THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2003
VIDEO GAMES
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 13
'Duelist'difficult to play on first try
I must say, I'm a big fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. And I tried out Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories for PlayStation. So I wanted to see what the sequel was going to be like. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelist of the Roses is a complex strategy-based game for the PlayStation 2. It's a hard game to understand at first but once you learn all the aspects, you'll soon be a fast paced duelist.
REVIEW
Chris Moore
cmoore@kansan.com
Duelist of the Roses carries some of the same merits from its predecessor and comes with a whole new gaming style. Most of the graphics from the first game are carried over, but there are a few differences. For one, the animation from the
monsters fighting comes automatically this time, so you don't have to push different buttons to see them duke it out.
You begin the game as whoever you want to be. You have been summoned from
Contributed art
your time to take part in a great war. The Lancaster House (The Red Rose side) wants to save the world, while the York House (The White Rose side) wants to enslave it. The catch: You must decide which side to be on.
However, the overall mission is the same for you. You travel up and down Europe, meeting duelists along the way, obtaining their Rose Cards and trying to get back to your own time. By possessing all 16 Rose Cards you can get back to your home.
From the start, the game is difficult. You must choose from three decks to be your starter deck. Each deck has a deck leader.
certain effects on the battle. I beat the game, butI never got an ability for my leader.
The more tasks a monster card does, the more promotions it will receive. The deck leader, once powerful enough, will have
The dueling system for this game has drastically changed. The person who summoned you at the beginning of the game tells you that the duelists use a thing called "Perfect Rule."
This means that you must strategically place your cards and move them across a giant board. It's sort of like Yu-Gi-Oh! meets chess. The key to a successful duel is positioning your cards and looking for the right opportunity to attack.
This wasn't my style for the game.I like the regular rules for the trading card game rather than the new one.
One way to play could be to take a strong monster and slaughter your way through countless monsters, but once you get further in the game, that becomes more difficult to do. You must take everything into account. The terrain on the game board, the positioning of certain cards and the placing of your deck leader are all important factors.
Once you become a certain ranked duelist, you'll be able to have destiny draw and try to draw a card that will tip the duel in your favor. I thought this was a great aspect
YU-GI-OH!: THE DUELIST
OF THE ROSES ... C
Now available for Playstation 2
Sells for an average retail price of $50
Rated E for Everyone
for the game to carry, but it's hard to achieve.
One annoying aspect of the game is that to obtain a rose card from someone, your deck cost must be lower than your opponent's. The cards you possess have a certain cost to them that determines their effectiveness. This feature of the game is ridiculous. You may even have to resort to putting in cards you don't need to meet the deck requirements. But over time you'll be able to get around this part. My deck on the last boss was about 900 points less than his, but I still managed to win.
I preferred the old way of dueling rather than moving my monsters around like chess pieces. This game may only require a rental for most.
Moore is a Tulsa, Okla., freshman in journalism.