Realms of Arkania: Shadows Over Riva PC

Shadows over Riva is the third part of the Realms of Arkania series, based on the popular paper RPG Das Schwartze Auge. This is a complex role-playing game in which the player's team explores the world, performs quests, collects better and better equipment and liquidates monsters.

The proper fun this time refers to the eponymous seaside town of Riva. Inhabitants of these regions cannot experience peace because they are constantly harassed by hordes of orcs. The player's first task is to stop these attacks, but the fun soon takes on epic proportions, forcing the player to explore the world further and participate actively in events that are important for the security of the whole country.

The game starts with the creation of your own team, which can consist of up to six characters. A great variety of professions has been taken care of here, as a result of which it is possible to decide on warriors, hunters or magicians. Each character is described by a number of important coefficients. These parameters illustrate both the strengths and weaknesses of each hero. As the game progresses, the team members not only become stronger, but also acquire new skills. For a knight these are, among other things, more effective martial arts. A mage, on the other hand, can gain access to more powerful spells.

The game takes place in a three-dimensional environment where you can move around to your heart's content. For the vast majority of the game time the events are observed from the perspective of the first person. The only exception are battles that are played in isometric projection, and in addition in turn-based system. Team members then move around the hexes, trying to defeat the monsters on the board. In addition to fights, great emphasis was also placed on exploration of the environment and the need to talk to independent figures.

Shadows over Riva is the first game from the Realms of Arkania series, which was decided to release only on CD. It is also a major improvement that exploration from an FPP perspective is carried out smoothly and not in leaps and bounds. A significant part of the screen is still occupied by option icons and team images.

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Last updated on 21 March 2008