Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos

Very little has changed since I previewed Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos, a real-time PSP strategy/RPG that pitted good versus evil, a warmongering empire against a peaceful kingdom and a high-tech military state against mysterious technology-crazed enemies. This isn’t necessarily bad news since what was experienced in the preview build was actually good but the things that needed tightening haven’t really been addressed for the release. In the end, however, Aedis Eclipse is still a game well worth a first and second look and is the best Generation of Chaos game you’ll find thus far.

Aedis Eclipse doesn’t tell one story but rather it tells three different stories that revolve around a main world composed of three sections: the Divine World, the Surface World and the Lower World. These stories never intersect and there’s no real connection to any of the characters despite the fact that you can control more than 40 of them throughout the game. The game allows you the choice of beginning the game from any world but since the tutorial can be found in the Lower World, I suggest starting from there first.

Deep beneath the Surface World lies the Lower World, a unique world that places more emphasis on mech-styled technology than the fantasy theme of the two other worlds. It is here that we meet Quinn, a young military student who, with his friend Gon and snobby rich girl Keri, becomes involved in an invasion one day during class. We find out that in this part of the world the military uses Cyber Suits but these invaders use Cyber Suits that are far more advanced than anything Quinn and his friends have ever seen. Just who are these invaders anyway? Quinn and the others find out as they battle the invaders and rise as heroes. As I mentioned above, the Lower World segment of the game contains a tutorial and it is here where we learn the game’s many mechanics, gameplay elements and combat (but we’ll get to the basics a bit later).

The Surface World campaign begins in a peaceful village as a young boy named Steiner, his lovely sister Fiona and her main crush Raphelos witness a violent invasion by the armies of Zemora. Suddenly, the three finds themselves tossed into a battle for survival and Raphelos is separated from his friends. Ten years have passed and the Empire of Zemora now dominates the territory and a ship docks on the very shores outside the once peaceful village. Three other friends arrive, one of them - Herault - has a mysterious past. It is Herault who recognizes a now older Steiner, who is now the Prince of Zemora. What happened during the invasion and what connection (if any) does Herault have to the missing Raphelos? These are the mysteries that gamers get to unfold during this segment of the game.

Then there’s the Divine World part that reveals a story where demons known as Hellions and Angels have a peace agreement that has lasted for years. Then, in a secret gathering of demons, Atrapollus, the Prince of Hell decides to break this peace agreement by restarting the ancient war between Heaven and Hell. The problem is that Atrapollus still has a thing for Rose, the Queen of Heaven, and has doubts about the war. Yet with the demon Calamity questioning the Prince’s dedication to the cause and the vicious Grozen thinking their leader is growing soft, Atrapollus sees no other choice but to continue his campaign. Meanwhile, Rose and her brother Walther employ powerful Angels to help them fight back the Hellions.

All three stories are interesting and are filled with a number of interesting characters that make the role-playing game aspect of Aedis Eclipse really quite enjoyable. The stories don’t get to deep and involving as, say, a recent Final Fantasy game, but each one will manage to hook you to the very end of each campaign. The Surface World story alone is well worth the price of admission. Yet like most Generation of Chaos game, this one tosses in a great dose of real-time strategy gaming goodness. The strategy aspect of the game has you commanding a sizeable army of up to 30 troops commanded by an army of five captains. Each of the captains you control has their own skills and abilities and this adds to the strategic decision-making.

You’ll start by selecting the captains you would like to control for the strategy segment and move them along the playing grid. The grid itself is composed of everything from enemy strongholds to an enemy camp where your enemy’s captains are positioned. How you position each captain is entirely up to you but for each move you make your enemy will attempt to counter and set up their own attacks. You will have a set number of turns but you’ll have plenty of options as well such as the Terraform feature that allows you to change the elemental attributes of the land so you can turn an unformed land into a road you can move through.

The objective is to dominate as much of the playing map as possible and to do this you must take out your enemies. Whether you engage an enemy captain and their troops or the enemy attacks you, the game will switch to a battle mode where the armies clash. Each captain has his or her own skills that you can activate during battles and they can always learn new ones as well. The problem is that the real-time battles are lengthy and unnecessarily complex. Battles are also very repetitive despite your captains’ various abilities and thus the weakest aspect of the game. Still, with a lengthy game with three particularly interesting stories and enough strategy-based options, this portable game does some justice to the genre.

Visually, Aedis Eclipse looks like the role-playing games of yesteryear but at least the backgrounds and anime-styled character models during dialogue looks pretty sharp on the PSP.  The effects literally flash on the screen, especially during combat and you’ll be treated to cool cutscenes when a captain unleashes their special ability during a fight. The voice acting is also handled like a good anime and makes up for the lack of detailed sound effects. Still, it’s the game’s lush score that wins big points here and it never gets repetitive.

I would like to say that Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos is the RPG/strategy game I have been waiting to get my hands on since the PSP launched but it isn‘t. It’s far from perfect, especially when it comes to the combat, but as far as the Generation of Chaos series is concerned, this one isn’t entirely bad either. With three great stories that will have you playing through to the end of each campaign, fans of the genre will certainly enjoy this one.

Gameplay: 7.2
As a role-playing game, Aedis Eclipse has it all in terms of story and characters. The strategy gaming part is both complex and highly repetitive but gamers are given the freedom (and options) to tackle a situation any way they see fit. The game is also actually pretty lengthy as well so strategy fans will have a lot to do in this game.

Graphics: 7.0
The graphics will take you back to the early days when RPG characters had big heads and big eyes during in-game action and anime-style during cutscenes. As far as the environments are concerned, the details are actually impressive. Even the visual effects look good during combat so expect some flashy effects.

Sound: 7.5
The voice acting isn’t bad at all and the sound effects are certainly decent enough but the real audio treat comes from the beautifully orchestrated score that plays throughout the game. Each storyline has its own theme music so there’s never a dull moment as far as the soundtrack is concerned.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Strategy fans will certainly find plenty of challenges during combat and you’ll definitely be keeping careful consideration of each move or deciding whom to send out. Your enemies aren’t dummies either so you will have your hands full in this game.

Concept: 7.0
Whether you’re taking on modern suits of armor in one campaign, fighting off angels in another or attempting to unravel the mysteries of an invasion, the three stories are entertaining and interesting. You have enough choices to make in battle as well.

Overall: 7.0
Striking a nearly perfect balance between role-playing game goodness and strategy gaming, Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos might not do combat right but it’s still a worthwhile game for PSP gamers. With three intriguing storylines and some solid strategy scenarios, fans who have been waiting for a decent portable strategy game should consider buying this one.