Game review: Eye of Judgment Legends - Sony PSP (From News Shopper)

Game review: Eye of Judgment Legends - Sony PSP

4:24pm Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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Eye of Judgment: Legends isn’t the coolest game to come out for Sony PSP.

Its mix of chess-like strategy, fantasy creatures and trading cards is hardly at the cutting edge of gaming culture.

But despite (or maybe because of) its inherent geekiness, this still manages to be an enjoyable tactical turn-based battle game – enjoyable but complex.

The game pitches you into action as a wizard recruited to rid a kingdom of dark evil forces. Or something like that anyway.

EoJ takes its sweet time getting going, with lots of text outlining the largely nonsensical plot.

Eventually you get your first taste of combat, and this is where the game becomes fun.

Battling foes involves entering into a duel which takes place on a board formed of nine squares.

You and your opponent each have a deck of 30 cards, and each player draws a hand of five cards to start the contest.

On each turn players place a card from their hand on to one of the squares.

The cards feature mythical creatures and monsters such as goblins, dwarves, dragons, mages and warriors. When played, a card will attack nearby enemy cards, reducing their hit points. Each card has its own strengths and attack range.

There are also magical spell cards which can be played during the clash to unleash various abilities.

Every creature belongs to one of five races – earth, water, fire, wood and a fifth one called Bioleth. Each square of the board is linked to one of these elements and cards behave differently depending on where they’re placed.

Each card requires a certain amount of mana before it can be played. At the start of a turn your mana supply is recharged by two points and you also get to draw a new card from your deck.

The aim on each turn is to place your card so it does maximum damage to your opponents’ cards, while also protecting your own. When a card’s hit points are wiped out it’s removed from the board.

Ultimately the aim is to win the duel, and this happens when you occupy five of the nine squares with your cards.

There are a lot of things to consider with each turn. For example, you select which direction your creatures face, which has a direct bearing on their attacks.

Also, placing monsters of certain races on particular squares has a major effect on the duel’s result. At some points during battles you can flip or transform squares so they show a different element.

These and other consideration result in the strategy needed to win a duel being surprisingly deep.

The practise of placing cards on to a board could be very static and flat but some nice visual and sound effects add flair to proceedings.

After each duel you are awarded new cards to use in future battles and you also get gold based on your performance.

Gold can be used in the card shop where you can pick up new creatures and spells. Gradually you can refine your deck of cards to suit your own style of play and preferred tactics during duels. There are more than 300 cards in the game overall.

The story progresses through a series of battles interlaced with chunks of plot played out through text cutscenes featuring gorgeous comic book-style hand-drawn images.

Away from the main story you can play one-off duels against computer opponents to hone your skills, and you can also fight against other human players, including the trading of cards wirelessly from one PSP to another.

It would be harsh to say Eye of Judgment only has niche appeal but it’s certainly not a game which is going to interest everyone.

The core gameplay will be enough to turn some people off. Playing make-believe battles using virtual trading cards and working out if your Hellfire Spitter can take out your opponent’s Elven Berserker Maiden may be just a little too nerdy for some.

The pace of the game and its rather steep learning curve may also prove to be frustrating hurdles for some players.

A little like chess, leaning the basic moves is one thing but mastering when to play those moves is quite another. You need to employ some forward planning and also understand the repercussions of your actions because what looks like a killer move can come back to bite you.

Eye of Judgment is complicated and demanding. All the cards have various properties and abilities and only when you’ve spent time getting to know these will you begin to appreciate the finer points of the game.

I’d hardly call myself an expert at this game after the time I’ve had with it, but I’ve gradually become more skilled the more I’ve played it.

In the beginning I was often scratching my head and wondering what just happened after cards were played.

You’ll need some perseverance to stick with this game, though its lack of accessibility early on may prevent some players getting too far into it.

There is definitely fun to be had here, you just have to look for it and be prepared to put in some time, taking some defeats while you get used to the game’s intricacies.

Despite some frustrations I’ve found Eye of Judgment: Legends to be a game worth sticking with. But then I am a geek.

If you like deep strategy, if you have a penchant for fantasy creatures and if you don’t care about being uncool you’ll find a lot to like in this game.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10 – Despite being tricky to play and despite appealing to a limited audience, Eye of Judgment: Legends is still a decent portable battle game.