GameZone's Review (8/10)

The whole idea of video games is not only to raise the bar in terms of gameplay and design, but to create new games that take on a genre all their own. Case in point, the game is Culdcept and it is weird. Weird in a good way. Good in an addictive way. Addictive in a non-dangerous way.

Non-dangerous in a "you won't have an anvil fall on your head", way. I'll be honest with you, I got this game and knew absolutely nothing about it. And quite frankly, I just don't know where to start other then to just kind of spill out my rambling thoughts. So, here I go...

You start the game as a Cepter, a unique individual who has the ability to summon from the book of Culdcept, an ancient, magical tome that is apparently the book of all creation. While roaming the world, you will run into other Cepters who are up to no good and you must fight them in a cross-between a card game a la Pokémon and a board game. The battles take place on different shaped grid/arenas made up of varying elements, i.e. water, earth, etc. Since these battles are turn based you are granted a new card at the beginning of each turn. This card can either be a monster card, a magic card or a weapon/armor card. At that point you use the automatic dice to roll and then your character moves around the game board. If the space is unoccupied, then you will want to put a monster there in order to take over that portion of the map. If your opponent already has a monster there, then you will want to try and have one of your card/monsters do battle in order to take over the space, the ultimate goal being to be the first to reach a predetermined score, thus winning the battle.

What makes this game so different is that there are so many cards available in the game (over 500) and no matter how well you play the game, it can still come down to simple luck. It is conceivable that prior to each of your turns, you could draw only weapon or magic cards, no monster cards. Without monster cards you cannot occupy spaces or attack occupied spaces.

As each battle takes place, players can boost their monster abilities by playing one of the magic or weapon/armor cards thereby strengthening the attack power of the monster or increasing its hit points or giving it advantage in the defense category. I quickly discovered that some monsters have distinct advantages when being played in their natural habitat, sea monsters work well in the aquatic areas of the map and so on and so forth. Why the game didn't simplify the symbols to colors in regards to what monster worked best with certain areas is beyond me, but hey, after a while one does tend to adjust.

The PlayStation 2 seems to be reaching its limits in regards to pumping out cutting edge graphics so Culdcept took a step backwards and made the game almost seem retro. The intro CG was more modern, but in game battles and traveling around the world has a very distinct look to it. I was almost thinking this was a "Working Designs" video game straight off of the Sega Saturn playlist. Personally, I enjoyed the feel of the game and the controls had a natural feel to it. The menus are very easy to use and are easily navigable. The game has a ton of options and controls, but they are all spelled out for you and if you get stumped you can simply activate the help function.

Reviewer's Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.9
Lots of controls, but the game is turn based during combat, so you can plot out your moves without any pressure. An easily controlled title that has a lot to offer if you give it a shot.

Graphics: 7.2
A classic looking title that has some sweet looking character models. Sure it looks like something seen on game systems two generations ago, but I liked the way it all came together visually.

Sound: 6.9
Not a lot of audio found here. No sort of voice acting (but a lot of reading) and the game's music just seems to fade into the background as you clearly are thinking of other things.

Difficulty: Medium
Pretty back and forth here, as I said, luck plays into the game each time you play and if you don't draw decent cards you will certainly think this is a hard title.

Concept: 8.7
I haven't played anything like this game but will champion it to all of my friends. It's got a clever idea behind it and draws heavily on strategy as you will want to get cunning fast.

Overall: 8.0
It's incredibly addictive and I had never even heard about it two weeks ago. Certainly a dark horse game that is not getting a lot of marketing. Here's hoping that they get a lot of positive word of mouth so they get a good following and can make the sequel. Good solid game.