Customer Reviews

Savage: The Battle for Newerth

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To clarify, the key thing is don't BUY this game. It's now available to download for FREE on the Internet. The sequel is in development and the developers are allowing people to play the first one for free to get them interested in buying the sequel (something a few other developers have also done - e.g., Rockstar with GTA 2). Save yourself a few bucks.

You don't get a hybrid game here. You get a very well thought out game of FPS and a very limited RTS game in one box. When you are playing the soldier/beast, there is absolutely nothing remotely RTS about the experience. And on the flip side, when playing as the commander, you feel like you're playing a 5 year old RTS...and a bad one at that.

The joy of playing commander comes from the fact that you are in command of real human soldiers, not just some dumb AI that will listen to your every command. And as a soldier, you get the joy of doing whatever the hell you want.

Savage truly shines as a FPS. The weapons are varied, and every single weapon has its place of use. And the 2 sides are unique enough to make you go..."wow, they're different!". And oh yeah, the weapons need some skill to actually be good at. No more of calling snipers lame. These folks actually have to use SOME skill to kill you, not merely moving the mouse and clicking like the other games.

I see great things for this game...and hopefully soon, they can perhaps add a single player campaign of sorts. Truly, if a game is in need of a single player mode, this...is near the top of the list.

Concept:
For years game companies have copied one great idea instead of innovating a new one. In this case Savage is a copy of a FPS (First Person shooter + PvP) and a RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game. Melding the concept originated by Doom and Command and Conquer Savage allows two commanders to go head to head on the RTS portion while up to 64 total players fight out the details on the field.

Gameplay in brief:
At first, being a slave to the person watching the game in a god-view issuing out commands doesn't really sound all that appealing unless your the submissive type. Don't worry, you dont actually have to follow the commanders orders. You instead have control over your destiny, be it to die in a hail of grenades or at the mercy of another swordsmen. However if your team cooperates and tactically strikes (officers can also be nominated by the commander) at the opposing side in conjunction with a skilled commander the reward is at least a great match and probably even victory.

My experience:
I have played 100+ matches with at least 30 as commander on Savage and I know both are quite a bit of fun since I'm the type of person that has enjoyed FPS and RTS games in the past like C&C, Red Alert, Starcraft, Warcraft, Quake, Counterstrike, etc.

Performance:
The Netcode, sort of the term used for the protocol and code written within the game to allow for internet play is fairly smooth and runs pretty well. I have some problems with slight lag under certain circumstances such as walking into a huge battle between teams when 10 or more people are in a tight area. Most of the time it seems its due to the server hardware more than the internet connection or game coding. When running on a box 1.8ghz+ I would guess the dedicated server could easily support 32 players or more. As for the game machine, I run a fairly up to date 2.6ghz Intel with an NVIDA Fx5800 Video card with all the other bells and whistles a computer nerd like me would have, and the game runs very smoothly. I tried it on a P3 800 machine with a PCI video card and it didnt run well at all. I suspect it was a problem with the video card mainly though. I have a few other friends that run it on various machines from 1.4ghz up and they report no problems with performance.

Overall:
I recommend Savage due to the replayability level since every game you play is different if the opponents continue to change. Granted, playing the same map over and over can become a little tiresome but you have the option of even creating custom maps if you host your own server. I have very strict guidelines on my rating system on PC games because I consider myself a junkie. If a game keeps my attention for more than 2 weeks, it is a great game.

I played a few days in beta and purchased Savage when it came out. It's not your typical First Person Shooter (FPS). Many of the weapons have limited ammo and have an arc to them. It takes some getting used to if you play BattleField 1942, any of the Half-Life Mods or Quake and Unreal. And a big part of the game is in third person melee mode, which again takes some getting used to. At first melee will feel like a random button masher, but with some practice you will be able to land your swings at the right time.

Overall I am really enjoying it. The graphics are pretty good with outdoor scenes ranging from tropical waterfalls to snowy peaks. Coordinating with your team is important for winning, and having a good commander makes a huge difference.

It's great to see a game that offers a unique sort of gameplay when so much that is released is just an old game with new skin. In any case, Savage is a combination of FPS fighting and RTS commanding. Teamwork is the key to victory though it can become frustrating when you have a bad commander that makes winning near impossible.

One very nice feature is that the game runs on all Windows and Linux platforms without the need of any sort of patching. The development team is very mod friendly so expect to see a lot of new content as players start to design their own versions.

I have been on beta for a while and every patch they add just makes the game even better. Its geared towards a very team oriented style of playing. Commander has a very daunting task of keeping everything running smoothly but the ability to allow other players to take part of his command is a nice addition.

The game play is very melee based. Weaponry is fantastic but usually you run out of ammo quickly and must resort to melee. Melee in and of its self takes great skill and is great fun. I and a few other testers have even had melee duels which are quite entertaining.

The weaponry is very diverse, from standing halfway across the map and sniping people with a bow; to running into the heat of the battle with a flamethrower. There are guns for every type of player and every type of situation.

The S2 team is very involved with this game; they are always there taking suggestions and fixing bugs. They are very friendly team and it has been great working with them thought this beta so far.

This game is something else. I've had it for over 6 months and i still think this is the best game out there. The style of the game is so different. You have your FPS style, when your on the field playing, but even then it's not your typical FPS, you have all kinds of different weapons that will do different things. Then when you are commmander you turn into RTS mode, which is the part i enjoy the most. You get to set up things and supply your people on the field with the items they need. You help them where to go and what to attack. You can even give players "buffs" which like are heals and shields. This game is a must buy and you can get it for like $15 at CC or $20 at BB, or just buy it used. This game doesn't require a cd to run and you can have as many people you want on the cd key. I have at least 10 people on mine.

Big Fish

This game seamlessly combines the joy and strategy of RTS games, with the thrill and skill of FPS games. It works! A gorgeous game with great production values.

This title was very underrated unfortunately - but many of the best games are. Mainstream games are getting easier, boring, and simplistic, while games like this come along and offer a breath of fresh air, but get almost no publicity.

I highly recommend this title.

This is a hybrid game combining first person/third person shooter elements with real time strategy. One person can become the commander of the forces placing buildings while everyone else may fight on the field against the other team. There can only be one commander on each team. This game was created by S2Games, and you no longer have to purchase it (in fact it is better that you don't as this will no longer work online as the community version does). S2 Games has also released Savage2, and it too is free for download, so you should not purchase this game anymore. The game is good for LAN parties as well.

I've never played such an addictive game in my life before. I thought starcraft was addictive, but that doesn't even compare to this. Like the description says, be a commander or be a warrior. Most likely you'll end up as a warrior but frankly I find it far more entertaining anyways. The fact that its all online is amazing. The community is amazing on how it supports the game and all the new features they have created since the game has launched. Chances are if you buy this, and figure out how to put it up to date with all the new patches since the auto updater doesn't completely auto update, you gotta go to the main website and get it from there. After that, smooth sailing and enjoying a classical and original game.