Drakan: The Ancients' Gates

Drakan: The Ancients' Gates
Developer(s)	Surreal Software
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)	Alan Patmore
Composer(s)	Erik Aho
Series	Drakan
Engine	Riot engine
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	NA: January 28, 2002[1] PAL: July 5, 2002[1]
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Drakan: The Ancients' Gates is an action-adventure PlayStation 2 game with RPG elements by Surreal Software. It is the sequel to the 1999 PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Drakan: The Ancients' Gates is fairly identical to its predecessor. It consists of two parts - in the air and on the ground. While in the air, the duo is superior to any kind of non-aerial foe but to defeat flying enemies takes a great deal of maneuvering and aiming. On (and under) the ground, Rynn has to fight alone unless Arokh can find a way to follow her, which usually isn't the case since the only places where they cannot fly are narrow dungeons.

Plot

See also World of Drakan.

This game takes place sometime after the events in Order of the Flame. Rynn and Arokh answer a call from the city of Surdana. Lady Myschala of Surdana asks for Rynn and Arokh's assistance. An evil race of three-faced beings known as the Desert Lords have begun rallying the monsters from around the world (similar to how the Dark Union did in Order of the Flame) and have begun enslaving humans. Around the world there exist four gateways that lead to the world where the dragon mother, Mala-Shae, and her brood have been slumbering since the Dark Wars. Only a Dragon of the Elder Breed can open the gates and this is why Rynn and Arokh (more specifically, Arokh) are needed to open these gates, so that the humans can once again bond with dragons and fight back against the Desert Lords. Along the way, the two of them must go on various side quests to accomplish goals leading them to the ultimate goal.

Story

The story begins with Rynn, the protagonist, returning to her village and finding it destroyed and all the inhabitants killed. Arokh, her dragon friend, tells her that voices speaking in an ancient language are calling them to Surdana. Arohk leaves for Surdana, while Rynn catches up later after burying the dead in her village.

In Surdana, Rynn meets with Lady Myshala, the city's ruler, who tells her about Mala-Shae and the Spirit Dragons. She then shows Rynn the gateway in Surdana they will use to return. Rynn is tasked with opening four other gates throughout the land of Drakan, which will allow the Spirit Dragons to return.

Over the course of the game, Rynn and Arokh manage to open three of the gates. The fourth is guarded by a golem known as the Pain Golem. The golem is aided by Jasaad Duthane, leader of the Desert Lords, who has worked to impede Rynn in her quest throughout the game. Rynn and Arokh defeat the golem, which falls on Jasaad, crushing him. After Rynn opens the final gate, Mala-Shae and her Spirit Dragons return to Drakan and help rid the land of Desert Lords and evil beasts.

Characters

• Rynn: Rynn returns in Drakan: The Ancients' Gates and still retains her athletic and impetuous personality. She is a very attractive young woman who is capable of wielding all kinds of melee and ranged weaponry. She is often reluctantly forced into side-quests to complete larger goals.
• Arokh: Rynn's Dragon Companion returns and serves as an important asset in their mission to open the Gateways, for only a Dragon of the Elder Breed can open the gates. He is a living legend, a dragon who defeated Navaros centuries ago and retired to eternal sleep after his human companion, Heron, died. When Rynn first met him, he was impressed enough by her courage to agree to help her in her journey. Throughout the game, he becomes Rynn's most powerful weapon and a true friend. He may appear intimidating and cynical at first, but deep inside he is noble and good-hearted.
• Lady Myschala: The ruler of Surdana who knows many secrets of the Order of the Flame. Because of her position in power she is constantly tormented by Jasaad, the leader of the Desert Lords.
• General Dehrimon: The General of Myschala's knights, he and his troops work hard to defend Surdana and keep peace. It is said he was a dashing man in his youth and defeated the necromancer, Khossa Vole.
• Jade the Sorceress: She is the one who called Rynn and Arokh to Surdana with her magical powers. Her people in the Desert of Tears were among the first to be enslaved by the Desert Lords. She is able to teach Rynn new magical abilities for the right price.
• Quaalus the Alchemist: An alchemist that lives in Surdana, he sells you potions. He also asks for Blackwing Dragon Eggs, paying 50 gold for each egg that is brought to him.
• Chief Ranwulf: The Chief of the Northmen and Ravenshold, his people are at war with the Half-Men. He guides you to the first gate and gives you some insight into the war.
• Zeggoro the Wizard: A wizard that lives in Ravenshold. Through his link to the spirit world, he is the only living soul who knows how to get through the barrier around the territory of the Half-Men and agrees to help you if it promises to get rid of the hated Half-Men.
• Brekk the Blacksmith: Brekk is the blacksmith of Surdana, he sells weapons and armor for Rynn if she is at the appropriate level for them. At the beginning of the game he puts a reward out for anyone who can get their hands on Toadfist's crown.
• Mala-Shae: The Dragon Mother, she is the leader of Spirit Dragons that have gone into a deep slumber in the Dragon World since the Dark Wars. Although she doesn't appear in the game, she plays an important role, Rynn and Arokh must open the four gateways that lead to her world in order to summon her and her brood to help them gain the upper hand in the war with the Desert Lords.
• The Desert Lords: The evil, three-faced beings come from the demon world of Sessool. It is believed that they themselves were thrown out of power and the few remaining Desert Lords, under the leadership of Jasaad, have invaded Drakan. With their evil magic, fertile land becomes barren desert. The Desert Lords believe their rule is right and just and think of human beings as nothing more than servants who can only survive by their guidance and authority. Now they have rallied many races of monsters such as the Grull, Wartoks, the Half-Men and the Undead for their cause. Their headquarters in Drakan is the series of floating islands in the sky called Stratos. They seem to have some connection with the Dark Union. The Three Faces appear to be Male, Female and Skull. The Skull is often used during attacks. Some Desert Lords seam to favour the Male or Female as a form of gender.
  • Jasaad Duthane: The merciless leader of the Desert Lords. According to Jade, Jasaad has less concern for humans than "a farmer has for his donkey." Jasaad pops up every so often in the game to discourage Lady Myschala and Rynn from resisting.
  • Brother Yedeen and Sister Indja: These Desert Lords were sent by Jassaad to assist the Half-Men in protecting the second of the Ancients' Gates. They are stubborn and place all blame on either Maulgak and his forces or their own incompetent assassins. They are found in Shiverbane scolding Maulgak for his faults.
• Yutaji The Flesh Mage: Possibly the most disturbing character in the entire game, the Flesh Mage is a sorcerer, said to be even more powerful than the Desert Lords themselves. He is skilled at creating Golems, as his palace, the Necropolis, is filled with them, and possibly skilled at necromancy as well since his palace is also inhabited by the undead. The Flesh Mage was put under a spell by Jasaad that made him lose his mind and placed his soul in a magical urn. Because of this, the Desert Lords themselves fear him and have sealed him up in his own palace. To appease him, the Desert Lords send slave girls, his "brides", into the palace where the Mage strips them of their flesh and wears it as a cloak. The Flesh Mage was the one who created the Pain Golem, the most powerful soldier in the Desert Lords' army, and holds the only key to defeating it, the Golem Staff. If Rynn is to defeat the Pain Golem, she must confront the mage and claim the Golem Staff.
• Mezzidrel: A large two-headed sea serpent who was part of the Dark Union long ago, she now serves Bonegrinder and the Desert Lords. One of the first bosses you meet in the game. Being a former member of the Dark Union, she has a deep hatred of Arokh and it is revealed that the two of them had fought each other in the past with Arokh being victorious but being a merciful dragon, Arokh spared the serpent's life.
• Shaza and Tora: These two dragonesses served the Dark Union long ago as skilled assassins and were encased in stone in the area that is now the Valley of the Fallen. Long ago Arokh killed their brother, who he claimed was a traitor the order and an "eater of children". Now, like Mezzidrel, they share a deep hatred towards the hero of the Dark Wars.
• Khossa Vole: A necromancer who was thought to have been killed by General Dehrimon a long time ago, his disembodied spirit now seeks rebirth in a new body. He is in possession of an artifact crafted by the magi of the Dark Union known as the Gravestone, which grants its user greater skills in the Necromantic arts (and is how he conjures up the dead). Rynn must reclaim the Gravestone if she is to ease the population of the undead.
• The Inquisitor: Another ghostly being that haunts Surdana. He kidnaps innocent civilians during the night and takes them to his underground lair where Wartoks stand guard and ask them questions concerning people that lived during the time of the Order and the Dark Wars six hundred years ago. If his prisoners are unable to answer, he tortures them to death. The knights of Surdana have placed a large bounty on the Inquisitor. He appears to be a Death Mage (see the first game)
• Maulgak: The chieftain of the Half-Men, Maulgak thinks little of humans and has formed a tense alliance with the Desert Lords. He believes that the spirits of Earth and Metal aid him in battle. His weapon of choice is Maulgak's Maul.

Reception

The game received an aggregate score of 78/100 on Metacritic, based on 31 critic reviews.^[2]

References

External links

• Official website
• Arokh's Lair (fan site)
• Drakan: The Ancients' Gates development Post-Mortem written by designer/programmer Richard Rouse III