Most people shy away from games which contain the phrases “hack-and-slash” and “random dungeon generator”. There are a few people out there who, for whatever reason, cannot get enough of these sort of games. Atlus’s upcoming Baroque for PS2 and the Wii systems is exactly that, with a few new twists thrown in to keep things interesting. The game’s story is unique enough to keep someone slightly interested between the mashing of whatever the attack button is. It takes place in the year 2032, after:

The cataclysmic “Blaze” devastates the world…The protagonist awakens, having lost his memory…

Seem almost stereotypical, I know, but don’t worry–it gets better:

A red-pupiled man with large wings gives him the following instructions: “You’ll atone for your sins by going to the bottom of Neuro Tower and healing the world.” And so he roams, carrying nothing but guilt for a sin he doesn’t remember committing. He heads to Neuro Tower to save himself… and the world.

A little better, right? Although a bit melodramatic. Among the unique features is what can only be described as an unforgiving level of difficulty.

Death in Baroque is basically like falling off of a skateboard. It will happen frequently in the beginning, and it will be frustrating, but to do some really cool stuff, you just have to get used to it. There is no game over however, you simply start over. To the few who may have played Capcom’s Breath Of Fire: Dragon Quarter, the feeling will probably be similar. You have to accept a few defeats, but each one gives you a slightly better chance of making it the next time around. In addition to frequent death, there is also necessary death in Baroque, in which the only way to progress in the story is by dying, and being reborn to repeat the cycle.

The majority of the game takes place inside “Neuro Tower”, a tower which you will be attempting to get to the bottom of. Each time you enter, each floor is different and randomly generated. The things you can expect to find on each floor are, of course, monsters and items. But don’t get too attached to those items: if and when you die, you lose them for good. On a side note, equipment does change your characters appearance, and there are some pretty cool ones. Now from my understanding it IS possible to retain some items by storing them in “consciousness orbs”, so you can start right out with a nice weapon if you die. This, I am sure, will be a luxury and probably pretty rare.

I really like the design to this game. The protagonists sword (or gun maybe?) is pretty cool, it’s really just a jagged, rusty slab of metal, but it has a strangely futuristic feel to it. I guess you can sum up the appearance of just about everything in the game that way. There is a reoccurring theme of angels and wings and other biblical creatures, which is a bit overdone these days, but it still retains some subtlety. The NPCs of the game have especially cool design. This little guy is my favorite.

While there may be nothing ground-breakingly new in Baroque, it’s unique features and style are sure to keep people who enjoy the genre interested long enough to beat it. Baroque is currently set to be released March 18, 2008.

Roy action, atlus, nintendo wii, preview, ps2, sting 1 comments