Savage 2: A Tortured Soul

Last updated
Savage 2: A Tortured Soul
Savage2 boxart.jpg
Developer(s) S2 Games
Publisher(s) S2 Games
Writer(s) Mark R. Yohalem
Engine K2 Engine
Platform(s) Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
January 16, 2008
Steam May 7, 2008
GNU/Linux
March 24, 2008
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Real-time strategy
Action role-playing game
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Savage 2: A Tortured Soul is a fantasy and science fiction themed video game that combines elements of the first-person shooter, real-time strategy, and action role-playing game genres. It is developed and published by S2 Games. It is the sequel to Savage: The Battle for Newerth and was officially released on January 16, 2008. By December 2008 the game was officially freeware, with a paid "Premium Account" option that expanded certain aspects of the game. [1]

Contents

The game was released through Steam on July 13, 2008 [2] and went free-to-play in December. [2] It was released on Desura in January 2012. [3]

Gameplay

Savage 2: A Tortured Soul combines real-time strategy (RTS), first-person shooter (FPS), and action role-playing game (RPG) aspects into its gameplay. The game is played with 2 teams (The Legion of Man and The Beast Horde) fighting against each other on a large playing field in an attempt to eventually destroy the durable command center of the enemy team, thereby winning the game. The game is played in rounds, and no benefits carry over from each match, despite the RPG elements present in each match.

Most of the players on each team are "action players", battling the other team's action players on the field using powerful third-person melee, weaker first-person ranged attacks, and various attacking, buffing, and debuffing special abilities. Action players have a health gauge, mana gauge for use with special abilities and certain units' ranged attacks, and stamina gauge for attacking, jumping, and sprinting. They have a red "Charge" meter, which can be consumed for a quick burst of forward speed compared to normal sprinting, as well as for dodging sideways and backwards. [4] They can also put up a guard that nullifies melee damage from the front; Unlike the previous game, both humans and beasts have access to blocking. [5] When the game initially released, this was unlimited and could only be beaten by a dedicated, slower but stronger "Interrupt" attack, stunning the defender. [6] After an update, Interrupt attacks were removed in favor of a white, limited "Block" meter, now only leaving the defender stunned if depleted.

Action players can choose from a selection of units to play as in the loadout menu, providing a variety of different playstyles and roles. For each team, these include three starting units: a builder unit that can accelerate a building's construction as well as repair it, and two light combat units. Unlocked through technology buildings are a stronger heavy combat unit, a healer/support unit, and two siege units that excel at damaging enemy buildings. Players may earn Gold from their actions on the field which may be either donated to the "Team Gold" pool, spent on useful items in an RPG fashion, or used to buy access to heavy and siege units.

On each team, there is one Commander player, who sees the game from a top-down RTS perspective. The Commander can issue orders to the action players, draw on the mini-map, cast spells on both teams' action players, and build structures for the team. [7] If a team has no Commander, either because the Commander player stepped down or was impeached via team vote, the team's builder units unlock the ability to build instead. Different structures act as spawn points, Gold mines, technology buildings which unlock more units, abilities, and items for the action players, or defensive towers that automatically attack enemies in range or support nearby structures. Buildings require Team Gold to be built and repaired, which can either be extracted from Gold nodes across the map by constructing Gold mines on them, or donated by the action players. Normal buildings may be attacked and destroyed by action players, though the loss of these is normally only a setback whereas the destruction of the command center results in the loss of the match.

Aside from the Commander and normal action players, there are "officers", action players who are the leaders of "squads" of other action players. A team may have several squads depending on the number of players in the match. Squad officers have improved statistics, and also offer some of those bonuses to any squadmates within a certain range. The squad officer may also issue orders to their squad, much like the Commander can to the whole team. Finally, squad officers are uniquely able to place small, fragile, and time-limited portals that can only be used by the squad as a temporary forward spawn.

Tying into Gold, the game also features an "Upkeep" system. [7] [8] At timed intervals, Gold extracted from captured Gold mines is added to the Team Gold pool for use in building and structure repairs. Upkeep is met if a team has at least one Gold mine whose Gold isn't yet depleted. If a team has no captured and working Gold mine when the Upkeep interval resets, the team is put into an "Upkeep Not Met" state. Beyond the lack of steady Team Gold income, a team's buildings are also rendered more vulnerable to damage until another Gold mine is procured and the state is lifted. If both teams are in an Upkeep Not Met state for a set amount of intervals, usually due to all Gold nodes on a map being depleted, the match then enters a "Sudden Death" state where all buildings take considerably increased damage and repairing is disabled. [9]

In addition to the Beast and Human units, there exist a third special set of powerful units called the Hellbourne, available to both teams. These units are significantly more powerful than other playable units and difficult to gain access to. Action players gain Souls by killing enemy units, and a certain amount of Souls may be spent at a Hellshrine for one lifetime of the selected Hellbourne unit. Hellshrines must be built by the Commander; they are expensive and may only be placed on top of "Scars" which are located at specific set points on the map, making them a risky structure to construct and maintain. Hellbourne units are common gamebreakers later on in a match, where action players may have accumulated a plethora of Souls.

Modding

A map editor is available, which allows for scripts, events and all sorts of things so players can create their own game types, similar to Warcraft III . Mods from Capture the Flag to Soccer have been created.

Reception

See also

Related Research Articles

A fighting game is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more characters. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attacks together into "combos". Characters generally engage in battle using hand-to-hand combat—often some form of martial arts. The fighting game genre is related to, but distinct from, the beat 'em up genre, which pits large numbers of computer-controlled enemies against one or more player characters.

<i>Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos</i> 2002 video game

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, after Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the third game set in the Warcraft fictional universe, and the first to be rendered in three dimensions. An expansion pack, The Frozen Throne, was released in July 2003. Warcraft III is set several years after the events of Warcraft II, and tells the story of the Burning Legion's attempt to conquer the fictional world of Azeroth with the help of an army of the Undead, led by fallen paladin Arthas Menethil. It chronicles the combined efforts of the Human Alliance, Orcish Horde, and Night Elves to stop them before they can corrupt the World Tree.

<i>Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga</i> 2003 video game

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a 2003 role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014, Nintendo Switch Online Service in 2023, and remade for the Nintendo 3DS as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions in 2017. In the game, Mario and Luigi travel to the Beanbean Kingdom in order to combat Cackletta and Fawful, who stole Princess Peach's voice for the purpose of harnessing the power of a special artifact called the Beanstar.

Tactical role-playing games, also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as simulation RPGs, are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical strategy video games. The formats of tactical RPGs are much like traditional tabletop role-playing games and strategy games in appearance, pacing, and rule structure. Likewise, early tabletop role-playing games are descended from skirmish wargames such as Chainmail, which were primarily concerned with combat.

<i>The Simpsons Wrestling</i> 2001 video game

The Simpsons Wrestling is a sports video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons for the PlayStation. Developed by Big Ape Productions and published by Fox Interactive through a co-publishing agreement with Electronic Arts in Europe and Activision in North America, the game was first released in Europe in March 2001, followed by North America a month later. It is the only Simpsons video game released for the PlayStation.

<i>Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde</i> 2003 video game

Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde is a 2003 real-time strategy video game developed and published by Jaleco Entertainment for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube consoles. It was released in North America for the Xbox and PS2 on November and on the GameCube on December 2003, and later in Europe on March and July 2004 and March 2005 for the Xbox, GameCube and PS2 respectively.

<i>Savage: The Battle for Newerth</i> 2003 video game

Savage: The Battle for Newerth is a 2003 video game combining aspects of the real-time strategy and first-person shooter genres, developed by S2 Games. It takes place in a science fantasy distant future when mankind has rebuilt society after the apocalypse, but is threatened by intelligent beasts led by a sorceress.

<i>Cossacks: European Wars</i> 2001 video game

Cossacks: European Wars is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows made by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. It was released on 24 April 2001. The game has an isometric view and is set in the 17th and 18th centuries of Europe. It features sixteen playable nations each with its own architectural styles, technologies and no limit on unit numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S2 Games</span> American video game developer

S2 Games was a video game development company which was founded by Marc "Maliken" DeForest, Jesse Hayes, and Sam McGrath, based in Rohnert Park, California. They also had a development location in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

<i>Battlefield 2142</i> 2006 video game

Battlefield 2142 is a 2006 first-person shooter video game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the fourth game in the Battlefield series. Battlefield 2142 is set in 2142, depicting a war known as "The Cold War of the 22nd Century", in which two military superpowers – the European Union (EU) and Pan Asian Coalition (PAC) – battle for the remaining unfrozen land during a new ice age.

<i>Battlefield: Bad Company</i> 2008 video game

Battlefield: Bad Company is a first-person shooter video game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Part of the Battlefield series, it was released in North America on 23 June 2008, followed by a European release on 26 June. The game was hinted at just before the release of Battlefield 2, and announced sixteen months later. A direct sequel, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows on 2 March 2010. The player controls protagonist Private Preston Marlowe and his exploits to steal gold from mercenaries along with his squad, in the midst of a war between the United States and Russia.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade</i> 2006 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade is the second expansion to the real-time strategy video game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. Based on Games Workshop's tabletop wargame, Warhammer 40,000, Dark Crusade was released on October 9, 2006. The expansion features two new races, the Tau Empire and the Necrons. Including the Imperial Guard from Dawn of War's first expansion pack Winter Assault, a total of seven playable races in this expansion.

<i>Soulcalibur IV</i> 2008 video game

Soulcalibur IV is a 2008 fighting video game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is the fifth installment in the Soulcalibur series, featuring greatly improved visuals over its predecessor and three playable guest characters from the Star Wars franchise. It is also the first Soulcalibur game to not receive an arcade version.

Strategy is a major video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strategy games are most commonly defined as those with a primary focus on high-level strategy, logistics and resource management. They are also usually divided into two main sub-categories: turn-based and real-time, but there are also many strategy cross/sub-genres that feature additional elements such as tactics, diplomacy, economics and exploration.

<i>Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II</i> 2009 video game

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is a real-time strategy-tactical role-playing video game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ for Microsoft Windows based on the fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe. It is the sequel to the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War video game series. Dawn of War II was released in North America on February 19, 2009 and in Europe on February 20, 2009. A sequel, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, was released in April 2017.

<i>Demons Souls</i> 2009 video game

Demon's Souls is a 2009 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 3 under the supervision of Japan Studio. It was published in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment in February, in North America by Atlus in October, and in PAL territories by Namco Bandai Partners in June 2010. The game is referred to as a spiritual successor to FromSoftware's King's Field series.

<i>Heroes of Newerth</i> Multiplayer online battle arena video game

Heroes of Newerth (HoN) was a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game originally developed by S2 Games for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The game idea was derived from the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne custom map Defense of the Ancients and was S2 Games' first MOBA title. The game was released on May 12, 2010, and re-released as a free-to-play game on July 29, 2011. On May 5, 2015, Heroes of Newerth development duties passed to Frostburn Studios, with the development team moving over to the new company. The service ceased operations on June 20, 2022, but the game is still playable with the community's support.

Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that improve over the course of a game and which contribute to the team's overall strategy. The typical objective is for each team to destroy their opponents' main structure, located at the opposite corner of the battlefield. In some MOBA games, the objective can be defeating every player on the enemy team. Players are assisted by computer-controlled units that periodically spawn in groups and march forward along set paths toward their enemy's base, which is heavily guarded by defensive structures. This type of multiplayer online video games originated as a subgenre of real-time strategy, though MOBA players usually do not construct buildings or units. Moreover, there are examples of MOBA games that are not considered real-time strategy games, such as Smite (2014), and Paragon. The genre is seen as a fusion of real-time strategy, role-playing and action games.

<i>Pillars of Eternity</i> 2015 roleplaying video game

Pillars of Eternity is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on March 26, 2015. The game is a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series, along with Planescape: Torment. Obsidian started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for it in September 2012. The campaign raised over US$4 million, which was the highest funded video game at the time. The game uses the Unity engine.

<i>Strife</i> (2015 video game) Multiplayer online battle arena video game

Strife was a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed by S2 Games. This is S2 Games' second MOBA game aimed to a more casual player base than Heroes of Newerth, most notably incorporating various gameplay elements that focus on heavily reducing player toxicity and introducing persistent mechanics outside of the arena, including Pets and Crafting. The game uses an engine called Kodiak which is based on the Heroes of Newerth with some improvements on lighting and physics.

References

  1. ↑ "December 12, 2009 Saveage 2 goes free". News.bigdownload.com. 2008-12-09. Archived from the original on 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  2. 1 2 "A Tortured Soul". Savage 2. 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2014-01-18.[ dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Savage 2 now live on Desura news". Desura. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  4. ↑ "S2 Games Releases Second Free Content Update for Savage 2: A Tortured Soul". IGN. 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  5. ↑ "It's a succesful sequel. Needs a larger player base". GameSpot. 2008-03-23. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  6. 1 2 "Savage 2: A Tortured Soul Review". IGN. 2008-02-07. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  7. 1 2 "Savage 2 Hands-on". IGN. 2007-06-20. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  8. ↑ "GDC 07: Savage 2: Tortured Soul Update". IGN. 2007-03-09. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  9. ↑ "Savage 2: A Tortured Soul (PC) review". Honest Gamers. 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  10. ↑ "Savage 2: A Tortured Soul for PC". GameRankings . CBS Interactive . Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Savage 2: A Tortured Soul for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Savage 2: A Tortured Soul review". GamesRadar+. 2008-01-29. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.