ōdi∙um

Though the name of the game is Odium (n. hatred coupled with disgust), it's really hard to hate this game. Novel gameplay and an engrossing plot make this game a joy to play. Fans of both RPG's and Strategy games are in for a treat. Now if only they could've thrown in a few zombies . . .

Po System Shocku II přichází další titul, který sází na atmosféru kombinovanou s propracovaným příběhem a vyplácí se mu to. Čím dál se v této hře dostanete, tím víc vás bude zajímat, co se asi stane a jak to všchno skončí. To, co vás však u počítače udrží a nepustí, není pouze perfektní grafika a promyšlená zápletka, ale jedinečná atmosféra, znásobená ponurými melodiemi. Spousta krátkých animací ještě atmosféru zlepšuje. Namluveí postav je také stylové.

If you're one of those people who read the game title, scroll down to the bottom for the game rating, and then perhaps skim over the last paragraph to check its summary, you can just go right back up there and begin reading from the start just like everybody else. It's a gorgeous looking game all the way through, not with all the 3D lighting effects and bells and whistles, but the illustrious 2D backgrounds and also very well done cut-scenes along with some nice character modeling make almost everything in Odium (Gorky 17) look good. Then comes the bad point of basically every aspect of the game being rather simplified, lending the whole experience as being a rather "quick to finish" title. If you're a fan of turn-based combat with NATO soldiers wandering around for some adventuring, this one's for you.

Selten habe ich in einem Rollenspiel so schweißtreibende Runden-Scharmützel erlebt. Das Kampfsystem ist einfach zu durchschauen, bietet aber eine ungeheure Vielfalt. Ein leicht abstruser, aber fesselnder Plot treibt mich von Kampf zu Kampf. Das Gefühl, von Verschwörungen und Monstern umgeben zu sein, erzeugt eine angenehme Gänsehaut-Atmosphäre. Auf der negativen Seite stehen Kleinigkeiten. So haben die Rätsel lediglich Alibi-Charakter, die Synchronisation ist nicht immer gelungen, und im Adventure-Teil fehlt die Übersicht; ich darf mich nicht frei auf der Karte umsehen. Der größte Kritikpunkt ist die Spieldauer: Mehr als zwei Wochenenden brauchen Sie nicht einzuplanen. Wenn Sie Rollenspiele mit knackigen Puzzles und komplexem Charaktersystem mögen, lassen Sie besser die Finger von Gorky 17. Sollten Sie aber ein Faible für Kämpfe haben, können Sie auf jeden Fall zugreifen.

Spijtig genoeg heeft Gorky 17 één enkel groot minpunt: het blijft constant hetzelfde. Je loopt wat rond, vindt een nieuw voorwerp en je kan er donder op zeggen dat je onmiddelijk wordt besprongen door enkele vijanden. Je maakt ze af, zoekt een volgend voorwerp en wordt weer aangevallen, enzovoort. Na een tijdje gaat de spanning er dan toch wel uit... Wij waren hier in ieder geval verbaasd over Gorky 17. We hadden er nog niet veel van gehoord, maar het bleek toch goed te zijn en een enorme sfeer uit te stralen. Wil je even een tussendoortje, werp dan eens een blik op Gorky...

Een spannende, goed uitgewerkte action RPG thriller die elementen van Fallout, Commando's, X-Com, Jagged Alliance II en Incubation op frisse wijze mixt. Dig je die games dan zal Gorky 17 je ook zeker bevallen.

Een huiveringwekkende militaire thriller...Kan jij het team leiden en de gekke generaal elimineren?

Odium is a lot of fun. The story is very good, and the game is easy to learn. There aren't really any puzzles to solve, it's mostly a matter of walking around the bigger map collecting items while waiting to stumble onto the square that will trigger the next combat sequence. However, the action comes quick and is fairly well thought-out. Odium doesn't require a lot of heavy thinking, but is a lot of fun regardless. Bottom Line: Good story, great graphics, lots of fun. Combat is turn-based and features a simple to use fighting model that is just as easy to learn. Horrible voice acting. Line of sight in battles is unrealistic.

Финальный рейтинг оказался немного низким для игры, у которой нет очевидных пробелов. В чем причина? На мой взгляд, игре не достает оригинальности. Все хорошо, но уж больно типично. Ну, еще движок не самый красивый, да концовка немного подкачала. Поэтому максимальной оценки я поставить не смог. Но зато к геймплею особых претензий предъявить не получилось. Если не в квестовой части, то уж в плане стратегии и тактики ведения боя в каждый конкретный момент времени всегда есть над чем подумать. Способов нападения и защиты куча, и выбрать оптимальный не всегда просто. Приходится экспериментировать и следить за результатами разборок со всеми без исключения противниками, чтобы не оказаться к следующему сражению у разбитого корыта. Следовательно, играть интересно.

If you were to classify Odium it would probably be more of a "light" RPG, because the RPG elements don't play a strong role throughout the game. Odium combines the X-files and X-com into one good game. Throughout my run of Odium there was never a time when the game didn't push me helpfully along the right route.

Amazingly, Odium is a single-player only game, though it does sport a branching plot with plenty of twists and a couple of sub-quests, replay value is rather low. It is a better than average sci-fi-horror game that will appeal to fans of these genres, but may go unnoticed by most of the gaming community for lack of marketing on Monolith’s part. This is quite unfortunate, as Odium, flaws aside, is a unique game that deserves attention for its excellent graphics, sound, and original gameplay.

Scientists. You just can't trust them. When they're not destroying the world with black holes (Outcast), sucking hostile aliens into our world from another dimension (Half-Life), or creating paradoxes that threaten to unravel the entire fabric of space and time (The Time Machine), they're obviously just enjoying a quiet cup of tea while planning what mayhem to unleash on the unsuspecting planet next...

Overall, Odium is a great little dark RPG that unfortunately lets its high difficulty level get in the way of good, clean, evil fun. If you’re willing to battle it out with the steep curve of difficulty, however, you’re going to find an extremely enjoyable game in Odium.

Die Story um Gorky 17 wird spannend erzählt wie wenige andere, und die beiläufige Verlagerung Richtung Adventure liegt ganz auf meiner Linie. Allerdings fehlt mir der Wille all die endlosen Schlachtorgien durchzustehen, denen ich aufgrund der blitzartig auftauchenden Mutanten nicht mal kurzfristig entgehen kann. Manche Produkte stehen sich leider selbst im Weg.

Anyway, I may have enjoyed Odium a little less – a lot less considering the bizarre toddlers-doing-chess battle stages – were it not for the fact that the story itself is engaging enough to keep a geek sci-fi freak occupied without being overly "deep" or consuming. After all, I play this (and Southpeak’s Wild Wild West The Steel Assassin) long after my "work" day is suppose to be finished, in those easy going evening hours when I unwind with the help of something pleasant and easy-going, like a beer... Ok, I'll admit it: I've been playing it over the holidays while my inlaws were visiting. Told 'em I was going to "the office" to check my email. Whatever the reason, Odium is an easy going game that spells it all out for me with cheesy European accents and habitual mouse swipes and button clicks. It’s alright.

Monolith has released quite a few role playing titles lately such as Septerra Core, Rage of Mages II, and now Odium. While Odium's point of view is similar to the narrative view used in most role playing titles, the feel of Odium is very different from most. In the traditional sense it's role-playing, but the different battle system, as well as the somewhat linear storyline almost allow a person to classify it as an adventure title. While gameplay certainly counts for a lot, some of the credit has to go to the fact that Odium is different, in a good way.

Grę tą pokazał mi kilka lat temu kumpel, grając w nią wtedy byłem zaskoczony kunsztem z jakim nasi rodacy z Metropolis ją wykonali, teraz jednak rzuca się w oczy kilka wad. Po pierwsze ta nieszczęsna grafika, czemu trudno się dziwić zważywszy, że gra ma już 7 lat. Po drugie gdyby nie wspaniała fabuła i klimat gra byłaby monotonna i nudna, zresztą kiedy gramy w nią dłuższy czas taka właśnie się robi. To gra typu "przejdź 10m i walcz, znajdź broń i apteczki, przejdź 10m i walcz" itd. Niemniej jednak polecam.

Wer sich an der etwas unübersichtlichen Grafik/Geschichte nicht reibt, bekommt einen interessanten Rollenspiel-Quickie, der trotz allem Laune macht.

There certainly was enough content in Odium to inspire me to play through to the end. I wanted to see what enemies and weapons were housed around the next horrific corner. I also enjoyed the narrative and thought Metropolis did a nice job with a slightly overused setting. In the end, the good outweighs the bad. It offers a unique style of play, and combines elements from popular titles in a way that's never been done before. It also has a pretty good storyline, nice graphics, very cool weapons and interesting monsters. While far too combat focused and very linear in its adventuring aspects, I enjoyed its approach. If you don't mind a lot of turn-based fighting and like your narratives dark and apocalyptic, Odium is a winner.

Investigate the conspiracy, save the innocent, and nuke a few mutant baddies while you're at it...

Lite handling, en smula äventyrande och massor av strider, alltså. Odium är underhållande, men striderna tar alltför stor plats - de andra inslagen känns väldigt lättviktiga i jämförelse.

Odium is a neat little game that reaches for the stars and trips over its own shoelaces. Nice graphics, combined with a linear, unimaginative plotline and combat loopholes that allow you to face down a boss monster without taking any damage to any of your characters, make it a relatively disappointing game. Ultimately, it is a nice little game to play through once and it has an unusual plotline to entertain you, along with some very good looking rendered backgrounds. However, if you are looking for something more than fluff in a box, move on.

En résumé, Gorky 17 est un excellent jeu du point de vue innovation de jeu de rôle. L'histoire est selon moi assez complète (quoi que déjà vue), mais il faut appronfondir vraiment et ne pas rester sur les impressions qu'on a au début du jeu... Ses deux gros défauts, vraiement déplorables selon moi, sont : la lenteur, et le fait que tout se fait à la souris, sans aucun raccourci clavier. Mais, si on passe outre tout ça, on peut devenir vraiment passionné !

Common these days are the sequel after sequel set of games. Not too often, a few unique games are released. Other times, just a few genre crosses are produced, the results are often very mixed, with some positive and some negative results. One of the most popular games are the role playing series, with a very serious and involving method of gameplay, usually engrossing the player in spectacular gameplay values and very strong storyline. What does Monolith know about RPG's? Well, not too much, but they did succeed with Septerra Core, which we reviewed recently. The newest release of that line is Odium, a hybrid cross between strategy and role playing.

Odium is a role-playing game without any puzzles and a tactical combat game with a repetitive, maddening, and simplistic battle engine.

I dreaded writing this review after playing through Odium. I could tell that there is great potential for a game here - the same sort of game was done VERY well in Squaresoft's Parasite Eve for the Playstation. However, much like Odium, Parasite Eve was way too short. Unlike Odium, it had characters you could identify with and a story that drew you in. If Odium were a console game, I'd recommend it as a renter while you were waiting for something better to come out. Since it's on the PC, and PC games generally aren't rented, I really can't recommend this as a viable purchase at the $40 price point I've seen it at. When Odium hits the $10 bargain bin, it may be worth giving a look if only to pass the time before the next great game comes out. It's just a game engine with unrealized potential right now, though. Hopefully developer Metropolis Software House will take the game interface and engine of Odium, find a better and longer story, and make another game with it.

Overall, Odium lacks the engaging plot for a successful role-playing game, the kick-ass factor for a shoot-em-up and the intelligence for strategic play.