DESCRIPTION

Rune players take on the role of Ragnar, a strong young Viking destined for greatness. Ragnar's father has been killed by an evil Viking named Conrad and Ragnar makes retribution his quest. Along the way Ragnar meets many enemies with various motivations and powers. He also finds many weapons, each of which offers its wielder a special power of its own.

The smaller, "earlier" weapons usually improve Ragnar's defense, while some of the more advanced weapons can unleash enormously powerful attacks. Ragnar becomes stronger as he makes his way through the world and gains experience. With each violent confrontation Ragnar's bloodlust grows, eventually allowing him to enter a berserker rage in which the damage he inflicts is greatly amplified.

Rune runs on a significantly modified version of the Unreal Tournament engine. Unlike Unreal Tournament, Rune is strictly a third-person game and Ragnar is visible on screen at all times. Special dynamic lighting enhancements allow subtle transparencies and shadows that move with the characters, climbing up walls and disappearing around corners. Character models have been tweaked as well, allowing attacks and actions against a creature to have different effects on different body parts. This allows Ragnar's well-publicized ability to not only sever an enemy's leg, but to then pick the leg up and use it as a weapon against other foes.

The gameplay in Rune is a mix featuring about 30% exploration and puzzle solving and about 70% action and combat. Multiplayer options allow cooperative battles and traditional death matches. The game's creators at HumanHead and Gathering Of Developers have included a level editor in the package and hope that user modifications will keep the game fresh and interesting for a long time to come. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide