Bound By Flame - Preview @ RPGamer

RPGamer has posted a new preview of the ARPG Bound By Flame.

Spiders' efforts so far have followed a real-time, action-based format for combat, with a few stragetic elements, and Bound by Flame continues the tradition. The system is relatively straightforward and unlikely to involve too much in terms of innovation, but has suited previous games well and should do the same here. The game provides different options for players to build, customise, and play their character, which should help a lot with keeping players engaged. Players have three skill trees to invest in, one that focuses on more out-and-out combat, one that focuses more on subterfuge and stealth, and finally one that focuses on harnessing the fire magic abilities granted by the flame demon's possession. Bound by Flame looks set to have a pretty decent number of unique-looking enemies, and the game should provide plenty of variation not just in how they look, but in their behaviour and the tactics needed to bring them down.

The crafting system in Mars: War Logs seems to be a basic precursor to the system used in Bound by Flame, which while not being amongst the most substantial or deep out there, provided some interesting customisation as well as adding another interesting facet to the game. Bound by Flame's system looks to be more substantial in the number of options and crafting items available. Rather than just providing new weapons, armours, items, etc., the system allows players to attach additions and enhancements to their equipment, such as hand guards for swords, or spaulders for breastplates. All the various additions to equipment will be immediately visible on the player in-game, which is a nice touch.

The team is well aware that it won't be able to compete on quite the same technical level the likely beast (and shamelessly lazy comparison option) that will be The Witcher 3. So rather than going for the logistical nightmare that is trying to keep tabs on an open world, Vertiel and the story is divided into hub-based chapters. It is worth noting that Spiders' previous game, Mars: War Logs, suffered from a bit of a disaster with it's initial French to English localisation, going so far as to warrant a complete retranslation and redub (which worked well), but this shouldn't really temper expectations as it looks far more likely to be a case of lesson learned than a potential issue for Bound by Flame.