 Review By: Eric Rehm |
Developer: | Omiya Soft |
| Publisher: | Namco Bandai | |
| Genre: | Card Battler | |
| ESRB: | Teen | |
| # Of Players: | 1-4 | |
| Online Play: | Yes | |
| Accessories: | Xbox Live (online play) | |
| Buy Now: |   |
Story:
The story is where this game is really lacking. It’s almost non-existant, trite and boring. It’s exceptionally predictable. You take control of a Cepter, the game’s version of a card master or whatever you want to go with it. You begin with an exceptionally limited set of customization options for your character, for example three different hair types. Come on, that’s just pathetic. Your cards are magically enhanced tablets, just like the Yu-Gi-Oh! TV shows card combat that took place in the past, where the monsters were contained on a large rock slab.
You start off as a slave, being sold to a slave trader to make money for your town. Great! Uh, wait…that’s not great. An overly anime-stylized girl with a large cotton ball hat finds you and informs you that you’re a Cepter, because her cards reacted to your presence. The voice acting comes into play here, it’s nice but there are some problems. For one, the lips look like cardboard cut outs, they move up and down in such a blocky manner it looks like someone just Photoshopped them up and down. A lot could have been done with the faces, but these mouths are much like the story: an afterthought.
Graphics:
The graphics in Culdcept Saga are rather beautiful in most cases. They’re very anime-stylized, with very nice static backgrounds in most areas. The areas are bright and vibrant, rather expansive, and varied in most regards. As I said before, the problems lie with the characters and sprites, with their lips and whatnot.
The graphics while playing are very minimal, as each card has been hand drawn by a specific artist, and the open world map only shows a small sprite character. It lets you focus on the gameplay and strategy, without getting overwhelmed by special effects.
The only other gripe I have with the game, besides a huge gap in the difficulty range, lies within the opponent’s turn. You’ve got to constantly keep pressing A to continue through their turns, from drawing cards to initiating an action. It’s annoying, because during these times it’s more like cutscenes, and you’d like to go to the bathroom or get something to eat because you’ve been playing the same match for the past three hours…
Bottom Line:
If you’re looking for an unconventional CCG for the Xbox 360, that’s also an addictive time sink, Culdcept Saga is for you. The only problem is it’s a very niche game, and some people may not like it. But if you're a CCG/board game fan, it might just be your cup of tea.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 7.0 |
Posted: 2008-04-01 14:24:51 PST