Review by: Ryan McCaffrey
Published: August 29, 2002

Imitation is historically known as the highest form of flattery. If this is indeed the case, then the folks at Blizzard Entertainment must be thrilled to the point of embarrassment. After facing dozens of would-be suitors to their WarCraft, StarCraft and Diablo franchises, the world famous developer has continually proven that they are the only ones who can top themselves. Sooner or later, however, someone else is bound to get the formula right. Enter Object Software. The Chinese developer’s latest offering, the 2D isometric perspective action-RPG Prince of Qin, looks to combine the wealth of ancient Chinese history with the proven, addictive gameplay of Diablo. They are certainly not the first to attempt to usurp the mighty Diablo, but they are forging new ground by taking the action into ancient China, an era rich with history, culture and myth. Object also has not shied away from comparisons to Blizzard’s platinum-sellers, as the front cover of the Qin box features not one, but two Diablo references. Are the comparisons valid? Does the world finally have its first Diablo-killer?

Prince Fu Su is cast as the gamer’s avatar in the product’s title role. The plot, set over 2000 years ago and lifted partially out of Chinese history books, unfolds as such: Driven to exile and fueled by thoughts of revenge after Fu Su’s father, the emperor, goes mad with power, the prince accepts a role assisting one of the dynasty’s great generals in the defense of the northern border from the Huns and the construction of the Great Wall. Despite building a reputation as a war hero and a popular leader, the prince receives a mysterious edict ordering him to commit suicide. Questioning the document’s authenticity, history tells that both Fu Su and the general nevertheless obey the forged command. It’s here where Object Software skews written history and writes its own account for Prince of Qin. As the developers have crafted it, Fu Su stays his hand and instead embarks on a quest to unravel the uncertainty behind the suicide order and gain revenge on his unknown opponent.

Prior to gameplay, players are treated to a gory and action-packed pre-rendered cinematic in which Prince Fu Su fends off flames in a field and repels the attacks of a group looking to see that his suicide is carried out – one way or another. Swords clash, men fall, crops burn and blood even splatters the camera. Strangely, however, the opening cutscene is not automatically queued when launching the game for the first time. Rather, it’s viewable only under Prince of Qin‘s options menu.

Once control of the prince is handed over to the player, Qin appears immediately familiar. Just as in Diablo, Fu Su begins his journey as a level one fighter equipped with nothing more than cloth armor, a basic sword and a thirst for justice. Combat is handled through a familiar mouse interface, utilizing Diablo‘s basic controls, albeit inversely – the right mouse button handles attacks, while the left executes movements. Shortcut keys make navigation familiar to Diablo veterans, and both the statistics screen and inventory menus should look familiar to Blizzard’s fans. Once gamers delve a bit deeper into Prince of Qin‘s interface, however, it becomes obvious that the developer has blazed its own trail, just as they have done with the title’s plot. Though the primary mouse function is identical, Qin builds on Diablo‘s system by separating the attacks and skills into left-hand and right-hand abilities. Common attacks, for instance, can be performed with either hand, but certain skills, such as Fu Su’s Summon Birds command, are relegated to the right hand. Four skills per hand can be hotkeyed to the “Q-W-E-R” (left) and “A-S-D-F” (right) rows. On the attributes menu, Object adds savvy and charm to Diablo‘s strength, dexterity, magic and vitality equivalents. The former affects the rate of experience gain, while a higher charm skill serves to lower prices on items in the cities’ shops.