Grom: Terror in Tibet is a bone hard game. Offering a fighting system with only a small amount of depth or tactical decisions. The story is not the best. The level design is poor (but takes place in beautifully drawn landscapes). All of which might be the cause for it´s bad reviews and unpopularity.
However, what really struck with me, at the time i played it ( i must have been betweenGrom: Terror in Tibet is a bone hard game. Offering a fighting system with only a small amount of depth or tactical decisions. The story is not the best. The level design is poor (but takes place in beautifully drawn landscapes). All of which might be the cause for it´s bad reviews and unpopularity.
However, what really struck with me, at the time i played it ( i must have been between 12-14), was the gorgeous and groundbreaking approach to the item and trading system that the game offers. The game implemented an inventory system that allowed players to store items in a limited backpack. Item size is hereby divided into several fields, making it so that you can only carry a specific amount of items at one time. (The whole System is similar to the Inventory system in Resident Evil 4 / , which was published 3 years later btw.). Giving the player access to a bigger inventory in the first couple of hours but not explaining how to make proper use of it.
So far so good... What the game tells you, is that you´re a mercenary, hired by a trader to protect him on his travel roads etc. That means that you´re main objective during the first hours will be visiting several smaller villages and therefore giving you access to a fast travel system etc.
What the game DOESN´T tell you: Each village hereby offers a diffrent set of items for you to buy and trade, each time you visit it. Making it a free choice for the player to either follow the story (and the "not so" great plot-line) or decide to dive into the trading system by spending hours upon hours trading and farming for extremely rare items. It further gives the player an opportunity to haggle by playing a quiet complex card game, adding further value and an interesting twist to it. It all reminds me of a marketplace in modern day MMo´s, all within a single player game.
All of this is not explained by the game, making it easy to miss on your first run. Especially since the opportunity of doing so will be gone forever, when following the main story up to a certain point. This might be the reason, why "Grom: Terror in Tibet" is mainly perceived as a extremely hard game. Not exploting the trading system will leave you undergeared and therefore almost unable to complete further story missions. The game makes a big mistake by not clarifying these hidden gameplay gems, chasing off new players playing for the first time. And that's a pity.
Would i recommend playing this very unique game? Probably (not). Even though that it might provide the best inventory/trading system ever made in a game of it´s kind. The graphics are terrible for modern day standards and the gameplay can be demotivating if not supplemented through the right itemization. But damn, the memories i have with this one....… Expand
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