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Aedis Eclipse wants to be a deep game.  More specifically, Aedis Eclipse wants you the THINK it’s a deep game. That’s the only plausible explanation for the convoluted interface and the maze of menus players are forced to negotiate. Hey, if the menu system is this hard to figure out, this has got to be the deepest, most robust strategy game on the planet, right?

Maybe. It’s hard to tell. Aedis Eclipse certainly throws a bunch of stuff at you. Some good. Some downright awful. But having lots of different game systems in place does not ensure depth. In the case of this game, it just means lots of frustration.

Little Kids Save the World… in Power Suits!

Aedis Eclipse is a hybrid turn-based / real-time strategy game laced with the traditional trappings of a Japanese-style RPG. The game sports three different campaigns filled with all the great RPG clichés you know and now loath. But while you can safely ignore the story (complete with by-the-book translation and voicework), the same can’t get said for the gameplay.

Each stage in Aedis Eclipse takes place on what looks like a giant game board. As you move your characters around, you’ll encounter enemies to battle and a host of different tile type that can affect your movement or your power during battle. You also have the limited ability to build structures on the board that can aid your characters or hinder the enemy. This is all pretty good stuff.

Real-Time Stupidity

However, the game almost immediately falls apart once you enter a battle. These are handled in real-time. Each character has an “army” of units that do battle with the enemy army. The problem is that control of your units is so limited, and the movement and attack routines so poorly executed that battles carry little tactical weight. Yes, you can choose a starting formation (and even create your own), and you can issue movement commands. But your army still ends up doing the dumbest things on battlefield… like lining up in a neat little row to be shot at by the enemy commander.

Kitchen Sink Design

As mentioned above, there’s actually a lot to do in the game. Your characters can accumulate items, learn abilities, take enemy units prisoner and convert them to your cause. It’s also RPGish enough that you’ll want to monitor the growth of each character.

But all of the presumably important statistical information is either completely absent, hidden deep within a labyrinth of menus, or presented in such a confusing way that it’s essentially useless. It’s not insurmountable, but for a handheld game, it’s inexcusable.   It’s also exhausting.

Eclipsed

There might be a competent game hidden somewhere in Aedis Eclipse. But between the byzantine interface, frequent load times, dull battles, and boring story, why bother?

Article by: Greg Bemis