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Scourge of Worlds: Interactive DVD Game
Rhino // Unrated // February 8, 2005
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Interactive DVD games that one plays not on their computer, but in their player, have never really caught on, as they involve only a series of clicks on the remote to guide players through basic animation. Despite one of these games being the popular "Dragon's Lair" tale, the presentations didn't feel cinematic, and clicking quickly became something of a chore.
"Scourge of Worlds" is the latest of these games, and it is an improvement over the prior titles. The "Dungeons and Dragons" game allows players to go along with a band of various warriors on a journey across the game's universe, where they eventually find themselves looking for a very powerful weapon that, in the wrong hands, could destroy their world.
The animated feature doesn't offer the kind of animation that one sees in feature films, but does have animation that would be pretty good for a computer game - it's very detailed and moves smoothly. There's also a lot of choices: overall, one can find 1,100 possible story paths and 6 possible endings. The story itself is made up of elements many have probably seen before in this kind of adventure/fantasy tale (it's a bit "Lord of the Rings"-ish), but the characters are generally well-developed and the visual construction of the world is often pretty vibrant and engaging. Voice work and dialogue were also better than expected. Where the other DVD games felt like primitive clicking, this actually felt like an interactive movie.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Scourge of Worlds" is presented by Rhino in approximately 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. The image quality was quite excellent, with strong detail and excellent clarity apparent throughout. The picture did look slightly softer in a few instances, but most of the presentation looked very well-defined. A tiny bit of shimmering was present, but no edge enhancement or pixelation was seen. Colors remained bright and vibrant, with no smearing or other faults.
SOUND: "Scourge of Worlds" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The surrounds weren't put to great use throughout the presentation, but they were present for some occasional slight ambience. However, the audio did have a very nice spread across the front soundstage. Audio quality was also excellent, with dynamic-sounding music and clear dialogue/effects.
EXTRAS: On the second disc, we find a series of special features. "Behind-the-Scenes" is split into different sections: "Concept", "production", "post-production", "making of Scourge" and the trailer. There's also a gallery, the linear movie itself and a trivia game.
Final Thoughts: After the prior interactive games I've played, I didn't have the highest expectations for this one, but it was actually pretty good. The animation was solid, the story rather involving and the story generally well done. The DVD offers very good image quality, fine audio and a nice helping of supplements. Recommended for Dungeons/Dragons or Role-Playing Game fans.
Interactive DVD games that one plays not on their computer, but in their player, have never really caught on, as they involve only a series of clicks on the remote to guide players through basic animation. Despite one of these games being the popular "Dragon's Lair" tale, the presentations didn't feel cinematic, and clicking quickly became something of a chore.
"Scourge of Worlds" is the latest of these games, and it is an improvement over the prior titles. The "Dungeons and Dragons" game allows players to go along with a band of various warriors on a journey across the game's universe, where they eventually find themselves looking for a very powerful weapon that, in the wrong hands, could destroy their world.
The animated feature doesn't offer the kind of animation that one sees in feature films, but does have animation that would be pretty good for a computer game - it's very detailed and moves smoothly. There's also a lot of choices: overall, one can find 1,100 possible story paths and 6 possible endings. The story itself is made up of elements many have probably seen before in this kind of adventure/fantasy tale (it's a bit "Lord of the Rings"-ish), but the characters are generally well-developed and the visual construction of the world is often pretty vibrant and engaging. Voice work and dialogue were also better than expected. Where the other DVD games felt like primitive clicking, this actually felt like an interactive movie.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Scourge of Worlds" is presented by Rhino in approximately 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen. The image quality was quite excellent, with strong detail and excellent clarity apparent throughout. The picture did look slightly softer in a few instances, but most of the presentation looked very well-defined. A tiny bit of shimmering was present, but no edge enhancement or pixelation was seen. Colors remained bright and vibrant, with no smearing or other faults.
SOUND: "Scourge of Worlds" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The surrounds weren't put to great use throughout the presentation, but they were present for some occasional slight ambience. However, the audio did have a very nice spread across the front soundstage. Audio quality was also excellent, with dynamic-sounding music and clear dialogue/effects.
EXTRAS: On the second disc, we find a series of special features. "Behind-the-Scenes" is split into different sections: "Concept", "production", "post-production", "making of Scourge" and the trailer. There's also a gallery, the linear movie itself and a trivia game.
Final Thoughts: After the prior interactive games I've played, I didn't have the highest expectations for this one, but it was actually pretty good. The animation was solid, the story rather involving and the story generally well done. The DVD offers very good image quality, fine audio and a nice helping of supplements. Recommended for Dungeons/Dragons or Role-Playing Game fans.
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