Champions: Return to Arms Critic Reviews

The limits to which the team has managed to stretch the PS2's capacity are pretty amazing - it's hard to believe this is the same graphics engine that was used in the first game.

It's quite possible that Champions: Return to Arms is the best hack and slash game ever created. Unfortunately it has been built atop the foundation of "Champions of Norrath." So much so that fans of that game may feel somewhat betrayed that Return to Arms is so similar.

As for controls, combat and inventory-sorting are quick and clean. Spellcasting can be frustrating, though, as aiming projectiles is often a trial-by-error process.

An absolute blast to play, especially with friends online or off. If you love action RPG's then I can't imagine you'd find a better one than this.

The whole experience is beautifully rendered in high resolution, which makes for some sumptuous details in the graphics.

The sequel to Champions of Norrath offers a neat and entertaining package of addictive hack 'n' slash action - but is it really that difficult to implement a proper story?

Branching stories break the monotony of replaying the game.

It's totally fun and addicting to play.

In fairness to games out there that are sequels, and actually bring something new to the table, to call this game a sequel is to do those other games an injustice. Champions: Return to Arms is an expansion pack, if anything.

Multiplayer is THE way to play this game and Champions: Return to Arms adds a few twists to the series.

It's pretty - really, really pretty, with smooth animations, dynamic lighting, and remarkably detailed, solid-looking textures... the story execution falls a bit short.

Over 100 hours of game play through 50 levels of sword-swinging, spell-casting combat, thousands of new weapons and equipment, and two new characters (the fighting furry Vah Shir and the lizardman Iksar) will keep you huffing at trucker speed through the wee hours.

Yet, even with newly included character classes, new gameplay features and a cleaner online system, the fact still remains that Return To Arms is a title with relatively few advancements within the formula.

With branching paths that can lead to good or evil and a multiplayer mode that kicks major tail Return to Arms is more hack-and-slash action worth checking out.

Though everything is very well-done, it's difficult to shake the feeling that I've been playing this game since "Diablo" came out on PC in 1997.

It’s unfortunate that this sequel has the blender feel to it, as the original game was a blast to play.

For those of you fans of the original wishing for better online support should definitely check out Return to Arms, because I think it just may have what you are looking for.

The only real weakness of the combat engine at all is the lack of any sort of auto-targeting system, which makes using ranged weaponry frustrating.

Offers enough playability and action to satisfy any action RPG fan, but it lacks the intricate story and involving quests that would lure in traditional role-playing vets.

The number of times I got ripped apart by wild dogs made me regret ever wanting to be a lizard. Didn’t stop me coming back for more, though.