It has been
a very long time since any game so enthralled me that I played through the night,
never even thinking to glance at a clock. Drakan is that rare experience
when you must immediately inform everyone about it in hopes that they will share
in the exhilaration. It is a game that demands you drag friends and family to
your monitor and exclaim, “Look! Look at this!” If you have a fond remembrance
of the flying sequences in Magic Carpet, if you got goose bumps when you
first saw the dragons in Cryo’s Dragon Lore series, then this is the game
for you. Yet all is not eye candy. A plot and subplots flourish. There are weapons
to brandish and puzzles to solve. Before we get too carried away, though, let
me advise that Drakan is not so much an adventure game as it is a game
for adventurers. If you have ever been slightly attracted to games like Tomb
Raider or Outcast but hesitate to enter these new realms because of
the, at times, ludicrous physical maneuvers that must be performed, then let the
call of Drakan envelop your sensibilities. It is the perfect game to lead
the dubious adventure gamer with wavering hand into the action/adventure fold.

Drakan
begins innocently enough with our heroine, Rynn, and her younger brother, Delon,
strolling through a picturesque Norman Rockwell forest engaged in an animated
conversation. It is quite clear that Delon reveres his older sister, and this
respect and admiration between siblings will soon fuel the plot as orc-like beasts
are invading the countryside cutting a bloody swath of death and destruction.
Rynn is beaten into submission, and Delon is taken prisoner. Before his death,
Atimar, the village priest, informs Rynn about the Order of the Flame, a society
of elite warriors who were soul-bound to the ancient dragons. Rynn must now find
the hidden lair of the dragons and then waken and soul-bond with a reluctant Arokh.
If you are not already hooked on this game by the time you find your scaly friend,
then you will be the first time you mount Arokh’s back and take to the skies.
And what a ride it is! Never have I seen graphics more breathtaking; colorful,
lush environments that are as aesthetically appealing as anything your imagination
might conjure. The scenery invites you to swoop through snow-capped mountain tops
and skim the glistening ripples of shimmering water. It is guaranteed that whenever
you enter a new environment (or level) you will feel a strong need to explore
the area fully from Arokh’s point of view until unexpectedly an opposing dragon
swoops from the clouds and fries you to a crisp–a subtle reminder that there
is a world to be saved and a game to be played. There is always a feeling of disappointment
whenever Rynn enters a dungeon or cavern on her own, not that the graphics are
not as delicious, but the illusion of actually flying on a dragon’s back is actually
that intoxicating.

The
majority of Drakan’s puzzles are of the find-a-key, pull-a-lever garden variety.
They are nicely balanced, though, with some varied environmental puzzles and a
few side quests that mostly consist of “bring me item A and I will give you
item B” problematics. There is some limited narrative interaction with the
few NPCs you will encounter, but nothing that is so in-depth as to make any of
these characters memorable outside of the game’s atmosphere. In fact, in what
must be a first in the industry, action gamers on the newsgroups and the official
Drakan website (http://www.drakan.com) have actually been clamoring for more character
interaction and more adventure-style puzzles. While some games are more action-oriented,
and that is all you expect from them, Drakan does such an excellent job of drawing
you into its world that you expect more realism on all levels and are disappointed
by any perceived lack of quality that draws you away from the immersive atmosphere.

Combat
is never the nuisance it could have been thanks to a subtle engine that allows
leniency both for players like me who rely more on brute force and the more skilled
player who enjoys using special combo moves. Rynn has at her disposal the usual
itinerary of medieval/fantasy weapons–scimitar, greatsword, battle axe and rune
sword–and enough armor and health potions to progress smoothly through the levels.
Your weapons will take damage. A blinking icon alerts you to your weapons’ limited
endurance and provides you with the opportunity to switch weapons before their
power diminishes. I will admit I used a “god” code so I could concentrate
more on playing the game without fear of dying and rebooting every 15 minutes.
For an impatient and easily frustrated adventure gamer like myself, this was fine
and did not detract from my enjoyment of the game one iota. The area in which
the combat really shines though are the aerial battles. Air-to-air dragon combat
is frustrating at first, but once you have the lay of the keyboard down you will
find yourself circle-strafing and breathing flame at your opponents with the greatest
of ease. In fact, I think the biggest thrill I had in the game was spotting a
group of monsters attempting to flee through a hidden valley passage and quickly
and effortlessly sweeping over their surprised heads while launching a steady
stream of flame.

Rynn has already suffered a few slings and arrows from
the media during the inevitable comparisons to Lara Croft. Yes, Rynn is beautiful.
Yes, she does have a nice figure. I personally do not see what the problem is,
other than jealousy, with some of the complainers. She is not ludicrously top-heavy
like Lara, nor does she wear skimpy clothing. You will not find Rynn swinging
from chandeliers or doing back flips across a cavern. She is supposed to be a
young lady in her late teens or early twenties and is built appropriately. She
is an armor-wearing tomboy who is skilled in wielding a weapon. Action is always
viewed from a third-person viewpoint, so we do have the dubious honor of staring
at Rynn’s butt for most of the game. Surreal, though, has done an admirable job
in creating a character that is not only attractive to purchasers but believable
in her appearance. The only time I was disappointed in Rynn’s character was upon
hearing her utterances during the initial awakening of Arokh. What could have
and should have been a memorable moment in gaming history was instead diluted
by an almost valley-girl inflection in Rynn’s voice. Arokh’s voice, though, is
deep and gentle, as belies his massive character. It is a friendly, protective
voice. There were more than a few times that Rynn would be poised patiently, waiting
for me to decide what to course to take next–flight or further investigation.
Unbeknownst to me, an orc would have slunk behind me preparing to perform a gutting
when I would hear Arokh’s voice intone, “Watch behind you, Rynn,” upon
which he would blast a quick flame over Rynn’s head and the orc was suddenly a
crispy critter. Amazing.

So in a world populated with Tolkien-esque creatures–wartoks,
orcs, succubuses, scavenger hordes–3D sound from waterfalls, crickets, thunder
and other natural elements; the most beautiful graphics ever presented in any
game; and an improbable teaming of woman and dragon that make the two seem inseparable–what
is there not to like about this game? Honestly–not much. There is some occasional
minor clipping and camera angle problems. More character interaction and adventure-style,
inventory-based puzzles would be most welcome. An ending that provided some sort
of resolution rather than just setting gamers up for the inevitable sequel should
have been a must. I really hope that Surreal resists the urge to make a quick
buck by creating multi-player and action-oriented add-ons that do nothing to further
the story, but instead work on providing some more depth to the characters and
bringing to life the world of Drakan. To accomplish these seemingly simple
goals would make Drakan a genre-busting series for the history books; to
succumb to the easy dollar will make us look back in a few years and say, “Remember
that game, it was fun for a short time.”

Final grade for Drakan–A.

System Requirements: Pentium 166

32 MB RAM
4X CD-ROM
3D Accelerator with 4 MB
Mouse
Sound board

Windows 95/98