January 26, 2010
White Knight Chronicles offers a combat system that is layered nicely
By Michael Lafferty
Depth of fighting schemes helps make this PS3 title more than a button masher
There is a phrase about
familiarity breeding contempt, but in the gaming world, that merely means you
don’t have to spend time with the game manual.
Combat in White Knight
Chronicles is certainly familiar, but rather
than draw from one narrow vision, the Level 5 development team combined several elements
for a system that is thoughtful and rather well done.
It all begins with
leveling and accruing points to be spend on acquiring skills. There are eight
categories that the skills fall into – sword, longsword, staff, spear, bow, axe,
divine magic and elemental magic. Each of the disciplines has a point value to
buy the skill, and there are AC (Action Chips) in combat that must be spent to use the
skill. For example, you can buy the flaming sword skill (one of the first you can
buy) that costs one point to purchase and one AC to use.
Each skill bought, at the
early level, is a precursor to more powerful skills. You might buy sword
mastery, for instance, and that unlocks an agility buff. Buying fire lance, in
the elemental line, unlocks Bonfire (a nice visual effect and solid damage).
Of course, the more damage
a spell does, the more it costs to buy and to use.
In addition, each spell
has a reset timer. You can cast the spell, but whether you miss or hit, you have
to let it wind up again. This is tantamount to taking turns in combat. Of
course, you can create combo attacks that utilize several skills and go for the
bigger damage, but – again – the cost has to be weighed before triggering one of
these.
Before the prologue to the
actual game is done, the main protagonist – Leonard – will unlock the ability to
call forth the Incorruptus. The Incorruptus is a large suit of armor (about 15
feet tall, give or take a few feet), and rather than use AC for attacks, the
attacks it fires uses mana from a metered pool. Run out of mana and the
character using the armor returns to normal.
The combat evolves in
other ways as well.
You can edit your
commands, with three bars capable of holding different skills. Using the reset
time – which is constant for almost all skills – you can flip through the
bars for the next attack you wish to use. Divine Magic offers heals, so those
are always options.
Additionally, it is
possible to set the combat profiles for the other two (non-controlled) members of the party.
This element instructs the AI how to direct the behavior of non-directly
controlled members of the party. While the options are not plentiful, they drive
straight to the point with such tactics as playing defensively,
consider casting heals before fighting, or go all-out offensively.
Each character is a blank
slate to begin with, with cursory skills learned in each category. What that
allows the player to do is skill up the individuals as he or she sees fit to
create a solid, compatible fighting unit. Also, when attacking larger beasts,
players have the choice of where to focus attacks. Some monsters are a bit more
‘delicate’ in some areas, but can withstand damage in other areas. Early in the
game, players can get a pair of goggles/glasses that, when used, reveal the weak
locations on monsters and help with targeting attacks.
The only drawbacks are
that the controls are a bit cumbersome to switch out characters or perform other
actions (like drink a health potion) during a fight. The pacing in combat is
fast and players will have to be on their toes, watching health and AC points to
ensure getting the most effective combat play from the party. Fortunately, the
AI of the other party members is pretty solid.
The block skills take a
little work, but all in all, White Knight Chronicles does a very nice job in the
combat department – which is necessary, of course, since this is a game that has
a foundation of combat.
