Revenant (video game)
Revenant is an action role-playing video game produced by Cinematix Studios and released in 1999 by publisher Eidos Interactive. Plot. The entire game takes place in the town Misthaven on the island Ahkuilon. Locke D'Averam is a revenant who is named after the House of Averam, which raised him from the dead. Immediately after being brought back from Anserak (Hell), Locke is sent on a quest by his new master, Sardok, who is the advisor to Lord Tendrick, ruler of the island. The quest is to locate and rescue the Tendricks' long-missing daughter Andria, who  was kidnapped by a mysterious cult calling itself the Children of the Change. It is revealed Locke was once king of an ancient empire that centered on Ahkuilon. Locke made a pact with a demon god but he could not bear the price, his wife's soul, and refused to sacrifice her. The demon god condemned Locke to an eternity of suffering in Anserak and his mighty empire was destroyed and pulled into the earth. The cult that Locke finds himself facing is led by the avatar of the demon god he betrayed. As he explores Ahkuilon in pursuit of  the missing Andria, Locke must face enemies. Many characters in the game hint there is a "darkness" surrounding Locke and some seem to know of his past. As the story builds to a climax, it become apparent not all is as it seems and that history may repeat itself. Gameplay. "Revenant"s combat system changes in accordance with the control method used. Locke can be controlled with the mouse to perform standard attacks with minimal player input. In addition, the player can use the keyboard for finer control, gaining access to three basic attack types and the ability to chain them  into special combos, some of which result in special death animations. These specialized kill moves are enemy-specific and range from crushing spiders with a stomp to beheading hostile swordsmen. A gamepad or joystick can also be used in a similar way to the keyboard method, with nearly every move or command able to be mapped to buttons or button combinations. In addition to permanent upgrades to his attributes like strength and agility, Locke gains extra fighting abilities after a level threshold has been reached. It is also possible to combine certain movements into a fluid cycle of attacks. In  addition to melee combat, a number of talismans can be combined to cast magic spells. Combinations can be found in scrolls. Spells vary from freezing to poisoning, and some spells lock opponents in place, allowing Locke to combine a magical attack with a special combat move. Bows cannot be found in the single-player game but are available in multiplayer, giving players the ability to engage in ranged combat. Development. "Revenant" underwent three name changes during development. It was first announced under the title "Forsaken: The Thrall of Chaos". The graphics were developed with Direct3D. The game was originally  planned to be single-player-only. Reception. "Revenant " received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. Jim Preston of "NextGen" said; ""Diablo" fans who need a quick fix will enjoy it, but it doesn't do much to transcend its genre". The game sold 37,000 copies in the U.S. by March 2000; "GameSpot"s writer P. Stephan "Desslock" Janicki noted the game "sold quite poorly".