Rune

The Good
Rune is a third-person action game, predictable and linear but quite enjoyable. As with most games of its ilk you progress through various maps with different environments such as villages, caves, underground rivers, mountains, etc collecting better weapons, and, in this case, shields, along the way, and fighting stronger enemies.

The plot is thin and not as impressive as the game's environment, which evokes the atmosphere of the Nordic world very well. The game uses a version of the Unreal engine circa Unreal Tournament; cutting edge at the time, it still looks fresh now, especially with advanced graphical options turned up high. The levels vary a good deal and are richly textured, but the characters really shine, animating smoothly and casting shadows on the level around them.

Rune's sound is high quality. Footsteps, weapon effects, enemy's voices are splattering blood are all as detailed as one could hope for. That's good, because you'll be hearing a whole lot of the above.

The level design is mediocre, but I think it leans toward the good side. While the levels are painfully linear at times, lacking any kind of advanced puzzle solving, they are fully in keeping with the game's strong atmosphere.

The atmospheric music is enjoyable, but not remarkable.

The Bad
Rune's combat is very simplistic. There are no ranged weapons so virtually all the action in the game is melee. Pick a weapon and hack away, trying to time your strikes and blocks right; that's pretty much all there is to it. Similarly there is not enough depth to the levels, the plot or even the various weapons you'll find to make the game a unique or compelling experience.

AI is another major failing. Rune lacks any kind of detailed enemy behavior. Enemies will run at you and hack away, and while they fight well, there's no strategy, teamwork or even real variation.

The Bottom Line
Rune fails to be a great game much in the same way Blade of Darkness, another third person fantasy action game released around the same time, does: Its central element, the combat, isn't interesting enough to propel the game, and it has just barely enough window dressings to make it worth the ride. Nothing too special here.