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The PSP library is an odd conundrum – when the amount of movies available outnumber its actual games, I scratch my head. Still, I persist, knowing that NIS is bringing another fringe Japanese game stateside. They did a good job in picking up Atelier Iris, so imagine my surprise when I heard about Generation of Chaos. I finally had a reason to hold onto my PSP.
Or so I thought.
Generation of Chaos is everything you would hope for in a strategy game. Large, continent-spanning campaigns? Check. Large 30-on-30 battles to the utter end? Check. Over the top magic and special attacks by unit generals? Check. Then there's so much more – there's the micromanagement of every base, for starters. If a town is defenseless, fortify it; if the place sells weaksause equipment, improve the stores. Keep towns happy and prosperous and they make great donations to the war chest. Likewise, if you expand too fast there won't be cash left to pay the troops. It's tiny elements like these that make Generation of Chaos so interesting. It's like a tactics game with Monopoly elements. In theory, this would be the ultimate strategy game.
Or so I thought.
Instead of giving you the checklist review, let's just walkthrough how you'll be playing the game. First the intro, where the game has to load in between voice samples! Even if you opt to turn them off or skip through the accompanying text, it'll still load. Then you're given a chance to choose a nation you want to fight for – of the two available from the start, chances are you'll go with the ‘easy' one. Then you'll wait for the game to load. Cue more cut scenes and loading. Load to the overhead map. And then…have absolutely no clue what to do!
All the makings for a great RPG are here, but have to either be deciphered through archaic menus, or can only be reached by diving a screen or two deep into one of the main menus! A smart-mouthed bird and familiar to our heroine chides her for being out of battle so long, and offers to give some pointers. This is a good thing…until you realize the snappy exchange is just that, and nothing more. Okay, so maybe if you go through the instructions, you can cipher out what to do…only to find out that the book is absolutely no help. So what's left is a trial and error poking around that can take hours, just trying to figure out what does what!
Once your bearings are set straight and you finally know how to get basic commands done, it's now a matter of…well, waiting. Everything in Generation of Chaos is about waiting. The nefarious load times show up everywhere – in dialogue, fights, and even in just traversing the overworld map! Fortifying settlements, building roads, and other assorted “research” not only take up a good chunk of time, but takes an entire unit out of play for it! I cannot stress enough how much of a pain it is for a game to not only progress at a slow, plodding pace, but add into it load times for everything, everywhere? Now it's just gone too far!
But I bet you're thinking “but I heard it has 30-on-30 battles – that must be “cool” right? Think again – most of these skirmishes break down into a battle of who has the land and weather advantage (how these elements come into play, I have no clue – again, no mention in the instructions or in-game), and whose units don't get stuck against a wall first. You can give generic commands to the grunts, which will most likely be ignored, and then you can control your general more directly. While all of your other 29 members never level up and have roadkill fodder for stats, the general is the proverbial ace in the hole. They can use support skills as a fight drags on, magic if needed, and deal a hideously high amount of damage to anything on the field. So the hopes of titanic clashes of 60 soldiers in the field is more akin to sending lemmings off to slaughter, and trying your best to keep the general from dying while dealing out the hurt.
Oh, and the game loads whenever you cast a spell or use a skill. In case you were starting to miss that part.
All this bashing aside, there is a complex, deep, involving game here. Imagine my surprise that after the first campaign, the world opens up to the next continents to fight with…with everything from the last fight still intact! That means all the fortifying, road building, and soldier buying stays in place! This also works against me, because that means all the expenditures from before reflect on my bank account. It's a tough world to live in, knowing you have towns to protect, taxes to collect, and soldiers to pay. Though the details go even deeper – unit morale can be affected one way or another; alliances can be formed with neutral nations or former foes; and anything can be accomplished for the right price!
It's a shame that most people will never get a chance to go as deep into the game as it offers. Generation of Chaos may have a very engrossing, rewarding strategy game mechanic on its side, but everything takes so long to accomplish, and is so ass-backwards to figure out that by the time you “get it” you may not even care. The load times compound the laborious nature immensely, meaning that the only people who will truly appreciate Generation of Chaos are those with the patience of saints… and total masochists. |
