PSX! - GAMES OUT NOW NEWS (WEEK 44) Part 2
Vandal Hearts
I'm usually content with a good shooter when it comes time to turn on the old Saturn or Playstation. A shooter is primal in its simplicity. Go out and shoot down a lot of metal. Its brutal, quick and everything is forgotten when you tap the power button off. Then there are times when the adventurer in me foregoes the simple stuff and jets into quest mode; off in some medieval land in search of treasure and the usual hack and slash.
Vandal Hearts fulfills this need and then some. The first thing you will notice about Vandal Hearts once the introduction plays through is that it has some exquisite graphics. The scenery is finely detailed and colored brightly. Everything looks so good that you can't help but get drawn into the game.
The premise of the game has you as an adventurer in search of a legendary sword. The sword is displayed prominently in the beginning introduction of the game and it is the reason why you will be going off, risking life and limb to procure it. You also have a party of adventurers along with you who provide dialogue and some conflict which adds to the issues that you will have to deal with in the game in order to be successful.
The game is viewed from a 3-D isometric view which you can pan and move around to your liking. In some battles, the prominent trees or other terrain may obscure your view of your adversaries but you can pan the camera around to your liking. The game itself will usually move the camera to the best angle which means that it will move the camera so that all of the fighting units are in full view and not hidden by trees or structures. There are different levels of terrain that you can attack and defend from.
For example, on many outdoor scenes, you can climb up onto a ledge and then attack and defend from there. In some screens, there are up to four levels of terrain. Your adventurers have a variety of weapons to attack with and some can cast offensive spells at the enemies.
One cool little fighting tactic that is included in Vandal Hearts is the ability to set up booby traps against your enemies which added a great and innovative feature to this game.
The graphical effect is intense when one of your intended targets trips a booby-trap; he'll literally light up the screen. The fighting in Vandal Hearts is rendered in real time, with your characters slashing and hacking away to their hearts content.
The results of heavy sword slashes are very apparent, with blood spurting out from the victim's body in a jetting wave of red spray.
Fans of the strategy/exploration genre will undoubtedly find welcome solace in Vandal Hearts.
A USA release from Konami is not expected but a game of this caliber will undoubtedly receive some serious consideration for a stateside release.
