Silverfall Previews

A trio of new hands-on previews for Atari and Monte Cristo's Silverfall have surfaced on the 'net. The first is at 1Up:
Technology feels sort of evil, whereas nature definitely seems good. Would you rather cause ecological harm by installing gas pumps on the marsh, or stop greedy hunters from driving the buffalo extinct, earning you the goddess Gaia's well wishes in the process? You can also be greedy, although we're not sure what that counts for. If a piece of bone armor isn't enough of a quest reward for you, ask for some gold. You just may get it -- that or you'll feel bad when the quest givers answer that they are just poor refugees.

The second is at UGO:
Although you'll start by creating your own character (race and class), the tutorial section that follows actually puts you in control of a powerful wizard as he valiantly yet fruitlessly works to save the city of Silverfall from an undead (the face of evil in this game) invasion. You won't take control of your created hero - who turns out to be the lost wizard's apprentice - until immediately after this section, as the town's refugees try to reorganize in the nearby swamps. The character creation process is a simplified version of what we've come to expect from other RPG titles, and it works well enough for a game like this. For those unfamiliar with Diablo or its successors, you interact with the world by simply clicking your mouse pointer on different parts of the environment. It works as well in Silverfall as it has in similar titles, so enjoying the experience really comes down to whether or not you like this style of play.

And the third is at ActionTrip:
Running around the game itself, I was impressed by the how open-ended it was. Right from the get-go, I had the choice of doing the primary quest to move the story along or I could choose from about 10 secondary quests. The secondary quest had a nice variety, some of which where the means to unlock different aspects of the game. One for example, required me to track down a goblin's missing safe. Once I returned it to him, I was then able to store extra equipment there. It also unlocked the ability to buy insurance, so when I died, my gear stayed with me rather then being left at the "grave site".