Ring of Red

"Konami tries it’s hand at something different, does it work?"

Konami tries it’s hand at something different, does it work?

Strategy games are defiantly more of a PC affair over consoles. It seems as though games like Star Craft, War Craft, and Command and Conquer are very popular on PC but seem to the lack the same following on the console. Now Konami with its trio of PS2 titles has tried its hand at making a strategy game. With their effort comes Ring of Red a deep but lacking strategy title.

Graphics:

Ring of Red does contain strong graphics. Although they are not the same at any point in the game. Like in Square Soft’s Front Mission the game uses a world map with small 3D characters that look like pieces to a board game that can be moved. Here the graphics are poor and very boring. Although when battle is initiated Konami uses an excellent design of mechs and combat that is quite appealing to the eye. The graphics range from gritty World War II outposts to Bombed out cities and towns. All the while ROR maintains strong compelling visuals.

Sound:

While the graphics and ROR are good the sound is not. Maybe it is the lack of sound that hurts ROR although the music is boring and repetitive so are the sound effects. This could be because you hear the same music and sound effects over and over again. Each cut scene has the same style war music accompanied by a repetious set of effects. There is no spoken dialogue and all dialogue is written out RPG game style.

Game play:

Konami has placed an interesting style of game play into ROR. Unlike Real Time Strategy games such as Star Craft ROR gives players a set number of units on a plane of the world map. There players can move to specified mission locations while other enemy mechs attack. When battle is imitated you are given a battle screen and fight the enemy turn based style. You are given solders to command that have their own set of attack techniques but the are easily killed and end up with no ammunition. Next battles can take from five minutes to three or more hours to complete and you can only save between missions. Throw in the fact none of the battle animations can be skipped and the same boring repitious music and ROR will bore you quickly. Although it tries to mix in variety to the game play it ends up each mission becomes seek and destroy. While ROR may sound terrible it has an interesting plot and good strong characters. Still you can play as multiple mechs and as multiple characters.

While Ring or Red brings something different (often forgotten) to the PS2 it’s lack of variety and actual fun make it very repetitious. While it includes some innovative and unique game play aspects it winds up growing old quick and aggravating even faster. Unless you have a lot of extra time on your hands or strive for something different I would not recommend Ring of Red. There are just too many better games for your money.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/01, Updated 04/18/01