DesertEagleXIX
03-12-2009, 09:55 PM
Not long ago, the most prevalent environment for role playing games was the murky, monster-filled dungeon. Thanks to the last two Shin Megami Tensei titles, Disgaea 3, and now Mana Khemia: Student Alliance, the school campus is becoming the dominant setting for RPGs. Harry Potter seems to have replaced Dungeons and Dragons as the cultural conduit of the young geek.
Last year, developer GUST delighted Playstation 2 owners with Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, a non-traditional, turn-based RPG. Student Alliance is a gratifying port of that game with two noteworthy additions: a multiplayer battle mode, and the ability to cache game data on a memory stick to reduce load times. As the game opens, players are introduced to Vayne Aurelius, a solitary young man who lives in the forest with his feline sidekick, Sulpher. Our hero is quickly yanked from his woodland isolation and brought to the local alchemy academy. At this enchanted educational institute, students are taught the basics- everything from making fish robots to explosive food items out of everyday materials.
In sharp contrast to the predictable ‘save the world quest’, Mana Khemia’s challenges center around the difficulties of high school- from making friends, earning good grades, to prevailing through student rivalries. During the title’s journey, players will study for three years at the alchemy academy, divided into eight week sessions. Players can choose which classes they would like to take, which correspond to a variety of missions- from monster killing, questing, and item creation. At the end of each lesson, the player is graded accordingly- ‘A’ grades require supplementary efforts, while ‘F’s are given for a complete deficiency in meeting the class requirements.
Continued: http://tech-gaming.com/2009/03/12/mana-khemia-student-alliance-reviewed.aspx
Last year, developer GUST delighted Playstation 2 owners with Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis, a non-traditional, turn-based RPG. Student Alliance is a gratifying port of that game with two noteworthy additions: a multiplayer battle mode, and the ability to cache game data on a memory stick to reduce load times. As the game opens, players are introduced to Vayne Aurelius, a solitary young man who lives in the forest with his feline sidekick, Sulpher. Our hero is quickly yanked from his woodland isolation and brought to the local alchemy academy. At this enchanted educational institute, students are taught the basics- everything from making fish robots to explosive food items out of everyday materials.
In sharp contrast to the predictable ‘save the world quest’, Mana Khemia’s challenges center around the difficulties of high school- from making friends, earning good grades, to prevailing through student rivalries. During the title’s journey, players will study for three years at the alchemy academy, divided into eight week sessions. Players can choose which classes they would like to take, which correspond to a variety of missions- from monster killing, questing, and item creation. At the end of each lesson, the player is graded accordingly- ‘A’ grades require supplementary efforts, while ‘F’s are given for a complete deficiency in meeting the class requirements.
Continued: http://tech-gaming.com/2009/03/12/mana-khemia-student-alliance-reviewed.aspx