Shadows of Reality Review - First Look

Cyberpunk RPG?

We've had a few non-fantasy (as in no dragons, wizards etc) RPG's over the last couple of years and some could easily be called "Cyberpunk RPG's" but none would deserve the title as much as Nevolution's upcoming game Shadows of Reality. Taking place in the year 2087, the developers have dedicated themselves to a cyber look and feel that can only slightly be compared to System Shock but maybe has a closer resemblance to Blade Runner. With this background, the mood is set for a very interesting and equally intriguing 3D RPG that promises to change the way we look at gaming.

We have heard similar statements before but Nevolution is very persistent in this so it's time to see if their boldness is justified. Of course we can't be sure until the game is released but based on what information is available now, we could definitely take a peek into the future.

Massively multiplayer?

Originally, Nevolution set out to create a massively multiplayer online game but they felt it would be easier to secure a publisher if they would focus on a single player game first and perhaps use their technology for an online game as a future project. For now, they concentrate on building a good single player experience.

The game is set in a new city called North Cal which recently arose from what was left of San Francisco. North Cal, like any other large city in the world, is controlled by several mega corporations. No longer do governments rule the world, commerce has taken over and all these incredibly large corporations think about is how to increase their power.

You've recently been recruited by the YAR Corporation as just another "Joe Bob" that's doing his job to help the company thrive. One way or another, things don't work out the way you, or they, had planned. You quickly become involved in a conspiracy that soon grows way above your head. As you learn more about what's happening, you become increasingly intrigued with everything and decide to go to the bottom of things. What you discover then isn't exactly pretty and maybe it's a little bit more than you had bargained for as well.

Shadows of Reality Gameplay

At the start of the game, players will define their own character in a rather unusual way although the effect remains the same. Instead of assigning points to particular skills or answering a set of questions to define your character, future technology has enabled you to add parts to your body or learn a completely new occupation within a matter of minutes. Special simulators will virtually inject knowledge into your brain while all kinds of technologies can be surgically implanted into your head or maybe even other parts of your body. Quite handy indeed as adding new skills becomes a matter of money and availability rather than time and ability.

Later in the game, new skills are added in the same way but you'll have to wait for the opportunity to do so rather than have the whole shebang being readily available at your fingertips. Once you're on your way, you'll find yourself in the city of North Cal, a detailed and fully 3D environment where you're free to roam around and go wherever you want, whenever you want. You can stop and gaze at the scenery but don't forget about your self imposed mission to see who is behind all the strange things happening around you.

During your investigation, you will encounter many people that will be able to help although some will have their own agenda's and may be leading you to believe they're helping you. As in real life, there are good guys and bad guys but sometimes, it's not that obvious. The storyline isn't quite linear. According to Nevolution the storyline will have many branching plots and a "dizzying array of subquests and world information". Occasionally the game will push you back on the right track as losing your objective out of sight is quite easily done in a game as big as this. ;-) That doesn't mean that there is only one ending though. The game can be finished in many different ways which of course does a lot for replayability.

Let us know in comments what you think, and like about Shadows of Reality Video Game.

Final Fantasy VIII Review To the Point

The opening full-motion video sequence may not reveal very much about the plot of Final Fantasy VIII, or even what in the world is going on in the video itself, but it sure draws you in. The combination of intense music and fast-paced scenes shows that at least in the area of movies, SquareSoft knows what they're doing.

The introductory movie does become understandable as the game goes on, but at the beginning of the game all it really does is explain how Squall (the main character) and Seifer (his rival) end up with matching facial scars. Getting your face nearly sliced in two can't be a fun way to start the day.

Twists even a pretzel can't beat.

For the first few hours of the game, the plot is fairly straightforward. Squall is attempting to pass his final exam to become a member of SeeD, an elite mercenary force. The final exam in this case involves helping to put down an invasion in progress... and I thought calculus exams were tough!

As has become pretty much a trademark of the series, FF8 has plot twists waiting on a regular basis. Some of them may be pretty obvious and easy to see coming, but once in a while they really do manage to catch you by surprise. There was one plot twist that I found entirely unnecessary and more than a little forced. Since it occurs fairly late in the game, I won't give away any spoilers, but I will say this: There's a reason that mass memory loss isn't a frequently used plot device. One character that doesn't remember his past is acceptable, but six is really a bit much.

For the most part, the plot is pretty solid, although in a couple of places things are not quite as well explained as I would have liked, possibly the result of an incomplete translation from the original Japanese.

Don't forget to study kids!

Final Fantasy 8 introduces a brand new magic and summoning system called 'junctioning'. The system revolves around creatures called Guardian Forces, powerful beings like Ifrit, Shiva, and Quezacotl who can grant abilities to whichever character they are 'junctioned' with. Just like your characters, your Guardian Forces gain levels and become more powerful, granting new abilities and doing more damage when summoned.

Hardcore RPG players will likely be thrown off a bit by Final Fantasy 8. If you're used to spending a lot of time increasing your levels in order to become more powerful than your opponents, you'll end up wasting a lot of time here. Your opponents gain levels at the same rate that you do, keeping up with you every step of the way, and actually getting powerful faster than you. Luckily, there's another way to gain power besides leveling up.

In order to increase a character's power, magic has to be junctioned to particular abilities. The exact abilities that can be junctioned depend on the Guardian Forces being used. For example, Ifrit concentrates mainly on strength, so being junctioned to him allows a character to connect magic to strength and hit points. The more powerful the magic being used, and the more of it a character has, the bigger the boost will be. Magic can also be junctioned to elemental attack or defense, letting the character increase his/her defenses or attack power with a particular element such as fire or ice. It can also be junctioned to status attack or defense, meaning that a character can, for example, defend himself against sleep magic or turn monsters to stone when he attacks.

If that wasn't enough to cause confusion, the method of getting magic is new and original as well. All magic must be 'drawn' from opponents in combat or at special locations called 'draw points'. Magic is essentially sucked out of the opponent and put into the character's private stash. There is a limited amount of space to hold magic, so here's a useful feature that the manuals fail to mention: Pressing the 'A' key when a particular magic has been selected in the menu will let you drop it, tremendously useful if your stock is nearly full.

Let us know in comments, how you like Final Fantasy VIII.