The Eye Has It
Sony's tech demo turned full game offers an interesting use for the camera, but only hardcore CCG nuts need apply.
Published: November 4, 2007
I know I've spoken more about the general terms of the way the game is played rather than detailing the whole process, but to be honest, it's probably quicker and easier if I just link to the official site and let you digest it all there. Suffice it to say, the included in-game videos do little to really get you used to things in the way a single-player campaign could. If nothing else, the game does walk you through each step and as you try things -- even quizzes you to make sure you understand, but a little more offline meat would have been preferable.
At its core, The Eye of Judgment is all about balance and learning what the counters are for everything. The cards that were created (more than 100 of them to start, and Sony has plenty more planned) do an absolutely fantastic job of balancing power with things like summoning cost, affinities and weaknesses to other cards or elements, or in some cases weaknesses against being attacked from a particular direction.
Because you have to pay a mana cost to rotate your creatures, the direction they face when you first summon them is everything, as is the element you place them on (creatures summoned to a matching element get a nice little health boost, though this can be used against them by literally flipping the square to reveal the element on the other side, which in some cases can actually be the opposite element). Not only are the cards nicely varied in attacks (even the starter deck is extremely well-rounded and can get you fairly fair in online matches if used well), but it's clear that balance was key in designing them.
There are times when using the cards feels a little superfluous, however. To make a creature attack, you lay an Attack Card on them so the Eye can see it. To end a turn, you "offer" and End Turn Card to the Eye, things like that. Some of the options, like getting info on a card, can be done with the controller (as can ending a turn), but it smacks of being there simply to add to the gimmick of the Eye reading the cards. It's cute, but not particularly needed or helpful.
It should be said the despite the game working functionally without the Eye, actually seeing the game in motion really is a sight to behold. Sony's Japanese development studio did a hell of a job bringing 2D character portraits to life; the cards are quick to read and summon (the Eye is actually very responsive, and even detects rotation and angles and updates the creatures accordingly if you just play around with summoning them in the Judgment Mode), and they're quite nicely animated to boot. Almost a half dozen little arenas were created as a backdrop for each of the elements, and every single one of them looks fantastic. Hell, half the initial fun of the game is seeing what a card actually looks like when it's summoned, and thanks to some very cool attack animations, there's plenty to enjoy.
The audio, on the other hand, it's quite as strong. It's not so much the sound effects, which are the usual grunts and one-liners from the creatures (all of which fit perfectly with their personalities), or even the near-monotone announcer that calls out turn orders and summons. No, it's the hilariously bad butt rock that loads up during fights. For the most part I actually got a kick out of it, but I know there will be people out there that have an adverse reaction to hearing some dude scream, "bring it to me nooooooooowwwwww!" every time a fight breaks out.
In the end, The Eye of Judgment is a game made for geeks. Even ignoring the steampunk and fantasy element, the whole process of collecting cards and doing battle with them is incredibly dorky, but to be honest, the game is so much fun to play and after about an hour of futzing around, fairly easy to understand that you'll take any lumps just to find someone to play a game with online.
