Azurik: Rise of Perathia

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Azurik: Rise of Perathia
Azurikcover.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Adrenium Games
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
Director(s) Stephen Clarke-Willson
Producer(s) Stephen Clarke-Willson
Designer(s) Matthew Stipes
Composer(s) Jeremy Soule
Platform(s) Xbox
Release
  • NA: December 15, 2001 [1]
  • PAL: May 17, 2002
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Azurik: Rise of Perathia is an action-adventure game developed by Adrenium Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2001. Azurik was released early in the Xbox console's life. It features a score by game composer Jeremy Soule, with additional music by Julian Soule. [2]

Contents

Gameplay

The game centers around the main protagonist, Azurik, as he journeys through the vast world of Perathia gathering elemental disc fragments scattered across the many realms. Azurik is part of the order of the Lore Guardians along with Eldwyn, the grand master and leader, and Balthazar, a professional scholar and combatant. After Balthazar teams up with the guardian of Death, they murder Eldwyn and destroy the balance of the elements by destroying the elemental discs, leaving Azurik alone. Now he must defeat Balthazar and bring back all of the disc fragments in order to restore balance, or else face the end of the world.

Azurik can harness the basic elements of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. He can also mix and match powers to make more powers (e.g., when combined, Water, Air, and Fire make Lightning).

Plot

Azurik, the protagonist and namesake of the game, is an adept in an order of warriors. Their job is to protect and preserve the balance of the six natural elements in the world. These elements are Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Life, and Death. The essence of the elements has been locked within special "Discs", which are kept in the tower in the middle of Town. All that is, except one; the disc of Death had been lost a great deal of time before, and its location is unknown. Regardless of that fact, the world has managed to maintain the natural order.

In the opening sequence, Azurik is practicing the use of his staff weapon known as an "Axion". He is quickly confronted by a fellow member of his order, the dark and troubled Balthazar. They duel for a short time, culminating in Azurik's near-death at Balthazar's hands. Balthazar is stopped by Eldwyn, who suggests that Balthazar meditate his anger away. After Azurik leaves, Balthazar throws his Axion at the wall in a fit of rage, shattering a small vase and the wall behind it. When he does this, he accidentally reveals a secret room, in which is contained the Disc of Death.

Balthazar is possessed by the Guardian of Death that dwells in the Disc. He then attempts to steal the other Discs from the tower. He is interrupted in his attempt by Eldwyn and Azurik. A brief firefight breaks out and ends in Balthazar firing a beam of power at Eldwyn. The resulting explosion shatters the disks and launches them into the far reaches of the world. Azurik, the sole survivor of his order, is tasked with retrieving all the fragments of the shattered disks and returning them to their original locations. To do this he must battle through a sequence of elementally-themed landscapes, solving various challenging puzzles and acquiring new elemental powers.

Characters

Lore Guardians
The Elemental Guardians

Setting

The entire game takes place in the mythical land of Perathia. It is a vast world that is split into six elemental realms, one for each elemental force. In the center is Town, the hub of the elemental realms and home of Azurik and the Temple of the Elements. The temple consists of a tall tower with four floors. The first floor has two elevators leading to the next floor and in the center of the room is a gate to the Life realm, which will become active when the Azurik gains three of the four missing pieces of the Life disc. The second floor contains another elevator in the center of the room which leads to the third floor. Around the elevator are ten objects that Azurik can gain each time he collects ten or more obsidian jewels. The third floor is an empty room with three elevators that lead to the top floor. The top floor is where the elemental discs were held prior to Balthazar's betrayal. The disc holder comprises a machine in the center with different colored lights indicating where each disc is put. On the grounds of the temple are four large objects representing each element. A floating spherical rock represents the earth realm, a complicated fan system represents the air realm, a bowl of lava represents the fire realm, and a large fountain represents the water realm. Each object will do a specific function once Azurik has completely restored a disc and put it in its proper place. There is no specific time period mentioned in the game, but the architecture and the opening movie suggest a time of primitive technology, although some signs of advanced machines like large drills, tunnel borers, generators, conveyor belts, mine carts, and electrical equipment are seen throughout the realms and the Temple of the Elements.

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [3]

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References

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