Post by Bytor on Jul 14, 2009 9:25:34 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8.7/10
Now this is interesting. The graphics are designed to look and feel old school, and in that aspect they succeed wonderfully. To some people it may not be appealing especially considering what the PS2 is capable of, not to mention the new gen consoles, but I found the graphics to be really well done and not only did it bring back some memories of games gone by but it brightened the memory by adding subtle touches (I especially like the enemies, the zombies and skeletons were great). But I admit, this is a tough score to give, while the colors and designs are near perfect they are still intended to look old school cartoonish...still, all in all I think it works.
-Sound- 8/10
The sound effects were, as designed, adequate while in no way being obtrusive. I believe they are purposely simple to continue the vibe of an old school type game
-Gameplay- 9/10
The gameplay is once again a very solid aspect of the game. Don't expect anything too complicated here (pushing two buttons at once is about as difficult as it gets) but do expect this game to be a challenge! It requires some pretty good timing and hand eye coordination and it also will require some thought, not necessarily a huge puzzle type thought but a definite decision on when to run, when to block, when to fight and some strategy on how to fight the battles, both boss battles and normal combat. The game also gets progressively harder and will force you to get progressively better. The mechanics of saving and travel do take some getting used to and be prepared for save points especially to be somewhat confusing at first (although once you figure out the set up it's no big deal. The game is also somewhat free roaming, in so much as you can go to any level in any given "world" (although you are limited to that world until you conquer the boss and move on) and this aspect is really one which adds to the fun. For instance, I finished Level Five in the Boneyard and only mastered it 68%! Still tons of stuff to complete there and I can go back any time and play the level again, both for fun and to gain items, a wonderful twist in my opinion. Now here's my one complaint. The camera is 360 degrees and occasionally you will be attacked from behind when you didn't even realize something was there and/or the attack will come so fast you don't have time to turn around, it's not that annoying BUT it can often happen at the most inopportune times. Still, all in all it doesn't detract that much. Expect to easily log 15 hours or so finishing the game and you can double that if you want to finish each level 100%.
-Story- 7.5/10
Rescue the girl and save the kingdom...nothing too complex but then again it's not really meant to be
-Overall- 8.9/10
Overall this is simply an extremely fun game to pass the time. It's not going to make you teary eyed or give you goosebumps but it will provide you with an extremely fun gaming experience when you just feel a need to put on some armor, grab a sword and hack away at some zombies, pirates, ghosts, skeletons, crocs, and even plants!