Newcomers may be pleasantly surprised with the latest and greatest installment of this hybrid Card-Board Game.
What is a CBG? It's what you get when you combine a tradeable card game (TCG) and a board game. It's crazy.. and it works.
Before I proceed with my wordy review, I will say that Culdcept is NOT for everyone. If you are short on patience or time, playing online and offline can be annoying, mainly because you have to sit through lots of screens (even when the computer plays). TCG purists may not like the huge luck factor that the board game mechanics introduce but, on the same token, players that do not appreciate TCGs may not find very much appealing about this game.
That being said, I think Culdcept Saga takes a great tradition and perfects it. This game has hit potential (sleeper hit or cult classic, AT LEAST). It's just one of those games that you may look at initially, thinking to yourself, "What the??" After a little gameplay, however, you realize the game offers deep gameplay and high replay value.
I won't go into the story too much because it is cliche (think of your typical JRPG) but there IS a story. You get to play the part of a young boy that leaves his poor town to live as a slave and hopefully return home with money for his family. You run into a traveling princess along the way. She is the one that senses the great power lying dormant within you. Your power is unlocked and it is determined that you are Neo, the one, and you must save the world. Hey, I warned you that it was cliche... but what isn't?
The game shines when you realize how much strategic depth you have. As you battle other Cepters (the card carriers/casters), you earn new cards, whether you win or lose. You can use these cards to create up to 16 custom books to use in battle. With around 500 cards in the game (more cards than any Culdcept game before), there are tons of combinations and strategies that one can employ.
Playing through the single-player mode gives you the perks of unlocking parts you can use to decorate your personalized avatar. I notice people playing the story mode just to beef up their deck before going online. It makes sense since your character in story mode is also the same one you get to use in versus modes, with real human players - YAY!
To me, the real gold in this game is being able to battle people online. You can go in solo or form alliances, in servers of up to four players at a time. This game seems to have some international presence as I have encountered people that speak limited or no English at all. This means you can sometimes lag at times but, fortunately, the game drops people whose connections have become unstable, replacing them with AI players. The auto-balancing feature definitely is welcome, especially since the AI players can be customized to use certain strategies.
Yes, I said "customized AI players", folks! For the perfectionists out there, you can create AI players, specifying the rules they follow in various scenarios. The AI algorithms are determined by a series of priorities. Using a slidebar, you can tweak different behaviors, giving each AI player a distinct personality and aggro level. Very neat.
Back to the online play. My other major gripe is that the server filters and queries need to be tweaked. It's hard to find open servers, mainly because the queries are very specific. If you want to find an Alliance Match or Blind Match, you may have a very hard time.. At least for now. I reckon it'll be easier to find open servers once this game catches on more. I also see that Bandai-Namco is treating this game with ginger gloves so I smell patches and new content in the future.
Blind Match is a very welcomed online mode. In a Blind Match, players choose the elements/attributes they wish to focus on in their book. A book of cards is then dynamically generated for each player, according to their preferences. It's a beautiful thing because new players will not have to worry about playing against people with rigged decks.
I know I am jumping ahead here but it's because multiplayer deserves extra attention. The online play is what really shines in this title though creating your own avatar and dressing him up is neat, even if he looks a little too femine at times. Speaking of which, where are the female character models for your avatar? And only two skin tones.. This is clearly a Japanese-influenced game! =oX
The object of the game is typically this: capture territories, defend them, and collect as much magic as possible. The color-coding of territories makes Culdcept look like Risk at times, which I think is part of it's charm. Held territories can be upgraded, making them easier to defend while increasing your total magic for the overall battle. When players land on your territories, they must pay a toll or try to invade and take over your territory. Collected tolls count towards your total magic as well.
It's strange but Culdcept treats magic like gold, and vice versa. It'll irk you a bit at first but then you get used to it. I write this off as something lost in translation.. or perhaps the gold itself is magical! *shrugs*
Some of the creatures you can summon have special abilities. I find the territory abilities fun. Amongst these territory abilities are the ability to evolve, perform global effects, or increase the defensive power of your creature. I have found a few Pokemon fans enjoying the whole evolution and creature battling aspect of Culdcept Saga.
Since Culdcept Saga is a board game at heart, you can expect the usual board mechanics: complete a lap around the board and collect a bonus. Very much like Monopoly there. As you progress, the boards become more complex, providing special squares ranging from shrines to warps to forts. This variety makes the strategic components of the game even more deep but not overly-complicated, either.
Battles are long and can drag on if you're not careful but I think it's just right. You get to have many chances to catch up so no one is every really out of the competition until the very end. Typically, you have to reach a minimum of around 5000-8000TG (Total Gold/Magic). It takes around 50-70R (Rounds) to do this, depending on the map. That can be equivalent to 10-20 laps per player, on average. That's a lot of moving around the same board but it moves along if you allow yourself to get hooked into the game - I know I did!
It's great fun having a player increase the value of their land, only to have it taken away by you. Invading lands and defending them doesn't seem to ever get old. The strategic elements thereof are quite numerous. You have to be mindful of the attribute/element of each territory. Owning many territories of the same color increases land and toll value at the same time. Matching your creature attributes with the land attributes gives you some nice defensive bonuses (HP) as well.
There are not too many stats to look at, which makes the game easier to figure out for the newcomers. Your main stats are G, TG, ST, HP, and MHP. G and TG apply to your Cepter/avatar. These represent your current magic level and your overall/total magic (essentially, the cumulative value of all your territories).
ST represents creature STrength and this comes into play when you are on the offensive or use a creature or item that provides an Attack First ability. This is important to take note of because some monsters have a strong attack but no HP, making them easy targets for invasions or spells (oooh, the nukes in this game can be a real drag if you are on the receiving end). HP represents you individual creature's Hit Points and MHP, naturally, is your creature's Maximum Hit Points. Pretty simple, eh?
The game has solid balancing. Creatures that are over-powered are more expensive to summon and have some sort of weakness or limit. For example, a monster that offers natural defensive abilities may not allow you to equip it with an armor Item or protective Spell. This keeps the game from becoming broken.
I believe this game has something for the strategist in all of us. I personally enjoy collecting the cards and employing clever card combinations. I've had a few people curse me out already by tricking them into thinking I was vulnerable (I use a lot of cards that, on their own, are weak). The deception and bluffing aspects are always fun.
Overall, I'd say everyone should try this game. Love it or hate it, it's something fresh and different for the XBox 360 library. For $40, it's one of the big bargains out there right now, up there with Orange Box and Shadowrun. w3rd.