Tactics Ogre

"A very good game. It kept me busy for a long time."

Tactics Ogre. When you first hear that you think to yourself, ''This is just another rip-off of Final Fantasy Tactics.'' This is purely incorrect. Tactics Ogre is longer and IMO, better than Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics Ogre is a strategy game like FFT, but the story, characters, sidequests, everything is different. Tactics Ogre provides many different sidequests including a 100-floor basement, a sidequests to get a gunner, and many more. Tactics Ogre is definitely a keeper!

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics in TO are simply amazing! the characters look real on the battlefield and on the edit screen, the artist did an excellent job. The map could have been a little more 3D, but that was pretty good nonetheless. The landscape is very good as well.

Sound: 9/10
The sound was also very good. The sound for different battles makes for a good tone of variety. I would have liked to have different music on the map and on the edit more as you get further into the game, but it was enjoyable anyway. I really liked the battle sound after you win a battle, and Eden's music was good as well.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is usually an important part of a game, and this proved to be great in that. TO is a non-linear game, which gives the gamer a choice what he wants to do. Some choices are useless, some turn the game upside down. (Or rightside up.) You can have as many as 30 people, 3X as many as you need at one point, which can make or break a situation. The onyl thing stopping it from gettign a 10 is its challenge. The game is nearly impossible to beat, but can be won with time, patience, and a good mind of strategy. The gameplay deserves the rating it has.

Control: 3/5
Although control can make or break a game as well, this game doesn' apply too much. The control can be very hard when you start out, and you can accidently select a command you didn't want in battle, which can cause a problem. Once you get used to the control though, it's pretty easy.

Storyline: 10/10
Teh storyline portion is oen of the best parts. It has a long stoyline with a few different endings, depending on the way you completed the game. There are a few diferent storylines, which you can go back to with the Warren Report. You can see the Dark Knights, Denim's, Kachua's, etc.

Overall: 10/10 (Average: 41/45)
By average, this game deserves a 9, but how I feel about the game prevents me. This is truly a great game. It's nto a rip-off of FFT. In fact, It's the other way around.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/27/01, Updated 10/27/01