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Venetica

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GF Rating
4.3

437 ratings

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GF Rating
7

Good

Underrated

posted by Dunric (DULUTH, MN) Nov 20, 2011

Member since Nov 2010

2 out of 2 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

Venetica certainly could have used a bit more polishing, graphics-wise, and some better general testing could have found several small bugs.

That said, it's a decent game and worth a solid playthrough.

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GF Rating
3

Bad

Fell Short

posted by kermitk50 (SEATAC, WA) Sep 26, 2011

Member since Mar 2011

2 out of 2 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

Im not sure what this trend is in having RPGs take place in a single town. Keeping your scope small may reduce production costs, but it also reduces the sense of epicness as well. Happened in DA2, happened here.

Overall, felt like it could have been decent, but just ended up feeling like it was trying to be Fable without the larger scope.

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GF Rating
5

Fair

Ok

posted by Shendow (GARDEN CITY, KS) Sep 18, 2011

Member since Dec 2010

2 out of 2 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

The game was ok, I was told it was like Fable and it is kind of close but alittle poorly done.

The copy I got from Gamefly was in really bad shape, an I think that didn't help with how slow it loaded.

If none of that bugs you, then it could be a pretty good game for you.

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GF Rating
3

Bad

Do not rent or buy!

posted by evilash8 (LAS VEGAS, NV) Aug 31, 2011

Member since Aug 2011

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

I wish I had something positive to say about this game but I have nothing. Sound is bad, voice acting is not bad just bland, and why does everyone have English accents in Italy?! Graphics are not the worst but reminds me of past gen console. Camera seems to be moving all the time and almost never with a good view. Fights with enemies are very repetitious. And not enough hot keys for the different abilites. Some reviews said to play longer, but I played almost 5 hours and was bored almost the whole time. Lastly there is no character investment. Games like Assassins Creed or Dead Space; you care about the hero and hate or despise the villians.This includes the main character, NPC's and villians. There is no soul to anything in this game. If this was in the bargain bin for $20, I would not recommend it.

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GF Rating
2

Really Bad

Just plain bad

posted by chessfreak132 (HAMPTON, VA) May 4, 2011

Member since May 2011

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

This game has all kinds of promise, and the ability to be good. Poor, clunky controls, bad graphics, and even worse voice acting keep it far from it, however. First, combat: You have four different types of weapon, the Moonblade, Swords, Spears, and 2 Handed Axes/Hammers. In typical rpg fashion, you're given skill points to spend every time you level up, and you can choose to put them in either physical or mental (spells.) The problem with the different weapons, is that having four different weapon types, the designers thought it would be a good idea to have four different block "spells" you had to purchase from the physical tree. I can tolerate that. What's not tolerable, is the fact that you only have 4 hotkeys: the D-pad, and circle. So you have to add the block to a hotkey. Still not that bad. But one block "spell" doesn't count for all weapons. You have to add the block of the weapon type you want to use on a hotkey to use it. And to top it off, swords can only block swords, spears can only block spears, etc. It's just not done very well.
The spells you're given are the same way, i.e. having to map them to use them. Unfortunately the majority of them have ridiculous cooldowns. Which wouldn't be that bad really, if they hit when they were supposed to, and you weren't able to be interrupted during casting. Basically meaning that you can't use these spells in close combat, which is usually when you'd want to use them. The bottom line is: Just don't waste your time with this game. I would honestly recommend most superhero movie games before this.

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GF Rating
5

Fair

PC game gone wrong on PS3

posted by EJ31601 (RICHFORD, VT) Mar 23, 2011

Member since Aug 2008

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

If Assassin's Creed came out 7 - 8 years ago, this would have been it. It had a interesting story, some landscape that really tried to be pretty. Solid lock picking system along with a alright looting system. If you can endure the long loading times into each building you enter and pretty awful camera at times with some not so great combat. The combat just had way too many abilities for a PS3, basically felt like it would have better played on the PC. It's a pretty easy game to platinum with some time on hand.

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GF Rating
7

Good

Solid budget action rpg

posted by jvgocavs (winston salem, NC) Feb 5, 2011

Member since Oct 2006

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

Venitca is a budget ($40 retail, US) action RPG in the vein of fable or gothica. You play as Scarlett, the daughter of death and attempt to restore order (or gain revenge) throughout an alternate reality version of Venice.

Game play 8/10 - the actions is hack and slash with swords, axes, spears and a moonblade (hybrid dagger). Their are timed combos, blocking and dodging. If played on normal or difficult settings it will be necessary to dodge or block opponents depending on you’re style of play and counter attack. Also Necromancy is available for those who want to dabble in the dark arts. Both you’re wepons and magic abilities can be improved by spending skill points acquired by leveling. The higher level abilities are quite useful and varied and add spice to the game play. The only negative is the story is a little on the cheesy side.

Graphics 6/10 - this is a budget title and the graphics department is where it shows. The character models are bellow average (but not bad) and have an interesting art style that may turn some off. The environments range from bellow average (mountains, Africa) to pretty solid (Venice is rendered in great detail).

Sound 6/10 - again, budget title. Voice acting is sub par with a few exceptions (Scarlett is voiced fairly well albeit with a British accent that seems out of place in Venice). The music and background effects are adequate.

Overall 7/10 - The adventure/exploration and character development aspects of Venetica are fairly well crafted and enjoyable. The budget character models, voice work and NPC stereotypes are playable but do not inspire. If action RPG’s are you’re favorite type of game as is my case or you just enjoy a good adventure then Venetica is at least worth a rent if not a buy at the budget price. Graphic junkies look elswhere.

30 hrs for one playthru, be sure to change the difficulty to at least normal, easy is default. Player exploration is required to fully enjoy Venetica.

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GF Rating
7

Good

RPG for Dummies.

posted by ikeredwolf (BLOOMINGTON, IN) Jan 14, 2011

Member since May 2004

26 out of 32 gamers (81%) found this review helpful

RPGs are demanding games by nature, they demand more then their fair share of time commitment, patience in ways too varied to count, and they frequently demand repeated re-engagement with the story and its characters.
Venetica has these characteristics in spades. There are frequent graphical anomalies which the player has to simply ignore. There is a huge gap in audio quality between a lackluster score and sub-par voice acting, which the player simply can’t ignore, and must accept. There is a complex UI which requires a player to frequently learn by guessing. The game leaves all camera control to the player but the camera itself is exceedingly slow and since combat is real-time this can lead to losing sight of your target, or simply waiting awhile to get a lay of the land. Another issue the game has is the frequent loading screens, sometimes between surprisingly trivial areas.
All these issues have to be accepted in order to progress though the game, a die-hard RPG Fan will probably accept these flaws in order to follow if not a superb story at least a reasonably unique one. However if you are considering renting this game I doubt you would consider it worth the spot in your Q for the month or so it will stay there as you work your way though the game. Its simply not that good.
That said if you have played RPGs long enough to remember when they were really slow, and mind-bogglingly complex, and you've seen how shallow the current crop of RPGs are, you may find a diamond in the rough in the way Venetica recalls the glory days of the genre.
And if you’ve bothered to read this review all the way to here, I hope you recognize the irony of the Review heading.

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GF Rating
7

Good

Give it a chance ! not the best but not bad at all

posted by greg01 (MADISONVILLE, TN) Jan 16, 2011

Member since Jan 2010

11 out of 14 gamers (79%) found this review helpful

I dont really write these but this time i felt that i should. This game is not the best but to be honest its not that bad. every one is giving it bad reviews and it seems that there not even playing the game longer then a few min. I love rpgs some have gotten way out of controle with way way to much going on. this one is more simple and keeps you going. It remindes me of a sid miers kinda game. its different something new which i encourage these game makers to try. again no this is not a final fantasy or a two worlds. the voices are just fine and the graphics are good, I havent seen any glitches on ps3 game. I guess that all i have to say, im about 3 hrs into game and so far really like it the maps and items menus and char elements are easy to learn. try it you just might like it, even if you are hardcore rpg fan, or if you never played one befor this might get your foot in the door.

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GF Rating
5

Fair

I'm Sending this back, I wanted to like it!

posted by Jedislayer (ESCONDIDO, CA) Mar 5, 2011

Member since Nov 2010

4 out of 7 gamers (57%) found this review helpful

Ok I'm a fan of rpg's, but venetica is a lame excuse for a game. I Tried to like it but the game has no structure. Minus the bad graphics, voice acting, gameplay, and story is at flaw! The story makes no sense, all of a sudden your town gets attacked without knowing who they are or what's the purpose of their attack, your just thrown into it! The voice acting is grade A awful, it's so stale you just want to laugh when they are trying to be serious and emotional. The boss battle's tries to be epic, but it's an epic fail. The only thing good about this game is it's musical score, its actually the best thing in the game which is sad. Overall, this game is bad, do not play it don't even think of wanting to play it like i did. I would recommend arcania gothic 4 over this, that game was decent and had a structural plot, not like "oh our town's being attacked, ok who are these guys and why is it being attacked, i have no clue who is freaking attking me!" Yes folks gamefly saves the day again without wanting another sad game bought, thanks gamefly for helping me, I think mc donalds actually developed this game!

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

Venetica - Awful

posted by Trucidatio (METAIRIE, LA) Jan 13, 2011

Member since Nov 2008

11 out of 26 gamers (42%) found this review helpful

I sent Venetica back the same day I received it. This game is just awful all around. The graphics are downright hideous, suffering from bad clipping on the models. There are some camera shots where you can see the seams of the models while playing. Besides the bad clipping, the textures and low polygon count in general makes it feel like a previous generation game.

The story in this game is very lackluster and typical. There was no real emotion in the voice acting or character faces. The 10 minutes I spent actually playing the game was hardly anything I've not experienced before. You grab a weapon, slash enemies, kill more enemies, get experience.

In the end, you will be presented with bad graphics, a boring story and no real emotion in the voice acting. Attack and stance animations were awkward looking at best, it didn't look very fluid. There is also slowdown and stutter in some cutscenes I've noticed.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

Massive FAIL!

posted by inuakio (ARVADA, CO) Feb 22, 2011

Member since Feb 2011

3 out of 7 gamers (43%) found this review helpful

So i saw the description of this game and thought is sounded pretty cool. I was so excited about how awesome this game would be. However, when i got the game and tried it out i was appalled! This game that i thought would be so amazing disappointing me. The graphics are absolutely horrible! The story line was looked like people drew cards on how the story would go. The voice overs for the character was not set to their moving mouths right. Also you can hardly read the text that gives you your instructions! My television isn't any where close to bad either. All i can say is don't even think about renting this game! I expected way better from Playstation/Sony.

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GF Rating
4

Weak

This needs....

posted by Ankhnefer (LA FAYETTE, GA) Nov 8, 2012

Member since Aug 2012

a UPDATE!!! It's very bugged. The playback of cut scenes have sound issues (not to mention graphic issues). I just had some sound issues, whereas my partner he had the problem where he couldn't even pick up items! Like the copper on the ground. He tried with X and the L1 and neither one worked. People would not talk to him also. And this was at the beginning of the game! He hadn't even gotten his change of clothes yet!
So, this is very clear that it needs MORE work, and should not have been released when it was.

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GF Rating
4

Weak

Needs Minor Adjustments

posted by JMcCullah (STOUT, OH) Oct 4, 2012

Member since May 2011

Currently playing the game, there are a few things that I feel I need to mention to other players before anyone else jumps headfirst into this. Minor bugging issue, for example the Tavern in Inner City Venice... yeah, I'm stuck there, can't get out. Don't know what I'm gonna do. If it comes to the point where I have to load data from many played hours ago, I'm just going to call this quits. Nothing irritates me more than that. But on a lighter note, I like that the main character is a female and I like that her armor and weapons actually change appearance as you equip new things.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

Not worth it

posted by Arikaen (EVANSVILLE, IN) Aug 10, 2012

Member since Aug 2012

First off I wanted to try the game even though I heard it was bad. I give all games the benefit of the doubt. The story started and didn't make any sense. Your a woman and people are attacking though I'm not sure why. After about 5 minutes the game froze. I reloaded it another 5 minutes of walking and it froze again. Six more freezes later I got to play for an hour before it froze.
The map was all over the place with no real way to figure out where to go. Just wander around and hope that you are going in the right place.

The fighting is little more than button mashing. Even gaining several levels I had a hard time fighting off the easy enemies. The AI is basically stupid but if they get one hit on you it takes so long to get up that they almost got you beat by the time you regain control.

Wasn't even worth renting.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

Don't Waste Your Time

posted by JazzieChris (PLANTATION, FL) Jul 9, 2012

Member since Jul 2012

This game is stupid.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

I was Misled.

posted by Aeirou (VIRGINIA BEACH, VA) Apr 29, 2012

Member since Apr 2012

I have played an beaten the likes of B rated rpgs such as Two Worlds 2. The gamefly players said that if you can overlook a few glitches here and there then this game was a gem. I was misled and I don't care if the noble bad game defenders down rate me for it.

I popped in Venetica after playing another game, but I was excited to jump into it with high hopes. (Never start a new game with a bad attitude because it makes me bias). However, I was greeted with constant glitches and poor mechanics.

Combat:
The enemies in the game are based around a weakness system. Each enemy has their own weakness which means you have to kill them in a certain way. The first enemies you encounter are Assassins. Their weakness is that you dodge there attack and counter attack them. There is no lock-on feature that I was able to find, so when I went to dodge my camera completely moved the enemy out of the frame... how am I suppose to counter-attack an enemy that is out of frame. After a few dodge tries, I begin slashing the enemies too death in one go and just leveling strength. Combat is a choir.

Camera:
YOU CAN make the camera move back further away from the character, which is more than most games offer. However, the small and guided areas often either knock the camera out of frame or force you into your character's back. I got a headache from the constantly jerking camera and I could only tolerate about 2 hours before I just gave up.

Quest and Quest Tracking:
The game has a choice system where you can accept or decline quests, but picking either or doesn't matter. The quest tracking is done with a spell that takes magic but it only leads you in a general direction and doesn't change with the task.

I'm running low on text letters - The game makes several things such as blocking, looting certain enemies, and questing tracking abilities that must be learn on level up rather then just given to you like every other game. This makes the game work because it feels MORE dated

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GF Rating
4

Weak

Not as bad as FF13, but that doesn't say much.

posted by greg137 (CALDWELL, ID) Jan 27, 2012

Member since May 2010

Given the fact that this game came out a year, or two before final fantasy 13 illustrates, that if they spent another year in production; the final fantasy series would have died by an iron boot out the door! Sadly, this game was rushed, but in MY opinion this game manages to eek itself out to be just barely ahead of Final Fantasy 13.. I HATED Final fantasy 13... But What is this game like? Well, it has its warts being that the sound of the characters talking tends to cut out randomly.. and it has even crashed(which i later discoverd that the CD was dirty... After cleaning it began working alright , but there were still faults with it.. Enemies don't seem to regenerate which limits skill building, which in turn ruins the combat as you won't be strong enough for some encounters, and the trainers you have access to are dependant on which faction that you later end up joining... So you quite literally need a trainer guide in advance for this game to know what skills you want! That is the only way to improve your skills as you are entirely dependant on trainers for EVERYTHING in terms of skills and spells...
Voice acting and the script are a mixed bag.. The script and the words are well written, but the actors don't have any life when they say their lines..(unlike final famntasy 13 where the actors did a good job, but the script, and words themselves stank to high heaven~ thus, sounding dumb..). Combat is better, since you actually control Scarlet (unlike Lightning from ff 13 who had auto-fight..) more options with clothing and armor than 13.. which is good( not many outfits mind you, but better than the same outfit that you start the game with... Where FF 13 had style, this game has class.. Where FF 13 had glitter, this game has depth... The point is that came a long way, but it could have gone further... This game has more potential than 13, but it was content to sqeak by when it should have roared passed ff 13... Try before you buy! May God Bless you!

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

worst game ever

posted by belmont21 (SACRAMENTO, CA) Oct 17, 2011

Member since Apr 2011

this is so bad that icouldnt even handle playing it more than 10 min.

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GF Rating
7

Good

A fun game

posted by BigEdward (PFLUGERVILLE, TX) Jul 4, 2011

Member since Jul 2008

If you like RPGs, you will probably like this one. The graphical style is not as slick as some people would probably prefer but I liked it better than a lot of recent RPGs I've seen.

Don't be put off by the bad reviews, give it a try and judge for yourself.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

pretty lame.

posted by manningthegreat (BAYTOWN, TX) Jun 7, 2011

Member since Jun 2011

This game has been on my gameQ for a while now. We just received it and it sucks. My girlfriend played it for two minutes and said to turn it off. It is really disappointing. The graphics look pretty bad to begin with and the game play sucks honestly.

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GF Rating
4

Weak

Old Generation

posted by Shadow0Syn (PEMBROKE, VA) Apr 24, 2011

Member since Aug 2010

The story line seems like a hit and would be an awesome game. The voice acting is kind of lame, but it seems to be because of a script not the actors themselves. The graphics are ok but cartoonish and would be more suited for the older playstations. The controls are also not as fluent as you would expect. The mini map is also a joke. I may be biased sense i just finished playing dragon age 2. But i wish this game was better because the story line seemed very interesting.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

B.A.L.Z.

posted by Starcaster (VALENCIA, CA) Mar 7, 2011

Member since Oct 2009

Packed with glitches, controls are floaty, and it looks like it belongs on the PS2...first gen.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

Was an okay game, until I reached Venice

posted by jjwolfe (NAMPA, ID) Feb 16, 2011

Member since Feb 2011

Nowadays you expect some bugs, but to have a game basically stop working and the most frustrating part is even though its majorly broken you get to see, not interact, with flashes of what could be a great game.

In Venice the L1 and X buttons stopped doing there default functions... INTERACTING!! No doors open, no NPC conversations, nothing.

I gave the game a second chance, created a new game and did things exactly the same (as much as you can) and before I got to Venice, the cut scene with Mistress, the L1 and X buttons started doing the same non function as my previous game... Wow, I was dumbfounded that a game like this can get past Q&A for consoles. I know it was a PC game first, and reading on their forums I see there is quite a lot of issues there also, but come on this is unacceptable.

Without the L1 and X button bug, I was enjoying the expeirence, I would give a 7-8 out of 10, but with this glaring bug all they deserve is a 1 out of 10

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

Big Let Down

posted by TheDarknes (MCCONNELLSTOWN, PA) Jan 20, 2011

Member since Jan 2011

The story itself sounded great, once I got it and put it in was immediately disappointed by the graphics. It seems graphically that it would have been better suited as a system release title not a title after the PS3 has been out for a few years. Next came the dialog, in my opinion it was horrible. As the title states, this game has been a big let down in my book.

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