Summoner
| Summoner | |||
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| Studio |
 Volition
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| Publisher |
THQ
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
October 26, 2000 June 2001 |
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| platform | Windows , Mac OS , PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Action RPG | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Keyboard & mouse , DualShock 2 | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
400 MHz processor, 64 MB RAM, graphics card with 8 MB RAM, 800 MB hard disk space, DirectX 7 |
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| medium | 2 CD-ROMs | ||
| Age rating |
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Summoner is the name of a small series of action role-playing games with adventure elements. The first part was developed by Volition in 2000 as one of the launch titles for the PlayStation 2 release , and later ported to Microsoft Windows and the Apple Macintosh . The sequel, Summoner 2 , was also released for the Playstation 2 a year later. In 2003, after minor changes, it was published under the new name Summoner: A Goddess Reborn for the Nintendo GameCube .
action
The action of Summoner takes place on 2 continents: Orenia and Medeva. The main hero Joseph von Ciran, a summoner (German: "conjurer") is able to conjure up demons, elemental beings and other helpers with conjuring rings. When he was a child, Ciran was attacked. With the help of his gift, Joseph tried to save his village, but failed. The demon he called did not protect the villagers but killed them. Since then he was afraid of his power and went into exile to Masad, he vowed never to summon his creature again. A few years later, Masad was attacked and Joseph fled to the capital, Lenele. He learns that his old mentor, Yago, works as an advisor to Prince Sornehan, the king's brother. Joseph learns from Yago that he has to find all 4 conjurer rings in order to fulfill his destiny. Rosalind, Flece and Jekhar help him on his search.
Gameplay
In this game you control a group of up to four heroes of different origins from the perspective of a third person through a 3D environment. You move through small, demarcated maps that are reloaded when changing areas. The game happens in real time, whereby the environment is more of a static nature. Fights take place in the current environment (for random encounters on the world map, a random map of the current environment is used). The game itself is pretty linear, but has an extensive collection of side quests and background information for each character in the group.
The heroes in the game are already predefined in their rough development (class, learning skills), as is usual for console games, and the basic skills can still be changed by the player, especially via skill points. In this game, skill points define, among other things, what kind of equipment you can use. Magic exists in two forms. On the one hand as elemental magic, which can produce effects typical of role-playing games such as healing, direct damage and the like, on the other hand in the form of conjurations. These are different monsters that can act as additional group members for a short time and have different additional abilities depending on the monster type.
Combo chains are a specialty in combat . Each character in the game has its own collection of combinable attacks that can be used in combat. These combinations must be activated by the player for the character that is currently being controlled (it is possible to change the actively controlled figure at any time, the necessary key combinations for the chains differ depending on the controlled character), and represent an extension of what is otherwise in action -Role-playing usual simply click and strike system, which is used when the player intentionally or unintentionally renounces the combo system.
development
After Conflict: Freespace was released , Volition began work on four new titles. In addition to the already established work on the series titles Freespace 2 and Descent 4 , a survey among the employees showed that they were interested in a fantasy role-playing game. Since Volition's long-time partner Interplay Entertainment itself pursued numerous role-playing projects, the company needed a new sales partner for Summoner . After talks with the US publisher THQ, the latter signaled an interest in a complete takeover of the studio, which was finally sealed on August 31, 2000. Summoner was conceived as a launch title for the PlayStation 2 and was therefore launched at the same time as the console was launched in the US on October 25, 2000. It was also the developer's first console title.
After the bankruptcy and subsequent breakup of THQ, the rights to Summoner and Summoner 2 went to the Swedish publisher Nordic Games after an auction on April 15, 2013, along with 150 other titles for a total of 4.9 million US dollars .
Summoner 2
In 2002 a successor to the Playstation 2 was released with Summoner 2 . Under the name Summoner: A Goddess Reborn , a version with slightly different graphics and content was released for the Gamecube in 2003.
Located about 20 years after the first part, this time the player takes on the role of Maia, the mortal incarnation of a goddess. Your main task is to restore the legendary tree Eleh, who is blamed for the evil in the world. On this way you move through altogether more varied and extensive areas than in the predecessor, due to the very short time interval there are encounters with characters from the first part. Unlike in Part 1, Maia does not conjure up her demons directly as a companion, but becomes them herself in whole or in part.
The basic concept of the game is identical to its predecessor, there were only moderate improvements in the presentation and graphics. In the game itself, the number of heroes available for your own group is significantly larger than in the predecessor. The main change in the game is the combat system, which has been simplified, resulting in easier access to the chain system and faster, more action-based combat. The possible combos were assigned to the different classes instead of special heroes, and various options were added.
Web links
- Official German website for the Mac version
- Summoner at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ben Hanson: The Secret History of Volition ( English ) In: Game Informer . GameStop . March 30, 2011. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
- ↑ Asrale: Planet Descent Volition Interview . In: Planet Descent . IGN . September 11, 2000. Archived from the original on February 22, 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2007.
- ↑ Alexander Sliwinski: THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life ( English ) In: Joystiq . AOL . April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved on April 24, 2013.