X-Factor

It’s a good time to be an RPG fan. Last year, the releases of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind® Game of the Year Edition andStar Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™ gave loyalists plenty of quests to keep them busy through the dark days of winter. And, this year, it seems this run of quality gaming isn’t over yet. Aside from the highly anticipated Fable, due out later this year, there’s another kid on the block looking for some much deserved attention. Allow me to introduce you to Sudeki™, the Japanese anime-inspired roleplaying game from UK developer Climax, soon to be published by Microsoft Game Studios.

Sudeki starts off with Tal, a young strapping lad with a sizable sword slung on his back. He begins the day with a routine assignment from the castle guards: Pick up a map and meet the other men to take care of a little “problem” outside. After exploring the courtyard and chatting with a few folks, he meets up with the other soldiers and finds himself suddenly thrust into battle with a host of unsavory foes. Tal must fight long and hard, through wave upon wave of Aklorian baddies, before finding the true nature of his first quest: to find and escort the princess Ailish back to the city.

Okay … Who wants some?

We were lucky enough to get our grubby mitts on a preview build of Sudeki, just in advance of E3. By the end of our first play session, we were experiencing an odd glow. No, it wasn’t TV radiation, but rather a sense of happy optimism. So far, it looks like this game has the magic to stand out.

The first thing we noticed was Sudeki’s unique look. It’s clearly evident that the game’s art was inspired by way of Japan. Each high-poly player model sports detailed textures, funky hairdos, and over-the-top weaponry. At the same time, the castle and countryside environments reminded us of a fairy tale version of England. Liberal usage of particle effects brought the world alive, as gently falling leaves and large pollen spores fell around our onscreen characters. The effect was so mesmerizing that we almost reached for the allergy spray.

Sudeki boasts some gorgeous … er … views.

No RPG would be fun without a little combat, and as it stands, there’s plenty to be had in Sudeki. Each character in the game has his or her own fighting specialty. Tal is a warrior through and through. He boasts a range of attack combinations that, when used properly, can lay waste to hordes of attackers. By default, he fights in third-person mode.

Ailish, on the other hand, is the frail sort. She’s dainty and prissy—and one of the sexist videogame characters we’ve ever seen. She wouldn’t dream of breaking a nail in a fight, so instead, her attacks come from spells and ranged magical weapons. At this point, the view switches to first-person view for some down and dirty shooter action.

“What? First-person shooter?” you might ask. That was our initial impression, too, as we definitely weren’t expecting it. But, it proved to be an interesting gameplay twist. After the initial shock wears off, you’ll start to notice how the first-person mode makes sense. Movement and aiming for ranged attacks was far more precise in first-person mode. While in first-person, we could keep our distance and circle-strafe a group of monsters, while letting Tal move in to chop up the herd. The best part of the setup was the fact that you can switch party members on the fly for real-time butt stomping. You can access up to four spells and potions instantly by mapping them to the D pad. Everything else must be done through the inventory menu, which is intuitively mapped to the Y button.

Four characters, four styles of combat.

The other two characters, Elco and Buki, are also an interesting pair. Elco is a nerdy gadget fiend, preoccupied with rocket packs and pistols, whereas Buki is a feisty Martial Arts master. Like with the first pair, the former specializes in ranged attacks, while the latter gets up close and personal in a fight.

Knowing the role of each party member—and using them effectively—will separate the heroes from the wannabes amongSudeki players. Half the fun we had was in switching characters and figuring out their fight styles. (Wait until you see some of Ailish’s powerful spells … hoo boy!)

By the time we were done playing, we already wanted more. Thankfully, the wait shouldn’t be too much longer.

By Jim W. Gettys