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Soul Nomad and the World Eaters (PS2) By: Adam Waddilove Another 2D RPG hits the PS2, can this one stand out from the crowd or is it more of the same? When an enemy emerges that is far too powerful for the good guys to defeat you do the only decent thing and sell your soul to the devil. Well, actually to someone worse than the devil. You strike a deal with your old arch enemy. And in return for some truly awesome power you're giving your soul away to him one little piece at a time. How much power you wield and how much of your own body you give up to the ultimate incarnation of evil is totally up to you. With a full army at your disposal battles are now an exciting combination of vast grid based battlefields and nerve shredding real time combat. By making the best use of your battlefield recon reports you have complete freedom to place your squads and take advantage of the terrain and ultimately inflict embarrassing defeat upon anyone who stands in your way. You have total freedom to create your own army of terror and bestow each unit with their own unique talents and abilities. You can even try to press gang innocent townsfolk into your army. The entire world is your playground and you can be as good or as bad as you like. Soul Nomad is the latest Strategy RPG spectacular from Nippon Ichi and follows in the footsteps of hugely popular titles Makai Kingdom, Phantom Brave, and the critically acclaimed Disgaea series. The PS2 has had its fair share of RPG’s in its time. Soul Nomad is another 2D RPG, except it follows the combat system like that of Final Fantasy Tactics, but does it have enough to make it worth picking up? It’s hard to say, while it definitely will please the hardcore fans of Strategy RPGs, its unconventional design may be its overall letdown. Soul Nomad’s story is typical for an RPG, there’s an enemy sealed away waiting to break through and claim the last safe-hold of humanity. While you may enjoy it, this idea has been done time and time again, so it’s starting to show its age and it’s clearly been done a lot better in the past. The decision to let you be good or bad isn’t exactly new, Mass Effect perfected it but Soul Nomad’s take on it is intriguing enough to make you play it for that bit longer.    The FF Tactics combat system in Soul Nomad does its job, but it has an almost underwhelming feel to it. The visuals are somewhat disappointing for a 2D RPG and you will wonder why, as I do. It’s got a nice charm to it, but there’s so much more it could have done. You will share your body with an Earth Eater who destroyed most of humanity, and the more you rely on him for help in battles, the stronger he becomes. Think of it like The Darkness videogame and you’ll get an idea of the same dilemma that Jackie faced. Soul Nomad is a little confusing with a lot of things. There’ll be references to times, places and other things that you won’t get right away. Also, combat can be somewhat dazing with its style as some units give bonuses to your squad depending on where they are positioned. It takes time to really figure out properly, but once you do I’m sure you’ll have a fairly good amount of fun. The script itself is well written, although not to everyone’s taste. American voice-acting once again is a huge letdown, making me cringe at every turn. Despite these criticisms, Soul Nomad has a ton of lifespan due to the long adventure. Although, in terms of replay value you won’t find much, once you are done with it, you’ll not likely English revisit the game for a second or third time, unless you REALLY loved it. I know I said that the American voice-acting was awful, but the Japanese voice-acting is a lot better and the soundtrack does a great job in matching the feel of the game. The Verdict I realise that I didn’t mention a lot about Soul Nomad, but I did that on purpose. The truth is that it’s not to everyone’s tastes but for those who do enjoy Strategy RPGs...This is a game that’s best left to your own decisions. For the rest of us, Soul Nomad is a good, deep and engaging RPG. It’s just a shame that the presentation and combat lets it down in parts. 
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