Dark Chronicle

Considered the PS2 equivalent of Nintendo's Legend of Zelda, Sony's Dark Stone proved to be very successful with owners of Sony's console. Two long years later and its sequel, Dark Chronicle, is ready for human consumption, promising an all new epic tale, enhanced gameplay and new features.

In the future, a rebellion forces an evil madman to travel through time to eliminate the origins of a growing threat. In the present, a world is dying and a single town remains. An inventive young man, with the help of a visiting time traveller, must embark on an epic quest to combat the madman's evil plans and save the world.

You've heard it all before, right? Maybe, but far-fetched plots are a characteristic of role-playing games that aren't going to go away. That doesn't have to be a bad thing though, and it does set the player up for a lengthy bout of magical battles and story-telling.

Firstly, Dark Chronicle has a welcome change in its style, incorporating some easy on the eye cel-shading visuals. It does still carry a Zelda-esque appearance, which is good, and the special effects and graphical touches that come with it are nothing short of gorgeous. There is plenty of variety in Dark Chronicle's magical locales, and using the Georama system, players can rebuild worlds amidst the incessant real-time battles.

The battles themselves are reasonably sophisticated, and players are now able to dodge, block and make use of several close and long-range attacks. Players will be armed with a set of upgradeable weapons and armour that will aid them both in the field and in battle, and some come equipped with unique special abilities.

Dark Chronicle, like its predecessor, is a balanced game and is one of the largest RPGs on the PS2 platform, offering some 100 hours of gameplay. Super!