A new game review on Duality? A game reviewed by the Blade nigh a week after said game has been released to the wild? Such punctuality is a thing unheard of. Enjoy the timeliness of content while it lasts, faithful followers. My funding will only allow so much of it.

I picked up Demigod quite hopeful. I hadn’t played a solid strategy game for some time, and I’d been following the progress of the game for some time. The blend of action RPG heroes with real time strategy appeared fresh and polished, the visuals looked slick, and developer Gas Powered Games has turned out some gems, including Supreme Commander (which is teh pwnsauce, n00bs).

Most intriguing, however, was the backstory. It centers around the fall of a god after he (it?) divulged secrets that he really shouldn’ta oughta divulged. His unemployment resulted in an opening at the god table that needed filling, so the rest of the divines decided to hold a contest to decide the successor. Eight demigods stepped up to the challenge, and the game is based around their battle for supremacy.

I’d say that’s the story in a nutshell, but sadly that’s actually the story in its entirety. This is a game absolutely brimming with potential for a first rate single player campaign. In the game as it is, you pick from any of the eight demigods and play in a multiplayer match, whether versus other players over the internet or against computer controlled opponents. The only thing even resembling a single player campaign is a rather soulless tournament mode that has you earning favor points over a series of eight matches based on your performance. This is just a tragedy, both because it wastes the potential for a solid story and also because it robs the game of much needed depth.

Each of the demigods does have a backstory that appears to have been given some level of thought, and that backstory is reflected in how each character plays. But unfortunately, it’s all left where it starts – in the backstory. Nothing progresses or develops. It ends up feeling like the real-time strategy version of Street Fighter or Quake Live. But where a lack of story makes sense in those games, in Demigod it just feels like a missed opportunity.

As it stands, the game is very well done. There are a few bugs and such, but nothing irritating enough to detract from the overall experience. Each of the demigods plays very differently, and while none of them are particularly hard to master, their variety is entertaining and well done. The maps are creative and a pleasure to play on, and the gameplay itself is smooth and intuitive for the most part.

There aren’t many content issues. There’s no harsh language to speak of, and no sexual content (the one notable exception being the demigoddess Queen of Thorns who spends most of her time naked other than a few strategically placed brambles – however, given the birds eye view nature of the game her nudist tendencies don’t get much screentime). The only real cause for concern might be the setting of the game itself, which is rather pantheistic in nature and thus doesn’t line up well with Biblical truths. However, there are no blatant attacks on Christianity (or any other religion); the setting seems to be based more on Greek or Roman mythology than anything else. The discerning gamer will be able to see past the inconsistencies and enjoy the game’s fictional universe.

Demigod feels like the crunchy shell of something that should have had a gooey center. The excellent gameplay mechanics, creative setting, and intriguing backstory are wasted. What could have been an epic experience is left as a game that takes mere hours to completely exhaust of possibilities. Admittedly, this is something of a weak point in Gas Powered Games’ creations (Supreme Commander is another example of an excellent game that lacked much in the way of story, although at least an attempt was made in that game). In my humble opinion, it’s a weakness that should be addressed immediately if GPG wishes to see its creations avoid the bargain bin.

Jerod Jarvis is an independent gaming journalist and founder of Duality Games. He maintains gaming columns for The Washington Times Communities and for The Outpost. When not blogging madly about games, he freelances for the Spokesman-Review in his hometown of Spokane, Washington and attends school at Whitworth University. Check out his presence on Facebook and Twitter to stay up on Duality Games updates and the inside scoop on the gaming news you care about.