http://ps3.ign.com/articles/824/824614p4.html

9.5 Presentation
Incredible. Everything from the cutscenes to the falling leaves in the menus work together to create a very enthralling experience.

9.0 Graphics
While not superb in a technical sense, the artistic direction and execution of what's there are top notch.

8.5 Sound
Solid voice acting and a vividly atmospheric score demand you to turn the volume up.

8.5 Gameplay
Very fun combat with great motion controls, but a few key issues end up doing a bit of damage to the experience.

9.0 Lasting Appeal
A haunting adventure (that will take fifteen hours at least) worth coming back to.

9.0
Outstanding OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average



Wow IGN gave it a 9.0. Pretty surprising actually. Personally, I liked the demo and the sixaxis soul grabbing, but it seemed like a game that can get boring & repetitive quite quickly (even for a rpg fan like myself).

I really enjoyed the demo as well, it is kind of difficult to guess whether or not the whole "sixaxis wrangling" will get old, I may have to pick it up either way. It is odd for IGN to give such a good review, usually they knock 20% off of the score if the PlayStation logo appears on the box :)

This game wasn't even on my radar until I played the demo. Now after having played the demo and watched some newer videos on the the PSN I'm excited for this one. I love the score on the demo title screen and can't wait to hear more. Graphical style is very cool as well.

Wow!!


Very great review. I was looking forward to this game, but, it may be a blind buy now.

Thanks for the link!!

If you played the Japanese demo you'd get a better sense of the story, the pacing, and the general non-fighting atmosphere I believe. It is now translated into English on the Euro PSN servers if you want to check out that other demo.

Even though I felt mildly geeky doing it, I enjoyed the sixaxis soul catching.

The music, visual elements, and presentation all do a pretty good job of putting me somewhere other than my couch. The music did start to get old in the demo, but hopefully they have a more varied selection for the full release.

If I can get my main tester (my nephew) hooked I may rent it and have him play to see if I'd like it.

I really enjoyed the demo as well, it is kind of difficult to guess whether or not the whole "sixaxis wrangling" will get old, I may have to pick it up either way. It is odd for IGN to give such a good review, usually they knock 20% off of the score if the PlayStation logo appears on the box :)

This reviewer is relatively new to IGN, and he actually has a very good altitude towards criticism...we would not see something this nice if this review is from one of the oldies who loves to belittle the gamers who object to his opinion.

(Considering the fact that the editorial department is almost empty all the time in IGN's office, I wonder how those editors could have such I-am-high-above-there altitudes...)

Anyway, I purchased the OST...very good compositions...the leader of the music team is a veteran composer primarily works in Japanese movie industry.

This is a definite purchase to me. I like the demo, the only thing that would stop me from buying the game would have been a review indicating a crappy story line. Apparently, the story is great, so I'm buying.

Been waiting it forever, definitely a must-buy :D

For me, it's hard to say because the release date is too close to FF tactics: War of the lions, and I'll probably be tweaking on that until R&C & COD4 get released.

I'll be getting this game at some point, but I figured I'd pass along the very contrasting review that Gametrailers put up:
HD Version: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/25945.html

The reviewer complains about length several times but never says how short it really is. Kind of interesting because it seems GT has the same complaint about every PS3 game and starts to sound like a broken record. It seems that every review he does lately also has the words "spirited rent" at the end, which is getting old fast. If nothing else, the video review shows off all the aspects of the game!

What's funny is that they basically say the exact opposite of what IGN says in terms of sound and lasting appeal. If IGN says 15 hours, that's more than enough for me. I don't have time for 40 hour epics. GT rails on the voice acting.

I like the demo

I didn't care for the demo. the level design was terrible and the score didn't fit with anything in game. Honestly it just made me want to play kameo again.

I didn't care for the demo. the level design was terrible and the score didn't fit with anything in game. Honestly it just made me want to play kameo again. Ewww.. Kameo.

I was disappointed by the demo. Crazy that in such a short demo the game could seem so repetitive. Looks nice (though even the IGN reviewer points out the many problems with framerate and tearing), but there's very little variety to the gameplay. Typical hack-n-slash with a few customizing options. Not much "rpg" there.

If I were to judge by the demo alone, I totally agree with GT's review. Even without playing the demo, I can guarantee IGN's score was way too high.

I was disappointed by the demo. Crazy that in such a short demo the game could seem so repetitive. Looks nice (though even the IGN reviewer points out the many problems with framerate and tearing), but there's very little variety to the gameplay. Typical hack-n-slash with a few customizing options. Not much "rpg" there.

If I were to judge by the demo alone, I totally agree with GT's review. Even without playing the demo, I can guarantee IGN's score was way too high.

You can guarantee that someone's subjective opinion was wrong and their numerical judgment based score was too high? That's pretty impressive there, Tex.... :rolleyes:

Quick, quick, tell me what I'm thinking, too!!!

Quick, quick, tell me what I'm thinking, too!!!

lol. As a sports game this game surely gets a 1.4/10:eek: or 8.5 as a RPG. IGN scored it based on being an adventure game ;)

lol. As a sports game this game surely gets a 1.4/10:eek: or 8.5 as a RPG. IGN scored it based on being an adventure game ;)

I wouldnt call it an RPG more of an adventure game to me. I loved the demo, the custimization looks to be huge.

I wouldnt call it an RPG more of an adventure game to me. I loved the demo, the custimization looks to be huge.

Yeah, that gametrailers video showed lots of customization. It made me want to play it even more. So many bizarre characters all beautifully rendered, very cool.

Looks like it has some RPG elements, but then again I've never figured out what an exact definition of RPG (doubt there is one as it seems to be such a broad vague term these days, lol).

Hmmm, I'd say that the only real difference between an adventure game and RPG is gameplay mechanics...and even those differences can be pretty subtle sometimes. By RPG here I mean Japanese styled RPG, as those are the ones that tend to be most similar to adventure games in my opinion. To me, a good classic adventure game is something like Spyro the Dragon or The Legend of Zelda series - I guess you could say the adventure genre is really a mix between RPG and Platforming games

You can guarantee that someone's subjective opinion was wrong and their numerical judgment based score was too high? That's pretty impressive there, Tex.... :rolleyes: Yup. Just like I can guarantee wearing black with navy is also wrong.

As far as the "adventure" v. "rpg" thing goes, this game is being marketed as an "action rpg" (it's the lone demo in the "rpg" section on PSN). Of course, just because a petstore owner calls a cat a monkey, doesn't make it true.

If you want a 50 page debate on if Final Fantasy, Zelda, ES:IV, etc are RPG's I suggest going to gamefaqs. Well they used to happen all the time years ago.

Personally, I could give a crap as to what genre they call it. If it's fun to play, then I'll play it. Arguing the minute details over what genre it belongs in seems like a waste of time.

lol. As a sports game this game surely gets a 1.4/10:eek: or 8.5 as a RPG. IGN scored it based on being an adventure game ;)

That's a good point, in as much as people mistakenly judge games poorly if they don't happen to like the genre it's set in.

It's like someone reviewing a Jazz album poorly because it sounded nothing like the busy guitar work of a Van Halen track.

Personally, I could give a crap as to what genre they call it. If it's fun to play, then I'll play it. Arguing the minute details over what genre it belongs in seems like a waste of time.

wurd.

I play games that are fun. If ya wanna call WoW a FPS, then I play FPS.

This is one of the best titles to hit the PlayStation 3, and its eccentricity and charm are undeniable. Unless you're just a straight adrenaline junkie, don't miss your opportunity to witness the poetry and magic of this ethereal hit.

Wow, the reviewer really loved this game. Maybe I'll give the demo a try.

Didnt anyone get this game? Its almost been out a week and I havent heard anything about it. My EB/GS stores dont have any used copies yet so it must be ok right?

Just pick this one up and I'm glad I did. I don't care what game your playing stealing soles is always fun. This is a very refreshing new and beautiful game, not to mention the combat it rewarding and fun. Flow and Folklore are probably the two best games that use the six axis motion really well. Not only is the story refreshing but the cuts cine's are much better than I expected and I love the balance and nuances of the comic book style of story telling that is intertwined into the game. The game is long and you get your moneys worth, this game was a real sleeper. My only 2 grips is that I wish the music sound track was a little more robust and changing Ids could be done a little faster. (Example change Ids by holding down square then a mini menu could pop up allowing you to remap that button for a different Id, i think that would have been better but oh well.

I played through the japanese demo and the US demo. THey were completely different.

The japanese demo was the beginning of the game and was very very story intensive and took a while to get to any gameplay.

The us demo skipped most of the story and dropped you into a level farther into the game. It made you really wonder if there was any plot at all.

But once I had played both, it was apparent the game had story and gameplay. It deserves every bit of that score imo.

I'm still on the edge on this one. I really liked the demo, but I'm just not sure that the gameplay is varied enough to keep it interesting the whole way through. Bah, if there wasn't so many other games to play, I'd pick it up for sure... but for now I need to get back to skate. :D

I've played it for about an hour and let me say it is SLOW to get going. Lots of cut scenes and odd comicbook style dialogue bits. Fairly interesting story though, at least from the reporters side. Out of curiosity, are the two characters stories completely different, or will they be tagging along for most of the game? Seems like they have a similar goal, so I don't think they will have radically different experiences.

I've never understood this JRPG obsession with random monsters just hanging around paths. At least here you can get through them seamlessly, rather than jumping into a battlefield. I think I am just past my level grinding phase where these types of games seem to excel.

Any more opinions of this game? I played the new demo, and it looks and sounds amazing(especially after playing a bunch of FFXII lately). I think I could get into it, but is it a rental or a purchase? How long is it?

Any more opinions of this game? I played the new demo, and it looks and sounds amazing(especially after playing a bunch of FFXII lately). I think I could get into it, but is it a rental or a purchase? How long is it? If you take your time, do all the quest, get all the folks and lvl them to the max. Its a good purchase! Im doing all this and im maybe at 60% of the game... and i got 27 hours into it. Im really satisfied with my purchase!

I've only played the demos but I love the music for the game. Is there going to be a soundtrack CD for it?

I've only played the demos but I love the music for the game. Is there going to be a soundtrack CD for it?

I'm pretty sure there is in Japan, they release soundtracks of heaps of games.

What do you know first search :)

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=KDSD-141

Dam, I'd really like the soundtrack as well but that is a bit steep.

Unfortunately CDs in general are quite expensive in Japan. But on the upside it is a 3 disc set.

3 CD's, well then that seems pretty fair. If the rest of the score is like the demo's title them I might have to go for it. Great stuff!

Hmm, that is cool but that costs half the price of the game. Sony needs to pick the best songs and put them up on the PSN store.

After some effort I managed to find a copy of this game (which was difficult -- the local GameStop got only two copies). So far I am absolutely loving it. The atmosphere is slow and mystical because of the amazing music, art direction/graphics, and creating storytelling. I find myself actually walking at times instead of running everywhere just because it feels more appropriate to the pace of the game -- something I never do. Possibly due to that in addition to limitations on my gaming time I am going slow and haven't gotten very far yet (only up to the Folklore in Warcadia).

The story can feel a little disjointed at times because of the number of different storytelling mechanisms, but overall it really works well and creates a very unique flavor to the game. The story itself is so far somewhat average mystery novel fare but comes alive due to the creative characterizations (not Keats and Ellen who are pretty stock, but the other characters living and dead around them) and storytelling.

The reviews have mentioned playing through each section twice with the different character as a possible negative. The first time I played through a section for the second time (first level with Ellen) I was not really looking forward to it, but it was different enough that I quickly forgot about that and enjoyed it just as much (maybe moreso) than the first time through. I will be interested to see if that continues throughout the game.

Anyway, so far I am very happy with this game. Right now it is splitting time with Skate and the ever-present SSHD. I am definitely leaning towards the IGN review as more reflective of my experience so far than some of the more negative reviews.

I find myself actually walking at times instead of running everywhere just because it feels more appropriate to the pace of the game -- something I never do.

Heh, I was doing that in the demo too. There's so much going on in the environments, and the character just looks more natural walking through. Thanks for all the input guys, I'll probably be picking this up this weekend.

I'll probably get this in a few days.

would anyone else recommend this game or not??? now that people have had time to really play it??

I rented it this weekend and did not like it. I loved the story, graphics, music, and monster designs but the gameplay just felt stiff and disjointed IMO. Still, if you are interested, give it a rent. I can see why people would love it.

I just saw this game for $20 (used) at Gamestop, but forgot to grab it after the movie I was there to see. I'll pick it up tomorrow.

I rented it this weekend and did not like it. I loved the story, graphics, music, and monster designs but the gameplay just felt stiff and disjointed IMO. Still, if you are interested, give it a rent. I can see why people would love it.

I agree. The gameplay is very average, but the story, style, and graphics are top notch.

I finally just got around to purchasing this game. WOW. What a hidden gem this was. Holy crap! I love this game. Very addictive, great graphics. I love it!!!!