Players choose between taking two units consisting of infantry, heavy infantry, pike men, or archers at the onset of each battle. However, these allies merely tie up your foes so that you can kill them more slowly, and aren’t really necessary from an offensive perspective. Rudimentary orders can be given like "Stay Here," "Defend Me" and "Attack," but really this aspect of the game feels like an afterthought, and no real strategy is required. True, certain troops will survive longer against particular enemies than others will, but since it’s impossible to predict what kind of enemy forces you will encounter on the 1st play through of a level, it’s basically a crap shoot as to weather or not you chose the right men for the job. You can just leave the army in "Attack" mode the entire game and forget about them. Kingdom Under Fire, on the other hand, had a more robust troop control scheme, but it was at times too much for players to contend with in the heat of battle. Perhaps a balance between the two games’ approaches to troop controls would be the best way for future games in this genre to grow.
Although you will lead troops into battle, you’ll be baby sitting them rather than relying on them for assistance.
The majority of attacks are controlled with two face buttons, but there is a surprising amount of depth to the combinations these two buttons afford, particularly at the higher levels. Gameplay feels a little like Soul Calibur, where one button controls vertical attacks and the other controls horizontal swipes. Fallen foes drop red orb energy which builds up in a meter. When filled, characters can unleash their spark energy, super moves, which last a limited amount of time but absolutely devastate opponents. Enemies who are killed during this release of spark energy drop blue orbs, which in turn fill up yet another blue meter. By activating this blue spark energy, players can essentially kill all enemies within a large area instantly.
Kill hundreds of enemies in a single blow using N3’s spark attacks.
Although games of this sort are often criticized for being repetitive button mashers, N3 sidesteps this pitfall by providing players the incentive to level up and unlock new combination moves, thereby making them more effective battlefield killing machines. Were it not for this ability to grow deadlier with experience (not to mention the ability to do it with all seven characters,) N3 would be monotonous and unrewarding. However, the variety of combinations that a player can earn are more numerous and visually spectacular than previous games in the genre, and it’s the variety that ultimately helps N3 rise above its mindless hack and slash roots.
Controls are responsive and precise, and rarely frustrate. A player can easily vary their combos in an intuitive fashion based on the ever-changing state of the battlefield. Eventually, the player gains so many moves that it would be daunting to memorize them all were they available from the onset of the game. However, because the new moves are parsed out so gradually, there is a rewarding sense of accomplishment and character growth as the players level up and learn the half dozen or so more powerful combos they have just earned.
The number of possible attacks offered to players is a welcome change from the limited move-sets of earlier military hack and slash games, making N3 a more goal-oriented affair. In addition, there are a total of seven playable characters, so there are plenty of combinations to unlock in N3. All of the different players’ combos are variations along a common theme, though, so once players grasp the basic philosophy of play with one character they will be able to easily transfer that knowledge to the other player-characters.
Game Reviews Index
