RUNE
Developer: Human Head Studios
Publisher: Gathering of Developers (G.o.D.)
Game Type: Third Person Hack-'em-up
Similar To: Heretic 2, Messiah

Date: 11/18/2000
By: Rice

    After writing so many game reviews, one gets a general idea of how the review is going to shape up while one's still in the middle of the game. For example, if it's really awesome, I'd be collecting adjectives to praise it, or if it's really crummy, I'd be doing the same, except to bash it. The hardest games to review are the ones that leave you sort of hanging in between. You see, Rune is the perfect example of a game that will leave you speechless when you first play it, but yet leave you grasping for more substance once it's over. Let me explain:

    Human Head Studios is a relatively new development team founded by a few guys that defected from the venerable Raven Software. Rune is their first major title released (they also collaborated w/ Ritual on the Blair Witch adventure series). Their idea? A Norse mythology driven storyline with a Viking warrior as its protagonist. If you stop and think about it, no other game in recent history has touched upon that topic! Thus a derivative from the tiresome FPS genre is born: Third Person Hack-'em-up.

These zombies won't die as long as their head's intact.

    You play Ragnar, son of Jarl, in Rune. Since the Vikings' heyday was somewhere in the 12th or 13th century, there ain't no such things as rocket launchers or 9mm Glocks. Your arsenal of weapons are purely melee, ranging from a pitiful short sword to the fearsome Dwarven Battle Axe. If you feel skeptical at how fun it can be, believe me, you won't miss the projectiles one bit. Bringing a Dwarven Battle Hammer down on an enemy in Rune is one of the most satisfying feelings I've ever experienced in a game. Call me sadistic, but I bet you'll be hooked too.

    There is, however, one aspect of this game that single handedly pushes it into my mind as one of the most memorable: graphics. Yeah, yeah, I know I say that graphics don't make a game, but damn, let's just say these screenshots do a serious injustice to it. Using the Unreal Tournament engine as its base, Rune has made the most beautiful game I have played to date. It's no mean feat to beat FAKK 2 and its Quake 3 engine (the previous, short lived holder of the title), but Rune absolutely puts it to shame.

Two on one? Bring it on, Dwarfies!

    After being dropped into the intro level, I spent literally just 10 minutes wandering around the village, staring at the sky, jumping around on rooftops, and swimming in the moat. The next level, following a lengthy cutscene, nearly dislocated my jaw. Imagine a sparkling underground cavern complete with a waterfall, exotic plants, and natural light emitted from embedded crystals. The lake in which you emerged from is shimmering. Droooool... Of course, it helps that I'm running it at 1024x768 resolution. I don't recommend playing at any less, lest it robs you of this experience.

    As a third person based game, the natural problem of camera placement is often raised. What happens whe we get our character to back up against a wall? Let's face it, every one of us who has played Tomb Raider or something that fits in the 3rd person genre has suffered the clipping syndrome. That's when the camera view swings into the wall, and the result are garbled images. I'm happy to say that Rune has perhaps solved that problem for all time. The camera is completely adjustable, allowing you even to play in 1st person mode if you choose. Plus, it'll automatically adjust whenever it swings into the wall. Throughout the entire game, I suffered absolutely no clipping.

Notice the pretty reflected ground surface.

    I must also shower accolades on the modelers and animators of Rune. Attention to details is what really brought Ragnar to life. Every motion he goes through looks crazy smooth. Whether it's jumping, swimming, strafing, or attacking, it all looks incredibly realistic. With swords, he'll slice left and right, while with the hammer, he'll raise it high above his head and bring it down hard. When he eats a lizard, he'll pick it off the wall, devour with one chomp, and toss the bones over his shoulder. All the sound effects that accompany these motions are likewise excellent.

    The levels themselves is a double edged sword. For one, because it benefits from such a great graphical foundation, you get a massive dose of eyecandy. Ranging from the aforementioned underground caverns to Viking strongholds to blizzard-rampaged plains to Dwarven smithies, and even to Hel (not a typo. Hell is spelled Hel in old Norse) itself, you'll constantly be left in wonderment at how well Human Head Studios has brought the fantastic world of Nordic myth into life.

Gonna behead this snow beast with my Viking axe.

    The downer is a pretty big one. The levels themselves are gorgeous, yes, but overall they're unmemorable. I remember roughly traversing through mountain passes and massive Dwarven strongholds, but I can't recall anything about them. I have a few hypothesis for the reason for that shortcoming. One, Rune is the longest mofo game I've played this year. I actually began playing two weeks ago, and steadily since then. Only yesterday did I finally complete it.

    Now, I don't have anything against long games, but I do have something against repetitive long games. Really, there is nothing else to do in Rune except find a switch, gawk at the scenary, slaughter a horde of enemies, find an exit, hack up some more enemies, and gawk at some more scenary. One can only do so much gawking and slashing before clamoring for some variation. 25+ hours of all that and you see how it can become pretty tiresome.

It takes arms of a gorilla to raise a hammer of that size that high...

    The storyline was another aspect in which I was disappointed in. Although Rune tries really hard to draw you into it, I found myself playing more for the discovery of new weapons and levels rather than the advancement of the story. It's basically a re-hash of the hackneyed save-the-world plot with a Nordic twist; you know, the never ending battle between the Allfather Odin and the Evil God Loki before it all culminates into the Viking armageddon known as Ragnarak.

    It's all presented to you with dramatic voice acting and in-engine cutscene renders. Extremely well done, but I really couldn't bring myself to get sucked in the story. And I tried really hard, too. Perhaps it's because the character you play, Ragnar, never speaks a single word throughout the entire game. I obediently take orders from Odin periodically, and evesdrop on enemy conversation, but I never utter anything. A lack of ability to identify with the protagonist is probably the main reason the storyline, while well presented, didn't tip the engrossing scale.

Gulp!... "Virgin Mary, full of grace..."

    On a brighter note, Rune multiplayer is awesome fun. Guns and projectile weaponary can get pretty boring as we all know. I can't count the number of times we'd have gauntlet-only battles in Quake 3 LAN parties. With this game, it's purely melee, hand to hand combat. You can, however, throw your sword/axe/hammer. A good strategy is to throw the weak short sword, hopefully making contact, then pulling out a big hammer or battle axe and chop away at your opponent. Fun, fun, fun...

    Rune succeeds in every possible aspect technologically. The graphics are flat out the best I've ever seen. The modeling and animation are life-like convincing. Human Head's attention to details are impeccable (i.e. bushes will rustle if you run through them, and draw bridges will shake if you jump up and down). Everything would have been perfect if only they added more creativity and into their single player aspect.

'Tis a snowy evening. The warmth of the cabin beckons.

    Sigh... it could've potentially been the best game yet this year. Regardless, Rune is still very worthy of your attention, and I do recommend it for any gamers that enjoy action titles.

Final Grade: B+
-- A technological marvel. Multiplayer can be fun as hell too. Single player can get tiresome.

The Scale is as follows:
A+: Cream of the crop. Revolutionary in every way. Game of the year.
A: Very top notch. I had a great experience. Must make my top 10 list to qualify as an A.
A-: Not too shabby. Entertaining and overall good. 90% of the population will enjoy it.
B+ to B-: Still above average. Recommend for people that enjoy the particular genre.
C+ to C-: Average stuff... weak recommendation on my part. Make your own decision.
D+ and below: Crap. Don't go for it, unless it's for a special occasion or something.