Conclusion, final thoughts and awards
So, what’s Hellgate: London got to offer over similar games? Well quite a lot actually. Much has been made of the randomly generated areas which, in days gone by, could have been an issue with repetition creeping in early on. This does happen in Hellgate: London too, but not to the extent you’d expect and it’s really only after a fair few hours of playing that things start to feel a bit, well, samey. But by then you’re so into the character progression and levelling up for that next skill that it really doesn’t matter that you’ve seen this bit of shop front before or that bit of sewer.There’s no doubting that Hellgate: London is a fine looking game and very brilliantly masks the ‘dice roll’ mechanic of the combat, giving it a rather tasty mix of third or first person action reaction times topping some proper RPG levelling and skill development. And, even though most monsters are as dumb as Jade Goody, you’ll still find enough of challenge to keep you going back in.
Click for larger imageNPC interaction is a key tool for driving any RPG along and Hellgate: London handles this well with loads of sub-quests and tasks to perform. The instanced, randomly generated levels sprouting off from each hub are, in my opinion, just a touch on the small side and really could do with being larger and more complex. Though the linearity of the levels makes it easy for the novice player to find the goal and get back to base, it can start to feel a bit like you’re going through the motions rather than playing in a living world.
Multiplayer is a bit of a mixed bag too. The free side of things is going to be enough for many people and they’ll just stick with that. I think Hellgate: London’s lack of any world to go off and explore ultimately works against it and would certainly make me think twice about forking out for the paid-for extras. There’s just not enough here to keep me in the game nay longer than the time it takes to form a party and go off on a mission… plus, you’ll have to start all over again with a new character when you do go online.
All in all, Hellgate: London is an admirable attempt at bringing the Diablo style of dungeoneering up to date and in most respects is works very well. Graphically, it’s a damn good looking game that hasn’t clichéd a modern London (albeit a destroyed modern London) and so earns itself some stars there. The character development is comprehensive and allows you to sculpt your chosen class into a specialist of your choosing though it has to be said that drops are perhaps a bit on the generous side…
Click for larger imageSo overall, Hellgate: London is a worthwhile play that, in either the single player or free multiplayer modes gives you a satisfying RPG that, especially in the SP mode, avoids the feeling that you’re just level grinding for the sake of it. The different classes allow for even the most ardent sword-slashing or spell casting RPG fans to fight alongside FPS fans playing ranged classes. The online instanced missions with a balanced party are a blast but feel less worthwhile than the SP mode where the story is a much stronger… and you can spend more time looking around rather than being told to hurry the hell up.
So, if you’re looking for something with less traipsing about than S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and the immediacy of action that was Diablo, then Hellgate: London could be for you.
Pros
A modern take on the action RPG
Looks great in most places
Easy to get into and with plenty of depth
Quick, punchy missions so you don’t lose track
Loads of the usual RPG character levelling and skills
Cons
You can’t take your SP character online
Randomly generated levels start to feel a bit ‘samey’
Linearity of missions might not suit everyone
Hellgate: London is less expansive than other action RPGs but feels tighter because of this.
HEXUS Awards
Hellgate: London - PC
