Dark Avenger Review
Dark Avenger by Gamevil feels like a half-baked hack-and-slash dungeon crawler game. It doesn't seem like it had enough time to be fully developed since a lot of features are "coming soon," and there are glitches throughout the game. It could use a lot more baking time before becoming a great game.
Dark Avenger says there are three different character classes to choose from, only the player doesn't really get a choice in the matter. Only two options, not three, are presented, Templar and Ranger, and when you click on Ranger is says, "Coming Soon." So it looks like everyone will be playing as a Templar starting off. There are several game modes, ranging from single-player, which is a collection of levels with repetitive objectives like "slay all enemies" and "slay all enemies." There's also the Infinite Tower, which is Dark Avenger's take on the standard survival mode, PVP death matches, and Boss Raid, which is also reportedly "coming soon." Those hoping for any semblance of story should look elsewhere— there's not a single scrap of cut scenes or lore to be found here.
Actual combat is pleasant enough, with the player getting a decent selection of different abilities to use, and the controls are responsive. The enemies, however, are as brain-dead as they come, charging endlessly at the player with no real tactics to speak of. They all also seem to have more hit points than necessary, though it's probably to slow down the player and pad game length. The graphics, while not exactly award-winning, are clear and do the job.
There's an equipment upgrade system in place, making use of both in-game currency and (you guessed it) in-app purchases. There's no real thought or choice to the upgrades. Buy stronger gear, or upgrade gear to be stronger. If you were hoping for customization you won't find it. While early pieces of equipment are affordably priced, anything beyond your starter gear starts to get a bit on the pricey side. Given that there are multiple types of currency, Dark Avenger has the gall to offer not one, but two different series of purchasable currency topping out at $100 purchases. You could conceivably plunk down $200 to get what you need.
Dark Avenger suffers from several bugs and typos, marring what was already a powerfully average experience. Anywhere that there's written text, such as ability descriptions or tips found in the loading screens, there are tons of typos and grammatical oddities. There are also several loading screens with half-implemented tips composed of coding. The equipment upgrade system would only work about 25% of the time— if you want to upgrade a piece of equipment the game will accept your choice, show some animation, but then nothing will happen. Only after doing this repeatedly did the upgrade actually go through. Likewise, there will sometimes be music when you load a level or menu; other times, it's complete silence. You never realize how much music adds to a game until there is none.
Glitches, typos, and overall sloppy workmanship drag down what is, at best, a very average game. Those looking for any sort of dungeon-crawling, hack-and-slashing on the iOS would do well to look elsewhere until Dark Avenger undergoes some updates to add things that were originally promised, and to fix some of the bugs.
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