Harbinger

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been a fan of older dark or scary sci-fi movies like the Aliens series (except part 3), Terminator, and some of the more modern ones like Pitch Black. A neat unique blending of science fiction laced with some scary moments and weird backgrounds always appealed to me for some reason. I also happen to be a big fan of ¾ perspective action games as well, like the Diablo series and Throne of Darkness. Well, when you mix the two styles of creepy sci-fi and cool action gaming together it works out kind of like the whole “chocolate and peanut butter” thing from Reese’s, and on PC comes in the form of the game Harbinger.

The setting for this title takes place in a distant future where a mad Overlord is sweeping the galaxy, capturing or destroying entire planets and species for use in horrific and torturous experiments or slavery. One of his slave ships, the Harbinger, is a floating titan that cruises the galaxy in a death mission and also harbors numerous captives on board. It also contains multiple areas and levels … many of which have been forgotten by the overall dictators and soldiers which run the ship and thus have been occupied by escaped slaves and freedom fighters looking to escape the grasp of tyranny and death. You have a choice to play as one of three of these refugees, each one able to kick some major butt. Each one also has their own objectives and reasons for fighting … be it freedom, answers about the past, or just good old fashioned revenge.

In the beginning, you pick to play as one of those three distinct characters. The human, who was born and raised aboard the Harbinger, was thrown in prison. He has now escaped and is on the run, living in the shadows as a mercenary. The Gladiator was an experiment aboard the Harbinger fusing a destructive hulking body with the mind and soul of one of the captured alien races. He now fights for answers and is close to the brink of insanity. Thirdly, the Culibine … a female alien who lived amongst a peaceful society but is now driven by hatred and revenge for the extermination of her entire species. You meet up with a semi insane creator who gives you assignments and assistance in money and his pal who is an item dealer, and then travel to various areas within the Harbinger proceeding in your mission of destruction and answers.   

Anyone who has played Diablo or Diablo II will quickly be able to hop right in and start destroying things immediately, since the overall control layout is almost identical with only minor differences. Left clicking the mouse moves your character or designates a ranged attack when highlighting an opponent, while right clicking an enemy engages in melee combat. There are also a multitude of powerups to collect along the way as well, either to give back health or increase weapon and armor capabilities. Also similar to Diablo is the fact that the characters will level up, which allows point to be distributed to various skills or increasing health and also will eventually allow you to wear more powerful armor or carry super destructive weaponry. Basically, Harbinger can best be summed up as “Diablo in space” if you want to look at it that way … and includes you zapping back to get items or traveling through use of an “umbilical” rather than a town portal spell.

Now, there are some differences that make it unique, the first of which being the story lines for each of the three main characters. Silverback Entertainment set it up so you don’t feel like you’re playing the same game with a different character if you change around after you go through it once. Each one has its own reason for being there, and each one will bring you through many different levels and into contact with many creatures that you won’t see by playing with someone else. This was a neat thing for me since I’m so used to seeing the same stages and monsters regardless of whom I happen to be playing with at the time.

Like other RPG titles in a similar vein Harbinger will have you running through areas killing monsters, obtaining weapons and armor, and finding items along the way. Another unique feature here is that the things that you will find won’t necessarily be a benefit to you, since each character has their own set of weaponry and also has different ways of powering up. For example, if you find a neat looking rifle, you may just have to hang onto it and sell it later since you are the Gladiator and it is outfitted for the human. This adds a little space management into it as well, since you only have a limited number of item slots available.

Collecting and experimenting is all part of the fun in Harbinger as well, since various weapons or armor pieces will have slots open on them where you can attach various items or powerups which can either improve melee or ranged attacks, or can add new weapon abilities to a simple gun and allow use of EMP mines or other nasty add ons. Armor ability can also be increased to allow for better protection and such, and you will find yourself spending untold minutes at the items shop selling, buying, mixing and matching to try and get that perfect combination that you want.

The last major thing that impressed me with Harbinger is the environment, the graphics, and the sound elements overall. As far as the environment goes, everything is dark, desolate, and creepy looking. Areas contain whirring and strange looking machines and devices and an assortment of abandoned roll top desks or storage chests, and it carries an ambiance that makes you feel like you are all alone.

Graphically, the game overall is spectacular, even with a couple of little things that maybe could have been improved on. The transition from dark to light as enemies move into line of sight or you enter a new area looked really good, and many of the machines or nuclear reactors will give off realistic sparks or sickly green illumination. There is a good amount of variance in the overall enemy layout and animation as well, and you will face Bio creatures that resemble such things as worms, insects, or hopping rows of teeth. The robotic or cyborg monsters carry some intimidating looking weapons and resemble something out of the old Warhammer 40K or Space Hulk tabletop games from back in the late 80’s – early 90’s.

In the sound department, the background music is usually made up of low tone hummings and the rise and fall of metallic or low note droning sounds … similar to those found in movies like Aliens when something bad was getting ready to happen or they were building up suspense. The flesh and bone creatures also each have distinctive sounds and growls as they approach, while the cybernetic nightmares all communicate or yell in a distorted and cool sounding machine like tone. The voiceovers in the game were also well done and didn’t sound too scripted or canned, and the addition of weird alien languages for some of the alien friends that you meet along the way was a nice touch. 

Overall, the only thing that I can think of which could hurt Harbinger for anyone thinking of getting it is the lack of a multiplayer mode. This is really more a matter of opinion though, since I have a lot of Diablo fanatic buddies who don’t care for online play … and I personally loved it in both games myself and thought that they were that much better because of it. If you happen to be a fan of games like Diablo, Throne of Darkness, Arcanum, or one of those similar titles and also enjoy some good old fashioned creepy sci-fi stuff, I don’t see any reason that you wouldn’t like this game. If you are into action games but haven’t played any of those titles listed above … you should enjoy Harbinger as well since it’s chock full of plasma throwing and destructive action with three good storylines to boot. Thanks from me to Dreamcatcher and Silverback Entertainment for this killer sci-fi creep fest title. 

Gameplay: 8.0
The gameplay itself is a simple point and click setup, and while there are many different weapons and items to utilize, the interface and simple explanations are enough that it won’t cause any confusion or problems in picking it up and playing. In addition, the three unique storylines and non linear progression also offer a lot of replay value, and something that you can play multiple times. The lack of multiplayer mode may be an issue for some, but I’ll leave that up to you. 

Graphics: 7.8
Great and sometimes amazing lighting and explosive effects, and the characters themselves were unique and well animated. The robotic enemies looked intimidating and also moved well, while the creatures also were done using fluid animations and some even had some slick lighting that made them look slimy. The overall stages do tend to get repetitive in some areas due to the overall plot, but nothing that ultimately will cause you to quit playing or think badly of it.

Sound: 8.1
The music set a good tone overall, and added to the dark and derelict environments that you will progress through. The voiceovers weren’t too scripted or canned sounding, and the enemies … robotic or biological … both sounded good with distorted or animalistic grunting and some could be downright intimidating at times.

Difficulty: Medium
The controls themselves are easy to pick up and get into, and while item management and placement can sometimes be a little intimidating in some games, Harbinger made it easy to figure out and get into. The game itself will also test your survival skills and will require you to move around under fire or know when to run back to the umbilical to stock up on items rather than try to play hero.

Concept: 7.5
While the overall feel and movement to this game is reminiscent of Diablo or something similar to it set in a different background, there was enough that was added in and done differently to make you feel like you are playing something a little different and didn’t just drop money for a straight clone.

Overall: 7.9
As I stated before, any fan of ¾ perspective action or RPG titles that enjoys science fiction should enjoy this game, and I can’t think of any reasons why you wouldn’t like it except for the multiplayer being left out. Action fans should also enjoy this game due to the differing story lines, tons of heavy destruction, and tons of replayability as well. Overall, unless you just don’t care for action games, you should be happy spending your well-earned cash on Harbinger … especially considering the $29.99 price tag. You should definitely find enough shooting, smashing, and gameplay time to keep you busy for a while.