Haven: Call of the King
A multi-genre platformer that aimed to seamlessly blend many gameplay styles.
Haven: Call of the King, a 2002 PlayStation 2 title from Traveller's Tales and Midway Games, was meant to start a trilogy. It blended action, platforming, puzzles, shoot 'em ups, racing, and space combat. Midway trademarked "FreeFormer gameplay" for this mix of styles. Critics found the game too ambitious, resulting in average but not standout gameplay, and it sold poorly.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Traveller's Tales
- Publisher
- Midway Games
- Director
- Jon Burton
- Producer
- Arthur Parsons
- Programmer
- Dave Dootson
- Artist
- Leon Warren
- Composer
- Andy Blythe; Marten Joustra
- Platforms
- PlayStation 2
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The core of Haven: Call of the King is a third-person action-adventure game with platforming as a central element. The player character, Haven, can jump, double jump, high jump, crouch, and attack. He also has an energy shield that can be deployed in front of him to block projectiles; the shield depletes as it absorbs impacts. Haven can crouch and cover himself entirely with the shield, and can perform a "shield smash" to defeat certain enemies and break pots. Haven's primary weapon is a modified yo-yo called a "mag-ball," which has limited range and can defeat enemies, smash pots, and attach to "mag-rides" that transport him to other parts of a level. He can also perform a "power-spin" with the mag-ball. Various firearms, including a laser shot, rapid-fire cannon, ricochet cannon, five-way shot, and plasma shot, can be acquired and temporarily replace the mag-ball. Item collecting is a major part of gameplay: hearts replenish health, Catana orbs replenish an antidote meter, shield energy restores shield abilities, feathers allow Haven to call his mechanical bird Talon, cogs are story-related items, and silver keys are used to open Runepots that contain Runestones. Runestones unlock secret Runetowers, and completing those challenges yields Black Diamonds needed for 100% completion.
Synopsis
One thousand years before the game, King Athellion left his home world to fight in an intergalactic crusade, leaving a giant bell called the Golden Voice on the Mount of Sighs to be rung if he was ever needed. Later, the evil Lord Vetch enslaved Athellion's people, infecting them with a virus requiring a constant dose of antidote that only he controlled, and erased knowledge of the Golden Voice. The game begins with Vetch learning from his lieutenant Overlord that a slave named Haven has been dreaming of the Golden Voice. Haven goes to work in the mines on the planet Ferra, where a guard shoots at him, causing a collapse that knocks Haven out. Awakening, he finds his friend Chess missing and sets out to find her. He reaches Darkwater Castle, where Overlord interrogates Chess about Haven's dreams; Haven intervenes, kills Overlord, and frees Chess. Chess tells Haven she heard of a wise old slave on the Isle of Heroes. There, the Wise Man recounts the legend of Athellion and Vetch's betrayal, and directs Haven to a map showing the Mount of Sighs on the planet Auria. Haven reaches the Golden Voice, reads a warning that he must wait there for Athellion's return after ringing it, but leaves when Chess contacts him saying she is stranded without antidote. He returns to Ferra and rescues her.
Development
Haven: Call of the King was announced on 16 May 2002 when Midway Games revealed a partnership with Traveller's Tales to develop an original multi-genre game. Midway stated the game would be a third-person title with strong platforming elements combined with turret-based shooting, land and water racing, space combat, and arena battles. It was to debut on PlayStation 2, with subsequent releases for Xbox and GameCube. A playable demo was shown at the 2002 E3 event, featuring environments from Virescent Village and the refinery level, though no narrative elements were yet in place. Midway emphasized the free-roaming nature, with GameSpot's Gerald Villoria noting that the planet and explorable areas were seamlessly linked, allowing travel from one area to another without load times, and that Haven could rise above the planet's atmosphere in his flying vessel and explore any continent.
Reception
Haven: Call of the King received "average" reviews according to Metacritic. GameSpot's Mathew Gallant called it "an often surprising action-packed platformer with a distinctive style and plenty of challenge," but criticized the mag-ball weapon's limitations and the control problems that made an already difficult game frustrating. He concluded that while the fast-paced, changing gameplay was refreshingly unordinary, some players might find it too restless and overdone. IGN's Chris Roper described the game as "both great and deeply flawed," praising the variety of gameplay types but criticizing the lack of story integration into the different gameplay styles, noting that goals often did not make sense in context. He concluded that the game was worth playing through despite aggravatingly boring sections, as it could be quite fun when it strayed from the basics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed Haven: Call of the King?
Haven: Call of the King was directed by Jon Burton.
Who composed the music for Haven: Call of the King?
The music for Haven: Call of the King was composed by Andy Blythe and Marten Joustra.
More in Platformers of the 2000s
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