Summoner (video game)
Summoner | |
---|---|
Mac OS | |
Release | PlayStation 2 Windows Mac OS
|
Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Summoner is an
A sequel,
Plot
The player takes on the role of Joseph and his party of three other individuals: Flece (a professional bandit), Rosalind (a monk in training), and Jekhar (a knight of Lenele's king). Joseph is an ordinary peasant farmer who is also born a Summoner who can control the rings of Summoning. In his childhood, he had summoned a demon to kill off a warding invasion from Orenian soldiers. To his dismay, his demon not only kill the invaders, but also his family, and other members of his village. During this time, he was under the guidance of Yago, a monk who hailed from a sacred island called Iona. He vowed to never use the rings again, until his present situation required it. Joseph attempts to meet Yago at the kingdom of Lenele, where he meets his first companion, Flece. She helps Joseph infiltrate the castle, where they both meet Yago. Yago returns Joseph the Ring of Darkness, the same ring that Joseph used back when he was a child. Yago informs Joseph and Flece that their enemy is Murod of Orenia, who is determined to destroy the Summoner and prevent a prophecy that foretells the end of the Emperor's reign by his hands. The characters must also simultaneously attempt to restore the power of the air god, Urath, and foil the depravations of the disciples of his fire and death goddess nemesis, Laharah.
Gameplay
In addition to the main storyline, there are over twenty side
Music
Scott Lee was the main composer and senior sound designer of Summoner and did most of the game music with Dan Wentz helping on the soundtrack towards the end of development near gold master. Wally Shaw did sound design and some editing of music towards the middle of development. After interplay went bankrupt, Lee provided the first tech demonstration for THQ. During this time Lee and Wentz also worked on the early Descent 4 trailer music, which later rebranded into Red Faction for legal reasons and FreeSpace 2.
Reception
Aggregator | Score | |
---|---|---|
CNET Gamecenter N/A | 5/10[6] | |
Computer Gaming World | [7] | N/A |
Edge | N/A | 4/10[8] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | N/A | 4.83/10[9][a] |
EP Daily | N/A | 8/10[10] |
Eurogamer | N/A | 8/10[11] |
Game Informer | N/A | 8/10[12] |
GameRevolution | N/A | C−[13] |
GameSpot | 7.6/10[14] | 7.7/10[15] |
GameSpy | 82%[16] | 78%[17] |
IGN | 7.6/10[18] | 8.3/10[3] |
Next Generation | N/A | [19] |
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | N/A | [20] |
PC Gamer (US) | 81%[21] | N/A |
The PC version received "generally favorable reviews", while the PlayStation 2 version received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4][5] Blake Fischer of NextGen said that the problem of the latter version "is that it was clearly shoved out the door prematurely, and doing so has all but killed this promising RPG."[19] Uncle Dust of GamePro called the same console version "a good start for PS2 RPGs, but lacks the polish, artistry, and refined story line of some recent PlayStation RPGs. It delivers a deep story, however, and a unique game engine, and should give you weeks, if not months, of adventuring on your brand-new PS2."[22][b]
Jason White of
The PlayStation 2 version won the award for "Best Story" at GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2000 Awards.[26] The PC version was later nominated for the "Best Single-Player Role-Playing Game" and "Best Story" awards at the website's Best and Worst of 2001 Awards, but lost to Wizardry 8 and Anachronox, respectively.[27][28] The former console version also won the awards for Role-Playing Game of 2000 and Storyline of 2000 at IGN's Best of 2000 Awards.[29][30]
Sequel
A sequel, Summoner 2, was released in 2002.[2]
On December 19, 2012, THQ filed for
See also
- Dead Alewives#Dungeons and Dragons sketch, a comedy sketch, also known as "Summoner Geeks", available in the game's credits
Notes
- ^ Three critics of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the PlayStation 2 version each a score of 6/10, 4/10, and 4.5/10.
- ^ GamePro gave the PlayStation 2 version two 4.5/5 scores for graphics and sound, 3.5/5 for control, and 4/5 for fun factor.
References
- ^ "THQ SHIPS SUMMONER FOR PC". THQ. March 20, 2001. Archived from the original on April 16, 2004. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "Summoner 2". Deep Silver Volition. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ a b c Zdyrko, David (October 24, 2000). "Summoner (PS2)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ a b "Summoner critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ a b "Summoner critic reviews (PS2)". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Ham, Tom (November 28, 2000). "Summoner - PlayStation 2 Review". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on January 27, 2001. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ Chin, Elliott (July 2001). "Mixmaster Deluxe (Summoner Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 204. Ziff Davis. p. 89. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Edge staff (Christmas 2000). "Summoner (PS2)" (PDF). Edge. No. 92. Future Publishing. p. 94. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Dudlak, Jonathan; Mielke, James "Milkman"; Lockhart, Ryan (December 2000). "Summoner" (PDF). Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 137. Ziff Davis. p. 232. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 26, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Miller, Sean (April 1, 2001). "Summoner (PS2)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on January 9, 2003. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Bramwell, Tom (April 5, 2002). "Summoner (PlayStation 2)". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Reiner, Andrew (December 2000). "Summoner (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 92. FuncoLand. pp. 90–91. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- CraveOnline. Archivedfrom the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ Park, Andrew Seyoon (April 5, 2001). "Summoner Review (PC)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Stahl, Ben (November 3, 2000). "Summoner Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 3, 2000. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Fudge, James (April 16, 2001). "Summoner (PC)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 6, 2001. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ Rank, Kevin (December 1, 2000). "Summoner". PlanetPS2. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 25, 2005. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ Lopez, Vincent (April 5, 2001). "Summoner (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Fischer, Blake (January 2001). "Summoner (PS2)". NextGen. No. 73. Imagine Media. p. 84. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Rybicki, Joe (December 2000). "Summoner". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 39. Ziff Davis. p. 164. Archived from the original on January 27, 2001. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- ^ Chronis, George T. (July 2001). "Summoner". PC Gamer. Vol. 8, no. 7. Imagine Media. p. 65. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ Uncle Dust (December 2000). "Summoner (PS2)" (PDF). GamePro. No. 147. IDG. p. 182. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
- AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the originalon November 15, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ Allen, Christopher. "Summoner (PC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ Hunt, David Ryan (April 25, 2001). "Summoner". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 4, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ GameSpot staff (January 5, 2001). "Best and Worst of 2000 (Best Game Story)". GameSpot. CNET. Archived from the original on October 9, 2002. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ GameSpot staff (2002). "Best and Worst of 2001 (Best Story)". GameSpot. CNET. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ GameSpot staff (2002). "Best and Worst of 2001 (Best Single-Player Role-Playing Game)". GameSpot. CNET. Archived from the original on January 27, 2002. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ IGN staff (January 29, 2001). "Best of 2000 Awards (PS2: Role-Playing Game of 2000)". IGN. Snowball.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2001. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ IGN staff (January 29, 2001). "Best of 2000 Awards (PS2: Storyline of 2000)". IGN. Snowball.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2001. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ Kohler, Chris (January 23, 2013). "THQ Is Dead. Here's Where Its Games Are Going". Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Savage, Phil (January 8, 2013). "THQ's franchises and studios to be auctioned off on a 'title by title' basis". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Orland, Kyle (April 22, 2013). "Going once, going twice! Gearbox picks up Homeworld in THQ auction". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 24, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (April 22, 2013). "THQ auction results: Nordic Games takes Darksiders, Red Faction; 505 Games is Drawn to Life". Engadget (Joystiq). Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on April 23, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Grayson, Nathan (April 23, 2013). "And Everything Else From THQ Went To... Nordic Games?". Rock Paper Shotgun. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "Now Available on Steam - Summoner, 20% Off!". Steam. Valve. March 12, 2014. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.