Demon Stone

by Atari

Product Features

• Xbox
• T (teen)
• Role playing game

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00021KBKG
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches ; 4 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 17, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,712 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: Xbox

Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone delivers the feel of an action movie in an incredible role-playing experience. Its award-winning game engine combines with an incredible story written by best-selling fantasy author R.A. Salvatore. Journey to the mythic land of Faerun, where monsters and magic are real. You set out in a party of three, to right an ancient wrong and restore order to the world. Fulfill prophecies and build a legend as you fight to stop demons from destroying all that you know. Features voice talent by Patrick Stewart and Michael Clarke Duncan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Big Disappointment, February 24, 2005

By 

Sax - See all my reviews

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Demon Stone (Video Game)

As a long-time fan of the Forgotten Realms, I was eagerly awaiting this game. The visuals looked absolutely stunning, and the fact that R.A. Salvatore wrote the plot seemed to lend the game a good deal of credibility.

Unfortunately, Demon Stone is quite disappointing. The visuals ARE stunning, I've got to give Atari that, and the fight moves are wonderfully choreographed.

However, there are serious gameplay issues. For one, as the previous reviewer mentioned, the lack of a multiplayer option is bizarre considering that, with three characters, the game is practically begging for team play. This is even more of a shame since the AI for the two characters you are not currently playing isn't very impressive--there are many cases where the character you control is madly attacking and the other two kind of sit there until something wanders in range. Second, I found the forced perspective absolutely infuriating. Rather than going for the bird's eye view like previous such games (D&D Heroes, Dark Alliance, etc), Demon Stone has a shifting perspective depending on where your character stands. Sometimes the view is long, sometimes very short, and sometimes the "camera" actually sits in the middle of the available ground. This means that you are forced to fight enemies who are actually off-screen, or that your entire view can be blocked by your own charactert (or even, *groan*, by an AI-controlled character). A third-person camera would be wonderful, if only you were able to control it yourself instead of being pinned to a single, often very frustrating, perspective.

Gameplay aside, even the game design is a little lacking. Levels are relatively short, so the game is over more quickly than I would like. They are also extremely linear, mostly lacking hidden areas, sub-quests, or the ability to explore. The characters advance in terms of greater equipment and abilities, but for the most part these minimally change the game experience. For example, Illius gains new spells throughout the game, but you basically have three choices: attack, protect, incapacitate. Despite using spectacular D&D spell titles (power word kill, meteor swarm, cone of cold), his ranged attack is still basically a dart he shoots out of his staff, affecting only one enemy. Finally--and its possible this is just a personal thing--I found that many levels have a situation in which the heroes are trapped and must accomplish their mission under pressure. For example, in the Underdark level you must battle githyanki warriors at the same time as you fire at their wizards so that you can break down an ice wall. It sounds kind of exciting, and for a few minutes it is. But these kinds of "get past the obstacle through a never-ending stream of enemies" is really just tedious, especially when some of the enemies (wizards) continually work to repair the wall. Few games are made better by those kinds of battles, and Demon Stone seems to use them quite often.

As a last note, I wanted to comment on the game's faithfulness to the Forgotten Realms. Caveat: Honestly, this didn't impact my enjoyment of the game at all, and it probably wouldn't for the vast majority of gamers. Its really just the satisfaction of seeing whether the developers get it right. Sadly, Atari's score here is moderate at best. For example, they seem to place Nesme in the Galena Mountains rather than near the Spine of the World (a few thousand miles apart; see the manual p. 18). The geography is similarly confused for Zhai. Some of the visuals are a little off as well. Khelben Arunsun, Demon Stone's "narrator," looks more like a medieval dutch burgher than the many drawings that been done of him; and his tower is inexplicably located in the middle of the wilderness, rather than in the center of the Metropolis Waterdeep. Drizzt's inclusion in the game is a nice touch, but even there some of the details are innacurate: Drizzt's scimitar's (referenced by name in the game manual, so the guys have done some research) magically bristle with flame, and the battlerager Thibbledorf Pwent, rather than impaling and shaking his enemies to pieces, single-handedly fixes the gate winch?!

I really tried to like Demon Stone, and but for the gameplay issues I still would have enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the weirdly shifting perspective, the lack of other players to enjoy the game with (which has always been the strength of other D&D games), and the proliferation of certan tedious scenes killd my enthusiasm quite early. To anyone interested in Demon Stone, I would recommend instead that you go out and buy Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baldurs Gate meets LOTR 2 towers, November 17, 2004

By 

Frank Acosta - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Demon Stone (Video Game)

I bought this today, and been playing it, and I seem to be enjoying it very much.
This game combines both the graphics (graphics for this game are better although) and hack n slash game play of the LOTR 2 Towers game. Then combines it with the story of Baldurs Gate and The Forgotten Realms world.
Another way to think of this game is Baldurs Gate up close 3rd person view, instead of the over head view that made everyting in the 2 Baldurs Gate games look small.
If you enjoyed the Baldurs Gate games and the LOTR games, this is a must have game. The story is written than none other R. A. Salvatore himself!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So this is what it's like to live a fantasy adventure, January 25, 2009

By 

B. Nielson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Demon Stone (Video Game)

Rannek, a forlorn warrior with a haunted past, walks along a lonely path. He believes he is alone in the world and has nothing to live for. A dragon's shadow passes overhead. Are those orcs he hears stalking him? There is a cry for help.

Without even a moment to consider the danger, sword drawn, Rannek thrusts himself into a battle for which he is destined.

Thus began one of the best written video games I've ever seen.

Yeah, it's short. Seems that every bad review out there has this as their top complaint. You can finish the game in 5 to 10 hours. (Probably 10 unless you are good at this sort of game.) Since this game was originally sold for half the price of other games, I failed to see the point of this criticism back then, since "short" is meaningless except in the context of how much you get for your dollar. Now that you can buy the game used for a few bucks, this criticism is entirely meaningless. Even the worst reviews of this game admit it's got good graphics, nice action, and an interesting story. But they just couldn't see past the short play time -- which never did turn out to be an issue. Heck, you'll probably want to replay the game more than once.

The other main complaint about this game is it's lack of multiplayer. Okay, that would have been awesome. But isn't that a bit like complaining that High Noon just isn't a very good Sci Fi movie?

This game is what it is. It's hands down the single best example of how to integrate narrative with action game play and RPG elements. (There are plenty of places where the narrative was ill adapted to multiplayer, so the choice to be single player only isn't merely an oversight.)

This is a living breathing world populated with believable and sympathetic characters. Not a word of dialog is wasted. By the time I was done, I felt like I knew the characters and cared for them. I felt more connection to Rannek, Zhai, and Illius then I ever did for the characters of my favorite RPGs. And this was with only 5 hours of game play! Oh my gosh, the game industry needs to hire the writer(s) and let him (them) do something of some length. This is no small feat we are talking about and it's sad that people "didn't get it."

Many of the levels are just breath taking. I know, I know, graphics don't matter. Oh, except that they do. And this is on an old style x-box and ps2, no less. It still puts many xbox 360 and ps3 titles to shame.

But it's not really the graphics that mattered so much as how they integrated so well with the world, the action, and the narrative. For example, my heart stopped beating when I realized the "cutscene" dragon -- that looked so real -- was attacking me. He transitioned from "cutscene" to "boss" seemlessly. And the digital actors show real emotion. Moments like this kept happening.

And the game has real emotional impact that is so often lacking in games. I nearly got up and cheered when Drizzt entered the fray. (Then I realized I was controlling him!) But that was nothing to all the other poignant moments where the characters shows us what they are made of and display what's in their hearts through their actions. I still remember the moment where Rannek finally gives a nod to Zhai as they decide to help Drizzt fight and the music swells as the leap from the wall into battle. I truly felt Rannek's anger as my own at the trolls who had destroyed his town -- and I felt true companionship for his friends helping him come to terms with his past.

And who could forget the moment where Rannek decides to take up the silver sword -- and to seize control of his life and take responsibility for his actions.

And I loved the ironic ending where Ygorl (ably performed by Michael Clarke Duncan) realizes that he sowed the seeds of his own destruction.

Do yourself a favor and buy this game. If you don't like it as much as I did, don't worry, you can always sell it used for basically the price you bought it for, so this is risk free people. But don't be surprised if you end up keeping this one for the collection.

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