Windows

Prince of Qin

Overall, Prince of Qin is a mediocre game -- but in a good way. It’s got some problems that are patchable, but the pacing is good and there’s always a quest to go on. The problem is simply one of timing. We’re in a golden age for role-playing games right now, and just in the last few months games like Morrowind, Neverwinter Nights, and Icewind Dale II have come out. And so it’s just difficult to recommend a game like Prince of Qin when there are so many other, better titles out there.

Prince of Qin offers a solid single-player action/RPG experience in an unusual setting. While the gameplay is derivative of other games in the genre, it's not strictly a clone and it does do a lot of things very well. The equipment building and customization is a highlight of the game, not to mention the story which is above average. There are really only a couple of flaws which prevent Prince of Qin from being an excellent game - the lack of a multiplayer matching service is the biggest flaw, and secondly, the poor quality of the voice acting and lack of sound effects detracted somewhat from the single player experience.

The folder on the hard drive shows 1.7 gigs of memory used for this game, so you will have to invest some hard-drive space if you wish to play it. The graphical elements need some help and the dialogue is overwritten and overacted. This could have been a wonderful game, and does have some nice elements, but is delivered in an average manner.

All in all, Prince of Qin might be what you're looking for it you enjoyed Diablo II and are looking for something similar. Otherwise, you're probably going to get your RPG fill from something a bit more polished, like Neverwinter Nights.

There's one feature that I didn't talk about in the above review, and that's multiplayer. While there is a multiplayer feature, you have to be on either a LAN or a direct TCP/IP connection to take advantage of it. While the action in multiplayer is faster paced, and you can create unique characters and items, without a feature to search for other users, the fun is definitely sucked out of this option. In my opinion, skip this feature and focus solely on the single player campaign.

All told, Prince of Qin is a decent role-playing game on its own merits, and it's one that's easy to apologize for considering you can tell some real effort went into it, and it was made by a relatively small team. Oftentimes you'll have to work to understand what's going on in the game, and you'll have to try hard to stay alive in battle. But if you stick with it, you'll see some interesting sights and maybe even gain a little insight into ancient Chinese culture and folklore. So if you're looking for another role-playing game to while away the time, this one's not a bad choice.

Prince of Qin hätte den angepeilten Spagat zwischen dem epischen Baldur’s Gate (2) und dem actiongeladenen Diablo (2) mit etwas mehr Mühe der Entwickler sicher schaffen können. Leider ist die Steuerung und die grafische Umsetzung Lichtmeilen hinter den angesprochenen Konkurrenten. Wer sich auf die rollenspieltechnischen Aspekte konzentriert und solche Kleinigkeiten auch mal übersieht, sollte bei Prince of Qin auf jeden Fall zugreifen. Die im altertümlichen China angesiedelte Hintergrundgeschichte ist zwar auch nicht die innovativste aller Zeiten, aber sie ist ziemlich verstrickt und birgt etliche hübsche Überraschungen. Das RPG-System ist einfach und durchschaubar und es gibt für jedes Problem mehrere Lösungswege, was man ja bei vielen anderen Rollenspielen vergeblich sucht. Im Multiplayer-Modus kann man sicher sehr viel Spass haben – hier gibt es massenhaft neue Items, die im Sinpleplayer nicht anzutreffen sind und es macht auch einfach Spass.

Don’t be fooled by the game’s billing as a “historical Diablo.” It’s not a Diablo of any shape or form, lacking both that title’s polish and compulsivity. Instead, what you get with Prince of Qin is a mediocre romp through a muddled story, with acceptable breaks for engaging combat. It’s not a terrible game, but it should have been so much better.

The single player mode is extremely long and it will take you a lot of time to finish it. Unfortunately, what should be the game's main trump turns into its worst flaw, thanks to the incredibly slow and tiresome action. Prince of Qin is a frustratingly slow hack'n'slash wannabe lacking both in strategy and dynamics. And where the single-players fails, the multiplayer mode saves the day... NOT! This mode does exist, but is limited to modem and LAN, as they probably couldn't find a server wanting to host this game. And it's pretty much like the single-player mode anyway. Prince of Qin is but a poor copy of the two best-selling RPGs, with pathetic settings. Until some other note-worthy RPG appears, I suggest you stick to the originals.