Dark Cloud - the PS2 game series

Pal Version (UK & Europe)
Amazon.co.uk

Part worldbuilder, part RPG and part dungeon bash, this game is an interesting mix of elements and has enough complexity to keep most players intrigued.

The world has been destroyed by an evil genie and with the help of a large cast of supporting characters Toan, a young boy, must repair it. A fairy has hidden the parts of the world in "Atla" - small gems. Unfortunately these gems were scattered and lie within dungeons that the hero and his friends must fight their way through.

As far as world building goes, the rebuilding of the towns is innovative, but somewhat restrictive. Each house can only take certain parts, and you will be told by the people inside where it should be placed. The fishing subgame is a lot of fun, and can help you raise your weapons quickly. Unfortunately it can become tedious and discovering the right bait is purely trial and error.

The storyline is somewhat linear and there are few sidequests and subgames. However the cut sequences are well done, and the game holds your attention well. The characters are interesting, but to be honest, apart from one section at the end, you don't need all of them. I completed the game mainly using the hero and Xiao, his cat who was turned into a human early on. Although only one character can be onscreen at once, a nice touch is that if one character is KO'd another party member can take over, so you don't lose unless all your party members are incapacitated.

The weapons and weapon upgrade system is excellent. As weapons increase in power you can add gems and items to them to increases their ability, or turn a weapon into a gem to add a proportion of its strength (or special ability) to another weapon. Unfortunately weapons slowly lose stamina and when they break they are lost completely, very frustrating when you have spent time building it up, and the cause of several restarts when I was playing.

Graphically the game looks nice and the sound contributes to the feel. Unfortunately there are no voices, which is a disappointment. Somewhat more annoying is that the hero never "speaks", relying on mannerisms which do become slightly irritating. The control system is easy to pick up and the levels are laid out to avoid perspective issues. The level map is useful and unobtrusive, and the dungeons are randomly generated, giving the game a large replay value.

Dark Chronicle
Pal Version (UK & Europe)
Amazon.co.uk

Dark Chronicle is the sequel to Dark Cloud. There is one town left in the world which is slowly dying. Max, a young boy in the town, is plunged into the conflict when Monica, a princess from the future, arrives and reveals that the world is being destroyed to erase the future. Using resources gained from the dungeons and the town, Max and Monica attempt to rebuild the world in the present to allow the future to exist. Although there are only two playable characters, NPCs can join the party and provide special abilities. "Steve", Max's ridepod, is a welcome addition for levels where you need a tank (or just want to use one anyway).

Graphically, the game is stunning and done in a cartoon style and the cut sequences are excellent. The sound is superb, as are the voices, and the control and inventory systems are easy to use and master.

Storywise the game has a much wider feel than Dark Cloud, with a number of subquests. Max can take photographs of items and use them to create inventions, weapons and equipment. Monica can turn into monsters and talk to the dungeon creatures, an interesting ability (especially since it seems most monsters just complain). Fishing is back, but this time you can race them, breed them and cook them. Another welcome addition is "spheda" a form of golf played on dungeon levels where a small time distortion needs be knocked into the hole where it came from. Highly frustrating, but also engaging, this adds to the game's replay value.

The already-excellent weapons and weapon upgrade system has improved. As with Dark Cloud, as weapons increase in power you can add gems and items to them to increases their ability, or turn a weapon into a gem to add a proportion of its strength (or special ability) to another weapon. When a weapon runs out of stamina it cannot be used until repaired, but it is not lost, a vast improvement over the original game.

The world building system for towns is highly flexible and innovative. Each person will tell you what they want, but you need to get the raw materials together for it. Towns can have multiple layouts that meet everyone's requirements and can be customised completely. The game lets you jump between present and future to see the effects your changes to the present have on the future, and to use items from the future to guide what you need to do in the present.

The game balance has changed for the better. About 50% of the game takes place in dungeons, rather than the 90% of the original game. The rest takes place in towns, worldbuilding and doing sidequests. The dungeons are still random, but with the addition of challenges and spheda, you will find yourself going back to earlier levels to complete quests, which again increases replay value and makes the game more engaging.

The only flaws I can raise with this game are that Monica's monster-speech ability is only really useful once, and that the ridepod's voice unit can get annoying (I took it off shortly after buying it). Otherwise the game is excellent, innovative and well worth playing. Expect to devote a lot of time to this, especially with the bonus levels available once you have finished it. Dark Chronicle is suitable for almost everyone, although some quests may be too complex for younger gamers, and is a definite must-buy for RPG fans.