Sudeki - Hands On Preview

Sudeki is a game that's interested us since we its unveiling at last year's X02; in many respects this represents the epitome of the traditional Japanese style role playing game. Hints of Phantasy Star, Final Fantasy, Zelda, Secret of Mana, and innumerable other titles shows that Climax Brighton are getting their influences from some good places. Whilst a lot of their influences do come from Japan, this represents more than just trying to recreate a style of game that has been done so well in that land, indeed it appears Climax are bringing a lot to the table themselves.<br><br>This could represent one of the finest fusions of Eastern and Western game design we've had the pleasure of playing. And it has funny German accents. It's all good.<br><br>The story of Sudeki sees two worlds at war, Hikaria and Kuria, a seemingly clear cut battle between good and evil. You take control of four Hikarians, who at the bidding of their empress have to help construct a massive weapon to defeat the Kuria forever. As in real life, good and evil are concepts, that whilst easy to buy into, are never what they seem; one person's Skywalker is another's Osama...<br><br>As the plot gets bigger, deeper and delves further, the player will have to make hard choices between loyalty to the cause and loyalty to the truth. The world that initially seems so benevolent and kind could well have darker currents moving behind the scenes. Your four heroes will undoubtedly have to uncover what is really going on, and we would imagine, in true RPG style, save the world from those who are blinded by power.<br><br>It seems that the two worlds at war may be two sides of the same place, similar to the light and dark worlds in 'Zelda: A Link To The Past', or more recently the 'Soul Reaver' series. It seems that the two contrasting worlds will be accessed through portals, and we're not entirely sure how this works, or relates to the plot, but we look forward to finding out!<br><br>We should introduce you to the characters, who you'll be getting to know a lot better later in the year.<br><br>Tal is the character you control initially, and seems to be a young man who could be ripped straight out of any RPG. This young, headstrong, naive but gifted soldier is the son of a great general, and he is, as these types of people always are, oh so eager to prove himself in combat. Despite this desire to prove himself he is relaxed, easy going and friendly. He has a lot to learn, and we are sure that he will have some real tests of his character and skill.<br><br>Next up is Ailish, a young princess who having grown up in a palace for most of her life, has not been exposed to the rest of the world. This usually breeds arrogance, but given the right environment she could turn into a thoughtful young woman, a combination of intelligence and ability to empathies can overcome a blinkered upbringing. Again this sounds like an RPG classic, the ice cold princess who loosens up, but who doesn't get tired of making a slightly uppity princess realise the value of things...<br><br>Elco is a scientist who puts his work above everything, friends family, and perhaps even above the practical consequences of his work. He makes guns. Big guns, for the defense of the empire he serves loyally and unquestioningly. Despite being an apparently peaceful man he is quick on the draw and has a penchant for high-tech guns. Impressively these 'peaceful' people who can resort to violence out of loyalty, we're sure he'll learn a few things on his journey.<br><br>Lastly there is Buki, a female who is excellent at martial arts, almost superhuman skill you might say she has. This probably has something to do with the fact that she is only half human, the other half of her DNA comes from the Shadani Tribe. A religious tribe, Buki is committed to them passionately, which you might say, excludes passion from the rest of her life. Sure it makes her focused, but does it make her warm inside, sure we'll find out. Another ice princess' heart to melt. Good stuff!<br><br>So that's your team, they are all designed wonderfully, with lots of little animations bringing them to life, it's cool to see Elco standing around, aiming is hand in the air and making a gun sound as he cocks his finger as if holding a trigger. Attention to detail is something you'll notice time and time again in Sudeki.<br><br>With a party system that initially made us think of Square's hit SNES title 'Secret of Mana' (Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan), Sudeki allows you to swap between any of the four main characters whenever you like, provided they are in your party at the time. This is achieved by a simple press of the black or white buttons, which cause the camera to move to the character you have selected - dead simple really.<br><br>Wandering around the non-combat areas of Sudeki's world is a simple affair, but due to the absolutely stunning graphics, it is an absolute pleasure. You can talk to the locals, and they respond with full voice acting, which is always a pleasure when it sounds as good as it does here. We like the use of regional English accents, as well as Welsh and German voices; the accents seem to be chosen to match the character, and are sometimes quite amusing. Hearing a funny looking dude talk about his furry things with a German accent is always good for a giggle. <br><br>So far we've only seen small, relatively unimportant pieces of dialogue, but we have been pleased with what we've heard. For instance, if you don't give money to the church you'll be told that you've got no chance of salvation and every chance of damnation, you ungrateful so and so. The reverend we saw had an impressive Texan-style accent, which made this seem even more authentic! We also are guessing, and this is pure speculation on our part, that the religions in the game may have an important plot role to play, given how religion and power often go together like an RPG and a young hero trying to save the world...<br><br>Combat is where Sudeki gets rather interesting. There is the standard real-time hacking and slashing, or shooting, or hand to hand fighting - all depending on your character. There is enough depth to the combat system to allow you to pull of a variety of different moves and combinations, as well as fancy jumps and somersaults that show the developers fondness of kung-fu movies.<br><br>So what's interesting about that you might say, well, it's fast, fun and gorgeous to look at, but, the magic is where it's at...<br><br>Pressing the 'Y' button brings up your inventory, but you'll also notice that the action appears to be paused. But, ha, take a closer look and you will see far from being paused, the game has gone into Matrix / Max Payne / John Woo / Anime styleee slow motion. This not only looks great as you can move the camera with the right stick for your own lovely direction, but it manages to allow for elements usually seen in turn based games to be implemented smoothly into an action title. <br><br>There are various levels of magical attacks; some require just skill points, coming under the 'skills' menu, and are character specific things like fireballs or fancy sword swipes. These moves are carried out in slow motion and look rather sweet with all kinds of fancy lighting and particle effects with lots of purty colours.<br><br>Spirit Strikes are akin to the summon spells seen in the Final Fantasy series, to give the best known comparison, and these require Spirit Strike Points to be used. Each character has some specific spirits they can summon, which reflect their abilities, but they can be combined with each other to create some truly spectacular attack effects, not to mention effective attacks. Combining the right Spirit Strikes together to defeat an enemy by getting their weak spots is key to some of the tough battles in Sudeki. What is quite cool is that you can combine offensive and defensive Spirit Strikes in one move; using the attacking abilities of one character and the healing characters of another.<br><br>What is really impressive is how the magic and action fits together, there is the depth you are used to from turn based games, but it is real-time, and you can bust out some impressive combos - jumping and rolling around like a proper ninjary type. The use of slow motion effects is not just a gimmick here either, it really does add something new to this genre, and we love it. Compared to random battles and turn based gameplay this feels wonderfully intuitive and is sure to appeal to those how like Zelda style combat and those who are Final Fantasy fanatics - Microsoft must be rubbing their hands with glee.<br><br>If you've seen the screenshots and our video-preview ? you'll know how good Sudeki is looking. The Climax guys are really harnessing the power of the Xbox to create a stunning game, and using the hard disk to completely eradicate loading times ? kudos to them for that! There is still time for Sudeki to get even more impressive, with the developers keen to add more effects, such as bump mapping, which will make the game's already impressive textures look even better. As good as the technology is, a lot of the game's appeal comes from the art style and design of locations, which is consistently wonderful. <br><br>We just wish our playable demo was, erm, the full game so we could explore the game-world fully, as well as unravel an interesting sounding plot.