Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls

(XSEED for PS3)
By Mike Delano

“This is the story of a faraway land,” reads the introduction to Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls, and it’s right in more ways than one. Sure, it’s a fantasy RPG set thousands of years in the past, but the game also exists in an ooooold school RPG dream world where the modern age never came to pass. Harsh, unforgiving grid-based dungeons with no useful map (to start with) other than the one you chart yourself with pad and paper; static backgrounds with precious few animations to speak of; dynamics of battle that exist only in the descriptions of scrolling text (“Vampire Bat defends!”). Like last year’s Infinite Space on the DS, it’s actually quite charming to let your imagination run wild as the game gives you the most basic framework to base your adventure on, but that’s a task more suited for handhelds. On the super-powered PS3, it feels quite out of place. But, depending on your patience, that dichotomy could be part of its appeal and you may find yourself slowly chipping away at Wizardry‘s mysteries in between other, slightly more 21st century, adventures.
(www.xseedgames.com)