Nox (video game)
Nox | ||
---|---|---|
Composer(s) Frank Klepacki | | |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows | |
Release | ||
Genre(s) | Action role-playing | |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Nox is an
Gameplay
The player controls Jack from
Depending on the character class the player selects at the beginning of the game, the style of gameplay varies greatly. The warrior characters are able to equip nearly all armour and mêlée weapons available in the game but cannot use
Weapons in the game come in many varieties and largely restricted to certain classes: most melee weapons and a few ranged weapons can only be used by warriors; bows and crossbows, by conjurers; and many magical staves, by wizards. Some weapons have enchantments on them that add magical bonus to the physical damage they deal to enemies.
The multiplayer game types are similar to those found in online
Plot
Synopsis
The
The game opens with a pre-rendered video of a grown-up Hecubah, the Necromancer girl, who has rediscovered her roots and proclaimed herself the Queen of Necromancers, summoning the Orb back from Earth to greatly increase her power. However, her magic also transports the current owner of the artifact, Jack (who believes it to be a fireplace mantel decoration), to the Land of Nox. Jack lands on Jandor's airship and at this point, the storylines branch, depending on the player's selection of character class. The warriors start the game near the subterranean fortress of Dün Mir; conjurers, near the Village of Ix; and wizards, near Castle Galava. Upon completing any one of the storylines, the Airship Captain's voice during the rolling credits prompts the player to complete the game using another class.
- Upon reaching Dün Mir, the warrior characters must go through the Gauntlet, a labyrinth full of monsters, to prove their skills to the Warlord Horrendous and to gain the rank of a "Fire Knight". Horrendous then sends the player to the Village of Ix to help the conjurers get rid of hedgehog-like monsters harassing the settlement. On the way back, Jack runs into some undead and to investigate them, the Airship Captain transports him to the Field of Valor, the battlefield-turned-graveyard of the Necromancer war. In the crypts beneath the Field, the player first encounters Hecubah and has to fight one of her Necromancer henchmen and many undead. Jack exits the crypts to find the nearby city of Brin devastated by an Ogre invasion and is entrusted with rescuing a group of women taken to the Ogre village of Grok Torr. Afterwards, Jandor arrives and tells Jack to reassemble the Staff of Oblivion and to defeat Hecubah with it. The first part to retrieve is the Halberd of Horrendous so Jack returns to Dün Mir, now besieged by undead, and witnesses Hecubah killing the Warlord. He is able to retrieve the Halberd and travels to Castle Galava to collect the second part of the Staff, the Heart of Nox, guarded by hostile wizards. The third part is the Weirdling, a living creature kept in the Temple of Ix and guarded by powerful monsters. The final part is the Orb itself, so Jack has to find his way to the Necromancers' Land of the Dead through the Dismal Swamp. Upon reassembling the Staff, he follows Hecubah to the Underworld and defeats her in the climactic final battle. After her death, Jack is immediately transferred back to Earth through a magical portal.
- The conjurers start the game in the vicinity of the Village of Ix. Jack's first tasks are to locate his future mentor Aldwyn and to clear out the same monster lair as in the warrior's storyline. The third task is to rescue the ManaMine workers near Ix who were befallen by monsters and scattered. Suspecting Hecubah behind the Mana Mine incident, the Airship Captain sends Jack to the Field of Valor. This part of the game is identical to the warrior's route, except that the conjurer must retrieve the Arch-Wizard Horvath's Amulet of Teleportation from Grok Torr instead of rescuing Brin women. Upon retrieving the Halberd of late Horrendous, Jack travels to Galava to find it overrun by the Ogres. Unlike the warrior, the conjurer is assisted by the wizards, and Horvath sacrifices himself to let Jack escape Hecubah. Retrieving the Weirdling and the rest of the game is identical to the warrior's storyline but the finale is different: using his abilities to possess Hecubah's Ogre bodyguards, Jack entraps her soul within the Orb, and the ending video sees Jandor pondering how to transport him back home.
- The wizards route begins near Castle Galava, where Jack is tutored by Arch-Wizard Horvath. The first task is to locate Horvath's missing apprentice whose death prompts the Arch-Wizard to replace him with Jack. Now a wizard apprentice, the protagonist performs multiple duties around Galava, one of which sees him fighting a Necromancer. Like in the other two storylines, the Airship Captain transports Jack to the Field of Valor after this, and the plot remains the same except that Horvath himself must be rescued from the Ogre village. Unlike the warrior and the conjurer, however, the wizard has to take the Halberd from Horrendous by killing him. Jack returns to Castle Galava where Horvath hands him the Heart of Nox before being killed by Hecubah, who also teleports Jack to the Underworld. After escaping it, Jack retrieves the Weirdling and travels to the Land of the Dead like in the other routes. However, the wizard characters receive a Hecubah.
Characters
- Jack MowerTV set, he is tutored by Jandor and either Horrendous, Aldwyn, or Horvath to become the new hero of Nox. In the warrior route, Jack returns to Earth; in the conjurer route, his return home is left uncertain; and in the wizard route, he stays in Nox. He is voiced by Seann William Scott.[7]
- Hecubah is the self-proclaimed Queen of Necromancers and the chief antagonist of the game. Her origins are unknown, as Jandor found her in the Land of the Dead after the Necromancer war and left her in care of an Ogre village. Her magic summons both the Orb and Jack to the Land of Nox, eventually leading to her demise. Jack kills her in both the warrior and the conjurer routes but as a wizard, he is able to purify her soul, turning her into an innocent and amnesiac version of herself. She is voiced by Joanna Cassidy.[7]
- Jandor, also known as the "Airship Captain", is the legendary hero of the Necromancer war who defeated the Necromancer army with the Staff of Oblivion. After that, he assumed the identity of an eccentric old captain, who plays mentor role to Jack throughout the game. His real identity is revealed half-way through the game, when he instructs Jack to reassemble the Staff. He is voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.[7]
- Warlord Horrendous is the leader of the Fire Knights of the fortress Dün Mir and the guardian of the first piece of the Staff of Oblivion, the Halberd named after him. In the warrior route, he tutors Jack for a short time before sending him to the Village of Ix. In all storylines, Horrendous is killed before Jack acquires the Halberd, either by Hecubah or by Jack himself (as a wizard). He is voiced by Mark Rolston.[7]
- Aldwyn the Conjurer is the most powerful conjurer in the Land of Nox, who briefly tutors Jack in the conjurer route. He is loosely affiliated with the Temple of Ix, where the Weirdling is kept, and lives far to the east of the Village of Ix. He is brother of Mordwyn the Druggist. Aldwyn is voiced by Warren Burton.[7]
- Arch-Wizard Horvath is the head of the wizards of Castle Galava, where the Heart of Nox, the second part of the Staff of Oblivion, is kept. He doesn't appear in the warrior route but is a prominent figure in the wizard's one, wherein he first accepts Jack as his apprentice, is then saved by him from the Ogre village, and finally sacrifices himself to let Jack escape Hecubah. He is voiced by Ian Abercrombie.[7]
- Morgan Lightfingers is a notorious thief and con artist whom all classes meet under different circumstances: the Wizard must capture him early in the game, while the Warrior must cooperate with him to escape from Castle Galava prison; to the Conjurer, Morgan simply sells a cheap bow. He is voiced by Warren Burton.[7]
- Mordwyn the Druggist is Aldwyn's brother who lives in the Dismal Swamp and appears late in every game route to briefly assist Jack on his quest. He is voiced by Bill Woodsen, who also provides the narrator voice in the game.[7]
- Gearhart is the chief engineer of Dün Mir whose commendation is necessary for Jack to apply for a Fire Knight rank. He is voiced by Mike Booth,[7] who was also the author of the original concept of the game and its lead programmer.
- Mayor Theogrin is the cowardly chief of the Village of Ix. He plays a minor role in warrior and conjurer routes. He is voiced by Lee Perry.[7]
- Tina is Jack's girlfriend on Earth who appears in the intro and the warrior ending video. She is voiced by Susan Chesler.[7]
Development
Production
The development of the game started in 1995 as a personal project of Mike Booth,[4] the future technical director and lead gameplay designer of the game. An avid gamer, Booth began programming his own games on Apple II and VIC-20 computers while still at school, and started working on Nox "in a spare bedroom of [his] house" in college. To help produce the game, he co-founded Hyperion Technologies, a company that also worked on driving simulators. After Booth showed a demo of Nox to John Hight, an executive producer of Westwood Studios, at the 1997 Game Developers Conference, Westwood decided to acquire it and moved the development team to California.[8]
Booth originally envisioned the game as an "updated version of
The game was originally intended to be played with a
The game is incredibly quick paced, requiring lightning reflexes and hand movements. Wizards have to be especially quick with hands, since toggling through 5x5 spell slots in the middle of a battle is a necessity, using obelisks and another obstacles in order to shield yourself from opponents. Warriors have to use precision and run around a lot, in order to predict the movement paths and strike in the correct moment. Conjurers are the most fragile class, but with the most deadly spells and weapons, finding angles and using monsters as their shield[clarification needed].
The multiplayer modes were inspired by the online first-person shooters, such as Quake and Unreal, both of which the development team played extensively.[2]
Marketing
The game was "one of the most-hyped games" at
In October 1999, Westwood began "Meet Nox Tour" in
Nox has been re-distributed via
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
CNET Gamecenter | 8/10[17] |
Computer Games Strategy Plus | [18] (NQ) [19] |
Computer Gaming World | [20] |
Game Informer | 8.5/10[21] |
GameFan | 84%[22] |
GamePro | [23] |
GameRevolution | B+[24] |
GameSpot | 8.1/10[25] |
GameSpy | 88%[26] |
IGN | 8.9/10[27] |
Next Generation | [28] |
PC Accelerator | 8/10[29] |
PC Gamer (US) | 89%[30] |
The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[15] It was often compared to Diablo II,[3][9] which was released five months after it. Trent C. Ward of IGN praised the game as a successful clone of Diablo and highly recommended the former, citing its graphics and gameplay quality, but criticizing some of its sound effects.[27] P. Stefan "Desslock" Janicki of GameSpot said that some of the gameplay elements are completely new, and appreciated both single-player and multiplayer component of the game, describing it as challenging and entertaining.[25] On the contrary, Johnny B. of GameRevolution declared that the game has "nothing very original", although it has appreciable graphics, variety and gameplay.[24] The game was reviewed in 2000 in Dragon #271 by Johnny L. Wilson in the "Silicon Sorcery" column. Wilson commented that "the game has beautiful art, impressive technology, near-limitless action, and a marvelous style in its use of traps".[31] Michael Lafferty of GameZone gave it nine out of ten, saying, "With the great graphics, interactive game board and challenge, this is bound to be one of the most successful titles Westwood has ever produced."[32] However, Eric Bratcher of NextGen said, "Nox will have a difficult time avoiding the dismissal, 'Diablo wannabe' (especially with Diablo II looming on the horizon), but those who try it will find a solid game that can stand on its own merits."[28]
During the AIAS' 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Nox was a finalist for the "Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story Development" and "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design" awards, both of which were ultimately given to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, Thief: The Dark Project (both of them in a tie), and The Sims, respectively.[33]
Cancelled sequel
Executive producer John Hight said that Westwood was considering an expansion pack and a sequel to Nox.[2] The expansion, titled NoxQuest, was released as a free download on August 1, 2000, and focused on the multiplayer aspects of the game.[34][35] It included the last patch, updating the game to version 1.2, and featured a number of new spells invented for but not implemented in the original game.[2]
Shortly after the 1.2 patch release, Westwood Studios (which is a subset of Electronic Arts) lost full rights of Nox to EA. EA chose to no longer support Nox, and the official Westwood servers for Clan, Ladder and Standard multiplayer were closed, as well as the online ladder ranking system.[36]
References
- ^ William Abner (February 15, 2000). "Westwood ships Nox". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on July 4, 2003. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Joost Loijens (2000). "Nox Reflections". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Vault Network News: Week of May 23, 1999". RPG Vault. IGN Entertainment. May 23–29, 1999. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c d IGN staff (December 23, 1999). "Nox Interview". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 2, 2006. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ "XWIS - A replacement for Westwood Online".
- ^ Doug Radcliffe; David Perkins. "Nox Game Guide". GameSpot. CNET. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
Jack Mower isn't a sophisticated guy. [...] ...a dimensional wormhole opens and transports Jack Mower to the world of Nox.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Nox". IMDb. Amazon. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
- RPG Vault. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the originalon July 25, 2006. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c Rick Fehrenbacher (1999). "1999 E3 Extravaganza: Nox". GamesFirst!. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
- ^ a b Amer Ajami (October 19, 1999). "Gamers Get Hands-on with Nox [date mislabeled as "February 2, 2012"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ Sam Parker (May 26, 2000). "Nox Competition Coming Up [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ Chris Pereira (May 31, 2016). "EA's Next Free On the House Game Now Available". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- Origin. Electronic Arts. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ "NOX™". GOG.com. CD Projekt. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archived from the originalon May 21, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- All Media Network. Archived from the originalon November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Tom Chick (February 18, 2000). "Nox". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Cindy Yams (March 10, 2000). "Nox". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 21, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ David Ryan Hunt (October 16, 2000). "Nox Quest". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 21, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ P. Stefan "Desslock" Janicki (May 2000). "Don't Knock Nox (Nox Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 190. Ziff Davis. pp. 88–90. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ "Nox". Game Informer. No. 85. FuncoLand. May 2000.
- ^ Robert "Apache" Howarth (February 18, 2000). "REVIEW for Nox". GameFan. Shinno Media. Archived from the original on March 2, 2000. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Danny Lam (March 16, 2000). "Nox Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ CraveOnline. Archivedfrom the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ a b P. Stefan "Desslock" Janicki (February 22, 2000). "Nox Review". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ Tina Haumersen (March 2, 2000). "Nox". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 9, 2002. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ a b Trent C. Ward (February 25, 2000). "Nox". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ a b Eric Bratcher (May 2000). "Nox". NextGen. No. 65. Imagine Media. p. 102. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Barry Brenesal (April 2000). "Nox". PC Accelerator. No. 20. Imagine Media. pp. 76–77. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Nash Werner (April 2000). "NOX". PC Gamer. Vol. 7, no. 4. Imagine Media. p. 94. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Johnny L. Wilson (May 2000). "Silicon Sorcery". Dragon. No. 271. TSR, Inc. pp. 120–21.
- ^ Michael Lafferty (February 24, 2000). "Nox Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ "Third Interactive Achievement Awards: Craft Award". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on October 11, 2000. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ "Westwood Announces Nox Quest". Blue's News. June 9, 2000. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
- ^ James Fudge (August 1, 2000). "Nox Quest to be released today". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 25, 2003. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ "HOW CAN I PLAY THE OLDER COMMAND & CONQUER GAMES ONLINE WITH MY FRIENDS?". Electronic Arts. October 2, 2013. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013.