1st Impressions: Culdcept Saga is a unique, and very enjoyable game that gives board game fans another reason to cheer
The Bad: Each game can last you quite a while, achievements are very hard to come by, character animations can look kinda dumb, is fairly slow paced.
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Board and Card games are becoming a big thing on the now current gen systems, mostly for the online multiplayer aspects. Playing a classic board or card game online with a few friends often has a similar effect to playing a real one with friends around the table. Then again, there are some board and card game consepts that can only work in video game form. One of these is Culdcept Saga, a unique board and card game fusion that is a very unique and enjoyable experience.
You play as a character who you name, who discovers that he is a Septer, and has the ability to use cards to save the world. Yes, I know, it sounds hokey, but at least the storyline is interesting and ties the board game style battles together fairly well.
The core gameplay consept is basically Monopoly meets the Eye of Judgement. You are given a deck of cards featuring creature, spell and item cards. You use these cards while moving around a giant board and taking over teritory. Each teritory has an element, which can be changed if necessary. Like the Eye of Judgement, creatures have spacific elements attributed to them that can either give them bonuses or hurt them. If you place a creature on their own element, they will recieve a bonus. Place them on a harmful element, and they will loose HP while in battle.
You basically take turns going around the board placing creatures and casting spells as you go. Your goal is to achieve the required SP amount to win, which changes based on the map. You get SP by winning battles, making laps around the board and by achieving combos, which are to have several spaces of a same element in a row.
Battles take place when you land on an opposing players space or the other way around. If you are attacking, you select a creature out of your deck to attack whatever creature the enemy has placed on the board. You can use items, such as a weapon or armor, to boost your attack or HP if you are defending. Attackers must destroy the enemy creature to win a space and avoid paying a toll. The defender must simply survive, even if the attacking creature is not destroyed. This knowledge helps in selecting what creature to be placed on a space, so you can use that creature's special attributes to your advantage.
Some creatures have special attributes, such as always attacking first, or gaining more damage when attacking. Some also allow for the use of support creatures, which basically allows a second creature's attributes to be added to the first creature's, giving you a very nice advantage. When placing creatures, make sure to select creatures with very good defence attributes or allowing support creatures to keep your chains alive.
Similar to Monopoly, you are able to level up land for a higher toll. If an opponent looses a battle in a Level 5 land, they are in serious trouble and you have an even better shot of coming out victorious. It's all about knowing how to play the game, and having fun doing it.
There are a few downsides to Culdcept Saga, such as the fact that there really isn't a quick game option. Matches tend to last anywhere between 30 minutes to 2 and a half hours, so make sure you have some serious time on your hands before starting a match. The game does support up to 4 players online or off, as well as custom book creations, which are really nice additions. The character animations may appear to be fairly lame, but they do have a stylized look to them, similar to another Namco game, Eternal Sonata. The achievements of Culdcept Saga are not easy to come by. I have played the game for almost 10 hours now, and still haven't earned an achievement. So don't expect to earn anything unless you are willing to put some time into this game.
Overall, if you are a fan of board and card games, Culdcept Saga is a great choice. It's a unique and different game that can bring you hours of enjoyment, plus it's only $40, which always helps.
Gameplay: It's a unique twist of Monopoly and Eye of Judgement that works really well.
Graphics: Solid and very stylized, but can look wierd.
Sound: Very good musical score and solid voice acting.
Value: It's only $40, which is an excellent price for what you are getting.
Final Thoughts: A Dwarf beat a Wall of Stone? WTF???