Brigandine

It's safe to say that there is no shortage of strategy games on the PlayStation. The latest contender to throw its hat into the ring is Brigandine from Atlus. Touted as a cross between Ogre Battle and Dragon Force, the game strives to incorporate the best elements of each of those titles. You can choose from five different characters who all have different motivations for uniting the land under their sole rule. Each have endings and available side quests that add both new story nuggets and exclusive special items. You can upgrade the class of your soldiers as well as the monsters under your command.

The battle scenes are played out by 3D polygonal characters and monsters. The results are smoother animations and lighting effects that reflect off the combatants. Also, unlike other games, the size of the characters and monsters are proportional to each other. A Dragon will be substantially larger than a Knight and a Golem will be about half the size of a Hydra. Not all the graphics in the game are quite as polished as the ones in battle. For instance, one aspect of the strategy game genre Brigandine has not been able to get away from are the sprite-based battlefield map graphics.

In the end, the story and overall challenge will determine if Brigandine will be a worthy entry into this crowded field.

Brigandine combines some RPG elements with turn-based strategy: It's Risk meets Ogre Battle and Dragon Force. But despite tons of potential, the game ends up being excruciatingly long and rarely exciting.

Brigantic Scope

The heart of Brigandine is a compelling strategy game that would've succeeded if it had more flash--you'll find more pizzazz on your average Spice Girl. Several factions have divided up a continent; each group has a few knights, or party leaders, and the ability to spawn monsters that fight under them. Your job is to conquer the lands through turn-based conflict. Each turn has two parts:The "organize" section allows you to spawn monsters, move your warriors or send characters on quests (which may turn up mystical items or new allies); the "attack" section lets you engage an enemy town on a battlefield that will seem very familiar to vets of The Unholy War.

Not-Very-Intelligent Luck

Every battle in this game is an epic tactical turn-based war, which may encompass more than 50 characters. Even some first-level characters may have 500 hit points, so these are long, drawn-out conflicts-- which, unfortunately, are often decided on the dumb luck of a particular character missing an attack or being paralyzed. Even after minute planning and a nicely executed strategy, you're undermined by chance.

As for the battlefields, they're not only scrunched, but every monster looks like it's the same size on the grid--although they're grossly different in battle.This is especially troublesome because giant monsters can't attack small enemies (for some strange reason), and short land-dwellers are impotent against airborne as-sailants.This glitch means you can't get an idea of what the match-up will be at a glance.

Lazy Lore

The games bare-bones graphics and sound reek of laziness. Every conversation and the results of quests are told through static headshots and scrolling text Brigandine is a very disappointing product that squanders a lot of potential with pure inertia. It's difficult to develop a passion for characters who never move or speak and a game that never aspires. Unless dense turn-base strategy is your cup of tea, throw this one into the moat.

ProTips:

• As with any tactical game, you'll want to defeat one enemy at a time. A near-dead griffin inflicts the same amount of damage as a fresh one!
• Take out your enemy's magic users as early as possible-they'll cause the most damage to your party.
• Use spread attacks early to weaken your enemies; then pound on the ones who are most affected.
• Go for your enemy party's leader. Once they're defeated, his minions will often retreat.
• If the situation grows dire, don't be afraid to retreat and conserve your higher-level characters. Victory at too great a cost is defeat.
• Centaurs and other monsters that can attack from afar are great resources: Their victims can't retaliate.
• Make sure your character has an opponent of equal stature, or you'll miss with your attack and you may take unanswered punishment.
• Your character will usually say something to suggest a quest Don't send them on random tasks, or you may lose precious knights.

Graphics

Brigandine's very disappointing, bare-bones graphics range from static shots during conversations to low-detail battlefields and characters who will work for pixels. If not for the impressive polygonal characters in battle scenes, we'd be talking SNES territory

Sound

Now were definitely talking SNES territory with no character voices, very few sound effects, and repetitive, bland stereotypical "adventure" music. Brigandine doesn't sound bad, it's just very boring and below the PlayStations standards.

Control

Considering how overly complicated Brigandine is, its controls make everything accessible at a reasonable rate. Help menus or even a teaching scenario would've helped, but you'll pick it all up very quickly anyway.

Fun Factor

Long, extended battles that hinge too much on blind luck, static visuals, and boring sound effects make Brigandine a theme park ride for those with weak hearts. Its overly complicated, underexciting, and a plain old bore unless complex turn-based strategy rocks your world.