Loki
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Publisher: Focus Home Interactive Genre(s): Action, Role Playing Game Home Page: http://www.loki-game.com/en/
Clickkillcklickkillclick... loot! Easy?
A staple of an action RPG: the to-do list.
A hack 'n' slash RPG stakes its reputation almost solely on the quality of the combat. Combat in Loki is a mixed bag: a tried and true fighting mechanic is indeed satisfying, but is at times marred by control quirks. Selecting a target to attack is a point-and-click affair, which works fine until a swarm of enemies surrounds the character, which is the case in just about every combat situation. In these instances, it becomes difficult to differentiate between targets. While there is a keybinding available for a melee "on-the-spot" attack, this option proved ineffective due to a cripplingly long delay between attacks. Since character movement is also determined by pointing and clicking, it's easy to move the character when an attack was intended. Combat is fun, despite the incessant hordes of enemies which attack relentlessly, particularly in dungeons. The action is intense and non-stop, which makes the point-and-click combat mechanic frustrating at times. An option to switch full-time to an untargeted melee fighting style would do wonders when the screen is full of baddies. But the number and frequency of enemies ensures that there's rarely a dull moment. This also means that the game is challenging, even on the easiest ("Mortal") difficulty setting. Before gaining experience and increasing in level, the only way to survive the dungeons is to invest heavily in health and curing potions.
In keeping with action RPG tradition, Loki features a Skill system which adds another layer to combat. Each character class has a Skill Tree comprised of supplemental attacks. By offering up the spoils of war to one of three gods (each character class can worship three gods from its mythology), an allegiance is declared. Subsequently, 25 percent of experience points earned will go toward accumulating Skill points. Skills run the full gamut, from defensive to offensive, though my main character – a Norse Warrior – had little use for the defensive Skills. The configurable slots for Skills (up to 10) allow for skills to be switched on-the-fly; the default controls assign Skill usage to the right mouse button.
In practice, offensive Skills aren't very powerful at first, but working through the Skill Tree reveals powerful (yet Mana-draining) attacks. Acquiring and judiciously using Skills in combat is crucial to surviving dungeons in one piece. The only downside is the skill recharge rate, which limits the frequency that Skills can be used in succession. When it comes to selecting a Skill Tree to use, the worship system doesn't add to the game. Having to give up good loot to switch Gods seems unnecessary; I would have preferred to simply switch Skill Trees on the fly. There is already a trade-off to be had by choosing between Skill Trees, so why levy a tax on this decision? Thankfully, gold and items accumulate quickly after the first few levels, making the cost of switching fairly negligible. 
Checking out the inventory and character screens.
As mentioned, combat is aggressive right from the start, but the reward is an abundance of loot. From weapons to armor to gold, amassing a collection of war spoils takes no time at all. Selling items is made easier with the inclusion of the Kiosk, a holding bin of sorts for items to sell. Toss unwanted items into the Kiosk, then sell them all with one click. Loki has the usual assortment of weapon classes, from one-handed and two-handed close-combat weapons to ranged weapons such as bows. By assigning items to the two quick-switch slots, one can alternate between two weapon and armor configurations with the press of a hotkey. When it comes time trade up to near gear, I was disappointed that the merchant's selection never included gear that was much better than what I was already carrying. That said, the weapon selection is balanced enough that I was constantly switching weapon sets depending on the scenario; general purpose über-weapons exist only at the highest character levels.
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