Evergrace

"Slow to start... slow to end."

Well it was about a year and a half ago that I came to finally posses a much sought after PlayStation 2. Unfortunetly for me, I had no games for it other than the regular old PlayStation games that had at one time enjoyed, but by then had outlived their enjoyment. So I bumbled around a local Costco store and saw PlayStation 2 games on for sale under 20 bucks. I like RPGs [or Role Playing Games] and this looked a good bit of interesting so I decided to buy it as my first PlayStation 2 game. Sadly, I would later find out it wasn't very interesting and proved to be a good waste of 20 bucks.

At first glance everything looks all well and good. Good box art decorates the box and the opening intro makes things look like a good fantasy flick that most of us enjoy. Although when you actually start the game with your character, hopes go from good to worsening in a heartbeat.

Story: 4/10
When you first start you have the option of taking two seperate quests, which is one of the games strong points. You have the option of going through as Darius, a young handsome male with white silverish hair and a killer costume. Or you can go through instead as Sharline, a seeming defensless young woman with a nice bow and arrow. The two seem to know eachother and one of Darius' main goals is to find Sharline. As all fantasy stories seem to go, it starts with an empire. One empire falls and another seemingly disappears. Also what few people that are left seem to be afraid of a cursed mark, or crest. It just so happens that Darius has a crest on his hand. Darius has had a troubled youth and blames all of his misfortunes on this crest, quite the cursed mark indeed. Both Sharline and Darius find themselves in the empire of Rieubane under mysterious circumstances and both wish to escape it as quickly as possible before what little else plot unfolds. Add to the mix are more mysterious characters. Such characters include the quiet and humble Sienna, and the ever watchful Krisalis. Both of which guide you at some point during the game. Add to the mix a few villains... such as Trandin, a young youth with a good amount of power. Also add Morpheus, the ever scheming old scientist and magician who may be behind it all.

Gameplay:5/10
This game seems to borrow heavily from the combat engine of The Legend of Zelda. Unfortunetly where Nintendo suceeded, this game does not. It fails to move smoothly and crisply and often times you may not hit your target at all. A good touch is that running drains stamina which weakens your hits just as it may in reallity. You can also cast various magical spells to aid you in battle but are slow to be cast and aiming isn't very acurate as well. Other than that, there isn't much to do. You can attack with your assigned weapon, cast a spell, run or walk around and... not much else. Good enough, but it could have been better.

Control: 2/10
The control of Evergrace does get the job done... but is subpar at best. Everytime you swing your sword it feel rather chunky. And while it may be more reallictic, haing to stop running to charge stamina can prove to be ever so tedious. Casting spells can be slow and miss entirely by the time they are complete. Some times your character may step right off a ledge to his or her death by accident due to clunky controls. This was a major annoyance that stopped me from enjoying my game.

Enviroment:1/10
One thing I absolutely hated about this game was the enviroments in itself. They were very linear and repetitive with no secrets or interesting bits inside. Everything is also wide open with very little in it. Its almost as if they made it by spending 5 minutes in a create-an-enviroment program and then copied and pasted for a good while then made an exist to another repetitve enviroment. As for atmosphere its all very bland, with very little excitement at all. This is another major factor preventing total enjoyment.

Extras: 6/10
One of the very good things about Evergrace that prevents it from being a total shambles is the shop that can be found in your save crystal. The shopkeeper provides quirky remarks and has a arsenal line to make any warrior be in heaven. Hours upon hours can be spent here even with extra monster cards to view information on all the monsters you have defeated. Weapons here can also be comical, even a pumpkin is for sale to wear on your head as protection. Great weapons are also available and can be upgraded twice to make you a supreme killing machine capable of taking down the toughest opponents. And as your weapon is upgraded, new spells also come availabe to size down the competition. Lots of nice goodies in the shop make it worth it to kill all the dull and uncreative foes you may encounter.

Difficulty: 1/10
For any experianced gamer looking for a challenge, prepare for a great disappointment. This game is a cinch to beat, most especially if you have all the weapons and spells that you may need. Enemy AI is very poor and you can easilly outsmart any creature you may come across. Diversity is also not a strong point as a lot of times you will be put in the same situation time and time again with it only growing easier as you go along.

Replay:1/10
After you beat this game there is a good chance you'll never want to play it again.

Character Models: 6/10
The characters are good I must admit that. They are fun and unique and with all the different armor to buy, you can make them look like almost anything you want. Whether is be and flaming torch like physique, or a pumpkin head joke... they can be vry nice to look at.

Sound: 1/10
There is little to no music in this game and it is another very repetitive element to the game. If I were you, I'd prefer to turn the TV volume down and crank the stereo while playing the game. Voice overs are also poor, you can hardly tell any personality behind it. That is another major flaw in this game... personality. Everything is so robotic-like its hard to tell if anything is going on at all and it does very little to make you feel a part of the experience.

Rent or Buy?
I'd rent first to see if this game is your cup of tea. If it is then by all means buy it. Also I suppose if this game is on for sale around 9 or so bucks it would be a good buy. But anything more than that... just stay away.

Pros-
- Two Characters to choose from
- Two quests to see.
- Fun shopping.
- Plenty of weapons to choose from.

Cons-
- Horrible control.
- Dull and bland enviroments.
- Lacks personality.
- Fails to bring you into the story.

Overall: I give this game a 4/10. It wasn't absolutely bad, just close to it. You may want to check out the likes of Legaia 2: Duel Saga, Wild Arms 3, or Final Fantasy X instead on the Playstation 2. Thanks for the time.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/03