That's a tree branch I'm talking about, as in stick you'd pick up off the ground during a nice walk through the woods on a brisk autumn afternoon. With this, and nothing else - no armor, no shield and no actual skills to speak of (perhaps Khan's branch fell out of a tree and struck him an amnesia-inducing blow to the head) - the Blade of Spring has arrived to strike fear in the hearts of the demon horde.
OK, so Khan's lack of actual demon-killing cred shouldn't come as too much of a surprise; new characters in games like these generally start with no appreciable equipment or experience, pre-fight hype notwithstanding. But the yawning chasm between the sizzle and the steak left me a tad apprehensive about what other bits of oddness might be waiting for me.
I would find out soon enough. While the Well of Souls character creation is straight out of Diablo, the actual gameplay in is pure Dungeon Siege: Your avatar moves through an attractively-rendered and wholly-linear 3D environment, putting the hurt on hordes of monsters, all of whom are apparently on some kind of perpetual smoke break, as he goes. You will be assisted along the way by three separate entities of varying usefulness: humans, demons and "helpers."
Humans are placed at various locations throughout the levels to serve as semi-random encounters. Some carry melee weapons while others are packing heat, but they all have one thing in common: Their shirts are a distinctive shade of red. On rare occasions you'll end up being followed by a large group of them, six or eight at a time, which can be handy simply for the collective firepower they can bring to bear; more often, though, you'll be teamed up with individuals, and I urge you not to grow too attached to any of them. Even the redoubtable Boris Boguslav, whose reputation literally precedes him, is distinguishable from most of the game's other meat-slab punching bags only by virtue of having a name.
Your remaining backup options spring from more otherworldly sources, either as a golem or neferkar (a small, fairy-like Egyptian spirit of protection) or in the form of demons you'll acquire as you play. Golems are large, tough heavyweights, handy in a fight and able to absorb punishment as well as dish it out; neferkar, being more akin to houseflies that spit, are essentially useless. Both can be summoned at will and healed with scrolls purchased from the Society of Alchemists.
Demons operate a little differently. Unlike most RPGs and other fictional depictions, demons in The Chosen: Well of Souls are neither good nor evil, and are happy enough to sign up with just about anyone who comes along and asks. Demons are controlled by Faith, similar to a self-replenishing mana pool, except that instead of powering spells, it allows you to summon infernal beasts from other dimensions. They're immortal and fearsome fighters, fantastic allies save for one rather glaring flaw: Like drag racing or sex, demons last only about 10 seconds at a time, and since Faith replenishes at a slow, fixed rate they cannot be immediately re-summoned like the golem or neferkar.
