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Lostmagic: Reviews

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Game Score: 7/10

Lost Magic- A fiddly, fustrating, but yet fun experience.

Lost Magic is an RTS/RPG game for the DS which utilises the gimmick of using the touch screen and stylus as a mouse of sorts to control units on screen, as well as cast spells.

Storyline: 6/10
In the game, players take control of Issac, the son of the White Bishop, whom is under the control of the Diva of Twighlight.
Issac inheirits his fathers staff and proceeds to save he world, as is custom for and RPG hero.

The story of the game isn't its strong point as it is pretty generic, however, the games creators have thrown in some branching story paths in an attempt for some depth, so kudos has to be given there.

Visuals: 7/10
The graphics of Lost Magic are fairly staple 2d sprites, however some of the special effects which result from casting spells are quite pretty.

Gameplay: 7/10
The real meat of the game comes from the unique gameplay method which is utilised. As mentioned, the touch screen is utilised during battles to both cast spells, as well as a mouse of sorts for controlling units on screen, much like a traditional RTS.

Spell casting:
The game itself relies heavily on the concept of using the stylus as a wand to cast spells, and thankfully, this concept is actually quite well executed. A simple click of the L shoulder button brings up a the spell interface, and from there the gamer simply draws the appropriate rune for the spell.
There are a large number of runes in the game, as well as Duo and Trio runes: where runes are 'layered' on top of each other to create more powerful attacks.
In addition to that, the accuracy of your rune drawing determines the power of the spell, which makes for a tense experience, when trying to cast a complicated spell, while a whole bunch of monsters are attacking.

RTS elements:
The strategy element comes from the ability of the main character to capture enemy monsters and field them in combat, allowing the gamer to build up quite a large squad of monsters.
Moving the units is similar to a PC RTS, with the stylus and touchscreen acting as a mouse. Commanding units can be done either through 'clicking' on a single unit, and directing it, or clicking and draging to select multiple units.

It is the RTS elements which let down the game somewhat however. Firstly the path finding AI of your allied units is horrible- making going from A to B an difficult proposition, as your units may simply run into walls, and continue to run into walls, until otherwise directed, leading to alot of micro management needing to be done. This isn't really a big gripe, however, in large maps, where multiple groups of enemies are attacking, this could lead to some fustration, and may lead you to hurling your DS at the wall when a simple mistake costs you a match.
Additionally, units will also often stand in lava, or poison pits and die, unless otherwise directed, which is also very annoying.

Sound: 6/10
The soundtrack of Lost Magic is fairly basic, and nothing impressive.

Bonus points:
Where Lost magic makes up ground is in its Online Wifi mode, which allows users to battle people accross the world, either through using their saved characters or with preset data. The online competition is quite fierce, and already many 'guilds' of players are being formed for online competition of Lost Magic, which is indeed quite a feat for a hand held game.

Overall: 7/10
Lost Magic is a somewhat annoying game at times, which may make you want to scream and kick your DS, but when it works, it certainly is quite magic. If you intend to get this game, definitely play online, as that is where the majority of the action is, but be wary, as the competition online is really fierece, with players who will easily kick your butt if you are unprepared!

-Radishbak