It's the same kind of weird, methodical grind that makes the leveling process or the exploratory bits of the [game=]Dark Cloud[game] games attractive (or not, depending on your preference for such things). We of course will have to play more of the game to see if there's more variety to the events, but the limited boss fights we encountered didn't seem to indicate that (though they did teach us rather quickly that grabbing multiple weapons is paramount if ascending the tower is to happen).

While the audio wasn't particularly interesting (at least not from what we played), the visuals were an odd mix of technique over raw horsepower. There doesn't appear to be any filtering on any of the textures, but much like Square's masterful work with the PlayStation in the latter days of the system's life (take a look at Vagrant Story to see what we mean), texture work offered low-res blends that look great when the camera pulls out (and even manages to look good close-up, though the pixilation is obvious). The PSP's ability to render some impressive lighting effects like soft blooms give the impression of reflections couple perfectly with the texture work, giving the game a far more complex look than should be possible.

With so little about the storyline unveiled, it's hard to know what to think of the game, but if the general impressions we got were certainly fair. If the storyline maintains the kind of atmosphere the pre-rendered intro cinema culled, it could be an impressively unique action game. Until then, we'll have to stay reserved.