Demigod (video game)

Demigod
Developer(s)	Gas Powered Games
Publisher(s)	Stardock
Distributor(s)	NA Take-Two Interactive EU Atari
Designer(s)	Mike Marr
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	NA April 14, 2009 EU May 29, 2009
Genre(s)	Action RTS
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T
Media/distribution	DVD, download
System requirements 2.4 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 8 GB free hard drive space, 128 MB 3D Video card

Demigod is a Dota based game developed by Gas Powered Games for the PC platform. The game was significantly influenced by the popular Warcraft III custom map Defense of the Ancients and is widely considered as the first stand-alone game title in the "DotA subgenre"^{[citation needed]}. The game's title refers to the powerful player characters that battle for supremacy over various zones. The game is multiplayer-oriented and competitive in nature. A demo of the multi-player became available on July 30, 2009 with all gameplay modes unlocked.^[1]

Gameplay

Announcement image

There are two distinct types of Demigod: Assassins and Generals. Assassins rely on their varied combat abilities in a direct fight to kill other Demigods. Generals are a hybrid Demigod that create and support their own minions and other Demigods.^[2][3]Demigod launched with eight Demigods available, four for each type of Demigod, and added two additional Demigods after release.^[4]

Gold and experience points are earned as the player defeats the enemy and captures nodes. There are a few different buildings that assist your team which include shops,flags which can be captured, and a citadel which is the main base of each side. Portals are another kind of building that must be captured. When your team owns a portal, troops will start to spawn onto the map to help your team. As the player's Demigod levels up, the player also gains access to new abilities through the respective skill tree. Each Demigod has its own unique talent tree with a blend of offensive, defensive and team focused abilities.^[5] Demigods can also purchase items to boost their abilities, including some ancient items, the most expensive items in the game. Achievements earn the player favor points, which can be used to purchase favor items. Players are allowed to choose one favor item that can be used throughout the match, but once the favor item has been chosen, it cannot be replaced until the next match. Once a favor item is purchased it will be available for use in following matches for free.

Launch

On April 9, 2009, GameStop began selling Demigod before its release date of the 14th. The game's servers were not yet launched thus not allowing preorder customers to have online play as originally intended. The issue was compounded by a cracked version of the game available for illegal download on torrent sites.^[6] In response, Stardock activated all pre-orders a day early from the planned release after returning to work on Monday April 13, 2009.^[7]

The game also had technical problems during online play. Players experienced connectivity issues until June when a patch was released.^[6]

Patches

Version 1.2 - This patch was released on Thursday, November 19, 2009 ^[8] and included many bug fixes as well as item and demigod balancing. One major addition was the mod system. If everyone in a game has a mod enabled in the mod manager, then the game will include the changes made in the mod. The patch also added two new demigods, the assassin type named Demon Assassin and the general type named Oculus, although they were disabled on patch day. On Monday, November 23, 2009 the Demon Assassin was enabled.^[9]

Reception

Demigod
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	78% (35 reviews)[10]
Metacritic	76% (50 reviews)[11]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	C[12]
GameSpot	6.5/10[13]
GameTrailers	8.5/10[14]
GameZone	8.7/10[15]
IGN	7.5/10[16]
PC Gamer UK	8.1/10[17]

Reviews for Demigod have been highly varied. The ratings aggregator Metacritic currently reports an overall score of 76, reflecting scores from constituent rating sites ranging from as low as 50 to as high as 92.^[11] Gaming website 1up.com summarized much of the negative and angered criticism the game received with the following quote: "If you're interested in throwing down cash for a beta and maybe getting in some practice before things get smoothed out, go ahead and bump that score up a letter grade. Anybody else should find something else to do until then;"^[12] while on the other hand, Neoseeker's Lydia Sung gave the game a perfect 10, specifically noting the game's breathtaking visuals and sound, saying "Most games worth reviewing will look good and maybe have a decent soundtrack, but Demigod is absolutely stunning in both sight and sound. Words cannot describe how beautiful this game is, folks, and my screenshots don't even begin to do it justice."^[18] Cheat Code Central gave the game a 'Great' rating of 4.3/5.^[19]

GameSpot reviewed the game with a rating of 6.5/10, noting major online connectivity problems and the lack of tutorial or story based campaign as major problems.^[13] Stardock has commented by stating that they are currently working on all of the multiplayer issues.^[20] Graham Smith of PC Gamer rated the game 8.1/10.^[17] IGN's Jason Ocampo gave the game a 7.5/10 citing bad multiplayer netcoding and stating "you'd best wait a while for the developers to get things working before you dive into Demigod"^[16]

References

1. ^ "Demigod Demo Released!". Stardock. 2009-07-30. http://www.stardock.com/about/newsitem.asp?id=1314. Retrieved 2009-07-30. 
2. ^ "Demigod Revealed". Games for Windows. 2008-01-03. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165208. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
3. ^ http://www.demigodthegame.com/purchase/
4. ^ http://forums.demigodthegame.com/343083
5. ^ http://www.scenegamer.com/featured/pc-review-demigod
6. ^ ^{a b} Martin, Matt (2009-05-20). "Stardock CEO details "nightmare" Demigod launch". GamesIndustry.biz. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/stardock-ceo-details-nightmare-demigod-launch. Retrieved 2009-06-15. 
7. ^ http://forums.demigodthegame.com/346061/page/3/
8. ^ http://forums.demigodthegame.com/369522
9. ^ http://forums.demigodthegame.com/369856
10. ^ "Demigod reviews". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/944424-demigod/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Demigod reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/demigod. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Sharkey, Scott (2009-04-17). "Demigod review". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3173791&p=1. Retrieved 2009-06-04. 
13. ^ ^{a b} VanOrd, Kevin (2009-04-15). "Demigod review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/demigod/review.html. Retrieved 2009-06-04. 
14. ^ http://www.gametrailers.com/gamereview.php?id=9778
15. ^ http://pc.gamezone.com/reviews/item/demigod_pc_review/
16. ^ ^{a b} Ocampo, Jason (2009-04-17). "Demigod Review". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/articles/974/974110p1.html. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Smith, Graham (2009-05-14). "Review: Demigod". PC Gamer. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=214974. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
18. ^ Sung, Lydia (2009-04-14). "Demigod review". Neoseeker. http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Games/Reviews/Demigod_review/. Retrieved 2009-06-01. ^{[dead link]}
19. ^ Meunier, Nathan. "Demigod Review for PC". CheatCC.com. http://www.cheatcc.com/pc/rev/demigodreview.html. 
20. ^ Frogboy (2009-05-18). "Demigod: So what the hell happened?". http://frogboy.impulsedriven.net/article/352561/Demigod_So_what_the_hell_happened. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 

External links

• Official website
• Demigod Wiki, an external wiki