A Lot More then Meets the Eye

I have never found much interest in anime or card based games. It’s just that whenever I see box art depicting a group of very anime-like looking characters with Ban-Dai’s logo stamped onto the bottom right corner of the box, I can’t help but feel skeptical. So, when I heard of Culdcept SAGA for the Xbox 360, I cringed; a mash of both anime inspired characters and plot, with card based gameplay. However, upon further inspection I’ve learnt there’s a lot more to this game that meets the eye.

From what I have read about the history of the Culdcept series, the game first hit the shores of America in 2003 as a Playstation 2 title, but people in Japan and Korea have been enjoying the series since 1997. In the games you take the role of a “Cepter”, someone who has the unnatural ability to cast spells, summon monsters and use other forms of magic all with the use of cards.

Enchanting

Culdcept SAGA works with the same concept as Monopoly. While you move around on a board; you are bound to the die, have to acquire property, and inconsequently, “Magic” (the currency of the game). You must reach a pre-set amount of Magic from other players in order to win. Those are the very basic rules of the game. Then you have the cards which add much needed depth. In order to acquire property you must summon monsters to stay and stand guard. If by any chance, someone walked by your summoned monster, he’ll have one of two choices: 1: pay up, or 2: do battle with one of his monsters. Every piece of property has its own element; water, earth, fire, or farmland. That’s right. Farmland. Culdcept SAGA has no room for petty elements like air. Each monster derives from a certain element, and depending whether or not you place it on its own element, the monsters stats will change.

Battles carry out in standard turn based affair, having the ability to use magic and items while in battle. Think of it as Yu-gi-Oh meets the Parker Brothers. Each player has a “Book” which contains 50 cards of said players’ choice. Cards range from monsters, spells, to items. There are 480 cards in total to collect. Obviously the player’s choice of cards will effect the outcome of each match quite a bit, so making a well balanced deck will be the key to victory. Menus are slick and work very well. Within minutes I learnt the basics of the game and was well on my way to victory.

Gather the Magic

Top sci-fi writers, whom are still unknown, wrote the single player story that Culdcept SAGA sports as an option. However for the social people who own a 360: you can play with up to 3 other people online, which will certainly add to the gaming experience.

It’s obvious that Culdcept SAGA isn’t pushing the 360 to its graphical limits, as character models aren’t nearly up to par with most of the games being released this season. Most of the colors are quite bland as well unfortunately. However they have a few months to fix these problems, and I’m sure they’ll do a good job. Despite these minor quibbles the art is quite good, with all the cards being designed by the artists who worked on “Magic the Gathering”. Their influence is quite lucid.

As I mentioned before I’m not a fan of anime games nor card based combat games. However, Culdcept SAGA is a classic example of not judging a book by its cover. It has enough depth to entertain a hardcore gamer, but it remains accessible to casual players. I’ve gained new respect for this genre, and will most certainly check it out when it’s released Q1 2008.