Lost Kingdoms Preview

Activision is in the process of adding to the growing GameCube software library with a twist on the action RPG genre called Lost Kingdoms. Developed by From Software, of Armored Core fame, the game was recently released in Japan as Rune, and it is the developer's first GameCube effort. Lost Kingdoms offers an engaging blend of standard action RPG gameplay and elements from traditional card games, and it is shaping up to be a solid title GameCube owners will want to keep an eye on.

The game will put you in the role of Princess Katia, a young princess whose kingdom is being threatened by a growing fog whose origins reek of evil. Following an attack on your castle, you'll set out to discover the root of the evil, embarking on a journey that will take you across two dozen worlds spread across the five kingdoms of Argyle. As in most quests of this nature, there are plenty of evil creatures lurking about to stop you. Fortunately, you'll find that Katia is rarely helpless thanks to her trusty pack of magical cards, which will let you summon a veritable menagerie of creatures, and helpful NPCs, who offer useful bits of information.

The story unfolds in basic linear fashion, and the gameplay is broken up into three main segments: exploration, character interaction, and battle. The exploration segments find you guiding Katia through 3D environments, solving basic puzzles, and collecting items from chests scattered through the land. The character interaction sequences will come up as you come across different individuals in your travels, and the colorful folk you meet will offer useful tips and send you on quests to collect new items. Finally, battles will be initiated randomly and pit you against a vast assortment of creatures. At the end of most levels, you'll face a large and especially vicious boss creature that will test your dueling skills.

You'll find Lost Kingdoms to be a fairly user-friendly experience. The early levels familiarize you with the basics of the game by placing you under the tutelage of a mysterious old woman. You'll move Katia around with the left analog stick and manipulate the game's camera with the yellow C stick. The control scheme expands when combat is initiated. You'll be able to access items to restore your health or status if you need them via a pop-up menu, and the GameCube controller's face buttons are assigned to specific cards that you'll be able to use to attack your opponents. Cards will let you attack in several different ways--some will call up a quick attack, while others will cause Katia to switch places with the creature on her card so it can unleash a powerful attack. You'll also be able to restore Katia's health during a fight with certain cards if you're out of items. While you can hold a deck of cards, you'll only be able to use a certain number of cards in each battle, as each use will drain your energy. You'll find that battles will force you to choose your cards carefully and pay attention to the attributes of your enemies in order to ensure your attacks are as effective as they can be.

The card system in Lost Kingdoms features a pretty in-depth system of elemental attributes that come into play during battles. Each enemy you encounter will have an elemental attribute, and it will be vulnerable to the opposite element. For example, earth-based plant enemies will be vulnerable to attacks from Katia's fire-based creatures. As you win battles, you'll earn more cards to add to your deck, and the cards and creatures you used in the fight will gain experience and rise in level. Lost Kingdoms will offer more than 100 guardian-creature cards to collect and use in the game, and you'll also be able to improve your cards by visiting merchants, who will let you buy new cards, upgrade your deck, and create new cards by combining existing cards.

In terms of graphics, Lost Kingdoms features a traditional fantasy-adventure look that's complemented by clean graphics and interesting creature designs. Katia's character model features a decent number of polygons and solid texture detail. You'll be able to make out some designs on her clothes and see her hair and bits of clothing move as she runs. The NPCs you encounter fare about as well, although they're not quite as detailed as Katia. The environments offer a good amount of visual variety--including forests, deserts, and misty wastelands--and they make good use of their polygon budget. The most impressive element of the game's graphics are the creature designs, which are very imaginative and are brought to life by good animation. The special effects during their attacks, such as fire trails, gusts of wind, and clouds of poisonous gas, are well done and take advantage of the GameCube hardware to offer nice bits of eye candy. In spite of the onscreen madness during the more hectic and crowded fights, the game's graphics engine manages to keep the frame rate high and smooth.

So far, the weakest aspect of Lost Kingdoms is its sound. While the game's soundtrack is good enough, featuring a mix of orchestral and modern tunes, the in-game sound is a bit weak. Katia offers a few peeps during the game but is pretty quiet overall, as most conversations in the game will be text-only. Her menagerie of creatures fares a bit better thanks to assorted sound samples, but, overall, the game's sound effects leave a bit to be desired.

Fortunately, such a shortcoming is easy to overlook thanks to the game's accessible gameplay, which looks like it will be pretty addictive. The combat in the game is fun, and there seems to be a fair amount of strategy involved in coordinating your attacks and managing your deck. As it stands now, Lost Kingdoms will be worth a look when it ships this spring for the GameCube.