While the single player is a good 20 hours long what really makes this game shine is the Multiplayer over Xbox Live
User Rating: 9.4 | Phantom Dust XBOX
Gameplay: Single player While at first the game might be a little confusing to a new player it helps you out with a few tutorial missions to get used to some attack and defense skills as well as teach you a few basic strategies. The game can kind of be described as a card game with the speed of a shooter. There are over 300 skills to collect, some that you can only get over Xbox Live. With these skills you create an Arsenal, which is basically a deck that consists of 30 skills, to use to battle opponents in the single player and Multiplayer game. In most battles over Single Player you fight in battles with a partner against two enemies. Everyone starts with 20hp and to win you have to decrease your opponents’ health to 0. You start out in a battle by carrying four skills from your arsenal. Each skill is linked to the X, Y, B, or A button. To use a skill you just push the button. If you don't like the skills you start out with you can push the "back" button to start with four new skills. In addition to those four three skills are spawned in front of you. To pick those up you must run into one and push the button you want to assign it to X, Y, B, or A. This will erase the old ability that was assigned to that button, so make sure that you press the right button. There is a skill called an Aura Particle. You use these in your deck to raise your level. Each skill costs an amount of aura to use. For example if a skill cost three and your level is 4 and you use the skill it will lower your aura to one and your aura will begin to recharge until it is back up to the level that you had. You will want enough aura in your deck so that you can use skills but make sure you don't use that many or you will never get to your attack and defense skills. It is important to check the costs of the skills in your arsenal so you can choose the right amount of aura particles to use. But be careful, when some attacks hit you they lower your level. In a battle you move with the control stick, jump by clicking in the right control stick, target opponents with the L and R triggers, and use abilities with X, Y, A, an B. There are different types of skills as well. There are attacking skills that are used to damage an opponent. Defense skills to block attacks or deflect some types back at your opponent. Status skills that can increase your stats, lower your opponents, or make you jump higher, dash, or levitate. Erase skills allow you to erase an enemies skills or their level. Environmental skills change the conditions of the battlefield. There are also different schools for skills. The schools are Psychic that is good for close and mid-range battles and at absorbing or deflecting attacks. Ki that has skills that are good at knocking opponents down, doing damage while they are on the ground, and at close range. Nature skills cost the most but do a lot of damage and effect a large area, you can also heal yourself with some of natures skills. Faith skills might cause damage to you when you use them but they have low costs and certain skills may steal health from your opponent. Laser has skills that are good for long range and its defense skills cost almost nothing, but offer little protection. You can only use two different schools in an arsenal at first but later you can sue three and then one as well. The lower the amount of schools in an arsenal the faster your aura regenerates. Some skills have certain requirements. For example, some need your level to be lower than two or higher then 10. Some damage you. Some get a cost increase every time you use them. Some can be used only once while some can be used until they are switched or are erased by an opponent. Some skills can only be used once but will let you use them again if you have enough aura left to do so. Some attacks skills have the pierce ability. When a defense skill blocks an attack who damage is more than the defense skills defend rating you will lose the skill but take no damage but if an enemy attack has peirce you will take the damage. For example, if your defense skill is a level 4 defend and an enemy uses a skill that does eight damage and pierces you will take 4 damage. 8-4=4. Multiplayer While the single player is a good 20 hours long what really makes this game shine is the Multiplayer over Xbox Live. Over Live you can download new content and trade or purchase skills from other players. As well as do one on one duels, 2vs2 matches, or four-player battle royal. There are some skills that can only be gained from playing over Xbox Live as well. The host can set different rules, like what skills and schools are and are not allowed and can choose from a list of maps. Over Xbox Live you will want to have many different arsenals to use depending on what restrictions there are, what types of skills your partner uses, what skills your opponents are using, and what map the game is. You also don't want your opponents to always know all the skills in your arsenal. The game also runs very smoothly over Xbox Live and I have yet to experience any lag. Another thing that I like about this game is that the people are usually calmer playing this then they are a FPS like Halo 2 and no one usually gets mad when they lose. This is one of my favorite online games. Over Xbox Live you get to choose what character you want to be from the Single Player game and depending on who you pick instead of jumping some characters do a cartwheel which has its own advantages and disadvantages just like jumping does. Graphics: Not great but not bad either. It was made a few years ago in Japan. Sound: The sound is great you can hear buildings beginning to crumble and rubble hit the ground when a powerful skill attack hits a wall. I really like the music in the game and you can use your own custom soundtracks. Value: The single player is over 100 missions long. There are over 300 skills and over Xbox Live you can play three types of games and trade your skills or buy new ones from other players, there is also downloadable content. Easily worth $20. Tilt: I really enjoy this game and it is the most fun that I have had while on Xbox Live. Difficulty: Hard to decide on a difficulty for this game. It all depends on how well you get to know the skills and what type of arsenal you make. Some mission are easy, some hard but for the most part this game never gets too easy and it never gets hard enough to make you want to quit. You might need to take some time to think up new strategies if something doesn't work the first time. Maybe try a new arsenal. Learning Curve: The game might be a little hard to understand at first but you will get the hang of it soon enough. With a great and long SP story and some of the best Multiplayer on Xbox Live this game could keep you busy for a long time.
