Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage

"Simply Stated: Best RPG Ever"

Let me start off by saying that I have no idea why people don't like this game. It is totally customizable that I could play through it several times and still have fun with it. So from this point the review commences:

Graphics: 6
OK, so the graphics are a bit...well...bad. But thats OK. Graphics aren't the most important thing...and really, they're not as bad in this game as most people make it sound. Some of the scenery like trees and rivers is really nice, and a few of the characters besides the main one, Alaron, look really nice. The textures are a bit blurry in some spots, but the menu screen and map look great, so its evened out. The monsters look excellent as well.

Sound: 8.75
The sound in this game is great. The music is very subtle, but great at the same time, and the sound effects, which are perfect, are also laid out in this same perfect fashion. For example, as you near a river, its running waters sound louder. The music, as stated, is great, but unfortunately there is not enough of it. Nor is it as dramatic as it should be, like in Final Fantasy VII, but its still really awesome.

Gameplay: 10
OK, here is where the game is at its utmost best. This game lets you customize everything about your character, from his or her weapons skills, to his people skills, to his bargaining skills, to his thief skills. You can upgrade intelligence, dexterity and those things, and then there are two whole other menus which let you upgrade spells and other attributes. You can also train your character to have new attributes in towns, if you have enough gold and EXP. The game is so much fun that its a bit frightening.

Controls and Camera: 7
The controls are good and simple to understand, and yet at the moment not as precise as they could be. The camera is excellent, except for the few times where you try to rotate it when in a small room...when this happens the camera sort of flies above your head and it is hard to see. But other than that, its great.

Story: 10
Its great and original. That's all there is to it.

Replay: 9

This game is so much fun to play that you will need to do it 3 or 4 times to even come close to having done everything. I needn't say more.

Overall: 9.45

This game is the greatest RPG of all time, with one of the best plot lines of all time, too. This game might start out a bit boring and tedious, but once, after about ten minutes, you get used to it you will never want to stop playing it!

Rent or Buy:
Well, I rented it, and loved it so much that before I returned it to the video store I ran to my local Wal-Mart and picked up a copy. The game is that excellent.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/02, Updated 04/02/02