Shadow Hearts: Covenant - Australian Review (Reviews)

Mitchell Bingemann, GamePro Australia

28/04/2005 11:33:12

With demon powers and matching gothic attire, half-Russian, half-Japanese tough guy, Yuri, is back for Midway's RPG sequel Shadow Hearts Covenant. With his sardonic wit and bad boy image, girls (and some dudes) will be melting at the knees as Yuri and his misfit band of partners take players along for an exhilarating ride. With its wicked cast of characters, relentless humour and epic storyline that puts The Neverending Story's title to shame, this is definitely one game that RPG fans should not miss.

Covenant picks up one year after the events of the original, right in the midst of World War I. The saga opens in the eerie surrounds of Domremy village in northern France with the introduction of Karin Koenig, a German lieutenant whose regiment of soldiers are being torn to shreds by the ever lovable Yuri in his most bad arse demon form. Karin is spared by Yuri and after reporting back to her superiors she is sent back with the aide of an exorcist by the name of Nicolai to capture Yuri and to ultimately occupy the deserted village. However as with all good RPG's there's bound to be twists a plenty, and sure enough they ensue quickly as Nicolai reveals his true colours as a co conspirator of a secret society bent on world domination. To cut a long intro short, Yuri gets cursed by a magical piece of mistletoe that Nicolai plunges into his chest thus sparking the flame of the real story.

Players soon assume control of Karin and Yuri, who due to the magical mistletoe can no longer perform his trademarked demon fusions. And so unfolds one of many premises that prompts Yuri on his journey to regain his lost powers and of course his tainted soul. The epic storyline of Shadow Hearts Covenant begins to slowly unravel like the world's largest ball of twine, but with more plot twists and bosses on top of bosses that will have players eating, drinking and breathing Covenant for a good forty plus hours (that's not even including the seemingly endless slew of side quests and treasure hunting). Its immense storyline really is a credit to the writers and artists who while mixing real historical events with its distinct fantastical anime flair have combined to create one of the most compelling RPG stories around.

Throughout this epic quest players will happen across a myriad of unforgettable characters who all add their own fighting nuances, humour and depth to your party. From the lost Russian Princess Anastasia to the Pro Wrestling wannabe Joachim, the additional characters you come to control all complement each other with their incredibly interesting personal stories, histories and fighting abilities. The cast of Covenant is perhaps the most enjoyable feature of the game and a definite foundation for its strong story. Yuri is as sarcastic, girl crazy and dark humoured as ever, which ties in superbly with the plot as it changes from light comedy at times to the darker toned seriousness that provides such an appealing contrast.

Let's Party!
Shadow Hearts Covenant features a loveable and quirky mix of characters that will have players howling in delight and purring in pleasure. Check them out!

Yuri: Not your stereotypical hero, but rather a loveable rogue who has the ability to fuse with the souls of demons.

Karin: The hot and fiery German Lieutenant who prefers the use of swords over the Wehrmacht issued Lugers.

Gepetto: The tough love puppeteer with a heart of gold. Sorry, no Pinocchio but he does have a cute little girlfriend marionette.

Kurando: Samurai bodyguard by day, demon morpher by night, Kurando takes honour seriously and is more than handy with his samurai sword.

Blanca: No, not the green dude from Street Fighter but rather a cute white wolf with deadly sharp fangs.

Joachim: Vampiric hero who wishes to one day be the greatest pro wrestler the world has ever seen. Cheesy, daft and a hell of a lot of fun.

Lucia: The air headed, buxom tarot card reader from Florence. She's not too bad looking either, for a computer game character that is.

Anastasia: Daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. Part time Russian Princess, part time annoying brat. Has the hots for Kurando.

Game play is a mix of the typical RPG turn based battle system and linear meandering between locales and dungeons, and although it doesn't sound it, it's the battle system that really secures Covenant as such a solid and well composed game. The intuitive and logical battle system not only sees the return of the Judgment Ring but also the incorporation of team based combos that are as much fun as they are deadly. For those out of the know, the Judgment Ring works as an interactive battle system where success depends upon players hitting specific zones within the wheel to complete the character's multi combo attack patterns. Missing these zones however, can be catastrophic as you'll only inflict minimal damage if at all and will then have to wait for your next turn to try again.

The generous number of party members allows you to customize different parties according to individual stats and abilities and ensures that every conceivable situation can be handled with the right mix of brains, brawn and beauty. Each character's Judgment Ring is unique and upgradeable, so players can increase attack moves, enlarge hit zones and even slow the spinning rate of the wheel. It's incredibly interactive and a great way to chunk up and personalize your favourite characters to how you see fit. All these elements combine seamlessly to give players a combat system that's not only rewards interactivity but also provides pace to keep up with the mayhem your players inflict.

During play, Covenant doesn't redefine any borders in terms of graphics, but that's not to say they are at all displeasing in any way. What really draws attention are the beautifully crafted and superbly directed cut scenes that litter the game. Fight visuals too are outstanding with each character exhibiting distinctive combat moves that flow better than a Bruce Lee combo karate kick to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Flaws within the game are minimal and fortunately do not take away from the overall experience at all. Aside from the initial locales and dungeon environs that are small and linear, and also the annoying spawn rate of monster encounters, most problems with the game simply come down to nitpicking. As the story progresses so too do your options to explore the world and pursue the endless side quests, a feature that really opens up the game in the later stages. There's a lot of backtracking, talking to civilians, and collecting trading cards of naked men (Gepetto uses them to barter for dresses), that will entertain players for hours on end if they ever hope to achieve all that can be done in this monstrous title.

What ever you do, don't be scared off by the fact that Shadow Hearts Covenant is a sequel because this RPG is good enough to could stand alone. With its clever mix of history, fantasy and humour the story is as compelling as it is immersing. Throw in the awesome cast of misfit characters, some skimpy outfits and boatloads of personality and you have one RPG title that can't be missed. Final Fantasy watch out!

Verdict
With its memorable cast of characters, in-depth story and colossal length, Shadow Hearts Covenant is a role-playing game everyone should pick up.
Pros: Best battle system ever. Beautifully composed cut scenes. Awesome ensemble cast of characters.
Cons: Small city environments. Annoying and frequent monster spawns in dungeons.

Score = 9.5/10



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Graphics: 5.0 Sound: 4.5 Control: 4.5 Fun Factor: Fun Factor
Scoring scale: 1-5
Publisher: Midway / Developer: Nautilus / Retail Price: $99.95 (PlayStation 2) / Release date: 15/03/2005 / Genre: Action, RPG / OFLC Rating: MA (15+)