Spectral Force 3 review (Xbox 360)

Unfortunately, there's no real context for any of this gameplay. The setup sounds like a neat idea: Your group of hirelings seeks work for any of a number of warring factions, which in turn affects the tide of the gameworld's political direction. In practice, this just means you take on any given mission for the faction of your choice while taking on story and recruitment missions. It all feels very random, and there's nothing to draw you into the struggle. Your own mercenary squad will squabble and sass, and there some nice tidbits of dialogue, but there is no standout character, no compelling drama, no unpredictable surprise. Without a real story to pull you through, Spectral Force 3 becomes a series of stand-alone battles in which choice is an illusion and you must create your own sense of forward progress.

Like the gameplay, the visual and sound presentation is simply old. Not only will you probably mute the awful, monotonous MIDI score, but you'll be surprised at just how bad the sound effects are. There is a limited selection of lifeless thumps and swishes, and some of the effects don't even match the accompanying attack. Why would a sword against flesh sound like a club pounding an empty bucket? Spells sound unspectacular as well, which is at least consistent with their visuals, which lack drama and pizzazz. Spectral Force 3 does not look like a current-generation game. Animations are limited, environments are utilitarian, and the overall impression is that of a PlayStation 2 title with a slight high-definition boost. The aging technology powering the game could have been mitigated by an outstanding art design, but like its story and character progression, the game's style is depressingly generic.

There's also a sense of overall sloppiness, from text that spills over the sides of its background, to misspellings, to bee noises that were obviously created by a guy going "bzzz" into a microphone. These things might not bother you if you're a diehard SRPG fan looking for a fix, but Spectral Force 3 projects no sparkle or enthusiasm, and doesn't offer anything to get excited about.