I have to admit, I thought I had never heard of Archangel before, but whilst playing the game, something in the back of my reminded me of some troubles Fishtank Interactive had, after which they got bought by Jowood who continued to publish the title for Metropolis Software.

The storyline goes like this: you play the character of Michael Travinsky, seemingly a normal John Doe, driving home from a day at work. You’re eager to get to your girlfriend - arent’t we all ? ;-) Unfortunatly, you’re not the worlds greatest driver and neither is the truckdriver heading your way - kabooom. You find yourself waking up without any bruises or scars in an old monastary. From then on, it’s up to you to find out what and why :-) The further the plot progresses and the further you get in the game, the more you get to know about your identity. The game is an an action-RPG that takes you on an adventurous journey through three different settings - a medieval looking Old Age, a Futuristic Berlin and through a City Of Evil.

What’s innovative about Archangel is that the player can chose whether to play as a ‘ghost’ or as a ‘warrior’. Each so-called ‘path’ or mode has its advantages: being a ghost gives you stealth while being a warrior gives you greater power and weaponskills. It comes down to both paths having different abilities and different combat moves. It’s up to you what you choose – being an adventurer, I prefered the ghost-mode :-) If you’ve played the game as a warrior, feel free to post your findings.

The graphics are satisfying. Don’t expect state-of-the-art stuff. Highlights are the artwork that went into the monastary and the library - real beauties !! Unfortunatly, the main character himself isn’t that well worked out, his face and hands are a little too basic for my liking. The evil creatures you’re going to slay on the other hand are better worked out, they often blend in with their surrounding territory which gives you a serious fright once they pop out and lunge at you :-)

Sound was something the crew tended to really well. The eerie sounds almost always contributed to the scary ambiance and created a mood that … well… gives you goosebumps once in a while. The guys did a good job at that.

Another thing is the gameplay: I liked it, especially considering the fact that the game is built on their very own and quite new engine. Michaels movements are simple and smooth and the weapons handled nicely. On the other hand, the game lacked a map. Sometimes it was quite hard navigating and finding the way back. Strange that the developers didn’t think of that themselves. The weapons your character gets hold of during the game are your basic combat weapons (handgun, shotgun, crossbow,…) and one nice magic ‘Lightening Sword’. It’s powerful, but I’m afraid it gets a bit boring waiting for the magical powers of the sword to regenerate. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary.

In conclusion I would like to say that Archangel is a nice game to play if you like scare RPG games. Sometimes you’ll be amazed with the beautiful artwork. But don’t expect too much of the graphics, it’s clear that it wasn’t a priority. All in all an enjoyable game to play, not the best, with worth it if you like action RPG’s. I have great expectations of JoWoods next releases, hopefully they listen to positive criticism ;-)