Saturday 30 November 2013

Path of Exile - an old gaming experience for the new age

There were two games on my PS2 that I loved to play; 'Baldur's Gate II: Dark Alliance' and 'Champions of Norrath'. Baldur's gate was a favourite of mine and I would play it over and over to max out my character.

They weren't really computer RPGs by any stretch of the imagination and it's only with the coming of MMO's such as 'Lord of the Rings Online' that we're any closer to true computer roleplaying games. I've always enjoyed the simple hack n' slash games, which were more about character abilities/gear management than anything else, and I've always been on the lookout for something similar. I regret parting with my PS2 because I do miss those old games (as well as all my original Grand Theft Auto games, of course).

I've recently been introduced to the game 'Path of Exile', and it plays in pretty much the same way as my old PS2 games. It's very simple, the mouse-dominated controls are intuitive and easy to grasp, and the layout and gameplay are a cross between Baldur's gate and Diablo. 

From the website:

'Path of Exile is an online Action RPG set in the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. We're a small independent team of hardcore gamers based in New Zealand and have created Path of Exile as the game that we'd want to play ourselves. It is designed around a strong barter-based online item economy, deep character customisation, competitive PvP and ladder races. The game is completely free and will never be "pay to win".'


Up to yet I've had a good time with it and the option for online co-operative play looks attractive. I'll be having a blast with that with friends soon so I'll let you know how I get on.

It's totally free, quick to download, easy to play and looks great. Even though the designers have gone down the 'dark gritty realistic fantasy' design path (which isn't a favourite version of mine as I think 'dark' is simply done to make the world feel different and has no bearing on the way the game is approached or played), I'm not sure you could ask for more in a game.

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