I got my copy from GameSpot yesterday and played through a bit of it last night. One thing I noticed is that it's really, really easy to get turned around if you don't actually use the compass much. I wound up unlocking two other Fertile Grounds instead of the one I had intended to go to because I was trying to get some light seeds and then I just went off in a direction without the compass, thinking I was going the right way.
The best parts of the game so far are the visuals and the platforming (the one-button setup in no way diminishes the fun of it, I'm happy to report). Timing is still hugely important, which makes the game feel thoroughly interactive. Reports of the game "playing itself" are greatly exaggerated. Visually, the game is pretty stunning. I'm not a huge fan of how elongated the not-prince and Elika are, but I appreciate that it's a stylistic choice and it works well enough. The transitions from corrupted land to Fertile Ground are absolutely stunning, as are the title screens' painting-like transitions.
The combat's kind of meh, since moves chain together so fluidly that I'm sometimes not even sure how what I'm pressing corresponds to what the not-prince is doing. Also, it's very pattern-based, which bores me. I don't like having to determine a boss' pattern like we're back in the 8-bit era, and my general inclination to rush bosses instead of patiently blocking and waiting for an opening usually ends with me getting my ass kicked. It still looks very pretty, though, and it serves as a decent way to break the game up so it's not constant jumping from place to place.
The story seems pretty predictable so far. The not-prince is just that: not a prince. He's an adventurer and graverobber who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when Elika fell on him. It seems like he's going to help her seal Ahriman back up and, over the course of their journey, they'll fall madly in love and get married at the end, making the not-prince a prince finally. This is pretty apparent in the dialogue in certain areas, but I won't spoil it for those who haven't reached those areas yet. The Tower of Ahriman is the one I'm thinking of in particular, if anyone cares.
Speaking of the dialogue (no pun intended), it's about half-funny and half-stupid. The writers have moments of genuinely funny banter between the not-prince and Elika, but more often than not it seems like they're trying too hard and it sounds silly. Add to that the fact that Elika and the not-prince both sound like they came straight out of California thanks to their voice actors and the whole thing comes off a bit awkward.
So, 4 Fertile Grounds into the game, I'm pretty impressed with it. Even though the dialogue is a bit clunky and the voice-acting is pretty awful, the not-prince and Elika's growing, grudging attraction is playing out just right, neither too rushed nor too slow and boring. Everything else is pretty solid, too. Having the game world be one contiguous whole is nice. Reminds me of Shadow of the Colossus, actually.
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