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IGN Review of Spectral Force 3
Some games try to earn your adoration through flashy graphics. Others go for innovative and thought-provoking gameplay. Then there are games like Spectral Force 3 which offer nothing. Here, the standard fantasy turn-based role-playing mechanics are wrapped in a package that only a mother could love. Atlus and company clearly didn't invest much time making this game. Neither should you invest any playing it.
Spectral Force 3 is a turn-based strategy RPG in the vein of Shining Force or Final Fantasy Tactics, but don't let that heralded lineage trick you into thinking this game is of the same caliber. It merely offers gameplay that is similar to those classics on the most basic level and then fails to execute on the follow through. That basic gameplay involves taking a squad of up to six characters onto a grid-based battlefield and then moving them about in a chess-meets-RPG fight for supremacy.
Aside from standard attacks, Spectral Force 3 adds team assist and specialty skills that must be used to turn the tide in battles against armies that invariably outnumber your small squad of heroes. The environmental interaction is light (explosive barrels and magic tiles are about the extent), as is the challenge. Occasionally you'll come across a battle that is tough, but it's rarely because you aren't using proper strategy. The key to victory is simply to go back and replay some old stages to level up your squad and get some new equipment. It's nothing mind blowing, but it works and will fit the needs of fans of this sort of gameplay.
Hardcore strategy RPG players will tell you that the graphics in these old-school games don't matter. That may be true for some, but it's hard not to be extremely disappointed by the visuals in Spectral Force 3. While playing the game in the office, over a dozen other editors walked by and asked when this was coming out for Xbox Live Arcade. The thought that it was a retail release never crossed their minds. It looks like a PlayStation 2 game scaled up to run in HD. And that's putting it politely. Even worse is the sound work. The voice work is at times passable, but the music sounds like a Casio keyboard loop and the effects are total garbage.
Though the graphics are downright poor for an Xbox 360 game, the bigger issue with Spectral Force 3 is the presentation. The visuals could, with the right frame of mind, be glossed over. However, it's tough to ignore the sloppy work done putting context to the game. Typos and menus with text bleeding off of the edges are the beginning, but far from the end. Even with nothing of note going on, the reviewable copy of the game crashed on me more than a few times. The story is almost non-existent for much of the game. You're a mercenary and you fight things while a war goes on around you, as shown in the game by a static map with some laughable clashing sword icons. Battles are selected from a list with a brief text description -- there's no world to travel around and explore.
The character leveling and recruitment features are by far the most engaging aspect to an otherwise shoddy game. Crafting items with materials found on the field, outfitting your squad, choosing how to distribute points upon leveling up and completing missions to expand your crew are decent fun, even if most of it simply involves selecting things from lists.
Spectral Force 3 is a long game, but not thanks to any hard work by the developer. The handful of maps is reused often and missions begin to repeat with the only difference being higher level enemies. Though the game ostensibly offers up mercenary work for a number of different factions, the jobs are often copied and pasted across factions to give the illusion of each having its own set. A good number of the missions feel repetitive or generic and offer nothing but filler. The entire game just feels slow and plodding, devoid of any real ideas.
©2008-08-04, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Spectral Force 3 is a turn-based strategy RPG in the vein of Shining Force or Final Fantasy Tactics, but don't let that heralded lineage trick you into thinking this game is of the same caliber. It merely offers gameplay that is similar to those classics on the most basic level and then fails to execute on the follow through. That basic gameplay involves taking a squad of up to six characters onto a grid-based battlefield and then moving them about in a chess-meets-RPG fight for supremacy.
Aside from standard attacks, Spectral Force 3 adds team assist and specialty skills that must be used to turn the tide in battles against armies that invariably outnumber your small squad of heroes. The environmental interaction is light (explosive barrels and magic tiles are about the extent), as is the challenge. Occasionally you'll come across a battle that is tough, but it's rarely because you aren't using proper strategy. The key to victory is simply to go back and replay some old stages to level up your squad and get some new equipment. It's nothing mind blowing, but it works and will fit the needs of fans of this sort of gameplay.
Hardcore strategy RPG players will tell you that the graphics in these old-school games don't matter. That may be true for some, but it's hard not to be extremely disappointed by the visuals in Spectral Force 3. While playing the game in the office, over a dozen other editors walked by and asked when this was coming out for Xbox Live Arcade. The thought that it was a retail release never crossed their minds. It looks like a PlayStation 2 game scaled up to run in HD. And that's putting it politely. Even worse is the sound work. The voice work is at times passable, but the music sounds like a Casio keyboard loop and the effects are total garbage.
Though the graphics are downright poor for an Xbox 360 game, the bigger issue with Spectral Force 3 is the presentation. The visuals could, with the right frame of mind, be glossed over. However, it's tough to ignore the sloppy work done putting context to the game. Typos and menus with text bleeding off of the edges are the beginning, but far from the end. Even with nothing of note going on, the reviewable copy of the game crashed on me more than a few times. The story is almost non-existent for much of the game. You're a mercenary and you fight things while a war goes on around you, as shown in the game by a static map with some laughable clashing sword icons. Battles are selected from a list with a brief text description -- there's no world to travel around and explore.
The character leveling and recruitment features are by far the most engaging aspect to an otherwise shoddy game. Crafting items with materials found on the field, outfitting your squad, choosing how to distribute points upon leveling up and completing missions to expand your crew are decent fun, even if most of it simply involves selecting things from lists.
Spectral Force 3 is a long game, but not thanks to any hard work by the developer. The handful of maps is reused often and missions begin to repeat with the only difference being higher level enemies. Though the game ostensibly offers up mercenary work for a number of different factions, the jobs are often copied and pasted across factions to give the illusion of each having its own set. A good number of the missions feel repetitive or generic and offer nothing but filler. The entire game just feels slow and plodding, devoid of any real ideas.
©2008-08-04, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved