Gameloft’s take on Zelda has finally arrived in stores. Here’s our impressions of the opening act…
First impressions of Sacred Odyssey are good. It’s certainly attempting to create a Zelda-like experience. Right down to starting out in a small village, in a deep sleep dreaming and being awoken by a strange voice calling to you.
Gameloft seem to be in a rush to get you into the bulk of the game though, and of course get you to unlock the full game to complete the full quest. However, this rushing feels forced, and so you don’t have time to get accustomed to your character, his story and his plight… or more importantly a feeling that you are earning any skill (you have a sword, shield and horse in a matter of minutes!). So, everything you need to know is fed to you in those opening 10-15 minutes of game before you must pay-to-play. Funnily enough our hero complains that he’s got much to do around the farm, but your Uncle is eager to pack you off on a quest… and of course to get the story moving along.
Surprisingly the voice work is a marked improvement for Gameloft. It’s no secret that here at TouchGen we are often critical of this. But what I have heard so far has been delivered with a more natural tone and some amusing banter… though it still has a whiff of being read directly off the page in one take. It sounds like they are using different voice talent for once, though it could be the same guys doing their version of Dick Van Dyke’s Cockney in Mary Poppins… “Core Blimey Gov’ner”. It remains to be seen if this early quality carries through to the rest of the game, and how much it is used (some smaller NPC’s are relegated to text only conversations)
Controls are up to the usual high Gameloft standard, and so far I’ve had no problems at all making my way around the land, taking out orcs, riding my steed and what not. In fact, due to playing so many Gameloft titles in the past, they seem pretty intuitive.
Graphically it’s a little mixed. The characters look good, they certainly have more character than those in Aralon. But the overall look and feel is lacking in the personality that you would find in a Zelda game for example. It all looks too familiar. I was impressed with the viewing distance in Aralon, but here in Sacred Odyssey some parts are heavily fogged. This could be deliberate, but its unlikely. it’s too early to tell, and screenshots released earlier in the week show promise.
So far then its a good opener, and has made me inquisitive enough to delve deeper. So I’m off on my way now to meet the Wisdom Tree and learn of my destiny. The game states that there is around 10 hours of playtime, which seems a little short for an action RPG, and so I hope I don’t get a further feeling of being rushed.
Look out for my full review later this week. However, with Gameloft’s new play-before-you play model of distribution, you’ll no doubt have already made up your mind by then. UPDATE: Read the full review HERE.
