"I wonder," you wonder whilst standing in the store aisle, "should I give this new King’s Field game a whirl?" Dear reader, if you’ve spent more than 15 minutes with any of the other games in the series (Eternal Ring and Shadow Tower count, too), then you already know the answer to that question. Tome of Things Ancient and Strange Everything that makes King’s Field King’s Field makes a return in The Ancient City, only with a shinier sheen, much sharper textures, and the kind of well-honed design that comes with years of doin’ the same ol’ thing. The basic game remains the same: Your character, a wandering abstraction of a fantasy hero, lumbers around a surreal landscape, killing odd monsters; collecting treasure, armor, and magic; and uncovering all sorts of secret stuff. King Triton and the Cubist Movement Everything in the game takes place from a first-person perspective, in real time…though in King’s Field, the term "real time" should be appended with "if you lived underwater." Yes, this game is slow, and everything has a surreal, aquatic feel. Your weapons swing as if cutting through molasses, enemies lumber around as if bathed in a viscous jelly, even the whooshing sword-swipes and other sound effects seem as if they’re being generated by strange, forgotten rusty things dwelling somewhere deep in the ocean. The world has a simple, angular appearance as if Picasso had a hand in drawing the featureless human faces, stock skeleton warriors, and strange Alien-like predators wandering the ruins. Of course, while some called Picasso a genius, plenty of others called him a lazy moron; and all of these integral King’s Field series trademarks—love ’em or leave ’em—have been faithfully carried over to the PS2. Fans of the series comprise a sort of cult; they wouldn’t have it any other way. Heir Apparent While the heart of King’s Field remains rightfully intact, one area that could—and should—have been rethought is the control. While there’s a half-attempt at harnessing the dual-analog features of the PS2 controller, you’ll find yourself quickly shirking it in favor of the PlayStation control scheme from prehistoric times, when shoulder buttons handled the tasks of strafing and looking up and down. Other than that, though, everything about this latest King’s Field feels like a refinement and improvement. The game’s engine seems more fluid than even the one used in Eternal Ring, and the textures are sharper. The world is more well-formed; the quests are more non-linear (without ever making you feel lost and aimless); and the more powerful weapons and spells have been very cleverly hidden, leading to a constant sense of reward. So don’t go in expecting something new or different…something that will radically change your world view, or even your opinion of the King’s Field franchise. King’s Field has its fan base; this will keep them loyal. The Ancient City harbors more of the same, but in a good way.
