Resonance of Fate

    Digging back through my collection of games I happened across Resonance of Fate, a game that may or may not have been overlooked, still, I feel that the unique aspects of the game should not go unsaid.

    Resonance of Fate takes us to the 'world' of Basel; a giant clockwork structure which is self contained and self sustaining. Once capable of housing millions Basel is now falling into disrepair from the bottom, where the depths and mines are, to the top, the Chandelier where the ruling elite (the Cardinals) hold residence. The journey, however, begins on level 4, only one tier below that of the Cardinals with the heroes of the tale: Vashyron, Zephyr and Leanne. These three form the team of 'Hunters', who are essentially mercenaries, that lead us through the game. After the initial cut-scene we are plunged straight into the game and directed straight to the hunter's guild where we encounter a short tutorial on how the quest system works and how to traverse the world map. However after this the game leaves the player on their own with only a passing comment as to where the combat tutorial can be found, a tutorial that is greatly needed. However, once armed with the knowledge they require the players can dive straight into the story. A journey which shows us many weird and wonderful characters, creepy yet somehow charming enemies and terrifying bosses, one which also takes us to, literally, the highs and lows of the world as the three Hunters work and discover the truth behind the connection between Basel and it's inhabitants. 

    The story of Resonance of Fate is separated into chapters which break the overall story down rather well. In each chapter there are a number of guild quests to be done alongside the main quest (whose completion will end the chapter) along with a number of Arena fights which can earn the player more money and also arena tokens which can be exchanged for rare, or usually expensive items. Despite being free roam there is no terrain as such when outside of cities, dungeons or certain buildings, however, this works very well with the game's random encounters and also the method by which the world map is uncovered. Unfortunately it can also get tedious as your only indication as to where you are is little more than a marker and as mentioned there is little in the way of scenery except a zoomed out view of Basel. The story itself, whilst often interesting and engrossing can often leave you thinking 'exactly how is this relevant to the plot,' before it simply leaves for the next chapter leaving that question conspicuously unanswered.
    The combat system can be very confusing and as mentioned above there is very little attention drawn to the location of the optional tutorial. That said, the cinematic semi-turn-based battles are truly innovative and fresh. True, your characters can only move one at a time whilst your enemies can all act at once, but that issue is overshadowed when using the Hero Movement system. The system allows one of your characters to run across a straight line (The length and direction of which the player can set) whilst attacking using whatever weapon the character has equipped multiple times. Whilst the attacks are essentially all the same, tending towards tedious with the animations being generated randomly, the power and effects of the attacks are determined by how long the weapon is charged before the trigger is puled and also the position of the character with relevance to the target. The Hero Movement system has one major downside: Jumping. Whilst jumping can hit all parts of an enemy at once it soon becomes laughable as the character remains airborne, performing gravity defying movements, for up to and in excess of thirty seconds. The jumping frequently results in some very annoying moments in which the only female character (always clad in a skirt) remains inverted for an extended period. I don't think I have to spell it out any more than than.
    Damage in combat is split into two varieties scratch and direct. Whilst scratch damage is very powerful it can't be used to finish off an enemy and is only temporary, however, if the enemy is hit even once with a weapon that deals direct damage then all current scratch damage is made permanent and in this way can be used to finish an enemy off quickly. That said, on it's own direct damage is weak and so throughout the game a balance and combination of the two is essential as neither will triumph without the other which can become annoying in chapters where one member of the team will go off on their own. When looking at the customization element, at first it is easy to think that there is very little variation in the way of weaponry as there are only around 10 to 15 weapons in the game, however, when taking a closer look the true extent of weapon customization becomes clear. Each weapon can be customized with a number of interchangeable parts, configured in ways which seem impossible.
    Uncovering the world map is in theory simple but in practice it can prove to be difficult. The map is covered in hexagonal tiles (Hexes) and whilst some are initially available to move across the vast majority of Hexes need to be uncovered, or powered up, using Energy Hexes (a chain of four hexagons in varying shapes). Whilst this may sound simple, some areas can only be accessed by using Energy Hexes of a certain shape, or colour. That only serves to add to the feeling as though you need to grind away as the Energy Hexes you need are often found only on rare enemies.
    Despite the majority of the world being nothing but texture with boundaries the graphics of the came are rather spectacular. Whilst in Ebel city where the heroes live players can see vast clockwork structures, precise and minute movement and wonderful attention to detail in each scene, however after a while the colours begin to seem dull being mostly shades of brown, copper and grey. The dungeons also follow this trend. The foreground is overshadowed by the scenery if no enemies are present and each room is practically the same but with different obstacles. The enemies, though, are in a league of their own. Each one as well detailed as the main characters and by far and away more interesting.
    The voicing too is done rather well and the script, while on occasion it can be painful, is well structured and on the whole neither too revealing or too secretive. The characters also feel to have some real personality thanks to the voice actors; Vashyron feels laid back, Leanne seems fairly innocent, yet ambitious and Zephyr, well no game would be complete without the broody male, would it? It is true that the voices can be a little incomprehensible in battle and some of the comments seem as out of place as the missions but, to be honest, that adds to the charm of the scripting, even if we do have to hear at the start of every battle about how 'Leanne goes both ways'.

    All in all I think Resonance of Fate is a hidden gem of a game with many hours of game-play which feels compelling, even though  as with all JRPGs there is an element of grinding, it doesn't feel like a chore. True there are a few flaws within the game, as in a the key tutorial is tucked away without much acknowledgement and the overall lack of variety within the combat system, however these truly are outweighed by the unique elements, the broad enemy base and the massive customization that can be applied to weapons and as such I would definitely recommend this as a purchase.

Ratings:
Story: 5 of 6 wings
Graphics: 5 of 6 wings
Audio: 5 of 6 wings
Script: 4 of 6 wings

Overall: 5 of 6 wings

Platforms:
Xbox 360, PS3

Certifications:
CERO: B
ESRB: T
PEGI: 16

Batman: Arkham City

    When I first had the chance to play Batman Arkham City I immediately jumped on the opportunity. Having played and enjoyed its predecessor, Batman: Arkham Asylum, I expected good things from this.

    Batman: Arkham City transports us away from the confines of the asylum on Arkham Island to a brand new ‘super-prison’ in the heart of Gotham City where many of the colourful, yet criminally inclined, characters of the batman universe are incarcerated. It doesn't take long before we see that this ‘facility’ is really an old section of Gotham City that has merely been walled off and fortified. The story begins as Bruce Wayne is captured by Professor Hugo Strange and incarcerated within the ‘super-prison’, though not before the good Professor announces that he will be declared a hero by the people of Gotham once Protocol 10 comes into effect. What is Protocol 10? The Professor will not elaborate and so our quest begins. But first our hero must adopt his alter-ego. He must become The Batman! After a short tutorial, i.e. Mr. Wayne beating down some thugs, we traverse a short distance to find the bat-suit which had so generously just been dropped off for us. Now the search starts proper. A search that takes Batman, and us, through the refuse of ‘humanity’ that Arkham City contains. On out journey we meet the staple villains of the Batman universe; the Joker, Harley Quinn, The Penguin and Two-face, though a number of villains appear briefly in cameo roles.

    The story itself is well planned and organized and presents itself beautifully with the free-roam aspect of the game. The main encounters of the game are well thought out, have a good logicality and flow well from one to the next, even if some encounters do come to be predictable. The main story, as it is presented is somewhat shorter than I would have liked, however, there are also a number of randomly encountered side-quests, and also the return of the Riddler's challenges which promote exploration, some lateral thinking and puzzle solving which help to extend the game hours. The world itself is also well thought through with a good mix of varying heights, uneven terrain, hazards and pitfalls and dark corners for the Bat to hide in. However the problem on the map comes in the form of your Average-Joe thugs. These guys are mostly either spread too thin or too thick for a good fight. Whilst in the early stages of the game the latter isn’t so much a problem, it soon becomes an issue in the later stages when many of the thugs are armed with automatic weapons and shotguns.

    The combat system and controls seem to have been transplanted almost unchanged from Arkham Asylum to this game, though they have been updated slightly in so much as the terrain plays more of a part in combat with new combos, takedowns and gadgets to experiment with. However the combat system is feeling a little dated and after a while becomes a button-mashing-fest as there is little control over the flow of the fight. Press one button to strike, or another to counter is the staple of the combat system meaning that after a while fights become more of an irritation than anything else.

    Like the combat system the graphics seemed to have changed little, though that is rather welcome. Everyone is easily recognisable and overall things look good, however there are a couple of issues with area transitions as sometimes the textures can take a while to load, causing a little lag in the game which can throw you off when trying to race from one side of the map to the other for a timed challenge. However beyond the slow textures there aren't any major issues with the graphics. Yes they look slightly dated but they still work and are able to immerse the player.

    I found the voice acting to be very good throughout. The dark, brooding Batman came across as such through the acting. The Joker sounded as psychotic as ever, Harley as ditzy, you get the idea. However, whilst the voice acting is wonderful it is let down badly by the script. The script provides predictable conversations, painful clichés and at times feels like it goes out of its way to be mundane which, over time, accumulates to dampen the dark atmosphere of the game. The conversations between thugs can be amusing at times but I don’t want to hear how they are hungry and want burgers, kthx.

    Rather refreshingly Batman: Arkham City is built as a single player game, which is a welcome relief for someone who doesn't have the capacity to play online in order to get the most out of what they have paid for. However, for those of you who do feel competitive there are challenge missions out side of the main campaign which are linked to online ranked leaderboards so you can take on the world with your scores. I do believe, for once, that this is one of the few games that would benefit from a co-op mode as the fight in Arkham City can get a little lonely.

  All in all Batman: Arkham City is a rather good game, the characters are fantastic, the city is well planned and it is mentally challenging, true, some of the more key aspects are lacking, i.e. the mundane combat controls, the terrible scripting and the main storyline is short but overall the good outweighs the bad. Despite this my overall comment is that this game is worth a rent and is possibly only worth buying if you are a completionist.

Ratings:

Story: 5 of 6 wings

Graphics: 4 of 6 wings

Audio: 5 of 6 wings

Script: 2 of 6 wings

Overall: 4 of 6 wings

Platforms:

Xbox 360, PC, PS3

Certifications:
ACB: M
BBFC: 15
ESRB: T
PEGI: 16
USK: 16+