Three young
men stand in a glacial field, a powerful mage hovers before them, her laughter
gently mocking them. The trio of comrades unleashes magic torrents at the woman,
but she seems to laugh off the damage, returning with spells much more powerful.
The fight does not last long.
While
Enchanted Arms kicks off with a grand boss battle, it is merely a taste of what
is to come.
Ubisoft and
From Software are behind the title, which will be released on the 360. GameZone
was able to receive a preview of the title and while the game does track some of
the traditional elements from the turn-based strategic role-playing genre, it is
obvious that the game was designed for the advanced graphical capabilities of
the 360 console.
The Golem
Wars took place a thousand years before the timeline of this particular tale and
once they ended, humans rebuilt the world using technology and “enchanting” –
the only magic not lost.
The golems
were known as devil golems, and were very powerful. The game begins at Enchant
University, somewhat of a Hogwarts. The central character is a student named
Atsuma, who excels at the practical elements. Using both static screens and
moderate animation, the game’s prelude is an introduction to the controls. Some
of the dialogue – at least in this build – was spoken and much was merely typed
chat that needed to be scrolled through.
It takes a
while for the game to actually get started, but during the time Atsuma gets to
socialize with his friend Toya and a seemingly gay character named Makoto. Gay?
Well, the way the dev team has him talking is very stereotypical and, at times,
silly. (And Makoto does refer to himself as Toya’s “disciple of love.”) But then
most of the attempts at humor fall a little short. But it is during this phase
that it is learned that Atsuma has some special abilities tied in to his right
arm. The trio decides to cut classes and head down to Yokohama where
preparations are underway for a festival.
From there
it is mindless running about the university, trying to find the way through,
with interactions with other characters along the way. And yes, there will be
action, as well as the opportunity to direct some of the game’s course through
decisions made.
In many ways
the game presents some of the stock elements often associated with a
Japanese-style RPG. The game has grind in trying to navigate and load times are
kept small, but they are still there. Combat consists of movement and combat.
Players can select where within the gridded map they will move with some of the
movement allowing them the spacing needed to perform combat. With ranged
attackers, being on the right square is important. It is important to note that
the longer combat continues the more difficult it will become. It is advised,
early on, to end fights as quickly as possible. Because you control each
character in turn and then after all the instructions are given, you end your
turn by actualizing all the commands (a button stroke); you have to be rather
strategic about what you do.
The music of
this title is terrific. The voice acting is solid – what there is of it.
Enchanted
Arms is somewhat typical of the genre, but it is punctuated by two things – the
first being that it is the first Japanese-style RPG for the 360 and the second
is that the graphical elements breathe new life into the genre. This will likely
be a game that appeals to RPG gamers and may draw in new fans. The game, at
least in this build, does have some flaws but those are most commonly associated
with the genre – humor that falls flat, long lead times to the battle sequences
and so on. Still, there are plenty of positives here that should make for a good
look upon the game’s release.
