Review: Lost Odyssey - Emotional rescue in an RPG

Mike Bantick
Saturday, 05 April 2008 13:28

Opinion and Analysis

Then there is the graphically presentation.  I defy anybody not to be impressed from the initial opening an majority of locations in the game – all utilising the Unreal 3 engine.  Character rendering is a highlight of the game.

The variety of enemies encountered married with excellent sound and spell effects are icing on the presentation cake, making sitting through the somewhat lengthy cut scenes tolerable.

The cut scenes as already mentioned, present a story that unfolds at a pleasant pace and indeed is emotionally engaging enough to draw the player in.  Cinematography (as, such a thing now exists in video gaming) consists of a semi jerky camera that adds another layer of emotion to the scene. Couple this with a mostly appropriate score and Mistwalker's aim to harness emotion is achieved.

There are some down sides, including superfluous boat travel, some ridiculously easy and yet time consuming side quests along with some tough battles and conversely overly dumbed down battles that for a time can mar the experience.

All up however, if you are looking for an RPG covering mature concepts, and don't mind the less urgent pace of time based battles, Lost Odyssey is not a bad way to go in the Western world starved of this genre readily available in the gaming library.