Crimson Alliance Previews and Gameplay Footage

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on June 9th, 2011

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Enemy positioning made the fights more tactical than you might normally find in the genre. Your treacherous foes are positioned around corners and hide behind pillars, which are perfect places to knock you down if you're unprepared. Their deliberate positioning gives you time to breathe behind fights and figure out the best way to dispose of those foul beasts. For instance, you could flank them from the side, freezing them with the wizard's winter-themed spell. Then, you could have your hulking buddy rush in to finish them off. Or you could go the environmental route. Toss a flaming barrel into their midst and watch them scream and burn. The different ways you can approach combat makes Crimson Alliance flexible and unpredictable.

With our hands-on time, editor Kimberley Wallace and I took control of two of the game's three classes - the mercenary and the wizard, while the third class, the Assassin, was not playable. What we got was akin to a faster-paced version of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance or Torchlight. While we didn't delve deep into the RPG elements - the statistical system was not yet in place, there will be multiple specs for each class and encounters that are tailored for specific combinations of classes. The game supports up to four simultaneous players online and is focused on shorter play sessions. Certain Affinity says that the game's not meant to be a replacement for World of Warcraft players, but something that's great fun for a group of friends on a Friday night.

Crimson Alliance encapsulates those things RPG players enjoy: dimly lit dungeons seething with fantasy monsters, magic abilities, experience building, foreboding enemy bosses, and tons of loot. Mark reiterated that Crimson Alliance leans more to the action gameplay side than the traditional RPG (or many other action-RPGs themselves). And that was more than evident in the extent that Certain Affinity has undertaken to keep players in the action. Hot keys and equipment slots popup on a side of the screen. You won't be buried in stat screens. There is little wordy dialogue, with a few moments that briefly cutaway. The scripted moments sometimes lead up to a frantic boss battle. If your party get slaughtered, hopefully you have a teammate to revive you. If not, there are checkpoints strewn throughout levels were players can continue. Continuous chained kills are also encouraged, with multiplier bonuses and killtacular rewards typically only found in FPS games.

Mark and I played through the level, encountering little resistance. He mentioned that we were a little over-powered for the demo, which makes sense, due to time constraints. While we played Mark pointed out explosive barrels that could be picked up and thrown at enemies. The Mercenary brutishly hefted the barrels, while the Wizard magically levitated them. I'm curious to see how the assassin will handle the environmental pick-ups. I managed to obliterate a number of enemies while we had a large score multiplier, and was rewarded with the instant gratification of "Double Kill, Triple Kill," etc. appearing on screen. The entire game has an arcade vibe. Occasionally we happened upon consumable items like throwing knives. Mark informed me that special weapons like these are the only items not shared in the game.

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