Them's Fightin'
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First of all I'll have to concede with the other reviews on this game. It is really good and merits the download. However, the game is not perfect, not infallible as I will point out numerous times during the course of this review.
Again, this is a really good game. I want you to be reassured of that before I start complaining...
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Graphics |
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The graphics were good and solid. There was nowhere in the game where you could mistake a tile as something other than what it is. Admittably, there are some quirks that can become agitating to some people. For example, the legs of tables are cringe worthy and makes the characters seem tiny in comparison. And some effects seem to scream 'tile rip' until they go blue in the face.
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Storyline |
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A nice storyline that suits the nature of the story. Hardly believable in any respect but an apt blending of faux cultures nevertheless. The story is only marred by its cliche. Not to complain but everyone knows that a great big sea creature will appear when you ride on ships, and everyone knows someone will betray you. And the whole 'does being on the side that wins make you strong'? ugh! These however are minor chinks in what would otherwise be an enrapturing plot.
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Gameplay |
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No complaints here really. It's very slick in general. There are still problems though, but no spectacular failings that make you want to kill yourself.
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Battle |
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A nice diversion from the usual elemental weaknesses in favour of more practical ones such as long and short range. Each character is important and vital in at least one point of the game. Timothy is the greatest example of this, being almost completely useless until the moment that the ship is attacked. There is also brilliant characterisation of enemies too, the boss spiders make for some tough battles. The only real problem here is that some bosses (one boss) are far too hard and one 'can't win' battle is actually easy to win which ruptures the plot.
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Map Design |
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Unneccessarily path led adventuring at its most linear. A set piece regulary cuts off access to each town in succession which gives a depressing 'you're not in control' feeling. The towns are also a little too expansive and some buildings have little or even nothing to do in them. Other than that (and some erratically scaled overworld maps) there are no other flaws. The maps do flow on nicely and are definately believable
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Balance |
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Difficulty jumps around a bit and its linearity will take its toll on your resolve but the rest is flawless. Some parts will remind you of commercial rpgs and some parts reek of cliche but it all inpires you to go on and see what happens next.
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Music |
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Wonderful and occasionally imaginative. I particulary like the town music which bursts into life rather than hides behind a box and waits a couple of minutes while the player looks around and leaves. Enemy music is nice too. My only gripe is with the limitations of bam and not with the game itself so all in all. the music is perfect.
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Enjoyment |
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I had a wonderful time regardless of the little annoyances which I picked up on and the cruel cut off point for the end of the demo. One last gripe is with the items. They are quite useless and are labelled terribly. Sure it's creative to name them as sodas but when you're in the heat of battle and you're low on health , the last thing you need is to send 10 seconds wondering which is the right item.
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Final Blows |
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It's a great game. The problems with it range from insignifigant to puny and less. It's well judged and oozes with character all the way through
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