Culdcept (PlayStation 2)

It may seem an amazing feat, but this simpe game has prroved to be teh biggest hit here in my college dorm. I don't play it much anymore... because it's constantly being RENTED from me by everyone from teh expected game geeks, to the preps and jocks.

Best Game Ever

It is an awesome game to play just sitting around trying to have some fun. Both male and female will like this game.

because if it had I wager it would've steamrolled Yu-Gi-Oh, Naruto(ugh!)and even Magic itself and this is coming from a Yugi fan. Unfortunately, this game got pushed aside and ultimately ignored by the PS2 fanbase. Pity, if only they knew what they had missed out on.

Hailed as Magic meets Monopoly you assume the role of a Cepter, a person who can draw power from cards. There are approximately 500 cards in the game some of which are only obtainable by completing certain objectives. Upon conclusion of a match you are awarded with new cards to strengthen your current Book (Deck). Creature cards are summoned to occupy spaces on the board and correspond to one of 5 elements: Blue for Water, Green for Earth, Red for Fire, Yellow for Wind and Gray for Neutral. Each creature gains ST bonuses if it has allies on lands next to it and HP bonuses for being on matching land. Neutral creatures receive the extra ST boost but do not receive HP even if on Neutral land. Each creature also has its own little animated sprite on the gameboard when summoned from their cards. There are also Item cards you can equip a monster with to aid it in battle. Weapon cards allow you to boost your creatures attack power (ST) in battle while Armor cards allow you to increase your creature's endurance (HP). Accessory cards grant a special ability or abilities to your creatures such as turning them to something completely different, destroying cards in your opponent's hand, or even allowing your creature to attack first assuming it doesn't already have that ability. Finally, there are Scroll cards. These powerful cards have the ability to ignore your opponent's added HP bonus (called Land Effect) and damage them based on the creatures own base HP (the value written on the creature's card.)
Know that there are certain creatures that cannot use certain items and some can't use anything at all.

It's also pleasing to note that this game is MUCH more balanced than many of the card games out today although in most cases it DOES seem like the game is in favor of the CPU and the CPU almost ALWAYS rolls exactly what it needs. There are cards that can prevent this however and allow you to control what your opponent rolls. If it seems like there are no options you may take a loss. Losses in this game are meaningless since you get cards whether you win or lose although naturally you get more for winning. You can think of this as added incentive to never give up. You also get cards for winning Versus games as well.

As you complete more and more locations in Story Mode you will open up those locations for Versus Mode. You can also earn Medals for completing certain conditions. Some are pathetically simple to obtain and others require a LOT of time, effort, and patience. You also get new cards and arenas to battle in for completing Medal Challenges. The cards obtained from Medal Challenges are very powerful and aren't available any other way. The replay value in this game is almost limitless.

The bottom line is that Culdcept is a gem of the gaming world that didn't and unfortunately never will get the recognition it deserves. If you see this game ANYWHERE at ANY time, grab it and never let go of it.

It is my understanding that this game was published in limited quantities, but it is worth getting if you can! The game is sort of a combination of Monopoly and Magic:the Gathering (collectible card game). You move around a board and claim "properties" which you defend (or steal from others!) by using a deck of special cards, consisting of creatures, items and spells. You can choose your name and what you look like, can have more than one persona and several decks, and can replay boards to beef up your deck.

The creatures are aligned with different colors (green, blue, yellow, red and "colorless") and the spaces on the board are either one of these colors, multicolored or colorless, and can be changed to suit your needs. You earn the monetary units (magic points) through spells, creature abilities, "rent" from others landing on your space...if they don't challenge you and win! You battle over the properties with creatures from your deck (or by simply landing on an empty space). Spells and items are colorless, though some have advantages (or disadvantages) for particular colors.

Winning is similar to Monopoly - the more you pump up your properties, the more you make. Each "board" has a goal amount of "Magic Points" and the first one to the start space with the right amount (or more) is the winner. This is a very addictive game. You can build your deck to suit your fancy.

You gain new cards by winning the "boards." You also get cards even if you lose, but you get more cards when you win.

The only glitches I have found are that once in a while, when you land on the space that is equivalent to "Chance" in Monopoly, and get a negative result...sometimes the game gets confused as to what the penalty is. For example: you are told that you will not be able to move until one of the other players rolls an even number, but the game thinks you need to lose a card, instead, and allows you to move anyway, minus a card!

There is also one particularly annoying battle board where I swear the AI cheats! If the opponent needs just a particular roll of the die in order to wipe you out...he gets it! When he needs just that particular bit of armor...he gets it! When he needs a particular spell to zap one of your creatures...he draws it. You get my drift. I do NOT think that particular board is "rigged" but it was extremely challenging to beat this guy the first time, and I have yet to beat him again, though I am trying over and over, since one of the game FAQ sites said something neat happens if you beat him enough times.

I should mention that there IS, in fact, a story line (though not the best one I have ever seen), and you have to beat these boards to advance in the video game. These board battles are like boss fights in RPGS. The characterization is poor and some of the music on particular boards is VERY, VERY annoying. One of the opponents looks like an Ewok (Star Wars) and is even named "Pickett" (can we say Wicket?).

You also win medals for different things in the game...such as being sent back to start over the most times in one game *sigh* and other more positive things. When you get all the cards of one color, you get a special card, that is only obtainable through this method.

I haven't finished this game yet, but was a huge Magic:the Gathering fan and love RPG-type games, so I am thoroughly enjoying this one! If you like M:tG but hate the video game versions, and lack someone to play with, this is the game for you!

If you like card games, board games, AND video games, Culdcept is for you! It doesn't really focus on graphic battles or cute cuddly-ness to get you interested; but the gameplay can keep you playing for hours straight. In fact, this game was and IS an "under-the-radar" game.

*In the way of the graphics, I give this a 4. The movies in it and the unique art help it to stand out from other card/board games, but the gameboard graphics are nothing to write home about.

*The gameplay is very addictive, earning it a 5. From collecting all the cards, to collecting all the medals, to building the perfect deck to beat any computer, AI or human opponent, this game keeps you thinking about how different cards work together and how you can alter each deck based on which map you use.

*The fun factor is obviously a 5. You can play 1-4 players, including creating an AI character based on your own characteristics and using your own deck of cards. The games can be long, but setting a short time limit can really make the decisions quick and the time will fly by.

*What is missing from the game is the battle graphics. It's alright watching two creature cards and their items/support creatures, and then seeing the plusses and minuses in ATT/HP before someone wins or loses. A real treat would have been if they had generated a sort of gameplay that actually shows a little "Powder Puff" growing and using enough item strength to take down a huge dragon -- or showing a "Lung" creature growing from 0 to 300 strength.

*The overall rating of this game is a 5 based on the fun factor and replay value. I've had my game for years now and it's still one of the most-played games in my collection. It is definitely worth paying up to $20 for (incl. shipping). If you see it for more money, keep shopping!


***DISCLAIMER: I'd like to comment on the ESRB rating. They rated this game Teen, based on Fantasy Violence and Partial Nudity. There are a handful of character cards which show topless creatures whose breasts are being covered by their long hair, and one (that I can recall) piece of art that shows a harpie creature that is topless, but doesn't appear to have nipples. And the fantasy violence is just to the extent that shows a floating sword or fist, etc. attacking the opposing card and cutting it or making a hole in it.

However, I really don't recommend this game for anyone under 13 based on the cognitive developement required to tactically play and have real fun with the game... ie, it's easy to play blackjack -- but if the Ace got +1 in value if paired with a 4, or two 6's would each be reduced by 2 if the dealer shows a face card... that would take extra brain power to think about how you can possibly win. It's like chess if it could be played with cards, and on different game boards, and had many more pieces that you could mix and match. Or it's like the collectible card game, Magic: The Gathering meets Monopoly.

There is no one I've shown this game who didn't curse me for them shortly becoming very addicted to it! I was happily addicted to it (and still am every time I decide to start up on it again), but then I was responsible for all of the testing of the game and it was a PLEASURE to work on. There are still some issues such as, while the AI does NOT cheat, it does play very well and it does indeed seem that there are times (in one level in particular) where it gets...let's say "very lucky" rolls. And there are some language (primarily in the voiceovers) that never got addressed which are annoying if you are really picky...but its very easy to overlook since the game itself is so phenomenal, so fun, and dare I say it again, so addicting! You can't really appreciate it until you try it...but once you try it, you'll be hooked!

This game has such an incredible system behind it. Imagine Yu-Gi-Oh Mated with Monopoly, and this is basically what you would end up with. You make your way around a multi-elemented game board and set up monsters and traps and spells by using cards. The idea of it, is amazing, and it is almost one of the best games I have played this generation.

But this silver cloud has one of the darkest linings I have ever seen.

The Computer has an uncanny ability to roll whatever it needs to completely dominate you. It cheats basically. You have to continuously go back to previous levels to farm and strengthen your deck just to proceed.

Here is an example of what I am talking about:

There are shrines in the game, and they can give either good or bad effects, depending on luck. My Computer Opponent hit one and it said, "One Cepter will be frozen until the other rolls an even number."

Well of course I was the one punished. Then my opponent rolled 3 straight 1s and got 3 straight squares. He rolled a 5 and skipped past my only two monsters on that side of the board. He then rolled a 1 and got another square.

Then he rolled another 5 and landed on one of my monsters. He killed it, then rolled another 1 and killed my other monster on that side of the board. Then he rolled two more 7s, both ending up with new squares for him, before finally rolling a 2 and freeing me.

This was rounds 8-16 of a game on level 2 I had just started. I had made one turn around the boards and then got destroyed. I came back to level 2 to farm some cards, since I was brutalized on level 5.

This isn't a rare occurence either. This happens almost every match, and without extreme luck, the only way to counteract it, is by farming and building a very over powered deck.

The premise is so fantastic, and it comes so close to achieving greatness, but it falls well short due to cheating AI. If you can handle hours of cheating without getting insanely angry, then by all means buy this game. It does a lot of things right. But if you are like me, and can only be crapped on so much before you get pissed off, then stay far away.