Soul Nomad and the World Eaters review (PS2)

Good and evil - the age old conflict between black and white, Holmes and Moriarty, Middlesbrough and Newcastle.

Man seemingly has a big ol' obsession with the concept and it continues to be a major factor in a number of games releases.

However, over the years it has become of increasing interest to games developers to blur the edges in terms of the issue.

Experienced gamers have played the role of 'the goodie' so long that they need something else to get their teeth into, the chance to be a bad 'un.

Koei would probably like you to believe that Soul Nomad and the World Eaters is one of the best examples of this new breed of game.

A role-player, the title sees you thrust into an ancient world where fierce, unstoppable creatures roam and threaten to destroy mankind.

You are given the task of leading a small group of warriors to battle against the monsters, but that's not all.

As the hero, you are also carrying the soul of an undead warrior, who also happens to be the Daddy Cool of the aforementioned monsters and the only person who knows how to kill them (yes, yes, I know I said they were unstoppable, so I lied).

While he wants to help you, he also wants your body too (<.b>oo-er, missus - Carry On Ed). Cue much inner turmoil that may appeal to 'emo' types.

All of this information leads me conveniently to my first point about this game. I've managed to relay the story of the game within around 100 words.

Unfortunately, the game begins with a cut-scene which feels like it goes on for ten minutes. In addition, there's no mean and moody narration, just a bunch of oversized words on the screen.

Add to that the poor quality of the opening scene's graphics and you really don't feel overly immersed in the story, just bemused by pompous words like 'clarion vesper' and 'behemoths'.

Unfortunately, the quality of the graphics doesn't ever improve. While I'm fully aware that the PlayStation 2 is not HAL, I still expect a bit more than 2D scrolling from a game released in 2008. Some people may find the arcadey, old school feel of the game's look endearing, but others (no naming names, but me) may just be a tad underwhelmed.

With general quality lacking in the game's graphics, you tend to look for it in the other key facets of a release - namely gameplay and story.

In terms of the former, the game is a relatively awkward and rather boring affair. Outside of the battles which dominate, scenes offer little or any chance for a player to really get involved in the action. In fact, you just spend your time pressing X to cut past all the dull conversations you have to endure.

In the battles, things don't get any more exciting. Options for modifying your squads of warriors are difficult to get to grips with.

In addition, players taking part in fights just have to select their options in terms of how they most want to damage their opponents and that is it.

While some people may really enjoy this type of tactical adventure, the saner ones among us are more likely to just find it uninvolving. However, things really pick up later on in terms of plot.

Only kidding - as with the overlong intro, the game is just so snail-paced that it never pulls a player in. A host of characters are met on the journey but you never really end up caring about them.

Plus, when given choices to affect the outcome of the story, cut-scenes are generally not accompanied by any visuals. The game just ends up looking, well, very poor.

Even the opportunity of turning to the 'dark side' isn't so fun, as you are warned through a handy logo (i.e. a skull and cross bones icon) if a step you take will result in game over. There's no chance to live a little and take a gamble.

All in all, Soul Nomad is disappointing in almost every way. Gameplay is so limited that it doesn't touch upon the capabilities that even the PS2 has, while visually it feels dated and uninspiring.

In all honesty, if you're desperate for a PS2 game which sees you pitted against giant monsters, buy the action-packed Shadow of the Colossus. Only a select few with a real love of this kind of tactical role-playing genre are likely to find anything here worth shouting about.

3/10

Rob 'Pogatetz' Dixon