It was a scene
aboard the Millennium Falcon, the ship of Hans Solo. R2D2 and Chewbacca are
playing a holographic chess game, of a sort. The commands are given and the
holographic characters move along the board, doing ‘physical’ battle with their
opponents.
Thanks to SCEA
and the innovative use of the new console camera, the Eye, gamers are one step
closer to seeing that as a reality. The game is The Eye of Judgment, and it
takes the idea of a trading card game to the a whole new level.
The Eye is
positioned to the side of a cloth game board, or mat, which has a 3×3 grid on
it. Nothing special there, but once you start the game, after aligning the grid
to meet what the Eye is asking for, then the board comes to life. You will see
terrain types on the TV screen (in this case, a 42-inch Sony Bravia HD
television). The terrain comes in a variety of types – forest, water, earth,
fire and biomech. The types are important because the cards that you will have
(30 in a playable deck) have traits aligning them to a terrain type. You can
gain bonuses if you place the right type of card (like elven archers) on the
right type of terrain (in this case, forest).
The game’s
computer AI handles most of the game’s controls. It will tell you when to draw a
card and even if you cannot lay a card on a specific area. (After all, you can’t
just throw cards anywhere you want on the map.) Before going any further into
the gameplay, it is important to understand the cards a bit more.
In addition to
terrain strengths and weaknesses, each card also shows health points, attack
rating, defense rating and zones for attacking and defense. Some units may not
attack adjacent zones, but rather will attack a unit two tiles over. This kind
of ranged attack is useless if you try to place it in the center square. Another
unit, consisting of trolls, will attack in 180-degree patterns, and this means
they will attack anything (even your own units) on either side of their
back-to-back formation. Since you really don’t want your units attacking your
own, placement of this unit is vital as well. Some units will defend all around
them, while some can be blindsided or are susceptible to attack from behind.
With a unit that can defend all the way around, counterattacks are possible, but
the units that have blind spots won’t fight back.
Now, once the
cards are placed, the computer animates them. That’s right, they come to life
and on the screen there are little animated characters. If you place the
lycanthrope, there is a chance that the little timid farmer can change into a
fearsome lizard-like creature. When there is a battle, the computer will analyze
the cards, take into account probability of successful strikes versus defense
ratings and animate the result.
If you think
this breathes life into the TCG genre, you are absolutely right. The animations
are fun, and though the combat cries can get redundant, this is still a great
deal of fun to watch and play. The game is highly reminiscent of Yu-Gi-Oh, but
given the graphic power of a video game.
There are
several ways to play – against the computer, against another opponent (who must
have a separate deck of cards) or online (you have to scan in your deck and then
the computer will shuffle and draw your cards for you, though you have to place
them). There are a couple of other modes, such as a battle mode where you can
pit one card against another, but this is just a bit of animation and just by
looking at the cards you should be able to tell which will win.
Playing cards
depends on mana. Each card has a placement cost, some higher and others lower.
Each turn you gain two mana, but should you lose a unit, you can recoup some of
the placement mana for that unit. You can also use a certain card to remove a
unit on the map, and recoup its unit. Of course, the more powerful the unit, the
higher the mana cost.
The Eye of
Judgment is not a game for those who are looking for a quick, down and dirty
game. This is a strategic affair that relies a bit on luck of the draw. While
the game may be a niche title in many regards, because of the technology that
successfully blends the flavor of the trading card genre with video games, this
is a breakout title that will defy classification as one genre or another.
There were a
few problems with the Eye not correctly reading the cards, but this was
generally only the case when the camera was not correctly aligned or a shadow
was obscuring the light source. The game also purports to follow a story, but
that is incidental to the combat and challenge of card game side.
EoJ represents
a giant leap forward for the technology of utilizing the Eye. With this as a
first step, it should be rather interesting what lays ahead for gamers.
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Gameplay: 7.6
The Eye has to be
aligned right and even then, if you go up against a player that agonizes over
every card placement, the affair can be a drawn-out process. There are not a lot
of game mode options. Win five of the nine squares and you win the match – that
is pretty much what it all boils down to.
Graphics: 8.7
The animations and
combat cut scenes are fun.
Sound: 7.5
Some repetition,
some ominous rumblings of dialogue but generally what one would expect.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
If you don’t
understand the TCG genre, you might be in a for a bit of a learning curve.
Concept: 9.0
The innovative use
of the Eye (the PS3 version of the EyeToy) makes this a game that breaks new
technology ground.
Multiplayer: 8.5
The computer will
give you a good challenge, but playing against another human is the way to go.
Overall: 8.3
Somewhat of a niche
game, The Eye of Judgment nonetheless makes the whole trading card game genre
accessible and graphically entertaining. The game comes with the map, the Eye, a
starter and bonus deck. New decks will be released as the game ages and players
can create their own decks from the cards. The Eye of Judgment is one of those
games that will fit a chilly afternoon, gathered around the television with a
warm cup of tea at hand. This is a fun title and a breakthrough bit of
technology.
