Rise of the Argonauts E3 Previews
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With the favor points Jason gains in battle he'll be able to upgrade his magic skills, each of which correspond to one of four gods. In this demo we saw a vortex spell that sucks opponents through to another dimension and a magma skin ability which provides a defense boost for Jason and injures any opponents that attack. Acquiring these magic abilities can be done on the Argo or at shrines located around the game world.
New weapons are also acquired as Jason moves along, all with their own unique appearances and effects. Some spears, for instance, can puncture enemy shields, which some maces have special damage abilities. These are all displayed in a special room of your ship, set up something like a trophy room so you can admire your collection. Armor is another factor to consider, as Jason will acquire several suits, some of which can be upgraded with special attachments that provide better defense or other effects. Your loadout needs to be selected before you head out, though, as you can't swap equipment in the field.
Followed by an excerpt from 1UP:
Rise of the Argonauts already looks sharp, despite the need for a couple more coats of polish (and better cut-scene transitions), but what really grabs us at this point is the attention to detail, both in terms of concept and execution.
A large part of that concept is making everything in the game meaningful -- which entails a number of things. You'll only be asked to choose an answer from a dialogue selector at key points in a conversation, and each of the four available responses is tied to a specific god that watches over Jason. If you select the "aggressive" type of response, then you'll gain favor with Ares, god of war, and work toward leveling up in that respect. Special abilities are available from each god, allowing you to determine the path of your character by the deity you choose to follow most closely. Performing specific tasks along the way called "deeds" (such as killing a certain amount of enemies) will also allow access to goods from the gods. Another thing we like: Instead of having a zillion similar weapons and sets of armor with numeric modifiers, Argonauts will make each upgrade a tangible, noteworthy event tied to the narrative. Some may lament the lack of sheer variety, but we're cool with not seeing weapons continually pop out of fallen foes.
And, finally, an excerpt from Evil Avatar:
At first glance the game appears to be a sort of God of War style action game with over the top violence and big crazy weapons. But underneath its seemingly simple exterior is a deep game that not only allows for branching paths and choices, but also boasts a conversation system similar to Mass Effect on the 360/PC. Your conversational choices all align to one of the gods, and these gods are present throughout the game represented both in symbols and colors (ie Aries is Red). So as you complete tasks that pertain to a certain god, your favor will rise with that god. In fact, you can even proclaim special deeds to the gods to increase your favor, and therefore your special powers from them.
The other defining feature of the game is an incredibly detailed collision system between weapons and body parts, and the developers took extra time to carefully model the reactions of both the player and the enemies to it.
