Lichdom Battlemage

If you like magic and blowing things up Lichdom is great.

The game looks pretty, although not spectacular despite using CryEngine 3, and facial animations are very lacklustre. It makes up for it with copious amounts of destruction and a rather neat spell crafting system. You start off with 2 basic spell Sigils/schools; Fire and Ice. One for destruction and and one for crowd control. Later on you unlock the ability to have a third active school. There are also more schools to unlock, and with each you can customise and create somewhat unique spells based on basic templates. Defeating an enemy releases magic, which you absorb in the form of little upgrades, these can be combined to create more powerful versions as well. From Common, to Epic, and finally Legendary ones. You then use these to either create new spells, or upgrade your current arsenal. The game is fast paced and I think does first person spell casting rather well, although since you're not a proper mage you are limited in ability. The story is interesting, although certainly nothing as gripping as the likes of the Witcher 3, or Baldur's Gate. Lichdom is more linear than I, and many would like; but it's still rather fun. Although it can get very repetitive as there are only so many different enemies and models. Instead of adding more it does something similar to Diablo 3. It gives some special attributes such as extra life, novas, speed and special spells. Though not very original, it does help flesh out an already small array of foes. The mini bosses, and actual bosses however are spectacular, and come in all sizes from medium to downright gigantic. They're also extremely challenging; as long as you're not on the easiest difficulty settings. It does feel like the game needs better pacing though, I rarely feel a sense of urgency or dread with hordes of enemies or some boss fights, and moving from area to area feels samey. It could have done with extra work here. Despite these apparent flaws, I do enjoy the game. Especially since being a battlemage rocks, and I love facing undead with my very own undead and raining fire down on my foes. It's not amazing, but it's fun. Look for the game on a sale to get the best out of it.