Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King

"Bad AI Lets Down the Promising Game"

Review - Lupin the Third: Treasure of the Sorcerer King

Lupin the Third: Treasure of the Sorcerer King is a game that is based on the famous Anime Series Lupin the Third - which is a cult hit in Japan and in many parts of the world. Lupin is a world-class thief who is like a mix between James Bond (in gadgetry and esponaige) and Robin Hood, and he attempts to steal important artifacts with his sidekicks, the samurai Goemon, and Jigan an expert with guns. on the otherside there are the usual Inspector Zenigata who pursues Lupin with a zeal (though never successful) and Fumiko who stole both Lupin's Heart and treasure :P

This game is based on that anime series with all the major characters making a return to the game, and a host of new characters as well.

Convertion from Anime to Game - 10/10
Most games that are converted from Anime or Movies to game tend to lose their character. However from this conversation, all the characters are converted well, including some rather good voice-acting, making this game feel alot like the anime series, though interactive and in 3D :)

Game Idea - 9/10
Good idea for making this game, I won't devulge much in the plot, but the B-Grade style gaming plot using Lupin the Third Character is interesting. A very interesting thing you can do is to pretend you are a statue by imitating a statue in front of you which makes this game really funny. We can also steal items from guards which is a huge part of the etc. or gallery that we can access when we finish the game.

Also we can disguise ourselves in different costumes making esponaige alot easier :)

Game Mechanics/Balance/GamePlay - 5/10
Unfortunately one of the biggest let down of this game is from a few major points. The gameplay itself is an action game with a number of predefined simple puzzles. Most of these puzzles are simple and can use randomness to solve. In some examples, the solutions aren't as obvious and we can spend hours or days literally trying to find some solutions out - in some cases the clues were not placed as obvious, or we didn't look around carefully. Also most of the interesting gadgets are used only 1-2 times a game, that is a let down with all the potential with all the gadgetry in our arsenal.

The major drawback of this game however came from the fact that the AI for this Game needs a rework. All game characters such as police and soldiers in the game have the same AI template. The problem with the AI is that these characters will first be surprised when Lupin is in the field of vision. If Lupin engages in a salute, the AI would then yawn, believing we are working with them. The problem is that if we move behind the AI, and then back in front, the AI will no longer recognize us, requiring us to make repeated salutes on various AI that are scattered along the layer. This would be a major irritation from the start of the game until the end of it - so any game player that wants to enjoy this game has to make peace with this.

Graphics - 7.5/10
The major characters are modeled very well, though the stage may be rather plain and uninspired.

Music/Sound Effect/Voice Acting - 9/10
The music is a mix between lounge/jazz/classical music and if you like these themes, then you'll rather enjoy the music. A mix of pop/rock influence is there in more action oriented times, in overall good music.

The voice acting are done also well, I really like how they did the voice overs on Inspector Zenigata for the English version.

Replayability 6/10
As mentioned earlier, we can pickpocket guards that will give us various items - most of them are useless - though they are collectibles that we see at the end of the game in the gallery. The only replay value here is to go back and get everything - which isn't much of a inspiration considering the game is linear.

Overall - 7/10
Overall Lupin the Third is a very promising game that could have been one of the best games around, but rather let down by some Bad AI . For fans of this series, this game is still a must play, though if you are not familar with the series, this game would be much on the lower scale.

Other notes:
Playing Time: About 1 day to finish this game
Learning Curve: Beginner - Intermediate (1 hours to grasp most of the concepts)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/08/04