Preview
Platform:
Xbox 360Developer:
OmiyaSoftPublisher:
Namco Bandai Games AmericaPreviewed by
Justin Fassino on 2007-07-11
Magic: The Gathering meets Monopoly. Picture it, if you will, in your mind. That's a very general image of what
Culdcept Saga is: a strategy board game that combines spells and creatures with property ownership.
Each board is made up of various colored tiles, with different colors representing different elements. Each turn, you automatically draw a card from a deck you constructed beforehand and that you filled with monsters, equipment, and magic. Then you roll the dice and your character moves along the board. If you land on an empty tile, you can choose to place a creature from your hand on the square to defend it. The best option in this case is to place a creature of the same element as the tile, because that will give it a stat bonus.
If, however, the square you move to is already owned by your opponent, then you have a decision to make: do you enter battle with that creature in an attempt to wrest away control of the tile, or do you pay the gold fine and move on? That's all part of the strategy, of course. At each corner of the board is a castle, and moving over the castle acts like the "Go" square in Monopoly, you get free stuff. The ultimate object of the game is build up the requisite number of points before your opponent to win.
It all sounds very nerdy and niche, but in fact the game is quite simple to learn. Once I understood what I could and could not do on a given turn, I discovered the inherent tactics I should use to win.
It's unfortunate that the graphics are at the same level of those found in most
Nippon Ichi PS2 strategy RPGs, especially since
Culdcept Saga is appearing only on the Xbox 360. It would have been nice to see some animations or 3D battle scenes when creatures clash, but what you get is simply the card image shaking when it takes damage or performs an action. Still,
Culdcept has never been about the visual flare, and it appeals to players as a thinking person's game.
Saga was originally supposed to come out this summer, but has since been pushed back to early 2008; Namco cited localization issues caused the delay. If they can iron out some of the bugs that plagued the Japanese version, then gamers should adopt it as a fun little strategy title, especially since it supports four-player competitive play offline, and with up to three other players online. Downloadable content, which would include new cards and boards, will further lengthen the life of
Culdcept Saga.
We'll keep you up to date on this game throughout the year.
