Orcs and Elves for the Nintendo DS probably would have sold more copies if it had a better name.

When I found my copy a few days ago, it was sitting in the back of Gamestop on a shelf by itself gathering dust. I hadn’t heard of the game before, but for under ten dollars, it promised me dark, dank dungeons, epic quests and–of course–orcs. For some reason, even though I’m not a D&D nerd, I was sold. I took it to the counter and forked over the cash to the Gamestop employee who was covered in World of Warcraft promo-buttons.

The rest, as it were, was history.

Like I said, the game would have sold more copies if the title was better. The title is arguably the worst part of the game. The graphics aren’t entirely impressive either, but for a mobile phone port, the expectations weren’t high to begin with; it’s pretty enough for a portable. The sound effects aren’t anything special either, but they add some form of ambiance–dripping water and rustling wind are impeccably done, even if other sounds leave a lot to be desired. For example, the orcs’ grunts as you slash them with your sword make me want to rip my ears out. Again, though, it sounds good enough for a portable.

The premise of Orcs & Elves is simple like the graphics and sound as well, but its implementation is incredibly effective. The game flings you immediately into the place of a man named Elli without much backstory and immediately blood-thirsty orcs and mutated rats attack you. This purposefully leaves you no time to question its plot and, after you’re done dispatching the orcs, there’s more dungeon to explore and more monsters to gut. While the plot eventually gets hashed out through small cutscenes and dialogues, priority always goes to the slashing and not the talking–as, perhaps, a game of this orientation should go.

On the topic of gutting, slashing and hacking, the controls are fluid,and very versatile. If you don’t like the stylus controls, the control pad is easy to use. The game guises itself as an action packed, hack-n-slash, by allowing you to slash with your stylus and move around freely, but it’s really a turnbased RPG if you look close enough. Everything is based on a turn from each step you take to each swing of your sword. O&E rarely feels limiting or slow, however. There’s no lag between turns and it’s rather seamless.

It is imperative to note, however, that a turn based system such as this seldom requires skill, and is mostly based on a roll of dice. In other words, a two-year-old missing half their fucking brain could probably play O&E or other such games. (Then again, it’s not like any DS games are challenging these days, right?)

From what I’ve said so far, the game sounds basic. Insipid even. In fact, it almost sounds bad. Somehow, though, Orcs & Elves isn’t. Maybe it’s because iD Software is behind the game, or because it inspires a sickening sense of nostalgia, I can’t find myself putting the game down. I’m currently paused in Witcher and NWN2 for this game. Somehow it convinced me to play it a few hours before I pass out, and during my daily commute to classes. It could just be the magic of the DS–of being able to game everywhere and anywhere–or perhaps there’s something special here.

Perhaps, for all its flaws, Orcs & Elves is an underrated diamond in the rough. It’s hard not to like a game with such a bad title, anyway. Let’s face it: who doesn’t like orcs and elves? Together? With blood and swords and magic wands?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go buy a Vorpal sword. And kill more orcs. And mutated sewer beast rats.

The Good: Charming, nostalgic, contains elves and orcs
The Bad: Overtly simplistic, no challenge, the elves and orcs sound like nails on a chalkboard
The Ugly: The giant mutated sewer beast rat things around every corner
Final Score: 7.0/10

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 3:27 am and is filed under Reviews, New Releases, Nintendo DS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.