Spectral Force 3
Score: 60% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Atlus Developer: Idea Factory Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: Strategy/ RPG
Graphics & Sound: At best, Spectral Force 3's presentation is utilitarian. Both the visuals and audio aspects do what they need to do, but nothing about either stands out. Everything is incredibly bland and there's a distinct lack of personality, which is something Strategy RPGs sort of need if they want to grab the attention of a wider player base. As flawed as Operation Darkness was, it at least had enough personality that kept you playing just to see what would happen next. Spectral Force 3 doesn't benefit from the same safety net, and is a weaker game because of it. Character models are slightly better than some XBLA titles and the sound is composed of generic sounds, most of which don't even fit what is happening on the screen. There's no reason for a sword strike to sound like a bat hitting a tree.
Gameplay: The underlying concept behind Spectral Force 3 is kind of neat. All of the kingdoms in Neverland are at war with each other and, as a rag-tag band of mercenaries, you set out to take missions to help each kingdom's war effort. You're free to help out whatever kingdom you want and your actions will influence how the war plays out, in particular which kingdoms fall and which come out on top. However, the storytelling does nothing to build on the concept. There's no backstory to the conflict and nothing to make you want to take sides. Within the context of the game it works, since details like these probably wouldn't mean much to mercenaries, though from the player's perspective there's no attachment to the story or the characters. There's some back and forth dialogue between characters, but none of it adds anything to the experience. Missions are doled out either by the individual kingdoms or set off by your actions. Taking jobs from kingdoms is a good way to grind money and experience, though they are also the only way to advance the story since your ultimate goal is to help topple kingdoms. Whenever a kingdom falls, its heroes are scattered and, if you meet certain conditions, will join your party if you complete special missions. Unlocking new members is one of the game's better aspects. Requirements act like a small tactical puzzle that helps you decide which kingdom to help out since it is possible to lock yourself out of characters. The only drawback is the lack of information to help you make better choices. Regardless of what type of mission you choose, each plays out exactly the same. You take a small party into a mission and attempt to destroy the other side. Some missions mix up the goal and require you to survive a certain number of rounds or keep a character safe, but even then you're doing the same thing every mission. This is where the game's lack of personality really comes out. Unless you're really jazzed about unlocking new characters, which essentially breaks down to basic Achievement Whoring, there's very little to keep you motivated.
Difficulty: Spectral Force 3 is a fairly basic Strategy RPG, though even veterans of the genre will have issues. Missions are ranked, though anything over a Rank 2 mission becomes insanely hard for no apparent reason other than to be hard. You are limited to six characters while missions will routinely throw anywhere from 10 - 20 units at you in a single mission. Even when you think you've got a mission in hand, groups of enemies will magically teleport into the mission. It has its place in a few missions, but happens way too much to the point where it feels cheap. Spectral Force 3 isn't very player friendly either. In-game menus are little more than long lists that don't take the player into consideration. For example, there's no way to try equipment on before you buy it, and the list is unnecessarily long. If characters can only equip one piece of armor, there's no point to having items like shields and helmets. There's an attempt to justify it through a convoluted points system, but all it really does is limit what your characters can do in battle. As a result, characters can't be the Swiss Army Knives they need to be in battle, making missions even harder. The manual attempts to explain things, though you're often left to your own devices when trying to figure things out.
Game Mechanics: Battles are fairly interesting. Movement is grid-based, though instead of using the traditional "point and click" scheme, you direct characters with the Left Analog Stick. This offers a nice, tactile sense of movement that helps when setting up characters for Assist and Teamwork moves. Successfully landing blows in combat fills up a Rage Meter. During combat, you can either call nearby characters to assist in a battle or, if you have a full meter, grant an additional turn to one character. Both play into the Force Meter, which allows you to use Battle Formations. The system is another of the game's neat aspects, though it is crippled by limitations. You have to have six characters on the field to use Battle Formations and the Rage Meter doesn't fill up fast enough for it to be the equalizer it is meant to be. I really have to wonder if something like Spectral Force 3 wouldn't be better served as a downloadable title. There's no question that the game will find its audience, but there's nothing particularly interesting about the game to make it stand out on store shelves.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
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