Runespell: Overture (Review) PC

Runespell: Overture is a new approach to the same old card based role-playing game. Designed in a style similar to the Puzzle Quest series, you play a game of poker instead of playing a game that’s similar to Bejeweled, Columns or Tetris.

The combat rules apply to the standard rules of Poker, with nothing being altered. Your attacks are based on the different suits you have. For example: a full house will do more damage to your opponent than a hand with two of a kind. But that’s not all; what’s a role-playing game without magic?

This new hybrid card game has you collecting spell cards, rune cards, secret cards and much more. With each battle or monster you encounter, you run the risk of capturing a card if you’re successful in battle. Sometimes your opponent will have more than one ability that he/she can use in combat. I have only been lucky enough to gain one ability at any given time.

You can purchase cards at local black market dealers in town, but some of them have abilities that come with a pretty steep price tag.  Plus, cards and other types of gear can be obtained from quest givers that are scattered throughout the lands.

You can befriend companions during your travels, and the benefits of having these companions is to use them in combat. Each companion will give you a special attack ability which can then be used against your opponents.

Before any of your spells can be used, you must build up what is called RP (Rage Points). Some rune spells will be infinite in nature, while others require you to add usage to them. Even though your rune spell can run out of uses, this doesn’t mean a new card has to be purchased to replace the old one; it’s as simple as recharging the old card’s usage at a local trader.

The world map uses a point-and-click interface and is configured in a grid-like fashion. The map is fairly decent in size, allowing travel anywhere along the dotted lines. There are roughly about thirty quests in all, each with a story and unique rewards.

A good GUI (Graphics User Interface) can either make or break the best of games. In the case of Runespell: Overture, the interface is not overly complex and the learning curve is small at best.  It’s one of the few games available today where you can just pickup and play.

You would think a game like Runespell: Overture would be very complicated, but looks can be deceiving in this case. Even if you don’t have basic knowledge of Poker, there is an easy-to-follow tutorial. There’s a help/cheat FAQ that can be viewed while in combat, explaining all the different suits and what is needed to build a decent hand.

Playing is a breeze, even during a lengthy single-player campaign. There is about ten hours of gameplay, so you will be busy for at least a couple of days. Since Runespell: Overture is on Steam, there are loads of achievements to unlock, and this by itself will add countless hours of additional gameplay.

Runespell: Overture is a multi-platform game that is capable of running on either Mac or PC computers, expanding the user-base beyond Steam PC gamers.  The only downside is the lack of online multiplayer. Like most gamers, I enjoy a good online battle and would have enjoyed challenging other Steam gamers over the network.

The in-game music is very haunting and epic in feel; it gives you the feeling of traveling alone and lost in a strange land.  This sets the mood perfectly as your travel in search of quests, riches and power. There really isn’t anything I can say bad about Runespell: Overture; it took an overused concept and turned it into something even better.

Hopefully, there will be an update released at a later date that will offer us online multiplayer. Who would have thought that battling creatures in a game of Poker could be so captivating.

James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: PC

System Requirements:
OS: XP/Vista/7
Processor: 2 GHz Intel Pentium / AMD Athlon 64

Hard Disk Space: 350 MB
Video Card: 256 MB Shader Model 2.0 (Geforce 6 series, Radeon X1000 series)
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c
Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Developer: Mystic Box
Publisher: Mystic Box
ESRB: N/A
Price: $9.99

Runespell: Overture’s Official Website

Review Score
Graphics
Super clean and easy-to-use GUI; beautiful character design and very pleasing on the eyes.
Sound
Fantastic music that really sets the stage for a great experience.
Gameplay
Easy to pickup and play, whether you’re good at Poker or not; no knowledge is required in order to play.

Overall
A great card based role-playing game; a must-have for anyone’s collection.