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This is very similar to a Diablo 2 mod

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: June 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you are a Diablo/Diablo 2 fan then you will enjoy this game. While this isn't an excellent game that bests the Diablo dungeon creeper it is fun to play and can help keep you distracted until Diablo 3 comes out. If you did not enjoy the diablo series then there is no chance you will enjoy this game.

This game comes across as a diablo 2 mod and incorporates many of the upgrades that the d2 mods introduced. A shared stash, allowing you to share items from one of your characters to another on the same computer, is a welcome addition first introduced in a popular d2 mod.

The game is a bit short and I have also found that there are very few item drops from the monsters. I find that a bit odd since there is a dedicated key to pick up every item on the ground at once. I think the key was introduced more as a means to get to items that drop in unreachable areas more than anything else. The items you can equip seem to be a bit contrived and forced (new arms, legs, hearts, eyes, etc. instead of diablo's helmets, armor, shields, etc.) and the same depth of variety present in the diablo series is not as present here.

The skill tree is a simple pyramid scheme where you need the skills that are immediately below the desired skill in the pyramid in order to develop what you want. This forces you to invest points in every skill in the game to get the skill that is at the top of the pyramid. The skills do not introduce as much variety as their diablo counterparts and feel as though they are a dumbed down version of what d2 offers. Most skills deal with attack speed, accuracy, increased damage, etc.

The few additions I did find to be very good are the inventory optimizer that sorts everything you are holding into the "best fit". Gone are the days where you have to spend several minutes reorganizing inventory items to collect that last weapon before going back to town.

I have said diablo a lot in this review. That is because this game is simply diablo with a sci-fi mod that has guns. Not a bad game. There is a demo that has the first mission for you to check out if you are on the fence.

Contrary to what one review says the game does have a multiplayer and I have yet to experience serious bugs.

Action with an RPG Flair

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: June 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Restricted Area reminds me of Diablo meets Bladerunner.The gameplay is very fast and fun and there havent been many decent RPG's in a while. The dark futuristic theme reminds me of Blade Runner, with a mix of the Fallout series and the graphics and gameplay are much like Diablo 2 one of my favorite games of all time. It's got Guns and roleplay and stats and levels, and all kids of terrain to explore and items to play with.

I would highly recommend this title to anyone looking for a fast paced,action oreinted RPG !

Six stars out of five!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: May 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Restricted Area is the best mix of action and RPG I've played so far. The graphics are of a caliber I have not seen in an RPG from this perspective before. I think I finally found my replacement for Diablo 2 and I may finally have another game to spend way more time on than I'm willing to admit.

Very Boring and repetative - like most "rpgs" today that lack story

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: September 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ever since the fall of Interplay and the need for companies to make more money by pushing MMOGs (Massive multiplayer online Games like EverCrack and WoW - which are basically hack and slash without much story development) Long gone are the days it seems of the great games like Baulder's Gate, The Fallout Series and the last great RPG with an intriging story line that you can actually controll... Arcanum. The developement of true in-depth addictive and immersive RPGs are pretty much fizzeled out. This game without a doubt is no exception to the rule. If you are a lack-luster individual that finds the repetion of hack-and-slash reminisent of the early days of maze-style games that forced a linear path of play which were fine for the time 16 years ago, then I suppose this would be ok. Obviously a complete copy of Diablo only in (near?) futuristic times - there is no way of completing task alternately, you face the same monsters only with stronger abilities each mind numbing level after level of the same ineviable end. I don't know what else to say - this isn't an RPG... and I havn't seen one for quite a while. It's like most games today that are looking for a quick buck without much developement spent on those that are looking for the true control over your destination game that don't limit the exploritive nature and who thrive on the anticipation of new things or story developement. Nope, this game you know you go down to the next predetermined maze with a bunch of creatures that look and do the same limited things and kill as much as possible only to do the same for the next predetermined maze. I got bored quickly, and around character level 17 I abandoned the game and actually took interest (which is hard for me and I never have done before) in my programing classes... maybe some day I'll be able help create a "true" RPG again.

A Bad Diablo Clone Set In A Blade Runner World

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Restricted Area is a Diablo clone set in a blade runner world which it doesn't pull off well. It's fluid as concrete, balanced as a drunk, and the story and characters are so cliche it makes Saturday Morning Cartoons look like Shakespeare.

The gameplay is standard Diablo fare but unlike Blizzard it isn't done well. Leveling isn't balanced, often times the PC is fighting things that are way tougher than the player. To finish this game I had to use cheats. The box says that are many ways to develop your character but basically it adds to the repetitive tiering nature of this game.

There are four PC characters that you can choose. Three of them are basically stereotypes. It makes me wonder what the game director was thinking. One of them is basically a big white guy with black glasses, all black clothing and a big gun, and another is an Asian male with a big sword and no shirt.

The story is bland and mostly told through CGI work. And it's basically the same no matter what character the player chooses.

Another deterrent to playing this game is that it requires Starforce to be installed on your computer. If I were the developer I wouldn't have bothered. It's that bad.

Pass on this one.

marketing-hype instead of quality-gaming

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 10
Date: May 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

To begin with:

I have read all of william gibsons cyberpunk masterpieces. I am a long - time player and devotee to shadowrun and general science fiction. So you see, I really *wanted* to like this game.

BUT

In my decades long computer gaming history this is the first! game I have given back to the store.

There is no multiplayer! And there will not be any. EVER. The developers had posted this sad little news at the german forum before closing it down (officially it went down for maintainance, but has been down for months now).

There is a hidden backup forum, but its difficult to find and no links do exist on the official pages. Seems the developers could not stand their customer's "praise".

Game is still buggy with 1.09 patch. The bug thread in the german forum alone (all the old posts were deleted) is 7 pages long. I believe before the forum reset it must has been more like 17 pages.

There is a 2 player LAN!, direct IP connection mode (no official internet servers) with bugs galore, no possibility to even exchange items between characters, synchro problems etc.

The publisher & developers have "forgotten" to update their feature list on their english page and the box ...

Also I really wonder how all the magazine reviews, that give the game such a high rating, seem to omit this. Makes me wonder.

Graphics are poor, they do NOT compare to Diablo 2! Not even in the remotest sense. Animation is horribly awkward and characters only have 1-3! animated sprites (one with shotgun, one with pistol, one with MP) so virtually none of your items actually show on your character. There are maybe 10 or 15 different sprites for enemies + 3-5 bosses.

Missions are poorly designed, with interior of buildings all looking the same.

Do NOT buy this game. Honestly, it's much better to read neuromancer for the 3rd. time or play Diablo II for the 3000th. ;-) than bear this insult of a game.

very good game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: September 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is a cross between diablo and an old sega game shadowrun (the sega version not super nintendo version which sucked) i have been looking forward to a game like this for a long time. The only thing i had a problem with was the aiming in diablo it was ok to get close and personal. Here your spending most of your time running back take a shot, run take a shot, but after you level up a couple of times and get some upgrades your a one shot one kill maniac

Restricted Area

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: August 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Very good game. Takes awhile to get the right controls. Great Price and terrific graphics. Well worth purchasing.

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