like that because "they were console rpgs". But now after actually trying them myself Im discovering this huge cache of great rpgs that I have never heard of. Its a treasure chest really.
 
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Actually its quite the opposite. Discovering all the superb rpgs on consoles that I had never heard off was quite an eye opener for me. Final fantasy / chrono series for instance has been voted the best rpgs of all times. I always skipped rpgs like that because "they were console rpgs". But now after actually trying them myself Im discovering this huge cache of great rpgs that I have never heard of. Its a treasure chest really.

That is what I've been doing through handhelds - I've played Final Fantasy I - IV ... haven't gotten V yet, but VI is out next week and might give that a go, as I've heard really good things. But they are of a specific style that doesn't suite many fans of cRPGs, whereas things like Neverend are closer to our tradition.
 
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Well I try to keep an open mind as well, often finding fun in smaller indie games that many people didn't like due to bugs or beta conditions, personally I find changing or counterbalancing problems and bugs can often lead to a fun experience.

I do see a patch for Neverend, also the reason the graphics are 2D and lower quality is due to small indie developer, not because it was their first choice, afai can tell. :)

I guess I need to be careful about purchasing it, if illegal copys are being sold and thanks for the heads up, curious. :)
 
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The fact that the backgrounds are 2D has nothing to do with their quality. In reality they are superior to 3D environments in every way, except for the fact that they are 2D. Also performance friendly. Remember Myst?
 
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