Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors review

Too bad the rest of the game isn't as fresh. The plot is like half a hundred others we've heard of: son of a hero out to save his kingdom from some nefarious fiend. However, in Dragon Quest Swords, it's worth mentioning that you hardly see this fiend and the worst thing we saw said fiend do to anybody was turn them into a fish.

Main quest aside, there are a few minigames you can play with friends - such as the Slime Attack, in which you've got to kill a bunch of Slimes in a certain amount of time and an assortment of target-practice games. There's the single-player Tambola chance game, which has you frantically spinning a wheel to win prizes. And lastly, there's a weird cat creature that gives you cool stuff if you find mini medals for him. All in all, par for the RPG course.

Above: Imagine this line in a really annoying French accent

Unfortunately, none of these things are very interesting, and that, ultimately, is where Dragon Quest Swords tanks: there's just not much to do. The story is dull, the game is short, the voiceovers are horrible and - thanks to the on-rails mechanic - there's nothing to explore. The gameplay is there, but with a total lack of depth, most gamers will get bored in about two hours (if they haven't succumbed to carpal tunnel by then). We salute Square Enix for trying something different and for finally getting the Wii Remote/sword swing marriage to work, but their innovations in Dragon Quest Swords wind up cutting both ways.

Feb 19, 2008