Product description
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Includes Game and original case. NO MANUAL. Disc may have a few
small scratches but nothing that affects gameplay. Case may show
average wear from age and usage. All CassicGameStore games are
tested before being placed into inventory.
Review
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Eternal Ring marks From Software's first attempt at the
first-person action-RPG genre for the PlayStation2. The game's
opening sequence begins with the main character - an adventurer
named Cain Morgan - walking through a palace surrounded by water.
He notices a glowing object on one of the pedestals and picks up
a ring. A dragon immediately swoops down out of the sky,
preparing to attack. Cain raises his arms high above his head to
ward it off, and the ring blasts the dragon with tremendous
force, destroying it utterly. Yes, you're going to want to get
more of these rings.
The game itself begins with a narration introducing the
character Cain and a background story using a series of pictures
that are drawn in a style reminiscent of medieval art. After the
narration, you see Cain on a sailboat heading toward an island.
Cain and the boatman begin a brief conversation, which you expect
to be voiced-over since the narration featured voice, but
unfortunately they aren't. Instead you just see characters
opening their mouths and moving their lips as the dialogue text
scrolls on the bottom of the screen. Despite some lackluster
sound effects and the absence of voice-overs, the game's
soundtrack does manage to set an appropriate mood and atmosphere
of the game.
Eternal Ring runs at a faster frame rate than From Software's
previous first-person RPGs (King's Field, King's Field II, and
Shadow Tower), which clocked in at 15 to 20 frames per second. In
the beginning, your movement is relatively slow, but once you
obtain a special object from the first boss, you're able to move
faster, and the rate becomes satisfactory.
The graphics in Eternal Ring are a leap from its PlayStation
predecessors, but there is still room for improvement.
Considering that some of the most recent PS titles (such as
Vagrant Story) have been visual marvels, one can't help noticing
that the graphics on this PS2 game could've been better. For
instance, the faces on many of the characters are very plain. On
the other hand, the environments, though not incredibly
populated, are really well done. The waterfall inside the caverns
and the transitions from daytime to sunset to nightfall really
are very impressive looking. The biggest mistake in the game's
graphics is the collision detection. When enemies throw
projectiles like a stone or even magic spells, your instinct is
to hide behind a wall or an object to avoid getting hit.
Unfortunately, these projectiles or magic spells go through
walls, so you still get hit by them.If you have played From
Software's previous first-person RPGs, you'll have an idea as to
how Eternal Ring plays - for the most part. The game uses a
first-person perspective, and you, as Cain, use a variety of
weapons and magic spells to defeat your foes, though more of the
latter than the former since the only weapons in this game are
s and you will not come across a whole lot of them. Instead,
the game focuses more on the usage of magical spells. While you
had a gauge for both weapons and magic spells in King's Field,
only magic spells are available in Eternal Ring. The gauge
indicates the charge time to cast spells. Magic spells can be
obtained by equipping up to ten rings. More than 120 different
kinds of spells can be created by producing different
combinations of the rings' elemental jewels. Other rings may not
provide you with magic spells but instead may enhance your
abilities, such as increasing your stats. There are countless
combinations for creating rings that have magic spells, and you
could spend endless hours trying to complete the entire set. In
that sense, there is potential for replay value.
The Dual Shock 2 controller features analog buttons, including
the D-pad. The default setting in the game has the analog buttons
turned off, and the sensitivity is on 5 (on a scale of 1 to 10).
It's really quite necessary to have the analog button turned on
and the sensitivity at 1. This makes movements much smoother and
faster during gameplay, and you don't have to press the buttons
as hard as you do in the default setting. Tapping the attack
button during a fight supposedly induces lesser damage compared
with pressing the attack button, but the difference was hardly
noticeable.
The gameplay though has not changed much since the creation of
King's Field, and if you are an expert at the game, then the
usual routine of strafing around enemies in a circle and slashing
enemies as you approach them still works in Eternal Ring. If you
have experience with previous From Software titles, you will
probably finish the game in 10 to 15 hours. As you may expect
from this genre developed by From Software, there is a good story
integrated into the game, but somehow your character, Cain, lacks
personality and the ability to interact with the rest of the
characters in the game. For instance, in one case Cain watches a
man getting killed by a monster and doesn't react in any way.
With more development time, From Software could have polished
this game much more, but instead it has arrived feeling rushed.
Eternal Ring is definitely a leap from its previous title Shadow
Tower and is promising what King's Field IV may offer in the
future, but it's certainly not the type of game that pleases
every gamer. Avid fans of King's Field and Shadow Tower will
likely love Eternal Ring, but others may want to try the game out
first.--Ike Sato--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights
reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. --
GameSpot Review
- About this item Play the young magician Cain on a quest to find the ultimate magic ring in this exciting role-playing adventure Fight numerous beasts and find ancient magical items supposedly buried long ago Enhanced polygon graphics offer an excellent first-person perspective of a 3D world filled with giant dragons and enemies Features real-time atmospheric effects like time of day and weather.