For more than a year now, there is a great hype around “Garshasp” the new game by “Fan Afzar Sharif”. Today, for the first time I got to play the full version of the game. I had seen trailers, and screenshots from the game, but I had never played a single second from the game. It was now the time to see what was all that hype about? Will Garshasp live to its promise of being the game that defines Persian gaming industry, or it’s just another acceptable Persian game… 

It took me a good five hours to finish the game, which shows it’s a lengthy a game in comparison with other published Persian games. The game vast environments and levels which have been designed beautifully is the first thing that blows your mind. When you add the no loading time to that, which basically lets you play throughout the whole game environment without even spending a single second waiting (Except for the beginning of course), you realize that this game is something different.

Through this great environment you will see the fantastic characters which have been created with a great level of detail. The game pace is also fantastic which gets you into action and the story superbly. Probably the gameplays are the best part of the Garshasp experience. Unique and interesting gameplays have been put together very carefully to make the game rhythm outstanding. I personally loved all the plat-forming part, the raft, and the sliders; they have all been tuned perfectly.

The artistic design of this game is the first thing that truly stands out. You will see the environments, characters, and props that you have never seen in any game before. You will get a peak at the great concepts through the extra menu. This shows that vision behind this game has been very complex, and creative.

There has been a lot of talk about similarity of this game to “God of War” series, which mostly came from the passion of the development team about the game. Despite my expectation, Garshasp in no way will remind you of “God of War”. The game clearly has its own characteristic which makes the experience completely unique.

The fights and enemies have been tuned perfectly to create a great action. Combine that with great QuickTime events, and you get a complete and satisfying fight. Weapon upgrades are also nice, and help the fights through out the game to look fresh. Boss fights however are vary, some of them can be tuned better, but the final boss fight is superb, and makes you feel great when you finish the game.

Particles are the other part of the game that truly has been done with great level of detail. Various particles with different characteristics have made the game look visually awesome!

Garshasp UI has been designed, and developed perfectly. It’s simple, clean, and looks great. Hints are also very helpful, and can let you play through whole game without needing a manual for the game.

Overall, I think “Garshasp” has been lived up to its promise, as a game that changes the view towards Persian games. It simply surpassed what I expected from the game in many areas. Specifically, I have never thought that environment would be that huge, and complex. Gameplays were exceeding my expectation also. The game in some areas has reached the world class standards, and although, you may find very few glitches here and there, or be bothered by unstable frame rate in few areas, but overall these are not noticeable issues through the whole experience.

I finished “Garshasp” wanting more from the game… just want to say thank you guys at “Fan Afzar”, you have created a masterpiece! This game will define the game industry, and sets new standards for the game development in Iran.