Enclave HD, the third particular person motion recreation which initially graced Xbox and PC, has been ported and remastered for contemporary consoles. Now out there with trophies, and a brand new, remastered soundtrack, you’ll be able to soar into the Gentle or Darkish marketing campaign and begin hacking and slashing. If that sounds enjoyable, you are in luck; you’ll be able to seize a duplicate of the Nintendo Change model proper now as a part of IGN Plus.
Plus members – get your Nintendo Change key for Enclave HD right here on its IGN Rewards Web page. Not a Plus member? You may simply change into one by testing the IGN Rewards web page.
What’s Enclave HD?
Enclave was initially developed by Starbreeze Studios (the makers of The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, The Darkness, Payday 2, Brothers: A Story Of Two Sons, & others) and got here to the unique Xbox within the early 2000s with twin campaigns; Gentle and Darkish, which pit gamers on reverse sides of the battle. It went to PC the next yr, however that is the primary time this floppy, old-school 3D (or first-person) slash-em-up is accessible on Nintendo or PlayStation consoles in any respect.
Set on the planet of Celenheim, Enclave HD is remastered with up-rezzed textures and FMVs, but it surely’s nonetheless completely the identical recreation. Swing your sword wildly at little goblins, snotlings (sure, you learn that proper), orcs, and extra as you battle to defend your self in opposition to the armies of the Dreg’Atar within the Gentle marketing campaign, and battle to beat Celenheim within the Darkish marketing campaign. Sadly you’ll be able to’t soar into the Darkish marketing campaign with out beating the Gentle one first, however you will collect gold and select between completely different unlocked characters earlier than every brief stage, equipping weapons, armor, and even potions through the use of that gold.
It is a real throwback to make certain, so beware when you have no urge for food for bugs or sixth-generation design choices, however when you have an affection for gaming historical past or retro experiences, give it a spin.
Enclave HD Developer Interview
Q: How did the event staff become involved with Enclave, & what fueled the choice to carry again this Xbox recreation?
A: The concept to carry an upgraded model of the unique Enclave to trendy consoles happened via Ziggurat’s conversations with licensor TopWare Interactive. It was mutually agreed that Enclave can be an incredible match for Ziggurat’s objectives of preserving and enhancing timeless video games from the previous, because it has continued to have an energetic group of gamers on PC however has been absent from consoles for a number of generations. Ziggurat reached out to the trusted and skilled porting builders at Sickhead Video games, who had beforehand labored with Ziggurat to carry the definitive variations of Actual Heroes: Firefighter to PC and Xbox as Actual Heroes: Firefighter HD.
Q: Video games like this are a uncommon breed these days. What does the staff take into consideration what Enclave brings to the desk, in comparison with extra trendy recreation construction & mechanics?
A: Enclave is a 3D third-person motion RPG, with a lot emphasis on the motion that it could possibly even be thought of a hack-and-slash recreation. It was a uncommon breed in its personal time, as most different motion RPGs from this period had been both top-down isometric video games within the vein of Diablo, or first-person video games within the vein of Ultima Underworld, Darkish Messiah of Would possibly and Magic, and the Elder Scrolls collection. It was not widespread to see a 3D RPG with a third-person perspective with ranges designed to permit for positioning, crouching, and leaping as helpful instruments in traversal and fight. There are additionally few motion RPGs from that period which increment gameplay in a stage-based reasonably than quest-based construction (Odin Sphere on PS2 involves thoughts, which was launched 5 years later than Enclave on Xbox).
Enclave got here out practically a decade earlier than third-person 3D motion RPGs like Demon’s Souls, Kingdom of Amalur, and Dragon’s Dogma. FromSoftware video games within the vein of Demon’s Souls may very well be seen to have extra in widespread with Enclave than different Motion RPG video games from the time of Enclave’s launch, since Enclave locations better emphasis on stage design, 3D area (brief and long-range fight, verticality, platforming, and so forth.), set items, and brutal issue than most early 2000s Western RPGs. The fight in Enclave has way more of a hack-and-slash really feel than Darkish Souls, but it surely nonetheless gives a satisfying expertise to these trying to make their manner via menacing however stunning environments with a darkish medieval fantasy theme.
The sequencing of the sport into dozens of missions permits the story to unfold in a compelling manner for first-time gamers and for handy revisiting of particular person missions to replay them with a unique playable character (or for the completionist trying to decide up each bag of gold they could have missed on their first playthrough). Reasonably than the participant controlling a single character with a talent tree that unfolds over time, you’ll be able to swap at will between six completely different playable characters with distinct talents and equip them with the gear of your alternative between missions. Development comes within the type of incomes extra gold that unlocks higher gear for every character, reasonably than within the type of leveling character attribute factors or abilities on a talent tree.
Q: What are among the staff’s favourite recreation parts?
A: The sport incorporates a gentle marketing campaign and a darkish marketing campaign which overlap in methods which are enjoyable to find. There’s a large number of playable characters, not solely permitting for a number of playstyles but in addition for replay of missions with a unique set of talents. Starbreeze clearly put a number of love and energy into the lore and backdrop of the sport. The artwork course, detailed environments, and general ambiance are even richer for it.
There may be all kinds of challenges current within the recreation’s enemies and environments, in addition to bonus missions with distinctive challenges that recall sieges on castles such as you’d see in a Lord of the Rings movie. There are easter eggs all through the sport to find, plus overpowered unlockable characters to earn if you beat the sport that allow you to bulldoze your manner via the sport’s missions if you replay them.
Q: What are among the staff’s favourite tales from improvement?
A: Essentially the most memorable and rewarding elements of engaged on this recreation have been in collaborating with passionate people searching for to make the perfect model of the sport attainable a actuality. TopWare Interactive supplied a wealth of sources to assist us result in the very best bodily launch in collaboration with Restricted Run Video games.
The builders at Sickhead had been diligent in making customized extensions to the sport’s authentic lighting instruments to render greater decision gentle maps and did a number of passes to seek out the very best methodology for up-resing the textures and person interface for constancy and readability. Speedrunner Landon Rivers consulted with us to repair among the legacy bugs which had been identified by the group for years, and gave his insights to assist guarantee all the perfect elements of the unique come via in Enclave HD.
Q: Did the staff embrace something distinctive to this remaster?
A: All of the textures – together with person interface – are upscaled for a greater look on trendy shows in Enclave HD. The unique recreation made heavy use of full movement video not just for story cinematics, but in addition in its attractive menus. These full-motion movies have been upscaled as properly, retaining their eerie really feel at a constancy appropriate for right now’s screens.
Prior to now we’ve added voice performing to a recreation that didn’t initially have it (in BloodRayne Betrayal: Contemporary Bites, by which Laura Bailey reprised the function of Rayne, and in American Hero by which Timothy Bottoms reprised his function as Jack), however that is the primary recreation Ziggurat has up to date the place a wholly new soundtrack (not only a remake or enhancement of the unique OST) was added. You may play Enclave HD with the sport’s epic authentic rating, however you even have the choice to play with solely new music all through the sport. We’ve additionally added a “Combined” mode which performs a hand-picked monitor from the unique or new soundtrack, relying on which mission you might be taking part in.
An enormous quantity of Trophies and Achievements are included on supporting consoles. For those who’re a trophy hunter, there will probably be a lot so that you can do in unlocking all of them.
Q: What would you inform potential gamers, who’re occupied with leaping in?
A: Whereas Enclave might look like a linear recreation, it does reward exploring its aspect paths, nooks, and crannies as a result of selecting up the gold you’ll discover there’s what permits for equipping higher gear on future ranges. For those who get caught on a specific stage, strive utilizing a unique character or revisiting older ranges to select up extra gold so you should use higher gear.
Though it might look like a contemporary motion RPG at first look, as a result of there isn’t any roll and the defend isn’t a assured block from the entrance, in melee fight it’s greatest to bodily keep away from assaults by shifting your character again. Crossbows have a partial aim-assist mechanic with the big circle that seems over targets. Firing whereas aiming in that circle will robotically goal bolts on the goal immediately. Bows haven’t any aim-assist however many arrow sorts help you nock a number of arrows, or have an space of impact, to make them simpler to make use of in shut vary.
We hope that longtime followers of Enclave get pleasure from this new model and we hope that new gamers get to dive into the perfect model of a real gaming traditional.
What Is IGN Plus?
IGN Plus is the paid membership program for IGN, and proper now you’ll be able to seize an annual membership for simply $29.99, or simply $4.99 a month, should you desire to go that route. You may as well strive it for simply $1 for 30 days.
What you get as an IGN Plus member:
Brian Barnett writes evaluations, guides, options, & extra for IGN & GameSpot. You may get your repair of his antics on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Bluesky, & Backloggd, & try his improbable online game speak present, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
