Dark Cloud

for: Playstation 2

When I first got Dark Cloud, i knew very little about it. The commercials didn't offer much information. It turned out to be a pretty fun game, though sometimes challenging.

the game starts out with the freeing of a being called Dark Genie. He sets out to destroy the world. However, before he does, the Fairy King seals people, houses, trees, etc. into spheres called Atla. A boy called Toan is chosen to find and release the Atla and restore the world. There are several villages and towns you need to restore. Each consists of a restoring area (where you place the items from the Atla) and a dungeon (a place of monsters in which the Atla are stored). When you're finished with one place, you head on to the next.

The dungeons have a lot of levels. You have to get a certain item to proceed to the next level. In the final level there is a boss you need to defeat. When you do, you are allowed to go to the next place. The dungeon is also a place to pick up money, weapons, and items you need (bread, water, etc).

One of the cool parts of this of this game is restoring the place using Atla. The residents tell you what you need to obtain for their houses, and they usually give you some sort of a reward upon completion. People will also tell you where they would like their home placed. At times, you can also find items in or near the buildings.

Each village has a shop (some have more than one). Once you restore it, you can use it to buy items you need, or sell the items you don't. Usually, this is easier than to look for the items you need, or rely on luck.

At first, you can only play as Toan. As you progress, however, more playable characters will be acquired. You can interchange between them while in the dungeon, except in some levels in which only one character can be used. Sometimes you will need a specific character to pass a point in a dungeon level. Toan is the only one that can pick up the Atla, though.

One bad thing about this game is that if you are stuck in a particular dungeon level, your item supply can slowly dwindle. You then may have to sell items, in order to buy the ones you need. If you're stuck for a really long time, you may very well loose a lot of items.

Well, there you have it. This game is awesome, and a lot of fun to play. However, perhaps the only way to really know is to play it for yourself. So get it, and play!

Rating: Between Good and Great

-Crash Bandicoot: Warped
-Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex
-Dark Cloud
-Final Fantasy X
-Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
-Haven: Call of the King
-Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
-Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
-Super Mario Bros Deluxe
-Tekken 4
-The Hulk
-Twisted Metal: Black
-X2 Wolverine's Revenge