Demigod is a rare game. It is one of those games which take chances and does almost everything right. Developed by Gas Powered Games of Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander fame and published by Stardock who also published the amazing Sins of a Solar Empire. Demigod is based around short bloody fights where you control one of eight Demigods who are fighting for the side of Light or the side of Dark.

Unlike almost all other RTS (Real Time Strategy) games you do not have to worry about controlling units other than your Demigod and there is no base building, you just have to control various thing from capturing flags, to controlling areas and buying items to help you defeat the other Demigods. With impressive graphics and audio this is one of the more impressive Windows PC games in a long time. But will it appeal to everyone? Maybe. But if you love it or hate it, it is one hell of a ride.

Describing the gameplay premise of Demigod is a bit of a challenge as the developers at Gas Powered Games have taken a bit of Real Time Strategy, added some pure action elements then a dash of Role Playing to top off everything. The strategy side of things is very similar to most RTS titles with right click to attack and move. The games action side of things is fast and deadly on a massive scale with the Role Playing elements dictating attack, defensive and automatic abilities.

There is no single player campaign in the game and this is a shame because the single player skirmish and tournament side of things is just not enough to recommend the game to those gamers who dislike or even hate multiplayer gaming. The skirmish mode is fun and allows for you to play and test out map strategies but the AI is no real match for human players. Even on the hardest of difficulties you can easily out maneuver, devastate and run right over the enemy if you know how to play your Demigod.

Single player tournament is fairly basic and does allow you to play and compete against the AI. Where the game excels is in multiplayer and with a strong online component and LAN system this could easily be a game played at pro-gaming tournaments with a variety of gaming options. These options can easily range from changing one of the four game modes (Conquest, Dominate, Slaughter, Fortress), and then tweak it up by adjusting the Fog of War, Game Speed, Spawn Rate, Death Penalty, Experience Rate and many more options.

While the game started out with a bit of a problem at launch (pirates trying to play online causes severe server lag), a quick patch fixed that problem and the game runs very well online now. So if you were one of those pirates you should support what is really one of the few rare game developers and publishers who support gamers and keep supporting the games they play years after they launch.

Each Demigod is very impressive in their own right and, the Rook is my favorite Demigod by far because he is just a walking tower of pain. Upgrades to attacks and health are done via a RPG system and to gain more upgrades you need experience from killing grunts, other Demigods, capturing flags and more.

What makes the game special is how accessible it is. Most players will pick up the controls in minutes and be able to play and give a challenge against the enemy AI. Though the game is easy to pick up, it is one of those games which will take a long time to master. Every battlefield you play on has its own quirks, every Demigod has their strengths and weaknesses and you must learn all of these before you can dominate most human players.

The first thing you should do when you install and run Demigod for the first time is beef up the graphical settings, to max if you can for two reasons. First the default settings are set for a low-mid range machine and secondly the game looks outstanding with all the bells, whistles and graphic touches turned on. This is by far one of the best looking games this year period. It stands up against other action and strategy titles and shines through grabbing people’s attention.

Every Demigod is designed, modeled, textured and animated in amazing detail and seeing these moving across the battlefield and engaging in battles against the enemy army and other Demigods. All graphic effects are top notch and even after replaying the same map a couple of dozen times the game looks just as impressive. Demigod is certainly a visual masterpiece.

I loathe games which over use music and sound effects to the point where they distract from the games overall experience. Gas Powered Games has done a very good job with the games audio especially with the music and environmental sound effects. All of the voice over work in the game is excellent especially the various one liners and boasts by the various Demigods. It is very impressive to hear a game like this which does not fail in the audio department when it excels everywhere else. As an audiophile this is one game which is a joy to listen to as it does not become boring.

Even though the game does not have a true single player campaign, something I must admit to being disappointed in, the skirmish and tournament modes along with the great multiplayer and insane number of choices to customize matches the value of this game is almost immeasurable.

Demigod is one of those games which surprised the hell out of me in many ways. From the overall presentation, the graphics and audio and the very fun and addictive gameplay, Demigod is one of the best PC games this year and is a shining example of how great game developers can continue to evolve old ideas into bigger and better games. This is a must buy for strategy fans looking for something new.