DRAKAN - The Ancients' Gates
The ancient world of Drakan is a place of myths & monsters come to life. You are Rynn, a female warrior who becomes the chosen one to save the Spirit Dragons. You are assisted by Arokh, a fearless dragon of the Elder Breed. This 3D action-adventure game doesn't limit your exploits to the ground (where you can fight monsters, Wartoks and Trogs), but you also get to soar through the sky on your dragon partner's back, taking out the foes. Besides the beasts getting in your way to fulfill your destiny there is the mean, spell casting lot calling themselves the Desert Lords who use sorcery for their own evil means. The game's learning curve is relatively easy as several interactive tutorials take you across a mountainous landscape, instructing you on sword fighting techniques, bow & arrow as well as a user-friendly inventory to store all of your collected bits & pieces. When you hit town (or encounter anyone for that matter), you can have a chat with them and get clues or perform tasks for them to earn gold - gold which can be used in stores for weapons and supplies - unless these characters are not very chatty and want to knock your block off! With up to 50 available weapons, the variety of close quarter combat (and primitive long distance destruction) is immense. While the story line keeps the flow in between action at a steady pace, your free roaming environment adds to the scope. While this is not reserved for Dungeons & Dragons or Lord Of The Rings nuts, any action-adventure fan can get into it. While our sword wielding, arrow shooting, charm casting wench in tights does little to improve upon the already well developed Tomb Raider or Resident Evil female character precedents. The gender choice does make a big difference on how the game feels (even though most players are young lads) - girls can identify with the strong women and guys can catch a permanent view of the peachy buttocks.

4 / C
- PB