Wrath Unleashed

Wrath Unleashed is a strategy game for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox created by The Collective and published by LucasArts in 2004.

Wrath Unleashed
North American PlayStation 2 cover art
Developer(s)	The Collective
Publisher(s)	LucasArts
Director(s)	Gary Priest
Producer(s)	Douglas Hare Cordy Rierson
Designer(s)	James Farley Garrett Smith
Programmer(s)	Nathan Hunt William Feng Chen Mike Singleton
Artist(s)	Daniel Mycka Brian Horton
Composer(s)	Jack Wall
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, Xbox
Release	NA: February 10, 2004 PAL: March 5, 2004
Genre(s)	Strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Wrath Unleashed is a chess-like game that combines strategy with combat, not unlike that of The Unholy War, or Archon: The Light and the Dark. The basic idea of the game is there is a war between the gods of the four elements, which shattered their homeworld into an asteroid belt, sustained by their powers. In the game, one god attempts to claim the territory of another god with their army of mythical creatures, which move over a "board" of hexagonal spaces (each space representing a type of terrain). When two opposing troops occupy the same hexagonal space, gameplay shifts to an arena, where the troops must battle to the death for the right to occupy the space. The point of the game is to position the one's troops over spaces which contain the enemy's temples.

The characters in Wrath Unleashed are divided into Light (good) and Darkness (evil), as well as Order (intelligence, thought) and Chaos (combat, battle). Each faction of characters has the power of a specific element.

• Water Demigoddess Aenna (voiced by Vanessa Marshall)- Aenna is the goddess of Water, and is as "pure as crashing waves and waterfalls". Aenna wields power over the Elements of Water and Ice. As a goddess of the Light Order, she represents enlightenment and wisdom. Through her teachings, feral orgres were able to focus their rage into powerful magic. Aenna is in love with the powerful god, Epothos. Aenna is capable of spell-casting, and can heal her troops, or teleport them across the board, or destroy nearby enemies. Her color is blue.
• Fire Demigod Epothos (voiced by Ron Yuan) - Epothos is the god of Fire, and is "a volcanic warrior with the fury of the Sun". Epothos wields power over the Elements of Fire and Magma. As a god of the Light Chaos, he represents courage and valor in combat. Epothos forged his warriors, the Fire Giants, in the core of a volcano. He is in love with the goddess, Aenna or so she thinks. Epothos is capable of spell-casting, and can heal his troops, or teleport them across the board, or destroy nearby enemies. His color is red.
• Earth Demigod Durlock (voiced by Rafael Ferrer) - Durlock is the god of Earth, and is as "cold as he is calculating". Durlock wields power over the Elements of Earth and Metal. As a god of the Dark Order, he represents treachery and deviousness. Through forbidden magic, he turned metal and stone into his personal warriors, the Iron Golems. Durlock is in love with the noble goddess, Aenna. Durlock is capable of spell-casting, and can heal his troops, or teleport them across the board, or destroy nearby enemies. His color is green.
• Wind Demigoddess Helamis (voiced by Jennifer Hale) - Helamis is the goddess of Wind, and is as "merciless as her hurricanes". Helamis wields power over the Elements of Wind and Lightning. As a goddess of the Dark Chaos, she represents the cruelty and horrors of war. She released the demonic Cyclops from its underworld prison. She believes that she can lure Epothos to her side with her seductive charms. Helamis is capable of spell-casting, and can heal her troops, or teleport them across the board, or destroy nearby enemies. Helamis is the sister of Durlock. Her outfit is a living creature that wraps around her and her color is Purple.

Plot

A nameless narrator (voiced by Mako Iwamatsu introduces us to the conflict. "In the beginning, there was only darkness. Then light shown in the void, and a new world was born. A realm forged from the elemental forces of earth, wind, water, and fire. The nexus of an eternal war waged between the forces of light and darkness, between chaos and order, which destroyed the world in a mighty cataclysm. Unto this broken realm came the overlords: Beautiful Aenna, Goddess of the Waters. Steadfast purity of crashing waves and thundering waterfalls. Fiery Epothos, Warrior of the Rising Sun. Volatile guardian of the sacred flame. Devious Durlock, Master of Metals, and Lord of Stone! Keeper of the secrets of the earth! And Wicked Helamis! Queen of Storms and Chaos, mother of hurricanes, leaving havoc and destruction in her wake. Now the mightiest of the overlords prepare for the ultimate confrontation, the time has come for the Wrath of the Gods to be UNLEASHED!"

The game features campaigns for each of the four characters, at varying difficulties, following their story of achieving domination of the realm.

Development

LucasArts acquired the publishing rights to Wrath Unleashed (known then as Wrath) in 2002.[1]

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score PS2 Xbox EGM 5.17/10[2] 5.17/10[2] Game Informer 6/10[3] 7.5/10[4] GamePro N/A [5] GameRevolution C−[6] C−[6] GameSpot 7.3/10[7] 7.3/10[7] GameSpy [8] [9] GameZone 7.4/10[10] 7.5/10[11] IGN 7.6/10[12] 7.8/10[13] OPM (US) [14] N/A OXM (US) N/A 7/10[15] Playboy 50%[16] 50%[16] Aggregate score Metacritic 64/100[17] 69/100[18]

Wrath Unleashed received "mixed or average reviews" on both platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[17][18]

References

1. "LucasArts Nabs Publishing Rights to Wrath, the Highly Coveted Action/strategy Game by the Collective". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. April 15, 2002. Archived from the original on June 11, 2002. Retrieved July 9, 2019 – via Yahoo.com.
2. EGM staff (March 2004). "Wrath Unleashed". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 176. p. 114. Archived from the original on March 27, 2004. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
3. Zoss, Jeremy (March 2004). "Wrath Unleashed (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 131. p. 107. Archived from the original on April 14, 2004. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
4. Juba, Joe (February 2004). "Wrath Unleashed (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 130. p. 108. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
5. Star Dingo (February 10, 2004). "Wrath Unleashed Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
6. Silverman, Ben (March 10, 2004). "Wrath Unleashed Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
7. Shoemaker, Brad (February 10, 2004). "Wrath Unleashed Review". GameSpot. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
8. Levesque, Paul (February 16, 2004). "GameSpy: Wrath Unleashed (PS2)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 30, 2005. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
9. Levesque, Paul (February 16, 2004). "GameSpy: Wrath Unleashed (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
10. Tha Wiz (February 19, 2004). "Wrath Unleashed - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
11. Zacarias, Eduardo (February 18, 2004). "Wrath Unleashed - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
12. Hwang, Kaiser (February 10, 2004). "Wrath Unleashed (PS2)". IGN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
13. Hwang, Kaiser (February 9, 2004). "Wrath Unleashed (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
14. "Wrath Unleashed". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. March 2004. p. 103.
15. "Wrath Unleashed". Official Xbox Magazine. February 2004. p. 74.
16. "Wrath Unleashed". Playboy. March 2004. p. 39.
17. "Wrath Unleashed for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
18. "Wrath Unleashed for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 6, 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Wrath Unleashed at MobyGames