Conclusion, final thoughts and awards
So, Orcs and Elves is easy to get into and even easier to use, but is it any fun?For the more committed RPGer, you’ll probably find Orcs and Elves a bit too much like an ‘RPG lite’. Levelling up purely increases your health, resetting it to max and giving you more charge on your wand blasts. Add in the linear progress through the levels and lack of puzzling and, well, even on the tougher difficulty, it’s all a bit too easy.
However, if you’re a die-hard RPG fan looking for something to play on the way to work before surreptitiously logging into WoW or Guild Wars, then Orcs and Elves does have its merits.
That said, I find that Orcs and Elves is aimed more at the casual player who, maybe before they got a girlfriend and a real job, dabbled in Diablo or Dungeon Siege but didn’t go the whole hog with Games Workshop hand painted miniatures. Yes, Orcs and Elves is definitely more for the casual player.
You haven’t got to worry about setting up attributes or awards skill points and remembering which weapon is most effective against which monster is as about as taxing as it gets. That said, it’s not to say that Orcs and Elves isn’t an enjoyable game, you just won’t find a huge amount of depth here, this isn’t Ultima.
So there you have it, worth a shot if you fancy a bit of mobile RPGing but have never been too bothered about levelling up charisma points or increasing your ranged damage skill but one to pass over if you own an anorak and your idea of an RPG is six hours just tweaking your character’s name.
Pros
Simple, intuitive interface
RPG-lite fun
Easy drop in and out gameplay
All the tricky RPG stuff glossed over
Cons
Too simplistic for the seasoned RPGer
Some later levels can be very tricky
Auto-mapping gives away most of the secrets
Orcs and Elves : More Discworld than Lord of the Rings
HEXUS Awards
Orcs and Elves – DS
Fun but only for the casual gamer
Fun but only for the casual gamer
