Sword of the New World Gold is not an intuitive title to play because most of its details need to be dug out, like the juicy seeds of a pomegranate. Want to learn new skills? Figure out where to go to buy new books to teach you those skills. Crafting? Theoretically, it exists within the game, although I have yet to sort out exactly how it functions. Do not expect much help from the tutorial; it seems to exist mostly just to show you how to use the auto-play commands. What I have not quite put my finger on is if this is a flaw of design, or merely a sign that the developers have completely different values.

Unlike other titles, you do not start a single avatar and level it up. Instead, you create three avatars that all share the same surname, and play the game as a team. You have five options to mix and match: fighter, wizard, scout, and musketeer. More class options become available later in the form of quest rewards and the like, which are represented in your inventory. Once you have the card, you can then go to the creation screen and start up the new class. For example, the retail copy I am using for this review carries with it a code that gives me a card for the Rescue Knight class, a type of musket-wielding warrior who can resurrect members of the group who have fallen in battle.

If you think about it, you have quite a lot of freedom to create whichever kind of group dynamic you wish. If you like high-damage groups, then start a team of three musketeers. Is balance more your style? Then mix it up with a fighter for tanking, a scout for healing or wizard for ranged attacks and buffs. Initially, this system takes some getting used to, but once you have had some time to wrap your head around it, the experience feels quite comfortable. Here we do see one of the most glaring issues with Sword of the New World, though: class balance. Simply put, three musketeers do such obscene damage at such incredible range that you can quite comfortably coast along and rarely even need to drink a potion of health, much less require the services of a scout.

Tags: Sword Of The New World Gold

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