Update: September 23, 2004
«©NCSX» In a ruined future wracked by destruction and cratered cities, man still lives to fight. Suit up in hipster clothing and battle on tiered landscapes where skills are gathered on the field. Upon starting a game, a fighter can only run, jump, and lock-on. In order to launch an attack however or counter an incoming blast, skill spheres must be picked up on the field and assigned to the four main buttons on the Xbox joypad. Over 300 possible skills which range the spectrum of attack, defense, and level-up are available for addition into a players bag of tricks. The wrinkle however is that various skill spheres show up randomly for pickup but players may hike the odds of a skill appearing by placing it in multiple slots before a stage begins. Many attacks are available including a ripple wave blast, an incendiary rain of fire, and one that encapsulates a target in a luminous sphere and drains lifeforce. An impressive attack that shows up is a local area explosion which digs out the ground underneath your feet and leaves pockmarks on the pavement. Anyone that is close enough to be enveloped by the blast suffers massive damage. While we're enjoying Phantom Dust this morning, we did notice some niggles with the camera work where it occasionally can't seem to catch up to our forays as we ran, hopped, and raced across an arena. We've only noticed it a few times but we'll investigate further once we put the game through its paces. Visually, Phantom Dust is beautiful. The mottled stone walls and grimy metal patchwork appear very much the bombed-out dystopia that Microsoft Studios apparently envisioned in their futuristic post doomsday scenario. Little details throughout the game are also nice such as the huffing, puffing, and haggard attempt to catch one's breath when a fighter's lifeforce has drawn down to a few bars and death is near... View the back cover on the main NCS website. Jan Code: 805529980747 This document is ©NCSX 2004. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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