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DEMIGOD
Platform: PC
72

Demigod Review

Demigod is a whole new take on the RTS and RPG genre

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Demigod has seen a rather dynamic development cycle. The game, an action strategy at heart, does not have any kind of a single player story or campaign. Instead, it is very similar to the popular WarCraft 3 mod, Defence of the Ancients (DOTA). For this same reason, it has drawn a lot of comparison to it, and thankfully for Stardock, Demigod stands on it’s own next to the very popular mod. Due to a lack of a campaign, most of the time was spent balancing the various demigods (6 in total) to ensure each has their own strengths and weaknesses. Needless to say, the game is indeed very balanced. It has that certain “tug of war” quality to it, with well-matched games lasting way past 2 or 3 hours. So, if you are looking for a game that’s all about matching your skills against AI or human opponents, without a need to bother with storylines, save games, or cutscenes, then Demigod is probably worth a look.

The term "demigod", meaning "half-god", is used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human. The game has some strong roots in mythology as far as the initial setup goes. Apart from that, however, the game is set in its own unique world. As I mentioned, there is no storyline whatsoever here, just the choices to play a quick match or a tournament (series of matches). At the beginning of each game, you get to choose your own Demigod to play as, for the duration of the match. This is where I am somewhat disappointed, because the game lacks any kind of a tutorial at all. There is a lot of information provided about each Demigod, including what their strengths and weaknesses are, but you really have no way of figuring out which style you like best without spending a few hours in Single player against easy opponents. All the skills and items in the game are well-described and tell you exactly what they do, but it does take time to read through and then choose what and when to use. This takes time, and the game is pretty ruthless not being able to pause while you want to select your next skill upgrade or item purchase. Once you’ve selected your character then, you are off to the battlefield.

The game allows for various team play, most commonly 3 on 3 or 4 on 4. Each player gets to control 1 Demigod of their choosing, and there can be more than one of the same type per team. The basic gameplay consists of a few standard modes such as annihilation, destroying a certain number of enemy demigods, and holding flags for a certain amount of time. At any point of the game, the player is only in control of their Demigod, however this isn’t the battle of the Titans. Each team gets a set of portals, from which various small minions emerge and take a dedicated, static path towards the enemy base. These minions, if left unaided by Demigods, will fight to the end with the other team’s minions, who follow a path opposite of theirs, into your base. These will often end in deadlock, especially during the early going. While they may seem insignificant, as the game goes on and teams gain portals sometimes located mid-map, it can certainly swing the battle in either direction. A big difference maker for your minions are upgrades, which can be purchased though your Citadel (home base) with gold. These upgrades are like an evolution tree, each stage granting your minions better armor, more health, higher attack power, new unit types, etc. It is definitely a worthy investment. Gold is acquired by either holding a flag next to a gold production machine, or by killing/assisting in killing enemy Demigods. The gold can also be spent to purchase various items, such as amulets that increase your health, or simply health and Mana potions. There are also weapon and armour upgrades you can apply to your Demigod, further adding to the RPG elements.

Of course, you are also able to level up your own Demigod, though not with Gold. Instead, the game uses an experience system, which makes it very RPG-like. You earn XP by killing baddies, taking flags, etc. This experience lets you level up, and with each level you are able to unlock new abilities for yourself similar to those of your minions, such as attack and defence powers, but of course on a much larger scale. XP is not everything though – you can’t continuously upgrade your powers if all you do is capture flags and avoid the enemy. There is a “War Rank” system, which is like another barrier that prevents you from upgrade your character without a certain Rank, even if you have the XP points needed. It’s a somewhat odd game design choice, seeing as how it takes away from the freedom of strategy for teams working together on assigned roles. You can then use your abilities at will, but then you must wait for the “cool down” timer to expire before you can use the skill again, and ensure you have sufficient Mana. As in most RPGs, the Mana is more important to ranged, spell-based Demigods rather than the brute force ones. Though, the melee-specialized Demigods are still in possession of some very useful Mana-based skills. When you die, depending on game settings, you are resurrected within 5 to 10 seconds and can re-join the battle, starting at your Citadel.

There are a handful of well-designed, interesting and balanced maps to play on, each with their own set of paths to take and flags to control, with bonuses nicely sprinkled throughout. Most of the maps are mirrored, to ensure fairness for both sides and provide some dead-locked battles. It’s a shame that there are under 15 maps available, and most of them re-use the same formula over and over with some changes thrown in. Balanced, yes, but some technical variety would have been nice. The backgrounds look great, with some almost breathtaking views if zoomed out far enough. The Demigods are also well-designed and original in nature, whereas the minions are the same regardless of the map you play, so they get a bit repetitive after a while.

The graphics of Demigod are quite scalable, as expected from Stardock and pc-exclusive titles. The game will max out on even lower-end machines with little frame rate loss. The bigger issue, as you may have heard, is the online play. But at the time of this writing, I am glad to say that most of the issues have been fixed, so if you were waiting on a patch – it has arrived (though not officially, but the difference is very noticeable if you play online). The sound is fair, nothing memorable, but it adds to the atmosphere and keeps the suspenseful and engaging mood. There is no voice acting here, except for Demigod introductions (some expected over-the-top lines) and the game announcer (who sounds a bit too much like he should be in a Quake or Unreal Tournament game).

Demigod is not your typical type of strategy nor RPG, and some players may find the lack of control for your minions frustrating. There will also be those looking for the next “DOTA” fix, but they will likely find something to nitpick about this game and return to their beloved mod after a while. Still, there is definitely an audience for this game and with it’s high production values and excellent balancing, Demigod is bound to find its loyal fan base sooner rather than later. Technical issues aside, Demigod is an interesting blend of the strategy genres, and should be tried.

Our ratings for Demigod on PC out of 100 (Ratings FAQ)
Presentation
68
There isn't any kind of story and little in way of cutscenes or presentation. The game UI looks neat and organized with easy navigation.
Gameplay
77
An interesting retail attempt at the popular WC3 mod, the game is very well balanced and good matches can result in a tug-of-war for hours. It's quite fun, but can become boring for those who aren't used to the gameplay style.
Single Player
70
Nothing more than a practice for the multiplayer component. You can play a Tournament mode which will take you through most of the maps and enemy opponents.
Multiplayer
55
Severely broken at launch, and it's been a couple weeks but the issues still remain in place. At least the developers let us know they are working on it.
Performance
(Show PC Specs)
CPU: Intel Core i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80GHz
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X 1GB
RAM: 6GB DDR3
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
PC Specs

82
You can zoom in and out impressively far, without much framerate loss. Level backgrounds are cool and imaginative, and all demigods are well designed. Very visually and technically polished game (except multiplayer).
Overall
72
Definitely try it if you are bored with the classic style of RPG and RTS games, or you are a fan of DOtA and want a fresh take on the classic forumula.
Comments
Demigod
Demigod box art Platform:
PC
Our Review of Demigod
72%
Good
The Verdict:
Game Ranking
Demigod is ranked #1031 out of 1953 total reviewed games. It is ranked #53 out of 63 games reviewed in 2009.
1030. Resident Evil 5
PC
1031. Demigod
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