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A look at Sudeki

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: July 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

At present I am almost finished with the game (at only 17 or so hours into it, mind you). So, I thought it an apt time to voice my opinions on the game.

Gameplay: The place where this game truly shines is its real-time combat system, which is quite unique to a RPG. Depending on which character you use, the game is played as a FPS (first person shooter) or as third person action game. The FPS mode is fairly traditional, but the melee combat is unique. It is comprised of a combo system in which the player must enter in three button combos to complete attacks. Each combo is unique and may yield an interesting effect on your opponent (such as stunning or double damage). Here's the catch. The combos have to be inputted in a particular beat. If you mash the buttons, your character will still attack, but you won't get the desired combo. The system takes a few battles to get used to, but once you do it functions well and is enjoyable.

There are several attempts at puzzles in this game. Most of them are far too simple to be interesting, although a few block pushing puzzles at the end are rather interesting. For the most part, though, the puzzles fall rather flat and seem to be used only as a way to break up combat (something which wasn't necessary in the first place).

The level up system borrows a bit from titles like Arcanum. Each level, you receive a few points (one or two) which can be used to increase stats, hit points, spell points, or grant your character new spells. The system offers an interesting amount of customization not usually afforded in linear RPG's. Also, a bit of exploration will unearth items which permanently increase specific stats, thus allowing even more customization on the player's part.

Graphics: The game looks quite good. It is very stylized and cartoonish. The game does occasionally suffer from slow frame rates, particularly just before reaching a new area. Thankfully this slow down never happened during combat and it never hampered the gameplay. The camera could occasionally be tricky, but it was usually quickly resolved by moving the right thumbstick.

Sound: Here is where most people will probably be split. The voice acting is Sudeki is campy, and by campy I mean full blown campy. I must admit that when I first turned on the game and watched the opening sequence, I grit my teeth when I heard the voice acting. However, as time went on, and I got a better feel for the game, I began to realize that the campy voices really did fit with the game. For the most part, Sudeki is a fairly comedic and cartoonish game. The campy voice acting does seem to help bring out these qualities. The voice makes the game feel like an anime, like those old translated episodes of Dragon Ball.

The soundtrack for the game is quite good. It's an interesting mix of New Age acoustic guitars, heavy techno, with a little bit of roadhouse twang thrown into the mix. The theme from New Brightwater is certainly one of the standout songs in the game.

Story: The story in Sudeki is rather a mixed blessing, probably because it is so end loaded. The beginning of the game eases you into the world, giving you just the slightest tidbits of information about the bigger story. You explore the entirety of the first and second world, as well as part of the third, before the plot finally starts moving. Then, it seems like too much information is being thrown at you at one time. There are a few major plot twists, but the story itself is not intracately layered. It seems to be delivered bluntly.

The characters are alright, if a bit two dimensional. Tal, your main character, is a soldier how constantly feels the need to prove himself to his father. Allish is a princess mage who wants to do what she wants when she wants to. Buki is your typical tribal warrior, cold and impersonal with a distrust of human society. My favorite character, Elco, is a steam-punk scientist who's given his life and his hand for the kingdom of Illumina. The game actually seems to take a bit of advice from Classical Theater by using the original meaning of Deus ex Machina. The gods literally appear before the heroes and tell them what to do. Although it may come off as trite, it is an interesting choice, especially given that the pantheon of this world seems quite classical.

The world of Sudeki is fairly interesting. It is a combination of pretty much every RPG world concept ever used (save for Fallout's post nuclear apocalypse). Illumina is a sort of a steam-punk city, large gears coinciding with parapets and high castle towers. Brightwater is your classic medieval town by the bay. Shadani-Mo is a tribal city out in the desert. Transentia is a cyber punk city with ray guns and clockwork robots. The only complaint I have about the world is that I want to see more. What is already there is interesting, but it does seem as though some aspect could have been flesh out a bit more.

Closing comments: Sudeki is a very fun game with an interesting combat system. The world is vibrant and interesting, although I do wish it had been fleshed out a bit more. The story is alright, but the combat really is where this game shines.
4.5

an above-average action-RPG for the XBox

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: August 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Sudeki was a game that I've been waiting for over a year to buy, but after some delays and finetuning of the game it is finally out and I was finally able to play it. This game is more in the action-rpg style than the turn-based Final Fantasy type games that has been popular the last 7-8 years.

The XBox is not known for having a large library of roleplaying-games like the PS2, or the PS1 for that matter. But Sudeki is an above-average addition to this very limited library. Its not a classic and nigh-perfect rpg like 2003's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or as expansive and open-ended like Morrowind, but Sudeki still satisfies enough to make this game a good choice until Knights of the Old Republic 2 comes out.

First let's get the downside out of the way.

* The game is too short. It could've been even better if they used a plot and storyline that was abit more complex and detailed.

* Some of secondary NPCs are used as subplot threads which doesnt seem to pan out or is just dropped altogether.

Outside of those two negatives, Sudeki succeeds in delivering a satisfying game. The battle system is unique in that a player can switch from one of four characters in the group in mid-battle. This helps in making sure that characters being controlled by the AI can be switched over to player-control if they need to be micromanaged. One of the out-of-the-box changes they made to this rpg that other rpgs dont have is the fact that characters who uses long-range attacks switch to first-person perspective when player-controlled. This may be abit disconcerting for players who are not used to playing FPS-type games, but for fans of FPS shooters like HALO, Half-Life and Counter-Strike, this would be an easy transition.

Sudeki's graphics has to be one of the best out there not on PC that's using a high-end system. The framerate remains constant even during heavy battles where the screen is full of combatants and spell effects. Unlike most rpgs that uses two different graphic engines to show game footage and cutscenes, Sudeki uses the same engine. Sudeki looks like one long cutscene. One only knows a cutscene is on the screen because the in-game graphics engine gets a dream-like quality to it. The look of the game also has more than a tad of Japanese anime mixed in with Western-stylings.

The sound for Sudeki has 5.1 Dolby Digital capabilities. This is a good bonus for XBox owners who have their system hooked up to a 5.1 surround system. The one thing about the sound for Sudeki that impressed me wasn't for when the game got all action and hectic but during the slower and quaint scenes. This works very well on 5.1 DD.

For fans of rpgs and who own an XBox, this is a good game to get. For casual rpg gamers, you may want to rent this game instead due to its somewhat short gameplay. I still recommend it for both type of gamers.

Too Short, Too Gory for target audience

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 24
Date: December 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Sudeki is a role playing game where you control four different types of characters, battling your way through magic warfare and gunfights.

Your four characters are a swordsman, gunfighter, female spellcaster and female amazon. As in most of these RPGs, each character has their own strengths and weaknesses, personalities and motivations.

You begin as the swordsman, a member of the guard of the Queen's army. Enemies are attacking and you head out to cleanse your land of the enemies. Soon enough you have all four party members on board, and are gaining experience, finding loot, and improving your skills, weapons and armor.

Gameplay is very much like most other RPGs on the market. You have a large world that you explore bit by bit. When you get near enemies, you button-mash to create combos and earn experience. As you explore the lands, you bash urns and break into chests to steal the treasures of your villagers.

While combat is fast and furious, the rest the game can be very slow paced. There are very long cut scenes in this game to draw you into the story. Be prepared with your favorite food and drink to keep yourself busy while these scenes drag on. The people you speak to each have one or two key phrases and simply repeat them over and over again.

The graphics are very nice in a Final Fantasy sort of way - a detailed, cartooney fantasy world of big castles and peaceful villages. On the other hand, you're sort of moving from 'painting' to 'painting' much of the time, which can be frustrating and feel like you're being led by the nose through the plot.

On the true downside, the female characters appear to enjoy wearing the skimpiest of bikinis into brutal combat with a lot of blood and gore. This earns the game its mature rating. It's certainly great to have female party members in a game - it wasn't very long ago that adventure games solely featured male characters. But do they have to all look like prostitues??

The sound is reasonably nice, with music that helps to convey the feeling of the scenes.

In general, the game is a fun introduction to how RPGs work, but with the game being so linear, there isn't much decision making in the game. And with the game only lasting maybe a week or two of average game playing time, it is over very quickly. So those who would best benefit from this type of 'intro' RPG - i.e. young kids and tweens - can't buy it because of its mature rating.

If I were the maker, I would have toned back the blood and skin to earn the game a more kid-friendly rating, which would have made the game well suited to its target audience. As it is, only adults who are just learning about RPGs will really appreciate what this game has to offer. The rest of us will zip through it pretty quickly and be left wanting something a bit more meaty.

Big let down!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 22 / 35
Date: July 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Considering how long this game has been in the works, I was expecting a game of the same caliber as KOTOR. No such luck. Sudeki is an ok game at best. The voice acting is not that great, in fact, the voices are either incredibly annoying, or don't fit the appearance of the character at all. This is especially true for the females. This is a real loss, since a major aspect of an RPG is interaction between characters. The actual gameplay graphics seem awfully grainy-they would have been great had players not experienced the superior graphics that the x-box can produce in games like Splinter Cell, Halo, or Prince of Persia. The cut scenes have good graphics, but the actual gameplay graphics don't match up. The controls are mediocre--it is not so much the button configuration as that the respose time tends to be slow, especially when you want your character to grab and pull something. Another frusterating aspect is that the "Spirit Points" used for spells do not reginerate gradually like force powers do in KOTOR. This results in the unfortunate situation of running out of spirit points, and being screwed for the rest of the battle unless you have adequete potions. All in all, if there were not several RPG's about to come out that look like they will blow you away (fable, jade empire, etc.) I might recomend Sudeki to RPG fans who need something new. However, for now I would suggest waiting it out until better titles come out.
In closing, I would just like to request that people only write actual reviews. If you must write a review before a game is even released, please take the time to at least play a demo--the disc that comes with the XBOX magazine has very good demos of big games. If you just want to ask a question or speculate about future releases, please be considerate of other Amazon customers and take your comments to a chatroom. I am pretty certain that gamespot.com has a chatroom for each and every game. Thank you, and I hope my review was helpful.

Victim of its own hype, but still enjoyable

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: December 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The Xbox has very few RPG's worth mentioning. This is, without a doubt, one of the system's main weaknesses. For years Microsoft had been promoting Sudeki as one of the games that would change all that. Well... as it turns out it wasn't. What happened?

Contrary to every advertisement and preview, contrary even to certain reviews seen here, Sudeki is not truly a role playing game. Allow me to emphasize this. Examples of RPG's would include the original Baldur's Gate, Knights of the Old Republic, or just about any RPG on the PS2. Sudeki could be more accurately described as a linear adventure game. If you are looking for a meaty, 40-hour epic this isn't it. There is exactly ONE point in the game that allows you to control one of your character's decisions, and even that turns out to be rather inconsequential. Dialogue with NPC's is humorous, but pretty superficial. Aside from leveling there is no player-controlled character development whatsoever. And as I noted earlier the adventure itself is very linear. In many cases other areas of the world are inaccessible until you complete a certain quest. This usually takes the form of a gate that is inexplicably locked.

The story isn't too original either, although it does get more interesting a few hours in. And speaking of character development, I find it odd that 3 of the 4 main characters have supposedly known each other for years and yet they don't even act like it until almost halfway through.

Sudeki uses a lot of voice acting, which is good, but a lot of it is quite cheesy. I thought that was ok, since it's kind of in the same lighthearted spirit as the world, but your mileage may vary.

Also be aware that Sudeki is short. I finished it in just under 20 hours, not including retries, and that was with every side quest completed and taking my time. Sadly there isn't really any replay value since the game is so short and you have absolutely no control over initial character creation. You do, at least, have full control over the leveling process.

Now... if you're willing to forgive some of these flaws, you might still find Sudeki to be surprisingly enjoyable, as I did. To start off, this is just simply a gorgeous game. Nominations should be awarded. Every single environment has been crafted with a loving attention that is often absent in modern games. The game is awash in bright colors, slightly super-deformed characters, and fairy-tale buildings. For me, at least, it really did feel like I was playing in a cartoon. More importantly there is simply no repetitiveness in the levels. Take some time to look around instead of just speeding through, and you'll be surprised at all the little (and big) details you might see.

Sudeki also has quite a few cutscenes. Generally they are pretty darn well done and even wryly humorous, often giving unexpected insight into the world and the characters. The last cutscene that occurs just before the final battle is a real treat... unfortunately, after you win, the game just sort of ends. Abruptly.

Aside from visual appeal and charm, combat is Sudeki's other main strength. The two melee characters, Tal and Buki, feature a combo attack system. By pressing the A and B buttons in certain combinations you can get different attack combos, but timing is important. Mashing the buttons too slow or too fast will cause the combo to fail. The two other characters, Ailish and Elco, utilize first-person ranged attacks when under your control. Every character also features skill strikes, which are very powerful special moves that use up Skill Points. Time slows down during a skill strike, which allows you to ensure that the strike affects the most enemies, or in the case of buffs, goes off correctly. Each character also learns two or three Spirit Strikes during the game. Spirit Strikes take a fairly long time to build up but are pretty much guaranteed to destroy every non-boss enemy in the immediate area. However, keep in mind that even when you have all four characters fighting together you can only directly control one at a time (although you can switch freely during combat). Combat is a lot of fun but at times it does seem a bit too easy. The bosses are pretty cool but none of them pose a real challenge if you fight smart and are prepared, and any random encounter in the wilderness can be defeated as long as you have a Spirit Strike saved up. Each character also features a special ability. Tal can pull and push heavy objects, Buki can climb certain walls, Ailish can dispel magic, and Elco can fly. These abilities are key to getting past certain areas.

Finally a word about Sudeki's Mature rating. There are definitely parts of the game that can be a little gory. In a world full of anthropomorphic characters and cutesy scenery it can be quite jarring to see innocent people get brutally slaughtered, but while Sudeki has a lot of cheerful sunshine it does have its dark moments too. And yes, there is definitely a "T&A" factor to this game. If you don't know what T&A is, then look at the box cover. There is enough here to inspire a legion of naughty fanart. Let it be known that Buki has by far one of the most unattainably perfect tushes ever to be seen in a video game, and see it you will, since she spends most of it running around with little more than a piece of floss to preserve her dignity. You've been warned (or encouraged, if you're into that I suppose).

Overall Sudeki has great production quality but it fails to deliver as a true RPG. However despite its flaws it still has a lighthearted, oddly addictive appeal to it. This is definitely a game that doesn't take itself too seriously. As long as you don't expect it to be anything more than a visually interesting adventure romp with strong combat elements it will probably be worth your time. At the current discounted prices, or as a weekend rental, I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something short and sweet.

No pulse

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: August 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Right. Held my comments until I finished it. (was ready to pan it from barely an hour in though!)

Sound- Who cares? Good voice acting, but nothing that you absolutely had to listen to, so why bother? Music is fine, but not really inspiring or epic. That said, probably the best part of the game!

Graphics- "Pretty", but very static. Everything is what it is, and, other than pushing a few locked outhouses around, it all stays that way. Not much to see with only three small worlds to explore, but the variety that is present is alright. The lead character looks like a woman, and despite clothing designs on the actual female characters that leave nothing to the imagination, that familiar Xbox bounciness just isn't there. Coolest thing is an intro bit with backlit cutouts/puppets/marionettes.

Gameplay- Tackles many genres and succeeds to really master none, the last people who will really love this game are hardcore RPG enthusiasts. Plays more like a shooter, except the paths you travel are devoid of anything more than the occasional merchant or breakable box. Another one of those games where barrels and boxes reappear in the same place over and over again, and you break them each time wondering, "Am I really irritating some poor sanitation worker who has to keep replacing these?" Interaction with NPCs is lifeless, and a bit pointless, and worst of all it continually falls out of context. For instance, some fisherman or whoever will give a reply fitting to the barbarian stranger in town, but switch to the princess and the guy still talks to you the same way (what, no "Your Highness"?! Off with his head!). Seems odd like when you are running around as a character FROM the place you are exploring, yet she/he is asking questions like, "So, what's it like around here?"

Puzzles- None to speak of. There are a few rooms that require you to do the old push/pull the box ordeal, but they are so simplistic as to be pointless. If you call being told to collect a bunch of gems, having to run in and out of the same area fighting the same enemy over and over to get them, and then returning them to the NPC for some cheapo potion, then yes, there are puzzles.

Battle- Combat takes place in mini-arenas that seal their exits shut until fighting ends, and you pretty much have three choices: One, play like a shooter game and use one of the gun/magic using PCs to strafe in circles around the baddies. Two, play like a slasher game and hack-hack-chop your way to victory. Or three, recycle all your income into potions for spell points, and use special attacks over and over. I used the third method to beat the end of the game, did not even have to use a single health potion. If you broke those three parts up into individual games, each would make a mediocre shooting/fighting/magic game not much worthy of attention.

It is nice to have another RPG on the Xbox, but with games like KoTOR behind us and Fable coming quickly, people are starting to expect a bit more life in their adventures. Some meaningful choices. In Sudeki, you the player just don't really matter.

Fun linear RPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: August 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just finished playing Sudeki, and overall I found it to be quite enjoyable. It's an RPG game with a anime look and feel. It features a real time battle system. Some characters are melee characters where battle is like a fighting game where there are various combos. Some characters have ranged weapons where it's like a first person shooter. It can sometimes be a bit frustrating to try to manage all 4 characters in real time, but a 'QuickMenu' helps you quickly execute actions for each character and then cycle to others.

The game is quite linear, and it does a good job keeping you on track. You really need to complete side quests you get when you get them, otherwise, who knows when you'll get the chance to get back to do them. It can actually be frustrating at times to not be able to get back to the right place with the right character to finish a side quest. The story line of the game puts you in control of different sets of characters over time, which keeps things interesting. Each characters have their strengths and weaknesses, so you have to learn to make the best of each character. I found the storyline to be fairly interesting, although it's not very original.

The graphics are very good, although I wish it had support for a higher HDTV resolution. The sound effects make good use of surround sound. I ended up spending a couple hours a day on the game over a couple weeks.

If you are looking for an open ended in depth RPG, this isn't the game for you. If you are looking for a fun linear RPG game to entertain you for 30 hours or so of game play, I think Sudeki is a good buy.

Underrated by many, better then i expected

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When i first heard about the upcoming release of Sudeki i was pretty stoked. The XBox has been lacking exclusive RPGs and Sudeki (along with Fable) looked like it might fill in some gapping holes. However after picking up a demo of the game at Gamestop prior to it's release my entire opinion flipped. The demo was plain awful, the combat seemed to be lacking and to put it lightly i wasn't at all impressed. So what did i do? I cancelled my reservation.

Several months latter (after watching Sudeki pretty much bomb sales wise) i decided to pick up a copy because of the price drop and i have to say that my opinion completly changed. Hidden behind all of the hype (both negative and positive) i found Sudeki suprisingly addictive and enjoyable.

Graphically the game is beutiful and despite the simplicity of the combat it's enjoyable (not bad hack and slash at all) - the boss fights are also alot of fun. The story has depth and despite the annoying voice acting (and it is very annoying) i can't say anything other then i enjoyed the game.

I guess i leaned my lesson - don't trust a demo to give you an honest accesment of a game and don't believe the hype. There are quite a few games that were overlooked and have become classics. (especially RPGs)

Give Sudeki a shot.

Do i, don't i - buy this game?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 18
Date: June 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I think I am going to wait until I get to read what the magazines write about Sudeki before I part with any of my hard earned cash. There are a number of rpg's on the horizon for the Xbox and I can only afford to buy one of them. I have seen Sudeki in action at a show I attended a few weeks back. It looks quite good, although different to the images I have seen on various web sites. The images out there on the web look smoother. If you've seen the game working it looks rougher. Another thing I noticed, there was never all that much in the way of action happening on the screen. I need to see more.

Sudeki, a little KOTOR, a little Dungeon Siege, A little FF

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: July 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The game moves and plays well.

The graphics are superb but only if you have HDTV or a smaller TV. I have HDTV/32 inch analog with component/27 inch with VPORT. HDTV and VPORT look superb, the 32 inch with component looks OK but has a few jaggies. If you want to go "big" you will need the HDTV.

Gameplay:

Battles: Very smooth, decent AI for a console, easy to get into. It is very hard to work WITH your teamates. Unlike KOTOR where you could micromanage your battle like some IRS auditor, here you have to work WITH your team. The easy way is to take a tank position and set your other 3 to "defensive" this has them attack your targets. The Challenging and fun way is to let them do what they will and support them with the caster. This turns into a hectic battle fest that leaves you shaking with intensity.

Quests. So far so simple. However this is less of a KOTOR style "let me drag you through the inane aspects of my mind as a bored designer" questing system. More of a "this is what people might need in a war zone" questing system. It is a little on the light side but this is the first title by this group and a good first effort.

Travel: Overlooked by most reviews and reviewers. One often has to think if the person "reviewing" is playing a developer copy. Traveling is one battle after another but in segmented arenas. This can get tedious, but it fits well with the story line. It also make the quests more difficult because you will want to think things out before you simply do a step and run back.

Overall a great effort. I bought it and will keep it. to me replay value has nothing do with "reliving the story as a dark LUCAS DORK... err JEDI". It has everything to do with me thinking about the fond experience of the game a year from now and popping it back in to play it again from a different angle.

BTW, I have KOTOR. Liked it but found it to be more of the same from the biggest thief in Media. ??

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