Rise of the Argonauts Reviews
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The other really unforgivable fault to me, are the in-engine cut scenes and dialog segments. Watching the 3D models do these ultra simple and ultra repetitive idle animations that are metronomic in their precision is enough to hypnotize you. Maybe that was the intent, to hypnotize the player into thinking these incessant conversations between your character Jason and just about every mythical reference they could fit in were somehow compelling. The writing is really not that bad, and the story is great and truly compelling (who wouldn't be savagely determined to reach their goal if there was a chance of bringing their beloved back from the dead?). But somehow it seems wasted.Destructoid 3/10 (poor).
The fundamentals are all in place and at several points, the average player who knows what to expect will find a lot to like in RotA. However, even beyond the bugs, a few terrible design choices keep the unrestricted fun at bay. Argonauts attempts to strip any form of HUD from the screen. While this is certainly an "in" thing to do at the moment, it makes RotA unbearable at times. You can go into the options and select a health meter (handy, because otherwise the game gives no clear clue as to how much damage you're taking until you're almost finished) but the one thing it doesn't let you select is anything that gives you a clue as to where the Hell you are.1UP goes with a "D".
But even that doesn't offset my biggest complaints. You'd think that -- for a game where most of the "action" takes place in conversations -- the developers would take special care in making the characters interesting to the degree that you actually care about what happens to them throughout the journey. But upon interacting with most of the game's main characters, it's clear that they all fall into archetypal roles that we've seen countless times over in other games and in completely different genres. The brute with the heart of gold, the egotistical and skilled fighter, and the tough warrior-princess -- they're all here, and they're just as predictable as you might expect. Granted, since Argonauts is based off the myth of the Golden Fleece, it's logical to assume that the writers didn't want to get too crazy...but given the considerable liberties taken with the mythology throughout the game, they don't have much of an excuse for making the characters this cookie-cutter. On top of that, the conversational fetch quests (where you're constantly forced to run back and forth) and dialogue trees do little to make any of them interesting.GamePro 3/5.
Other role-playing conventions find their way into the game, although with less aplomb. Traveling in search of the Golden Fleece means conversing with locals of the various domains you visit. The gods play a role in the rudimentary dialogue trees as well: Aries responses are naturally hot-headed while Hermes responses are witty. Sadly, your choices don't hold much consequence. Conversations are boring to begin with thanks to dull writing and knowing your choices rarely matter only encourages you to flip through through as quickly as possible.
