Well, we’re four episodes in and it’s time for the finale. Lone Wolf has reached V’Taag and is close to rescuing Leandra and defeating the warlord. The journey taken has been filled with ups and downs, both for our hero and the game itself. Act IV feels more polished and focused than the two that came before it, but it struggles to maintain interest in its cliché ending.
Guy approaches villain’s ominous tower, guy kills lots of enemies, guy rescues girl, guy defeats villain. This is effectively the basis and history of the western role-playing genre and, until now, Lone Wolf has done fairly well in keeping a familiar story interesting. Unfortunately, Act IV is boringly predictably even though the quality of writing is still solid. If you’ve played Act III through to the end, take a guess at what will happen in Act IV and you’ll probably be spot on. I wasn’t surprised even once by the events that occurred.
The exciting combat is the same as it has always been, but once again there’s only a single new enemy type introduced. There are still plenty of choices to make, but few of them feel like they have any real effect in the story’s outcome; gone are the difficult decisions of Act I. Leandra is still annoying and unlikeable, and since most of Act IV centres on her rescue, I found myself caring little about what happened. If you happen to like the crossbow-wielding inventor, then you may enjoy the final tale more than I did.
On the bright side, the quick-time bugs that plagued me through Acts II & III were fixed, so I could enjoy the combat again. I’d also upgraded my phone since Act III and no longer suffered debilitating lag. Foes that dodge attacks were still a pain, but if you’ve been upgrading your equipment throughout the adventure, then Act IV shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.
If you’ve loved the journey through Lone Wolf’s world, then Act IV is worth seeing through. It’s not the most interesting or dynamic entry in the series, but it brings it all to a serviceable close. If you were fed up with Act III or feel burned out on the game, then don’t bother purchasing the final act, it’s just more of the same.
