PlayStation

Alundra

If you enjoyed Zelda, or you crave an action/RPG, or you want to see why Working Designs is the most revered and reviled company in the role-playing community. Alundra is absolutely the game for you. Even without the brilliance of Zach's scriptwriting (shyeah, right), the sheer amount of action/adventure gameplay makes Alundra a must-buy.

Alundra's off-the-hook action and challenging gameplay elevate it to must-have RPG status. Wake up and buy the game-missing out may cause you to have nightmares.

Nowadays, companies have turned to focus more on graphics and battle systems than on strategy, puzzles, and gameplay. With role-playing games in particular, it's hard to find a game that is more than just pretty graphics, one that's easy to pick up and play but is addictive and enough of a challenge so you could be stuck in a dungeon for hours trying to figure out its puzzles. Alundra is such a game.

Besides my gaming integrity being slightly scarred by near impossible obstacles, and I use the word "near" really loosely, I do have to admit that this game is awesome. If you really enjoyed games like Ys, Zelda, and/or LandStalker, you'll especially dig Alundra.

I really like Alundra. This type of game isn't for everyone though. It's difficult, and many players will not have the patience to see it through. It is the best Action RPG available on any Next Gen system though, and will most likely remain so until Zelda 64 is released later this year. If you're looking for a good Action RPG , then Alundra should do the trick.

In the end Alundra winds up being a rather uninspired, but enjoyable enough experience. You will probably walk away feeling a real sense of accomplishment for solving the all of the puzzles, but the game itself will in all likelihood, not leave much of a lasting impression.

To make it easier to see what I'm getting at, were I to rate this title, Alundra would get a "B". Although the title is highly fun and addictive, and it would be a great SNES game, it just doesn't have the technology and the looks to be a top contender with the PlayStation crowd. If you like fantasy games, by all means check Alundra out, just don't expect anything innovative from it.

Enfin, certains détails du jeu sont décevants, on aimerait parfois pouvoir prendre certains objets, mais on s'aperçoit qu'ils font partie du décor. Dans le même ordre d'idée, quand on peut prendre certains objets (caisses, tonneaux...), le fait de les lancer sur d'autres personnages n'a absolument aucun autre effet que de briser la caisse ! Du côté des points forts d'Alundra, il faut bien avouer qu'il est très riche et très varié. Le finir demande des dizaines d'heures de jeux. Les fans de jeux de rôle, qui ne sont pas regardants quant à la réalisation, auront du mal à s'en décrocher tant qu'ils ne seront pas arrivés au bout. Pour eux, ce sont des nuits blanches en perspectives. Pour tous les autres, malgré une réalisation qui n'est décidément pas à la hauteur de la Playstation, Alundra reste un bon de jeu de rôle. Mais, le numéro 1 incontesté du jeu de rôle sur PSX est bel et bien Final Fantasy 7.