Savage: The Battle for Newerth Critic Reviews

Whether you’re an action or strategy enthusiast, there’s something for you in Savage. And really, with a few tweaks here and there, Savage could easily become the next big thing in online gaming.

Savage is the best online all-out-action game since "Quake 3." Set in a rustic past setting, yet with modern tech influences, the battle between humans and beasts will be one of the greatest you have ever taken part in.

This game is simply too polished, unique and good to fit the industry mold of a typical 'first time outing'.

The proportion of matches seems divided in even thirds - a third are fantastic, a third are tolerable, and a third are simply frustrating.

Combining a real-time strategy game with a first-person shooter is a great idea, but I feel a bit like Savage is two separate, decent games rather than one great one.

A great game if you have a bunch of buddies who want to play with you, or if your existing Quake / Unreal Tournament etc. clan is looking for a new title to explore. However, as a single player sitting at home playing over the internet, I felt the game was lacking something that it wasn't when battling it out at E3 on S2 Games' LAN.

It's simple, it's elegant, and most of all, it's a blast.

A near-perfect mix of action, teamwork, and RPG influences, Savage is the core of everything that I loved about "PlanetSide" except on a smaller scale and without the monthly charge.

While it's fair to level some criticism at the lack of tutelage, and the combat is a bit divisive and unforgiving to begin with, you can't really blame the developer for Savage's biggest problem - the way it's played online. Given the right people and the right attitude, this is one of the finest multiplayer games of the year so far.

The combination of FPS and RTS works so well together in this title that you may wonder why no one has tried it before.

Apart from a few flaws likely to be addressed in the evolutionary patching process common to most multiplayer titles, Savage edges close to perfection. It accomplishes its extremely ambitious mission of being the first game to truly combine two completely different genres.

The game's RTS and FPS elements aren't anything exciting on their own, but the combined whole makes Savage a fun, fresh game that will likely get better over time as its technical kinks are worked out, better maps are created, and organized clans begin to pop up.

The addition of the FPS style of play, RPG style leveling up, and the RTS style for the commander was probably one of the neatest things I’ve seen done in this kind of game, and adds a unique and fun element in along with the ability for the commander to actually give orders and grant requests for promotions or gold loans.

First and foremost, everything in the action segment requires repetitive clicking. Melee combat requires you to click for each swing. Helping build a structure is an exercise in monotony.

I have a feeling in a few years gamers may look back to see what an influential and groundbreaking game it really was.

It has its faults, shortcomings and severe community deficiencies, but if you put the time and effort in to learn the intricacies of how it plays in both grunt and commander modes, you could end up playing this one for a long, long time to come.

It teeters on the brink of greatness but never quite gets there.

Visually scrumptious, and innovative, but lacking the vital fluid of satisfaction.

The true fun is the teamwork aspect, where combined effort gets the job done.

In the time since its release, the developers have done a great job of supporting the game and a small but steadfast community has built up around it. Whatever problems Savage may have now, it seems to be a game with enough dedication behind it that it'll only get better over time.