Spring Break
New RPG installment boasts large replay value
Kate Ericson
Issue date: 1/13/06 Section: Entertainment
Wild Arms Alter Code: F is an RPG for the PS2 that places the player in the land of Filgaia, a Wild West meets sci-fi realm, as a wanderer with a gun. There is a big emphasis on character backgrounds (There's not one, not two, but three prologues to go through before the game starts.) which combined with a couple of plot twists, make the game a great play.
While closeups of characters, usually triggered during events in towns, are a bit blocky, the graphics are decent overall. The soundtrack is a bit quirky, not something deep and moving that requires a full orchestra to properly pay it tribute, and gives the vague sense of being in the Wild West, or at least Firefly. It also has a beautiful opening sequence that runs every time you start up a game (Luckily you can skip it.), which is the opening for the anime series.
The view of the team in world map and towns is handled well: One active character handles interactions while the rest are invisible so there's no tail of people running after the main character at all times. Conversations will often yield different results depending on who the active character is. This is relatively cool but tedious as the party grows, since there's always a chance something vital will be missed if every single character in your party doesn't speak to every nonplayable character.
The battle flow is smooth with a respectable interface. An interesting difference from the norm is that while fighting, everyone is moving. The conflicting parties start off with the traditional opposing lines, but characters will move not only to attack, but will circle enemies while waiting for their turn as well. There is even a rumored combo attack which can be pulled off in battle when the characters are lined up correctly. Perhaps the planets need to be properly aligned as well, since I haven't managed to make it happen.
Alter Codeq has also added an interesting twist to party management: When there are more than 3 characters, they continue to stay with the main character at all times. This does add an interesting dynamic to battle. While there is the traditional initial row of three, additional party members will act as benchwarmers. During any move, a character on the front line can be interchanged with another character on the back line. When a character is in the front they attack normally, and when in the back, characters use up vitality points to heal themselves.
In Alter Code, dungeon dynamics are a bit different than what is found in the average RPG. Truth be told, it gives off a bit of a Zelda vibe. In every dungeon, there are multiple puzzles that can only be solved by manipulating the environment with party members. A lot of the time, it's a simple puzzle where the main difficulty is figuring out the correct person to use to get across a gap or something similar. Other times the puzzle exists on a grander scale, and it's far more difficult to advance. Luckily, the game designers were nice enough to ensure that no monster attacks occur while the player is struggling through the tougher puzzles.
The bane of any RPGer's existence is the endless random encounters. Alter Code offers a solution to this problem, migrant seals. These are found throughout the game and are automatically equipped. Every time another seal is found, it is combined with the current seal and raises the level of the main migrant seal. Migrant seals use up charge to avoid monster attacks, limiting the amount of battles that can be avoided before it needs to be recharged, which occurs every time the party willingly enters into battle with monsters. There are, however, some battles that cannot be avoided with a migrant seal. This happens for boss battles and when the party is ambushed. It just wouldn't be fair to the monsters if every fight could be avoided. When this happens, the seal is not recharged.
The only real downside to the seal solution is that the ability to avoid a battle is based upon how many migrant seals are found during the game, not the characters' levels. If gamers aren't diligent in collecting them, they'll end up in areas where random battles can't be avoided, while the battles are so far below the party's abilities that the game slows to a crawl. The opposite is also true, when enough migrant seals have been found to avoid many battles in the area, preventing characters from becoming strong enough to compete against the monsters.
The absolute worst part of Wild Arms Alter Code: F is the inability to run. Having characters leisurely strolling about can be painful in and of itself, but when a timer is suddenly introduced, e.g. five minutes to escape, you quickly hit the point of screaming obscenities at your console. The closest to a run is the dash command, which locks characters into a head on rush, during which they can't change directions. It also requires a brief warm up and cool down time, so unless characters need to travel far in a straight line, it's often more of a hindrance than a help.
All in all, Wild Arms Alter Code: F is worth the buy. The occasional mind-warping annoyance that occurs because of a timer and the inability to run is far outbalanced by the game play. It also has a high replay value with hundreds of side quests, puzzles and hidden areas that you don't need to deal with if you're just looking to complete the game, but are still fun to find and complete.
--
Wild Arms Alter Code:F
4/5 Triangles
Playstation 2
Role-playing
Publisher: Agetec, Inc.
Developer: SCE!
While closeups of characters, usually triggered during events in towns, are a bit blocky, the graphics are decent overall. The soundtrack is a bit quirky, not something deep and moving that requires a full orchestra to properly pay it tribute, and gives the vague sense of being in the Wild West, or at least Firefly. It also has a beautiful opening sequence that runs every time you start up a game (Luckily you can skip it.), which is the opening for the anime series.
The view of the team in world map and towns is handled well: One active character handles interactions while the rest are invisible so there's no tail of people running after the main character at all times. Conversations will often yield different results depending on who the active character is. This is relatively cool but tedious as the party grows, since there's always a chance something vital will be missed if every single character in your party doesn't speak to every nonplayable character.
The battle flow is smooth with a respectable interface. An interesting difference from the norm is that while fighting, everyone is moving. The conflicting parties start off with the traditional opposing lines, but characters will move not only to attack, but will circle enemies while waiting for their turn as well. There is even a rumored combo attack which can be pulled off in battle when the characters are lined up correctly. Perhaps the planets need to be properly aligned as well, since I haven't managed to make it happen.
Alter Codeq has also added an interesting twist to party management: When there are more than 3 characters, they continue to stay with the main character at all times. This does add an interesting dynamic to battle. While there is the traditional initial row of three, additional party members will act as benchwarmers. During any move, a character on the front line can be interchanged with another character on the back line. When a character is in the front they attack normally, and when in the back, characters use up vitality points to heal themselves.
In Alter Code, dungeon dynamics are a bit different than what is found in the average RPG. Truth be told, it gives off a bit of a Zelda vibe. In every dungeon, there are multiple puzzles that can only be solved by manipulating the environment with party members. A lot of the time, it's a simple puzzle where the main difficulty is figuring out the correct person to use to get across a gap or something similar. Other times the puzzle exists on a grander scale, and it's far more difficult to advance. Luckily, the game designers were nice enough to ensure that no monster attacks occur while the player is struggling through the tougher puzzles.
The bane of any RPGer's existence is the endless random encounters. Alter Code offers a solution to this problem, migrant seals. These are found throughout the game and are automatically equipped. Every time another seal is found, it is combined with the current seal and raises the level of the main migrant seal. Migrant seals use up charge to avoid monster attacks, limiting the amount of battles that can be avoided before it needs to be recharged, which occurs every time the party willingly enters into battle with monsters. There are, however, some battles that cannot be avoided with a migrant seal. This happens for boss battles and when the party is ambushed. It just wouldn't be fair to the monsters if every fight could be avoided. When this happens, the seal is not recharged.
The only real downside to the seal solution is that the ability to avoid a battle is based upon how many migrant seals are found during the game, not the characters' levels. If gamers aren't diligent in collecting them, they'll end up in areas where random battles can't be avoided, while the battles are so far below the party's abilities that the game slows to a crawl. The opposite is also true, when enough migrant seals have been found to avoid many battles in the area, preventing characters from becoming strong enough to compete against the monsters.
The absolute worst part of Wild Arms Alter Code: F is the inability to run. Having characters leisurely strolling about can be painful in and of itself, but when a timer is suddenly introduced, e.g. five minutes to escape, you quickly hit the point of screaming obscenities at your console. The closest to a run is the dash command, which locks characters into a head on rush, during which they can't change directions. It also requires a brief warm up and cool down time, so unless characters need to travel far in a straight line, it's often more of a hindrance than a help.
All in all, Wild Arms Alter Code: F is worth the buy. The occasional mind-warping annoyance that occurs because of a timer and the inability to run is far outbalanced by the game play. It also has a high replay value with hundreds of side quests, puzzles and hidden areas that you don't need to deal with if you're just looking to complete the game, but are still fun to find and complete.
--
Wild Arms Alter Code:F
4/5 Triangles
Playstation 2
Role-playing
Publisher: Agetec, Inc.
Developer: SCE!
Be the first to comment on this story