Dark Cloud Hovers Over PS2
Sony's simulation/action adventure has finally hit American store shelves. Get the full skinny inside.
Published: May 29, 2001
Dark Cloud was one of the highlights of Sony's early 1st party library at last year's E3, offering a clever blend of traditional action-adventure with town-restoring strategy elements. The good news is that it's finally upon us - and with improvements over the Japanese version that was released earlier this year.
For those that haven't had the chance to read up on Dark Cloud, the premise is simple: a boy named Toan is the sole survivor of a dark cloud that has swept over his world, destroying buildings and people alike. However, all is not lost. Toan is given the ability to rebuild his village, and rescue his friends and family, then move on to restore the whole world.
What's cool about this ability to create entire villages, a technique dubbed "GEORAMA," is that once you've placed all the components as you see fit, you can sweep down into a 3rd person view seamlessly, and explore your world-building skills up close.
There's actually been quite a bit of time that lapsed between the Japanese and US releases, time that's been used to bump up enemy AI, a new dungeon with a hundred randomly created maps, a new battle system, more weapons and new monsters. Obviously, there was an effort to improve an already interesting concept. Dark Cloud should be available as you read this.
For those that haven't had the chance to read up on Dark Cloud, the premise is simple: a boy named Toan is the sole survivor of a dark cloud that has swept over his world, destroying buildings and people alike. However, all is not lost. Toan is given the ability to rebuild his village, and rescue his friends and family, then move on to restore the whole world.
What's cool about this ability to create entire villages, a technique dubbed "GEORAMA," is that once you've placed all the components as you see fit, you can sweep down into a 3rd person view seamlessly, and explore your world-building skills up close.
There's actually been quite a bit of time that lapsed between the Japanese and US releases, time that's been used to bump up enemy AI, a new dungeon with a hundred randomly created maps, a new battle system, more weapons and new monsters. Obviously, there was an effort to improve an already interesting concept. Dark Cloud should be available as you read this.
