Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage

"An RPG that is not easy to like in the beginning but it does get better."

The initial reviews of the game said that the first few hours are difficult and to stick with the game because it does get better. That was true but I thought it took about 10 hours before I could begin to enjoy it at all.

Overall I think the game has some shortcomings. They are:

* If a character dies you cannot revive them. You can overcome this by saving all the time but it can be annoying.

* This was the first game that I had over 8 game crashes. There was no common cause - it just happened. Again, another need to save all the time.

* The map available during the game was difficult to use. For example, it was difficult to find Shamshuk Tower. It was on the map but just a brownish bump and you do not realize what it is until you get there and check the map to find your location. If I replay the game again, at least I know what to look for.

* Battles at night are extremely difficult to see. There was a way to ''make light'' which I never did figure out.

* There was a calendar on the Camp/Journal screen and a way to change the seasons. I never did figure out what the reason or need to do this.

* You acquire Sapphire Gems throughout the game with no apparent use in the game. You can sell the for a large amount of money but in other RPG games those items are usually ones you don't want to sell. So it was difficult to part with them during the game because you were not sure it you would find some use late in the game for them after you sold them.

My comments regarding specific areas are:

Game Play: 6/10 - After about 10 hours into the game it did get much better. There were several times that I was lost and it was frustrating. The game play controls were straightforward and not difficult to understand.

Saving was very easy which was a good thing because you really need to do this all the time. Healing was easy as well using the camp function.

As I mentioned above there are several times when battles occur at night and it was extremely difficult to find your way around. This also occurred when you entered battles in tents or rooms.

There are many choices of weapons, armor, etc., to choose from. I takes awhile to figure out which works better for each character and because there are so many choices it certainly does lend itself to replay the game to try a different approach the next round.

The game play is very similar to Earthbound 64. If you played that game and liked it you will probably like this game. But you really need to play it for awhile because early on you will do more swinging and hitting air than hitting the enemy.

Story: 7/10 - I thought the story line of the game was engaging. It was a quest to find Alaron's true name and it did take many twist and turns and you read the messages rather than just skip through them as I have done on other RPG games.

Audio/Video: 2/10 - Basically there was no sound in the game. The music was very low and does not play all the time during the game. In most RPG games music changes from standard walking around, standard battles and boss battles. There really wasn't this difference. Had there been, I think it would have improved the intrigue of the game.

There was audio for the ocean waves, birds singing and thunder that I did think was very good.

I thought the visuals of the game were great including the time spent around the ocean areas. There are many areas of the game to explore which added to the visual appeal.

Replayability: 6/10 - There are many characters to choose from and lots of equipment, spells, etc., to choose from. Because of this, I think it does encourage you to try again and make other choices to see how they work. I will more than likely play it again but I will let some time go by before I do it again.

Buy or Rent: 5/10 In my opinion this is not a game to rent. If a person rented it I think the first 2 - 5 hours would turn a person off and the game would be returned. A person would need to buy the game and understand that it will require a commitment of time in the beginning to really get into the game.

Overall Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/19/01, Updated 04/19/01