Once the gods have sent emissaries to distant villages. The divine order was brief: children steal, with adults to understand the circumstances. The boy Fiel (Fiel) decided not to sit in the bushes while his sister Dorothy steal unknown Frighteners, and summoned to the battle commander of the envoys, the benefit of a sudden came to hand a magical sword. Defeated by the messenger, contrary to the canons of the genre, not the guy promised to come back in a couple of missions that slapped him in the neck, and realized the injustice of the order of the gods. So at Fielya appeared first ally in the quest still stolen under cover of his sister.
Action from the third person is usually not associated with a commanding battles. Kratos from God of War or Dante from Devil May Cry does not share the glory with anyone, personally destroying hordes of enemies. And if a partner and get a chance to show off, too, on the battlefield (as in Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams), then they, in gratitude, not too eager to catch the leader deserved the laurels. Fire support - still all right, but their full potential collaborators reveal only under the direction of the player, briefly replacing the main character.
 | |  | The longer the enemy fluttered in the air, the more energy accumulates for special attacks. | | Not a rare sight: the companions of lazily waiting for the main character will throw a monster into the air. |
In the meantime, perhaps the war - it singles? Unlike colleagues Fiel not collect different kinds of weapons and learn new techniques as the game progresses. Survive among the hordes of monsters he helped co. Managed to stun the enemy - perekin his fellow well-aimed blow in the style of basketball. He will transfer and otpasuet bedolagu next party. Deftly juggling is required not for driving goal (not that The Sword of Etheria, and indeed would be like fantasy sportsimu) - by throwing virtuoso accumulates energy for high-crushing blows, which Fiel performs either alone or with companions.
The soldiers went into the assault mazes modest membership: maximum of three. The player controls only Fielya, other companions entrusted to the care of a silicon brain PS2. To interfere with their actions, we have to show a rare ingenuity, because the commanding capabilities are severely limited. Choose an ally to attack a victim, or to order the entire team to stay close - that's the whole set of simple leadership. Admittedly, coratniki try not to put up a good and regularly catch most of the gear. But the pesky slips also not uncommon. In the heat of battle soldiers of a no-no and yes zasmotryatsya the surrounding landscape or the headlong rush into the attack, slicing attacks hitters.
 | |  | Special attacks to help not only to quickly reduce the herd of enemies, but also beat out of them more energy prize. | | At the final assessment of the efforts the player affects everything: the number of successful special attacks to the time spent on the battle with the boss. |
Battles require instantaneous reaction. Enemies rarely occur singly, preferring the company to unnecessary heroism. The composition of groups varies continuously: with small fry fight and skilled opponents, which is not so easy to knock down. Perhaps the only thing that they are inferior to the heroes - the lack of basketball skills. Tossing and throwing hold attention better than fancy comb in the fighting game, asserting the importance of team work far more compelling than the story dialogue. And to the boss and does require a special approach: they do not beat hurriedly. Effective tactic pays a rapid improvement in the parameters of the characters at the expense of an additional win power "Hetaeria» (etheria).
An innovative approach to fighting distinguishes The Sword of Etheria from the competition, but the "dark horse» Konami lacks diversity battles other action. Varieties of monsters is not too much: a couple of missions, and new face is already rushing to the aid of old acquaintances with pumped health and reflexes. Labyrinths are surprisingly straightforward. And try a new style of fighting can only changing the team leader, and even then not in native mode, the passing game. But the additional modes and missions Sword of Etheria is not stingy, though not hesitate to re-tuck the player already familiar with the arena.
 | Mate for a combo attack can easily change - with one click. |
Magnificent landscapes, which have been so generous worlds Genji and Onimusha, giving way washy faded "areas". Of course, the fading worlds and should not differ riot of colors, but the surrealism Ico in The Sword of Etheria is not felt. Like, the characters overcome the lava-drenched mountains, roam the corridors of castles and endless deserts, but only stores the ink smeared. And they themselves in a crowd of monsters are often only thinly veiled by a train of colorful sparks, successfully getting lost on the background of the attackers.
The camera, unfortunately, is actively cooperating with the enemies. Even if you take the enemy in his sights - which are often saved in the Devil May Cry 3 - to focus on it to manually. With the dynamism of local battles change the viewing angle becomes a real headache, especially since the lightning-quick rushes opponents often lead to insidious attacks in the back of the invisible monsters.
One can argue about how important the plot for an action game genre. But still nice to know that you fight not just to entertain self-esteem - they say, well, a reaction from me! Narrative scenes entertain, intrigue, reveal the characters. Alas - not in The Sword of Etheria. Rare video look more like a messy set of pictures, and short dialogues in the beginning of the mission rather to confuse than clarify the essence of what is happening. Like, you want to make sense - assemble the puzzle of fragmentary phrases himself, thought:, but the writers do not help you.
It is not easy to be an innovator. The potential of The Sword of Etheria and remains hidden. Summarizes the lack of diversity, clumsy camera, original graphics, and the plot does not make no hesitation to rush into battle. Nevertheless, good to see that developers continue to look for an alternative successful formula of good action games. And it is - almost succeeds.
 | The healing power of Mother Earth |
At first it seems that much of the complexity of the battles there. Fallen soldiers rather sit on the ground to restore power. The game ends only when knocked down all three. However, the number of respite affects the estimate of feats in the final mission. And from the resulting score depends not only prizes, but ending the game.
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