Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader Review
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Unfortunately, the numerous skills options are mostly just wasted - all the fighting required immediately precludes a focus on thievery (though sneaking does give experience, up to 75% of the worth of a kill), and playing a mage character is almost impossible. Namely, while there are some hard battles requiring a maximally optimized character build, mages must also wait for their mana to regenerate, and the tedium involved will dissuade all but the most determined. Slain enemies leave behind health and mana spirits, which does help with the pacing, but mages will run out too fast regardless. In the end, a character focused on melee, with enough knowledge in magic to heal himself, is the only realistic option. Collecting loot, a mainstay of most hack and slash titles, could have been better implemented in Lionheart. Since there isn't a huge number of available equipment, nor a plethora of magic modifiers (a la Diablo), you will probably get all you need fairly soon. The rest of the game will be characterized by minor advances ("My goodness, a +18 lock picking bonus instead of a +16 one!") and hauling loot back to (the few) vendors. You might want to hang on to some resistance-boosting items though, as there's a whole nine damage types - the other way of dealing with damage is through appropriate perks. It is possible for enemy attacks to actually heal you (once resistance rises over 100), and you can also increase the damage you do with a given attack type (which is the only possible way to play a mage - focusing on fire boosting perks and items can more than double your fire damage output).
Graphics are again most easily described as similar to Diablo, if maybe crisper in general. The fixed resolution will limit your view range (making ranged characters is a bad idea), but sprites age much better than any 3D engine, so you will likely have no problems adjusting. Most named characters have superb voice acting, though sound effects in general are lacking - the fighting grunts and sword clashes are tiring, while the music is missing through most of the game (though it is also excellent).
Lionheart is a flawed game, for the most part. It is unsure of its focus, and because of that it fails both as a hack and slash title, and a more traditional RPG. However, the unique setting and compelling design of Barcelona make at least the first several hours worthy of play.
