Out of all the games to come out for the original Xbox, Azurik was one of those games that wanted to be different than all the others in the best way possible. But somehow fell short on a few things.
You play as the title character Azurik, a lore guardian and protector of the elemental discs; Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Life and Death. Following a selfish betrayal from your counterpart Balthazar and the death of your master, you are tasked with locating all your elemental powers and disc fragments to combat foes effectively, restore balance to Perathia and defeat Balthazar. You must venture to different realms to locate the disc fragments, solve puzzles to unlock new areas in each realm and defeat it's Guardians. Once you complete the elemental discs and restore your elemental powers, you then venture into the Death Realm and defeat Balthazar who has become the new Guardian of Death. Balance to Perathia is restored and you are the new master. Meanwhile, Balthazar is held captive by the games main enemies and is incapsulated in a suit of armour resembling the Guardian of Death potentially leading to the games sequel. Unfortunately this never happened.
The game is vast in it's landscapes and is visually beautiful for an original Xbox game. Each realm has its own unique set of puzzles and areas to explore. However, they can feel too vast, too empty or too crowded and claustrophobic at times. It is also easy to get lost in the realms and find yourself in a frustrating situation of finding a way out. The puzzles themselves are very interesting and are interconnected with each area of the realms. However, they can sometimes feel very confusing and will leave you stuck for awhile in trying to solve them. Although, these puzzles do require some patience and thoughtful thinking, they can sometimes feel very pretentious and very long winded for a small result. The game also limits itself on save points and doesn't allow for manual saving so when you die and you've made a bunch of progress and haven't saved, you'll be pushed back to your previous save point and will be made to do it again.
The story itself is good but doesn't have much meat to it as you will be introduced to new areas and will just be told what to do and defeat enemies without knowing their origins properly. This is where the game then relies on the manual which gives you more of an insight into the characters, the lore and the enemies. Although this is an excellent way of saving space and allows the developers to focus on building the world more effectively, it doesn't do the story any justice and just feels a bit lazy.
The soundtrack, written and produced by Jeremy Soule who's known for his work on other games such as Skyrim, is one to remember and truly makes you feel that it will be a great adventure. Each area in the game has it's own unique soundtrack which helps develop the atmosphere and aesthetic. The game however doesn't allow for a custom soundtrack.
The enemies you'll face will be dedicated to a realm and can gradually differ for each realm you explore. However you'll be sometimes left with defeating the same enemies in each realm over and over again which leads the combat feeling repetitive. The placement for enemies can sometimes feel off balance and makes the combat feel unfair as you'll sometimes go from having a small group of manageable enemies to a large swarm that will kill you in few dozen hits. Speaking of combat, the combos that you will mainly use with your trusty Axion primarily will be mashing the A button or B button to disperse large groups of enemies. The combination options when you have all your elemental powers is excellent with each power combination allowing you to deal more damage to powerful enemies and protect yourself.
Overall I think the game had great ideas ahead of its time and felt overly ambitious to create something that ultimately feels repetitive and bland in places. But I think you'll agree with me, for those who've played the game, that it's one to remember fondly. For those haven't played the game and are reading the reviews, I'd still recommend you play it for yourself. If this was to get a remaster or remake, I'd definitely play it!
You play as the title character Azurik, a lore guardian and protector of the elemental discs; Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Life and Death. Following a selfish betrayal from your counterpart Balthazar and the death of your master, you are tasked with locating all your elemental powers and disc fragments to combat foes effectively, restore balance to Perathia and defeat Balthazar. You must venture to different realms to locate the disc fragments, solve puzzles to unlock new areas in each realm and defeat it's Guardians. Once you complete the elemental discs and restore your elemental powers, you then venture into the Death Realm and defeat Balthazar who has become the new Guardian of Death. Balance to Perathia is restored and you are the new master. Meanwhile, Balthazar is held captive by the games main enemies and is incapsulated in a suit of armour resembling the Guardian of Death potentially leading to the games sequel. Unfortunately this never happened.
The game is vast in it's landscapes and is visually beautiful for an original Xbox game. Each realm has its own unique set of puzzles and areas to explore. However, they can feel too vast, too empty or too crowded and claustrophobic at times. It is also easy to get lost in the realms and find yourself in a frustrating situation of finding a way out. The puzzles themselves are very interesting and are interconnected with each area of the realms. However, they can sometimes feel very confusing and will leave you stuck for awhile in trying to solve them. Although, these puzzles do require some patience and thoughtful thinking, they can sometimes feel very pretentious and very long winded for a small result. The game also limits itself on save points and doesn't allow for manual saving so when you die and you've made a bunch of progress and haven't saved, you'll be pushed back to your previous save point and will be made to do it again.
The story itself is good but doesn't have much meat to it as you will be introduced to new areas and will just be told what to do and defeat enemies without knowing their origins properly. This is where the game then relies on the manual which gives you more of an insight into the characters, the lore and the enemies. Although this is an excellent way of saving space and allows the developers to focus on building the world more effectively, it doesn't do the story any justice and just feels a bit lazy.
The soundtrack, written and produced by Jeremy Soule who's known for his work on other games such as Skyrim, is one to remember and truly makes you feel that it will be a great adventure. Each area in the game has it's own unique soundtrack which helps develop the atmosphere and aesthetic. The game however doesn't allow for a custom soundtrack.
The enemies you'll face will be dedicated to a realm and can gradually differ for each realm you explore. However you'll be sometimes left with defeating the same enemies in each realm over and over again which leads the combat feeling repetitive. The placement for enemies can sometimes feel off balance and makes the combat feel unfair as you'll sometimes go from having a small group of manageable enemies to a large swarm that will kill you in few dozen hits. Speaking of combat, the combos that you will mainly use with your trusty Axion primarily will be mashing the A button or B button to disperse large groups of enemies. The combination options when you have all your elemental powers is excellent with each power combination allowing you to deal more damage to powerful enemies and protect yourself.
Overall I think the game had great ideas ahead of its time and felt overly ambitious to create something that ultimately feels repetitive and bland in places. But I think you'll agree with me, for those who've played the game, that it's one to remember fondly. For those haven't played the game and are reading the reviews, I'd still recommend you play it for yourself. If this was to get a remaster or remake, I'd definitely play it!
