A Review of Summoner
Feb. 19th, 2004 09:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lathanyI finished the game last night.
The best way to describe Summoner is to say that it gives the strong impression of still being a beta-test version. To start with, it crashed a total of five times on me (I've only seen the PS2 crash twice before in its entire history). Then there's the loading scene problem - it brought back memories of using a tape recorder with the ZX Spectrum (48K !). OK, the loading was only about 20-30 seconds a time (as opposed to the five minutes for the average The Hobbit game), but it's a real shock in a PS2 game. Besides, whilst waiting for new cities and things to load was bearable, waiting for random encounters in the wilderness just so wasn't. And, if that wasn't enough, the battle system had all sorts of bugs in it - you could often be kicked out of a chain sequence, some summons cancelled status effects and the sound effects died every so often.
Actual bugs aside, there were other problems. It's the sort of game which really should have come with a decent map. Half of the time, my biggest problem was working out which direction to go. Additionally, the fighting was a little on the dull side (as was choice of weapons, rings, etc) for a game that was really about fighting. Admittedly, the same could be said about some of the early Final Fantasys. And the less said about some of the camera angles, the better. Not to mention that the early scenes in the village gave me motion sickness (although, once I left the village, this stopped).
On the other hand, the plot was excellent, the sub-games enjoyable (eg. sneaking around the palace), the quests varied and the characters all had personality. The main city (Lenelle) really felt like a city; it had separate areas, plenty of people (all of whom you could talk to) and was absolutely huge. Additionally, like all of the main areas, Lenelle had a distinct and unique feel to it (although, I promise you, you'll hate the sewers by the end of the game).
Additionally, Summoner has the rare distinction of being a game whose encounters are balanced properly. From the starting sequences in the village to the very last boss fight, each battle could be won with what you had and no pointless levelling up was required (although this might also be because I completed a lot of quests).
And finally, the post-win piss-take FMV really has to be seen. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that they spent more money on that part than on all the game FMVs put together.
Next up could be Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy X-2 or Broken Sword : The Sleeping Dragon. But probably not today (we have a![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chrestomancy and an angry_marmot over for dinner).
The best way to describe Summoner is to say that it gives the strong impression of still being a beta-test version. To start with, it crashed a total of five times on me (I've only seen the PS2 crash twice before in its entire history). Then there's the loading scene problem - it brought back memories of using a tape recorder with the ZX Spectrum (48K !). OK, the loading was only about 20-30 seconds a time (as opposed to the five minutes for the average The Hobbit game), but it's a real shock in a PS2 game. Besides, whilst waiting for new cities and things to load was bearable, waiting for random encounters in the wilderness just so wasn't. And, if that wasn't enough, the battle system had all sorts of bugs in it - you could often be kicked out of a chain sequence, some summons cancelled status effects and the sound effects died every so often.
Actual bugs aside, there were other problems. It's the sort of game which really should have come with a decent map. Half of the time, my biggest problem was working out which direction to go. Additionally, the fighting was a little on the dull side (as was choice of weapons, rings, etc) for a game that was really about fighting. Admittedly, the same could be said about some of the early Final Fantasys. And the less said about some of the camera angles, the better. Not to mention that the early scenes in the village gave me motion sickness (although, once I left the village, this stopped).
On the other hand, the plot was excellent, the sub-games enjoyable (eg. sneaking around the palace), the quests varied and the characters all had personality. The main city (Lenelle) really felt like a city; it had separate areas, plenty of people (all of whom you could talk to) and was absolutely huge. Additionally, like all of the main areas, Lenelle had a distinct and unique feel to it (although, I promise you, you'll hate the sewers by the end of the game).
Additionally, Summoner has the rare distinction of being a game whose encounters are balanced properly. From the starting sequences in the village to the very last boss fight, each battle could be won with what you had and no pointless levelling up was required (although this might also be because I completed a lot of quests).
And finally, the post-win piss-take FMV really has to be seen. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that they spent more money on that part than on all the game FMVs put together.
Next up could be Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy X-2 or Broken Sword : The Sleeping Dragon. But probably not today (we have a
chrestomancy and an angry_marmot over for dinner).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Brilliant
Easily better than the actual game, as far as I can see !
no subject
Date: 2004-02-19 11:15 pm (UTC)The question is:
Is making the decision about which game to play next as much fun as playing the games?
Eal.
Re:
Date: 2004-02-20 12:20 am (UTC)Not unless the game falls below "enjoyable".
Which Game?
Date: 2004-02-20 01:37 am (UTC)And there's always FFXI, of course... :)
Re: Which Game?
Date: 2004-02-20 03:08 am (UTC)Although if it contains spoilers then I'll read it after I've finished the game.