Namco Bandai is going all out this Tokyo Game Show, they’ve showed off tons of current gen and even lots of next-gen titles showing off the Xbox 360 titles Trusty Bell, Mobile Ops, Idol Master and a well known series Culdcept in their next-gen entry, Culdcept Saga. The previous installment was actually published by Capcom back in 2003 and was developed by Omiya Soft. The new title is going to be developed by the same developer, but this time this will be released by Namco. The game features what is a mixture of a turn based Role player similar to a game named Disgaea and a board game like Monopoly. But as it is a board game, how will Culdcept Saga adapt to the next-gen graphics with its linear gameplay and low presentation?

Previously released on the PlayStation 2, Culdcept is a board game, but still a role player at its core. The game was first announced back in April when Namco Bandai announced their support for the Xbox 360 by bringing exclusive titles to the system such, Zegapain XOR and Mobile Ops. During that presentation Culdcept was shown at the end and was said to include Live support. Now at the Tokyo Game Show 06, Namco has released a playable demo of their upcoming title, with a strong fan base in Japan and a fairly large one here in North America, will the predecessor succeed how its first one? And will the game improve on what the first title did great with mixing a board game and a role player? AMN takes a look.

Like said before, Culdcept is a mix of a board game and role player with a mix of cards in the middle. The way they do this is pushing various characters on the field to play as, and when selecting your character you are stuck at a specific location on the board. When you start you will have to role a die and you choose which way you wish to move. You then move and run around the map casting spells and attacking enemies. Culdcept has a standard aspect of defeat your enemy and win over the territory. Now when you enter enemy territory, you are able attack, defend, power-up or heal yourself or any of your allies. From the demo, we noticed that each character had a name of TGS, so that indicates each character is name customizable and possibly even create your own character.

During gameplay whenever you get into a battle you can use cards to do your bidding meaning you can summon or add health or strength to your character. This can upgrade your character for certain amount of time during battle. From what we’ve seen there isn’t any cut-scenes for any attacks but we’ve heard mumbles that some special attacks will have special animations. When you attack, you will see two cards on the screen at once, you then have sixty seconds to act during a battle. Quickly you will have to select special cards to attack, defend and items to give you stronger attributes. Animation is different for each character, such as scratches for monsters or arrows will fly at the other card if you are attacking with an archer.

Visually, Culdcept doesn’t look like a next generation title. While environments look nice and look strong for a strategy board game, characters models lack detail and even the board itself doesn’t look all that great. And without the battle animation between two cards, its hard to say the game acts next-gen. Cinematics isn’t any better. While they look nice since they’re close up graphics, they still aren’t up to Xbox 360 standards. Character models are still never bland and they feel like they have no life to them. But on the positive side, the cut-scenes animation is done quite nicely. But overall the game doesn’t really feel like an Xbox 360 title, but it’s very good to see more Japanese developers taking an interest in the system. The sound in the game seemed to be a good thing, with strong music in the background and well done sound effects. The game may not look the best, but it does have some good sound aspects. Also when you go into a battle the announcer will introduce the two fighters, and it’s recognizable, as it really sounds like the voice of the guy who did the commentary on Soul Calibur 3.

Culdcept Saga is coming out for the Xbox 360 at the end of the month in Japan and should please fans of the original title. Will it come here in North America? At the moment it’s been only announced for Japan, so don’t hold your breath just yet. We did see the first title released here three years ago, so there is a better chance it’ll see the light of day, but until then, fans of the series will have to hope for a region free import. Check back at Advanced Media Network for more coverage on Culdcept Saga, the Xbox 360 and the rest of the Tokyo Game Show.