In Retro: "Drakengard" Review (PS2)

My review of this eccentric hack-and-slash game from around the time it was first released...

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"Drakengard" is what happens when you take "Draken: The Ancients' Gates," mix it liberally with "Dynasty Warriors" and "Panzer Dragoon," and throw in an anmie copy of the plot for the film "Dragonheart." It offers a fun diversion in short spurts, but gulp down too much at a time and you're sure to be hit by the numbing repetition of it all.

You're cast as Caim, a wounded hero who makes a pact with an equally wounded dragon and ultimately sets out to rescue his sister, the goddess Furiae. Does that mean Caim is a god himself? Apparently not. And who captured Furiae? A nameless Empire with secret intentions that ultimately translate into "ruling the world." Some other characters come into the mix, but few of them (despite their extensive biographies in the instruction manual) play into the events of the game in any way that justifies their inclusion. In other words, if you're seeking a game with a good story, "Drakengard" is perhaps the last place you should look. Despite this, it doggedly attempts to tell a story in long, painfully written cut-scenes that ultimately prove incoherent. At least the rendered movies make for some spectacular eye candy, even if they fail to shed any light on the unintelligible plot. The opening cinematic is sure to fire your blood and whet your appetite for the game that follows...

...And the game that follows starts out at a rapid clip, thrusting you into the thick of a siege. You'll wonder almost immediately why you're the only warrior fighting against the Empire even as beleaguered (and apparently invisible) soldiers cry out for assistance. For a game that wants so desperately to stick you square in the middle of a battle royale fantasy style, the lack of allies is a glaring omission. Even if battling comrades were nothing save window dressing, it would have helped to immerse you. As it stands, the action is still furious and fairly engaging. Blood spurts are satisfying, but more so the way your weapons send your enemies soaring in waves (like Sauron in the opening of Peter Jackson's take on "The Fellowship of the Ring"). You only have a few moves at your disposal, so like everything in "Drakengard" it eventually wears thin, but it's good fun for a while.

The monotony of ground combat is broken up by... well, the monotony of aerial combat. This is, in my opinion, the weakest aspect of the game. Caim battles a host of foes from astride his fire-breathing dragon, but the dragon's limited abilities and some poor camera work ultimately weaken the experience. On top of that, the enemies displayed in this mode make no logical sense. It's hard to get excited about frying giant bats and winged chests-of-drawers with the same molten breath over and over and over again. Boss battles, at least, liven things up - and all of them take place in the sky.

"Drakengard" claims to be an RPG, but there's no actual roleplaying. The stats included are useless and amount to nothing, which is just fine since this is clearly an action game - but why the false claims? I don't know. Ignore them. "Drakengard" is as deep as kiddy pool, but it's good for a splash every now and again. Mission objectives are never diverse enough to make one mission feel any different from the last. The scenery changes, but the graphics (all but the main character models) are bland as dirty dishwater, and scenery "pop in" is a noticeable (and laughable) issue.

The game's soundtrack is certainly different, but it tends to perfectly mimic a cat being repeatedly slammed against a pole while Gregorian monks chant in the background. This is not helped by the constant babbling of your "companions," who consistently spout misplaced and distracting anti-wisdom when you'd rather focus on the task at hand.

All in all, it's worth playing if you don't ask too much from your gaming - but wait until it goes down in price before you invest.

FINAL SCORE: 6.5 (Fair)