Post by Bytor on Jun 27, 2009 20:33:50 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8.5/10
I will give the game an huge A for effort. The backgrounds are rendered nicely, the character features and textures are excellent for the most part, but...what it suffers from is the typical PS2 issues. There is some balky movements at times, the character actions during battle are very, very repetitive and the frame rate does not keep up occasionally with what should be going on. Now, I'll be honest, if it weren't for games like FFX and FFX-2 I'd probably think these graphics were so much better than they really are. The differences in the characters are the strong point though. A lot of attention was put into making the characters each have their own unique personalities and expressions.
-Sound- 8/10
The voice overs are wonderful. When you combine the story with superb acting (and pretty good visuals) you certainly get a winner. I found the soundtrack to be unobtrusive and while not adding over much to the game it in no way took away from the over all enjoyment.
-Gameplay- 9.2/10
Pretty much the same as the first installment, Shadow Hearts so: Now, here's where some might disagree. The game is at it base a turn based RPG, but there is a twist in the fighting system. It uses what is called a Judgment Ring, in a nutshell each of your allies has a ring with set attack areas and other areas which if hit will make the attack cease. So, when you are ready to attack you will press X, then you must time when you press X again based on the amount of attack margins you have on your ring, which are customizable. Each attack is preformed in the same away, regardless of the type of attack, whether it be a defensive spell, a healing spell or a magic/physical attack. And now for the improvement. The added color rings and ability to increase and decrease attack ranges greatly enhanced this version of the attack system.
-Story- 8.8/10
Lost love...demons taking over humans...new friendships..attempts to take over the world all set in World War 1 Europe and Asia. The story begins @ 2 years after the end of Shadow Hearts, although it is absolutely not necessary to play the first game in order to understand what is going on. It will all be explained as the story progresses by your main characters, all of which add to the game in wonderful ways.
-Overall- 8.8/10
I admit, the fighting system takes some getting used to, and not everyone will love the constant need for exact timing. However, the over all feel of the game combines with the in depth character development will add to hours of enjoyment, my only complaint was that it ended too soon...but what an ending!