Game Review: Warriors of the Lost Empire for PSP

A lot of times, games with ancient themes have been boring to me. It just seems as if the game programmers choke on the idea of someone throwing or blocking with a stick.

After playing Patapon's slightly dumbed-down RPG system, I wasn't too thrilled with the idea of getting into Warriors of the Lost Empire. But while Patapon was concerned with audiovisual weirdness, WotLE is pure old-skool RPG with a couple of original twists on mechanics to keep it fresh.

WotLE is all about your character -- and you can choose from four of them. True, you've got the old standbys -- gladiator, amazon, barbarian -- but there's a fourth class, a sword and shield-using magic-user. So far I've played only the gladiator heavily, and the amazon just a little bit, but it's been quite a trip.

WotLE begins with a standard setup for your chosen character with a few pages of scrolling text and stirring music. From there, you begin at a Roman field command post, set up in a ruined city. Immediately you are held up to rookie-pummeling contempt by Aldora, the Roman commander sent to investigate the disappearance of the former emperor Hadrianus.

With one of the most daring storylines I've seen, WotLE breaks the RPG mold and revolves around a Roman love story between Hadrianus and a younger man, Antinous. To the designers' credit, this storyline is matter-of-fact, low-key and unobtrusive; it treats the relationship as deeply platonic, hinting at more but offending only those with the staunchest beliefs. As a mercenary, your job isn't to accept anyone's lifestyle, transcend gender roles, or mediate with the haytaz. No sir, your job is to slash and shoot 24/7 through several dungeons, just like in thousands of RPG games before.

Your personal stash is kept inside an item box, letting you store bows, 1-handed weapons, 2-handed weapons, healing, power-ups, accessories, and synthesis and trading materials.

There is also a bearish trader, much like a more polite version of Weird Pete in Knights of the Dinner Table, and a gushing girl blacksmith. The trader doesn't use any currency; all you have to do is trade found items, with a cleverly arranged system that lets you boil down lower-power items for a few higher-powered items. The synthesis expert builds your weapons up with a mysterious three-pronged method of combining weapons. I don't like the system, but after nearing the end of the game I was able to beef up my weapons and armor admirably enough. The best parts of this system affect weapon critical probability, item weight, and dodge percentage rates for armor.

A necessary evil is packing up your character's inventory, equipment and skills before heading out. With a weight limit that increases with your strength and level, you need to pack well for your trip to each of the several dungeons and ruins.

Once in the dungeons, you fight your way through in a 3rd-person fighter only a little less intense than Devil May Cry. Monsters are all animated 3-D creatures with real-time attacks and life bars. The dungeons are heavily tiled, with minimal textures and steam vents. The layout is all that differentiates each dungeon. One of the downers is that the walls seem to be paper-thin, so when you rotate the camera you can sometimes see the empty black beyond. It looks cheap.

A few traps litter each dungeon, from mashers and pendulums to wall and floor spikes. Enjoyably, the enemies will often hurt themselves to eventually get to you. AI is a little uninspired individually, but en masse, the monsters really keep you on your feet, chasing you in a mob or attacking from all sides. Often you will be forced to use your secondary weapon (using a bow or sword and shield can be very helpful in a pinch) or fire off a special ability or two.

At the end of almost every dungeon, you can acquire a new character-based skill. Each skill levels up the more you use it. Some cheesebags may choose to use the skills in empty rooms to level up, but by and large you get a fair amount of oomph out of each skill you choose to cultivate in regular combat.

A few dungeon end-level bosses are a little on the worn-out side; you could make them generic beasts or humans without changing their attack patterns. Yet a few boss encounters shine, with the minotaur gang, mid-game bosses, and the final two bosses really standing out for creativity and challenge.

Once you clear a dungeon, it's back to the command post, where you have to consult the item box just to switch weapons, carried equipment, and skills. It's kind of like being married.

There is plenty to like in WotLE, with just a little bit of annoyance that really doesn't hamper the game. A button that would let you face attackers would be awesome, especially when you're chased all the way across a dungeon. Synthesis is still fairly cryptic, and equipping healing should be a no-brainer and time-saver. And there are just three suits of armor and one accessory!

Character development is very flexible, allowing you to use any weapons you want, as long as your weapon skills are good enough to keep you alive. You can also change and reset your stats for really stubborn bosses. This comes in handy if you want to master a two-handed weapon or a bow, outside of your usual class preferences. Halfway through the game after getting stomped regularly I escaped the usual boundaries of the gladiator class, deciding to cheese my way out with ranged shots, while holding double-wield weapon skill in reserve for close-up emergencies.

Graphics, while infrequently pixellated in gameplay (think EverQuest 1.0), are supported by good character detail, solid writing, and excellent character portraits.

Sound is clangy and grunty, with the only flaws being bats and other beasts that clang when you hit them. Still, it's oddly satisfying to hear when you land a solid hit. Music alternates from John Tesh chick food to thundering arena tunes. Not American sports arena rock, but brassy, swing-axes-till-it's-all-gut-piles warsongs.

WotLE uses RPG elements that have been around for years. Yet it tries very hard for a new, enjoyable experience, and by and large it succeeds.

Graphics: A. Pixelated, but it seems more the PSP's fault than the designers'. Lots of combat animations and a few particle effects, and no slowdown or flicker.

Sound: A-. Bats shouldn't clang, and it could be a little more evenly matched with the music. But kudos for the mad dogs!

Music: B-. A little schizo, from gloomy New Age to take-no-prisoners battle hymns, and songs reset when you change levels. A little overbearing compared to sounds.

Control: A-. Doesn't keep you from getting nicked, or sometimes even ganged and killed, but that's part of the fun of it, as you respawn at home with no penalties. Also it's easy to get confused and throw your powerups onto the approaching enemy.

Gameplay: A. A great balance of menu-heavy, flexible configuring and mostly visceral, pure RPG combat. A great learning curve. Some bosses will leave you scratching your head or praying for mercy.

Replay factor: B+. A single character takes about 18-20 hours to complete, and your character doesn't just go out to pasture; there are Hard and Hell versions of each upper-level dungeon to cut your teeth on again.

Overall Rating: A