Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates - Review

HiddenX

HiddenX

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Scholary Gamers reviewed Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates:

Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates Review

When I see the letters “RPG” used to describe a game, the intrigue immediately kicks in. Being my favorite genre of games, I simply cannot pass up an opportunity to play one. One such opportunity arrived recently in the form of Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates.

Empyre takes place in a Neo-Victorian New York that has become a compilation of City-States after a disastrous flooding occurred, leaving the city full of nothing but polluted water. Alleyways became canals while the rooftops became the new streets. Fresh water is brought in to the City-States via pipes, and anything that cannot be obtained in this version of New York is traded with those called “Mainlanders.” The people of New York are determined to survive and rebuild what was once the great city they called home. Mysteriously, the fresh water pipes have now stopped flowing, and the full reserve tanks are running out.

[...]

Final Score: 9/10​

Empyre provides an interesting world with captivating artwork, fantastic gameplay, and a storyline that kept me engaged the whole time.​
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This looks fascinating. Makes me thing of that water city in Fallout 4. I had fun running around in there. However what puts this game in my games-to-be-played list is the very weird game music. I wanna say 1940's cartoon music???? It makes me wanna stick my index finger in the air, jig my legs and say Hidey Ho.

get on the youtube site and check out some of the play vids.
 
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OK, the combat system is what is making me dislike this game. It's not turn-based; it's RTWP and it's some unholy alliance of X-COM, Wasteland 2 and Pillars of Eternity. Basically you have cover rules and a battlefield that looks a lot like X-COM but you're issuing commands on pause and button-mashing in real time as events play out.

I'd… I'd wait for a sale on this one, honestly. Before you buy this one watch a gameplay video of the combat would be my recommendation. I think going fully turn-based would have been a much better idea for a game like this, YMMV.

(Edit: You're button-mashing while the game is on pause as you can only issue commands while the game is paused, not really 'real time' button mashing... it's still an odd feel, to me.)
 
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There's a 2nd review of it up on Metacritic now, COGconnected gave it a 45/100:

"Unfortunately, unlike the rising water levels of this apocalyptic setting, the depth to Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gate is barely knee-deep. In a hollow world where decisions, interactions, and allegiances do not matter, I found myself counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until I could take no more. "

"There’s only one thing I can say; Empyre: Lords of the Sea Gates is not a finished product. It’s not even close. Things are hollow, broken, and un-freakin-readable. I love the premise for this game, but that’s the only affection I can have for it. So, so badly, I wanted this to be a fun experience, yet it’s anything but. In every aspect of the phrase, this game lacks the depth it needs to be called an RPG. The final rating can only reflect what’s presented, and that’s not much."
 
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