Heroes of Ruin - 3DS

Bringing Hack-And-Slash To The Handheld

Kyle Hilliard — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:16:00 GMT

Lootfests are a rarity in the handheld space. Even the ones that do make it into your palms are far removed from the likes of Baldur’s Gate, Diablo, or Torchlight. Heroes of Ruin attempts to offer that type of hack-and-slash RPG with an overhead camera, multiple classes to choose from, and lots and lots of loot to the 3DS with marginally successful results.

In a lootfest, loot is important. Despite its plentiful existence in Heroes of Ruins, it can be difficult to manage and not very rewarding to pick up. Comparing newly discovered armor to your currently equipped gear is time consuming, and once you figure out your optimal set-up, you learn that the new equipment does little to change your appearance.

Another problem with the loot is that 75 percent of it is useless. Sharing loot with friends is easy and profitable, but if you are playing by yourself you can’t do anything with the weapons and armor meant for other classes outside of selling it. By the end of the game I maxed out my wallet, which meant I couldn’t even sell anything anymore. Eventually I stopped collecting money and loot completely, only picking up recovery potions as I needed them. In a game where picking up intriguing new items dropped by enemies is one of the core elements, this is a major problem.

Combat is largely the same across the four different classes. You can choose from two melee-focused characters, a magic user, and a long-range fighter. The two melee classes don’t feel very different from one another, but the long-range Gunslinger (my personal favorite) and the magic user offer original experiences. Combat often devolves into standing next to an enemy and going back and forth between the standard attack and drinking health potions. Unlockable attacks can be mapped to the different face buttons, but your main attack will always be your strongest and most effective. During the occasional boss encounter, you are instructed to dodge and use the block button, but the controls aren’t responsive enough to let you pull off these maneuvers. It’s best to use the boring attack-potion-attack-potion combo.

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Much of your time in Heroes of Ruin takes place in the hub city of Nexus. The city founder, the sphinx Ataraxis, has fallen into a cursed coma and you must attempt to wake the creature. This involves teaming up with Nexus’ assorted royalty and sorcerers to explore the neighboring wild lands and kill monsters who are carrying lots of weapons, money, and armor. Ruin’s story is full of backstabbings and antagonists who only reveal themselves at the end of the game. The narrative is one of the more interesting elements, but the characters telling the story are entirely forgettable. Some people are good, some are bad, and some are pretending to be good, and that’s as interesting as they get.

You can solve the mystery of the Sphinx by yourself, or you can team up with up to three other adventurers via online or local multiplayer. You can leave your single-player game open to online passersby to come and go as they please. This genre is perfect for playing with a few friends, and Heroes of Ruin makes it easy to join up with people near and far. The load times for starting online games are long, but once I started, I experienced very little lag.

The long load times carry over into the single-player experience. It’s most frustrating when all you need to do is enter an area to grab one thing to complete an objective. The long load times would be less concerning if the game was taking the time to load impressive visuals, but Heroes looks a generation behind with its muddy visuals.

Heroes of Ruin is a functional lootfest, but its poor economics balancing, uninteresting weapons, and boring combat don’t do it any favors. It’s like listening to a terrible band cover your favorite song. All the musicians are holding the right instruments, but it just doesn’t quite come together.

Dungeon Crawling On The Go

Tim Turi — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:45:00 GMT

Action-RPGs reward players willing to spend countless hours grinding mobs and farming loot, but we can’t drag our game consoles and PCs around with us. Heroes of Ruin let’s players customize their characters’ skills and appearance, trudge through randomly generated dungeons, and team up with friends – all on the go. This deep 3DS title may be just the large-scale adventure the handheld’s lacking library needs. I got my hands on Heroes of Ruin last month at GDC, and what I played has me excited to be a 3DS owner all over again.

Players can choose from four classes, each sharing the goal of saving a ruined kingdom by awaking its cursed leader, a sphinx named Ataraxis. The Vindicator character is a lion knight who employs attacks with his huge sword, restorative magic, and tank-based abilities. Gunslingers are nomadic tricksters who rely on long-ranged attacks and traps. The Alchitect is a wizard that casts spells to uses items to deal damage to multiple foes or inflict status ailments. The Savage is a fierce warrior who uses brute force to crush his enemies on his never-ending hunt for glory.
I went with the Vindicator, mostly because of his majestic mane. I was plopped into a coral dungeon with crab monsters and other goons ready to taste my sword. Hacking and slashing through droves of enemies is as easy as mashing a button. I never get sick of watching enemy health bars deplete as the damage I deal ticks away above their heads. The rhythm of combat involves weaving powerful skills and healing spells into your base attacks.

Developer n-Space is doing a good job with the user interface, considering Diablo-like games usually have a whole keyboard at their disposal. Players can hot-key abilities like the charge attack or healing spell to the face buttons and touchscreen, and being able to quickly equip or sell gear without wading through menus keeps the game moving.

The addictive hook of the game became immediately apparent as soon as I cleared my first dungeon. Players gain levels, explore three different skill trees to customize their characters, accept quests in town, then return to dungeons to do it all over again. Randomly generated dungeons and a good variety of enemies also promises that revisiting a haunted crypt or dank cave will feel different the second or third time around. It may sound simple and familiar, but it’s a reliable formula that’s just as addictive on a handheld as any other system. Crafting my Vindicator to become a heavy damage-dealer and a healer was a satisfying experiment even in the character’s infancy.

I only got to team up with one other adventurer during my time with the game, but if our cooperative dungeon raid is any indication, adding more players should make the game merrier. Players can make offers on one another’s loot during at any time, which can be easily compared with existing gear. I can’t wait to team up with three other players and discover how the classes’ strengths play off one another. The Vindicator I played was on his way to becoming a capable paladin-type who could tank, heal, and deal respectable damage.

The 3DS is in dire need of more worthwhile games, and Square Enix is positioned to deliver with Heroes of Ruin. Being able to quest at home, on the go, and with friends gives gamers more opportunities to play than your average Diablo clone. I enjoyed my brief time playing as the Vindicator, and I’m excited to play around with the other classes and explore their skill trees. Keep Heroes of Ruin on your radar leading up to its June 26 release date.

Take A Tour Of Heroes Of Ruin In New Alchitect Walkthrough

Jeff Cork — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:20:00 GMT

Heroes of Ruin is bringing dungeon-crawling adventure to the 3DS this June, and a new developer walkthrough provides a nice look at what you can expect to see in the game. Take a tour of its various combat and loot systems through the eyes of the alchitect class.

In addition to showing off how the alchitect can effectively combine melee and mystical attacks, the video below walks prospective adventurers through the game's combat, inventory and loot management, and interface. It's focused on the game's single-player experience, but you can team up with up to three friends when the game launches on June 26.

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New Heroes Of Ruin Trailer Provides Look At Story, Environments, More Shark People

Jeff Cork — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:35:33 GMT

Square Enix wants players to pay attention to its upcoming 3DS game Heroes of Ruin for a variety of reasons. It's an action RPG with drop in, drop out co-op. The game's world changes as players explore it. Heroes can collect scads of loot. Those points are all fine and good, but we're most excited about the game's shark people. Thankfully, this new story and environment-focused trailer doesn't disappoint.

The all-new loot at the game explains why mercenaries are gathering to explore Nexus and keep a world teetering on the edge of battle from plunging into chaos. Also, you can watch people kill walking sharks. It's all very exciting.

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Look for Heroes of Ruin sometime in 2012. For more information on the game, visit its official site.

Watch A Shark-Man Die In Heroes Of Ruin Trailer

Tim Turi — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:48:00 GMT

Square-Enix's upcoming four player, online-enabled 3DS action RPG, Heroes of Ruin, is looking pretty promising. This trailer shows off the beasts you'll banish and the adventurers you'll become.

Keep an out out for the shark-man. Trust me, it's worth it.

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For more info on Heroes of Ruin, check out this more detailed look back when the game was announced in May. The portable look hunt begins in early 2012.

Square Reveals Heroes Of Ruin

Jeff Cork — Tue, 31 May 2011 14:52:00 GMT

The 3DS lineup has been short on RPGs, but that'll change with the release of Square Enix's Heroes of Ruin. The game has been developed specifically for the platform, which means that it will take full advantage of what the 3DS can offer, beyond the obvious inclusion of 3D visuals.

“Using the Nintendo 3DS’ StreetPass and SpotPass functionality, Heroes of Ruin will offer extensive multiplayer elements,” said Mona Hamilton, VP of marketing and public relations, Square Enix, Inc. “We hope to create a community of Heroes of Ruin fans who play well beyond the single-player campaign and experience the story in completely new ways.”

One of those ways is through a Traders' Network, which uses the StreetPass to let players buy and sell excess loot. On the SpotPass front, adventurers who access special Wi-Fi hotspots will be able to snag special items and unique challenges. Daily challenges will also be offered through the game's community website.

Square Enix says that Heroes of Ruin will support drop-in/drop-out co-op. It'll be playable at next week's E3, so check back then for our hands-on impressions.