Primal (PS2)

Perhaps closest to Soul Reaver in terms of overall mood, the game begins with heroine Jen getting dragged into the Nexus--a conduit to one of four netherworlds that she must bring back into balance between the forces of good and evil etc, etc.

Relatively uninteresting as the story is, it does at least provide two main characters-- Jen the sword-wielding messiah and Scree the dwarfish gargoyle who can crawl up stone walls and possess statues. You can switch control between either character at any time with the other following behind in your wake, although there are plenty of puzzles that force you to split up and use Jen and Scree's various abilities separately.

At the time of this preview there are some months to go before Primal is released, but it is already looking impressively polished, with a fun combat system that's neither too shallow nor too complex, and even a non-annoying 3D camera. Indeed, the only problem--arguably--is the dodgy rawk music that starts up whenever you pick a fight with a bad guy. This is definitely a game to look out for. --David Jenkins

This preview is based on an incomplete version of the game; features or problems mentioned above may not appear in the finished game.

People complain about the combat in this game. I can understand why. It is simple and requires the minimum of skill but this game isn't really about the fighting.

Most of the game is spent exploring the locations and solving mostly environmental puzzles. The worlds are not exactly huge but provide enough of an area to make you feel like part of something much bigger.

The puzzles vary in quality. Most involve the use of your two characters and rely on their different skills. Jen is your typical annoying 'strong' female character but just remains on the acceptible side without straying too far into the stereotypical. Her skills revolve around fighting and climbing.

Her partner on this journey is Scree, a gargoyle. Being made from stone he cannot be killed but he cannot fight either. His role is usually to help Jen overcome some environmental obstacle, for instance, climbing up a wall and lowering a rope so Jen can climb it.

The story is okay. Each world has a sub plot that ties into the main games overall plot. Some of the banter between the main two protagonists can be quite amusing.

Recommended to people who like a less combat dependant adventure game.