The First Templar Review

Backstory

Haemimont Games, a developer based in Bulgaria, of rather modest size (they employ about fifty people) are taking a step in a new direction with their newest title: The First Templar. Known for past success with the Tropico franchise, (a simulation game that has you playing the dictator of a small island paradise) an action adventure game is an odd change of pace for a developer that has for many years made strategy games. The First Templar not only aims to be a solid hack and slash adventure but a fully co-operative experience as well. Many people have been comparing this new title to the Assassin’s Creed franchise (with some claiming it to be a knock off of sorts) but while the two games are similar in some respects they are different in most.

The Story

The narrative follows two Knights Templar during the crusades; Ceilan and Roland are searching for the holy grail (the cup Jesus is said to have drank from at the last supper). The Knights Templar were an order of warrior monks who remained celibate their whole lives and made enemies of Muslims during the late middle ages. Much controversy and mystery surrounded the Knights Templar order and has been made the subject of many well-known works of fiction such as The Da Vinci Code and the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Ceilan is the story’s central hero, he will fight along side both Roland and Marie (a French noble tied up with the fate of the grail) throughout the dozen or so levels, though Marie is featured more so than Roland. The heroes of the tale must traverse both Europe and the Middle East hunting clues while contending with rival factions (inquisitors and brigands) as well as armies of enemy Saracens (warriors under the banner of Islam).

The themes of the narrative are quite simple as the heroes try and live up to the morals dear to their knighthood and the bad guys do evil in the name of greater good. The First Templar’s biggest problem is that it has a lack of character overall. The game’s heroes feature little to no development over the course of the plot and have little in the way of charm or humor. While playing through the many levels that included both Marie and Ceilan I was drawn back to the fantastic chemistry and writing that exemplified Prince of Persia (released 2008, which really only has two characters) which surpasses this game in that regard by leaps and bounds. The villains of The First Templar are equally weak and underwhelming, they are characters we have all seen many times before though they lack any standout qualities. One such villain (there are three) is a much weaker version of the original Assassin’s Creed’s Al Mualim.

Pacing is another issue for The First Templar as the plot takes a really long time to get anywhere interesting and it seems as if every town that our characters visit is under siege and needs the extra manpower (of two no less Templars) to singlehandedly turn the tides. One personal issue is the prevalence of ogres in this “historical” world, according to the dialogue they are human yet they stand at over ten feet tall and are as wide as wagons. I guess I must have missed that day in European history class. The story is unfortunately the weakest element of the game.

The Visuals

It’s hard to create games set in reality that can’t possibly hope to attain the uber realist graphics of a Call of Duty or a Battlefield title. Those games carry massive budgets and art teams both of which The First Templar did not have at the production end. The visuals go for a slightly stylized look that mostly succeeds though at times it can look dated as if it were built for the earliest days of the Xbox 360. Environments are massive and varied (Bioware take notes for Dragon Age 3) you will battle through as mix of European woodlands and middle eastern desserts with a couple of ominous crypts are thrown in as well. Most environments look very good with detailed skyboxes and very little pop in. Level design through the traveling forest and crypt scenarios is mostly linear but opens up in the cities and battle locations allowing for exploration. Environmental detail is up to par and nothing ever feels too “empty”. Other environments such as some (but not most) of the middle-eastern locations look flat and a little dull. Creating dessert environments that look convincing (and don’t feel empty) is extremely tough and many games such as the recent Operation Flash Point: Red River struggle to achieve that suspension of disbelief.

Texture work on both characters and levels is clean and well done though there are a lot of low-resolution textures all over the place; this contributes to the overall uneven presentation. Characters models look very good with two major infractions; the faces are stiff and a little odd looking (as in ugly) with bad lip-synching and the animations outside of gameplay are goofy and overused. The effects are mostly very good as well, fire and lighting are convincing and employ an artistry that stands out from other similar games. On the other hand this game has some of the butt ugliest water effects I have ever seen and fortunately water is seen very little throughout the adventure. The First Templar’s graphics aren’t going to turn any heads but they are clean and don’t distract from the gameplay.

The Sounds

Effects such as fire spreading, the clash of swords and the twang of bows all live up to the standard and as in most games are unremarkable. The voice work on the other hand (while held back by some really hammy writing) is generic, uninspired and hardly manages to meet the level of “okay” that most games do. The characters (whom are mostly French) are voiced with English accents that are not a bother until you hear the odd French accent here and there, the strangest coming from a Saracen warrior. Cielan’s lines are delivered just as generically as the voice actor could provide a grizzled veterans persona. Marie sounds straight up annoying and while she doesn’t reach the horrendous screech of Final Fantasy’s Vanille she can get pretty nerve wracking. The awful voice work kept drawing me back to the inspired and delightful performances in the Prince of Persia. The soundtrack features a handful of good tracks that set the tone well and are even a little catchy they aren’t as good as anything from Mass Effect or Dragon Age but they do manage to pull of a well done historical OST. The only complaint that can be leveled against the games tracks is that there are too few and of too short a length.

The Gameplay

The First Templar’s greatest strength lays in its varied gameplay. The First Templar is an action adventure game that really emphasizes the adventure part of the equation. Gameplay is broken into two main types; the battlefield adventuring and the Indiana Jones style treasure hunting. The hack and slash combat involves role-playing game elements; each character has their own unique skill tree wherein you may buy new abilities using experience earned from downed enemies. Combat is simple though it does expand and features a nice balance of skill and accessibility, most of the battles will pitch many foes against your team of two and they can (for at least three quarters of the game) become quite challenging. Each character has a set of basic combos that are executed using various combinations of only two buttons (on the pc: the left and right mouse buttons) this basic combo can be expanded through the skill tree with shield breaking combos (essential for shield baring foes), knock back strikes, counter attacks, power attacks, parries and critical strikes.

On top of the basic attacks each character has a couple of unique attacks (relegated to the numerical keys or bumpers) that allow your character to pull off a few unique tricks such as Ceilan’s whirlwind slash or Marie’s dagger throw. Every move with the exception of the critical strikes and counter attacks (both based on timing) consume zeal orbs (the capacity of which can be upgraded through the skill tree), which are earned through basic attacks or use of upgraded abilities such as parries. The most fun I had during combat was when my character executed a slow motion finishing attack that is surprisingly well animated, these attacks are however random which I felt was a missed opportunity. Other games such as Assassin’s Creed also feature instant kills though those are linked to gameplay and are far too easy to pull off. Integrating a system in which these attacks are executed based on a successful series of attacks or combos would be good as early as possible into the game before in order to expand your abilities so you don’t find yourself hammering away the basic combo over and over again.

The other facet of the gameplay; the crypt crawling is extremely well integrated and breaks up the combat just when it begins to become monotonous. While running through dark caverns you will have to bear a torch and use both it and complex mechanical systems (levers and pressure plates) to traverse some well thought out puzzles. The brainteasers include both simple yet challenging logic based planning and dexterity as you will have to contend with deadly traps such as shooting spikes and swinging blades. These sequences require you to utilize both of your characters (in single player an instantaneous switch) and cooperation in the multiplayer mode to get pass through to the next stage. Along with combat and the Indiana Jones stuff there are also a couple of other novel additions such as side quests featured on branching level paths and stealth sequences that has you avoiding enemies vision (indicated by a little cone) and sneaking in for the quick stealth kill. The stealth sequences aren’t quite as savvy as games like Splinter Cell but they are surprisingly effective and fun, along with sneaking you will on occasion have to hit the dirt and follow a set of tracks that are discovered with a quick button press. The tracking is used during both the over world and crypt levels.

There are treasures to be found throughout the game, if you have the patience to find them there are tons of level specific bonuses, extra experience and pieces of equipment to be found. The games equipment sets which are broken down into four pieces for an outfit and two for weapons are character specific and will alter the appearance of your character. The new outfits are mostly just pallet swaps on the textures though they are quite nice and the new weapons are whole new models. The equipment while visually distinct, poses no actual benefit to you. It won’t allow you to do any more damage or take any less, making it seem a little bit pointless.

There are a few small issues with the combat; some abilities such as Roland’s damage boosting war cry doesn’t have any visual cue as to how long they last and the combat targeting doesn’t feature a visual indicator either. The only sense as to what enemy your character is targeting is the direction that your facing and switching targets to avoid getting gang banged is a little bit difficult. The strength in this game lies in the varied and well-executed gameplay.

The Multiplayer

The First Templar may be played the whole way through with a buddy, either through the Internet or via local split screenplay on both platforms (360 & PC). Everything works really well and the game is actually a lot more enjoyable with a friend. The single player is by no means a slouch as the artificial intelligence is very competent yet things can seem lonely with the weak characters and writing. Unfortunately the campaign progress is tied to whoever is hosting the game, meaning you will probably want to play through the whole game with the same person.

Lasting Appeal

The First Templar lasts a satisfying eight to twelve hours, eight if you rush through and ignore everything but the main quest and twelve if you choose to take on every side mission and attempt to hunt down the treasures. It may take you longer if you want to try and find absolutely everything that you can and find such as the tablets that dole out bits of Templar history. If you have a friend to play through the game with then it will last all the longer and be a lot more fun. Aside from the game’s linear levels and side missions there isn’t much else to do besides try and obtain every achievement. The First Templar is a good game, it is held back by weak narrative and characters but despite this it is a strong first effort from developer Haemimont Games. Should a sequel come about that features better writing and polish of the well-established formula it would be something to look out for.

The First Templar

STORY: 6

VISUALS: 7

SOUNDS: 6

GAMEPLAY: 8

MULTIPLAYER: 7

LASTING APPEAL: 7

FINAL SCORE: 7/10