Eternal Legacy
Platform(s): iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Mac (Reviewed)
Publisher(s): Gameloft S.A.
Developer(s): Gameloft S.A.
Genre(s): RPG
Release Date: 04 August 2011
Price: (BUY NOW!)
Overview
Eternal Legacy has lived a successful life on iOS devices for a while now, and has scored favorable reviews. Still today, it reigns as arguably one of the most polished and prettiest-looking titles on the iPhone, and the first 3D RPG title on the iPhone. Many were blown away by the high quality on such a small device, and now the game is seeing a port to the Mac app store. However, the Mac is a much more powerful device than the iPhone, so can the magic of Gameloft’s mobile game still amaze us on our home computer? Read on to find out!
Presentation
Just as it is on iOS devices, Eternal Legacy is a pleasure to look at and exceeds in presentation. A truly well-polished game that is a pleasure to look at. However, Eternal Legacy doesn’t deliver in all aspects. Characters are mostly have one-sided personalities and are supported with voice acting that ranges from average to terrible, making it hard to fall in love the characters. While the storyline itself is interesting, it unfortunately isn’t told very well as it could’ve been, with clumsy dialogue and unexciting cut scenes. They are bearable however, and for iPhone and Mac App store standards they are wonderful, but don’t expect anything that’ll out do anything RPGS from your current generation home console.
Gameplay
Eternal Legacy is pretty simple for an RPG title, which should be appealing to casual gamers and new comers to the genre. However, it may be too simple for the typical RPG fan, depending on taste. Combat is turn-based and works like you would expect from a game like this, with the obvious choices of attack, skill, item and of coarse run away as options. A nice feature has been included to speed up the game play is that you can cue attacks in a list while waiting for your turn to attack. While this is a nice feature to have, the lack of ability to cancel a selected move in the cue can ruin your strategy in some battles, so it is ill advised. Another interesting feature that has been included to mix things up is an auto-attack system, where all members of your party are controlled by the AI except for the main character. The AI actually is done quite well, and will often do well-planned attacks and heal you at the right times. The catch to this however, game play does get quite boring when using this feature, as just controlling one character deletes almost all forms of strategy and just becomes repetitive really fast. Thankfully, there is an option to turn this off and switch to full party control, but the choice to make this the default option does seem odd, as the game is much more enjoyable without it. There is also another option to choose the class/combat style of each fighter during combat, although in all honesty it doesn’t affect the game play much. During battles, effects do look nice and there is a nice selection of moves to learn, each with interesting camera angles and combos that keep the battles adrenaline-filled and fun.
The other half of the game you’ll spend exploring the beautiful world of Algoad. There is a full 360-degree camera that is fully controllable which is a nice addition, although at some times it may seem clunky, it usually works well. Players also get the option to use either the mouse or the keyboard as for controls, which is nice; however unfortunately there are no options to edit these controls. Another stand out feature of Eternal Legacy is the monsters you battle against are shown in the world environment and are avoidable, rather than randomly generated which I’m sure some gamers will appreciate. These are swell addition and its nice to see it implanted into the game, but the way they are animated and quickly pacing back and forth like a turtle from a Super Mario game does seem odd. Of coarse throughout your quest you do have side quests, but these are generally quite simple and involved very little exploration or challenge and end up being more or less just fetch quests, which is unfortunate.
Graphics
Eternal Legacy is a pleasure to look at and provides some wonderful eye candy throughout. The game looks just as great as it did on the iPhone if not better, with wonderful textures and vibrant colors. Whilst it may not be the most realistic game out, it looks as good as one of the better PlayStation 2 titles, and rivals many early Wii games. The blend of of sci-fi and fantasy looks wonderful and both character models and environments are filled with detail. Spells and effects catch your eye and camera angles in battle highlight the adrenaline-filled attacks. Not all camera angles are as amazing though, as most talking scenes contain eye-level shots that have you face to face with the character which can feel awkward. To make matters worse, the voice acting is not synced with the characters’ lips which just loop with nodding heads, much like what you’d expect from an older PlayStation 2 title. On seldom occasions the characters’ lips don’t move at all, and their heads just nod which seem very out of place. Also, occasionally graphics may flicker, which is unfortunate, but not a big problem as it doesn’t really disconnect you from the game.
Audio
One of the biggest downsides however is the unfortunate voice acting. While a few characters are done decently, the majority of NPC’s have terrible voices. As previously mentioned, lip-syncing is also an issue, however as this was originally an iPhone title, simply including voices and lip syncing is an impressive feature to have. If this is ever a problem for you though, there is an option to turn it off which is nice, although they aren’t so bad you’ll want to. Background music and sound effects however are a treat, and sound wonderful, as there are a few tunes that are quite catchy and feel very engaging.
Verdict
Eternal Legacy isn’t the greatest RPG ever made, but is a worthy addition to the genre, as a positive step towards the future of RPG’s in both the app stores of iOS devices and Mac. It’s impressive quality, length, price and polish make it a worthy title to anyone’s gaming collection, and it sets a standard for future RPG’s on its platforms. However, while its simplicity may be enjoyable to casual gamers and newcomers to the genre, it may not satisfy hardcore RPG fans. Furthermore, voice acting could use some major work in some cases and the story could defiantly be more engaging. That being said, Eternal Legacy doesn’t have that much competition at the moment, and I doubt it’ll have much to fear for a while now as it is quite a solid and enjoyable game. A wonderful port that is definitely worth checking out, and the best RPG I’ve played from the Mac App Store, but I’m sure the Mac is capable of a lot more. For under $8 though-this one’s a beaut!
PROS
-Simple, Pick-Up-And-Play Controls and Game Engine
-Decent Graphics and Wonderful Textures
-Decent length
-Well-executed turn-based combat system
-Great Polish
-Lots of Content
CONS
-Gets repetitive, especially side quests
-Storyline is decent, but isn’t told as well
-Some bad voice acting
-Plays it a bit too safe
-Can’t use spells outside of battles
