Exploring Elveon

We cover the length and breadth of Naon, and submit to you our findings

Elveon is a title that gamers have kind of ignored, for whatever reason, maybe because it’s not Gears of War, or Mass Effect, or Lost Planet, however, having seen the game in action behind closed doors at E3, we can tell you here and now that Elveon could very well be something quite special when it hits next year.

We’ve pooled our resources here at QJ to come up with every scrap of info we have on the game in order to present this glimpse into 10tacle Studios Epic Elvish action RPG.

Read the full article right after the jump!

We cover the length and breadth of Naon, and submit to you our findings

Elveon is a title that gamers have kind of ignored, for whatever reason, maybe because it’s not Gears of War, or Mass Effect, or Lost Planet, however, having seen the game in action behind closed doors at E3, we can tell you here and now that Elveon could very well be something quite special when it hits next year.

We’ve pooled our resources here at QJ to come up with every scrap of info we have on the game in order to present this glimpse into 10tacle Studios Epic Elvish action RPG.

A Brief History of Naon:

Elveon has a massively complex and intricate back story that provides the framework upon which the game rests, crafting this opus, which included the creation of a unique Elvish language and script, took the better part of four years, what follows is an attempt to touch on some of the more important historical occurrences in the world of Naon.

The realm of Naon was brought into existence by the Nimas, powerful Gods who fashioned the land as a Utopian paradise in which they and those who would serve them would live in tranquility. Their servants were of many shapes and of many forms, but chief amongst them were the Elves, a race known as the Neamas. Together, the Elves and the Gods worked hand in hand and forged the eternal city of Nimathar, a powerful testament to their harmonious relationship. Nimathar surrounded the Starspear, a mighty tower that lifted high into the heavens, it was the High Seat of the Divine Council, and source of the God’s power.

For a time there was peace, but peace rarely lasts. Soon war erupted within the walls of the Nimathar, and the Gods and Elves blamed each other for the carnage and bloodshed that ensued. It wasn’t long before the Nimas left the land, but their powers linger on and a great number of their servants patiently await their return. As for the Neamas, their common bonds of brotherhood now broken, they soon splintered into rival groups, with differing cultures and traditions sprouting and flourishing. No longer seeing eye to eye, these differing groups now existed as enemies.

Many years have passed since these dark events, generations of Neamas have lived and died, and the tales of a kinship long since lost amongst the elvish cultures, and stories of the Elves friendship with the Nimas have since become the stuff of ancient myth. There are those however who still cling to these myths, those who believe that the salvation of the elves lies in the recovery of the age old powers laid down by the Gods.

What’s In A Name?:

The word “Elveon” means “Book of Elves” in the Elvish tongue of Naon.

Creatures and Beasts:

Below is a small sampling of images of some of the races, creatures and beasts that populate Naon.

The Game

Who Am I?:

You are the an elite Elvish warrior from a mystical covenant of warrior-monks, it is your destiny to embark upon an impossible task, you must fulfill an ancient prophecy originally intended for a God. It is your destiny to free the ancient city of Nimathar, the portal of the Gods.

Elveon is a story driven game, and as such your character will be pre-defined. That said you are given the ability to customise your character in various areas of expertise.

Combat:

Though Elveon is classified as an Action-RPG, don’t expect it to fit suarely into that category, you won’t be mindlessly mashing away at the attack button to cut through hordes of enemies here. From what we saw of the E3 demonstration, combat is much more tactical and methodical. That’s not to say it’s slow, far from it, once it gets going things happen remarkably fast, but there is much more emphasis placed on each individual battle in Elveon.

In God of War, Kratos could power through a horde of enemies with relative ease, our hero in Elveon approaches each battle with much a much greater sense of deliberation and focus, every battle is a boss-fight, and could potentially be your last.

Quantities usually ignored in games such as battle stance, weapon choice, (there are over one hundred from four different classes) player race and even the manner in which your opponent moves play a significant role in combat and should be able to clue you in on the level of expertise your opponent might posses.

You are give the opportunity to focus on one of four different weapons classes, training and mastering them completely, or you may if you wish concentrate on becoming an all rounder in all four classes, it’s up to you to choose that which best fits your play style.

Each class has it’s own unique advantages and disadvantages, so consider this carefully as it affects combat more realistically than any other game I’ve seen before. Spears are slower, but they have much greater reach and do a good amount of damage. Going up against a combatant armed with a spear while using only daggers might be suicide unless you’ve mastered their use.

Not quite the Elven types you’re used to.

You’ll have to parry, block, sidestep and wait for the right moment to get in quick and do some major damage, but once you’re in there, your attacks are extremely quick. The developers have created a system whereby weapon hits are judged individually as they fall, rather than having pre-defined hit and block animations, the game computes the strength of an attack, and the weight of the weapon behind it, so that a spear for example might easily be able to break through a defensive block formed by a pair of daggers, leaving your opponent wide open for a killing blow.

The team at 10tacle Studios actually employed a number of martial artists proficient in various real world styles to develop new combat techniques to be studied, motion captured and blended to create a brand new Elvish fighting style. The combination of amazing motion capture, fantastic graphics, and a truly tactical combat system led to some of the most natural and realistic looking fight scenes I’ve ever seen in a videogame (not to mention tense).

Don’t believe me? Check out this trailer from August of last year that gives you an idea of what to expect from combat. Please NOTE: This trailer was created before the team had licensed the Unreal Engine 3.0, the game looks much better than this now.

Exploration:

Though there are some levels that will lead you through the game, the developers are encouraging players to explore the huge dynamic world of Naon to unlock its mysteries and secrets. Powered by the Unreal Engine 3, the world is brought to life with eye-popping clarity and a degree of visual fidelty that draws from the titles rich literary background. From breathtaking architecture, to detailed rubble and ruins, and to the hand-crafted Elvish armor, every facet of Naon is rendered with care and precision.

PC Port, The Means Botched Controls Right?:

Wrong, the developers took time to let us know that everything from camera setups, to control, to interface and even gameplay will be tuned and targeted to specific platforms. Though no details were given, we did learn that focus on gameplay content for the 360 goes beyond just techonology, and into the game substance itself.

What to expect

Expect big things from Elveon when it’s finally released for the Xbox 360 next year, though only a tiny portion of the game was on display behind closed doors at E3 2006, that little section showed the kind of graphical flair and gameplay polish that only games like Gears of War and Mass Effect could come close to at the show. You can bet we’ll be following one with a keen eye.

Download – [Elveon Realtime E3 Teaser Trailer] – 18MB – .zip format.