The game begins with the hero stranded in a dark forest, rain falling heavily upon his shoulders. He can't remember anything about his past, not even his own name. After he wanders for a while, in the corner of his eye, he catches a fleeting glimpse of a female ghost. After following the spectre, he finds himself in front of a deserted mansion. As he enters the mansion, he doesn't find exactly what he expects. The interior is covered with plant life. After he searches for a while, to find some kind of explanation of his whereabouts, he stumbles into a room with two doors on the opposite wall. One is made of white marble and surrounded by a golden case. The other is made of black stone. At that point, two figures appear before him. One is a tall man, dressed with grey clothing and wearing a silver pocket watch around his neck. The other is the ghost he followed to this place. And this is where the fun begins.

MAIN STORY
The story of the game is about the hero, Vanderre. In his past he was a powerful warlord, causing great pain and suffering to the innocent, finding great joy in his "occupation". During one of his raids on a small village, a young boy assassinated him. That is where the grey-clothed man comes in... His name is Kronos. He is a neutral force between Life and Death. He has made a bargain with both sides so when he deems fit, he may give a damned soul a last chance to spend eternity in Heaven and not in the Hell. He will send Vanderre to different times and places, to change his sinful past and redeem his soul. He will be sent with different forms, in order to achieve his goals. He fights against his own men, joins rebels against his own army, and even tries to stop his own assassination. The best part is the end where he will fight himself, in order to escape and thus discover that he was the farmboy that killed the evil version of himself.

GAMEPLAY
As far as the gameplay is concerned, the game is a cross between an RPG and an adventure game. Every time Vanderre completes a time period and is transported somewhere else he will obtain two new skills, as a result of him slowly regaining his memory and rising again to his former power. One of the skills will be a combat skill, either a new manoeuvre or a special kind of weapon-attack. The other skill will be a spell, bestowed upon him by Kronos, to help him in his journey. These spells will summon the servants of Kronos, different Guardians of Elements, such as Light, Dark, Space, Time, Life, Death and so on. Except the basic, over-used "Fire, Water, Wind, Earth" ones. The whole game is based in a Gothic period to increase atmosphere. The battles will be turn based but there will be no camera switches when it occurs. Instead of attacking, the hero may move to a different place in the battle scene, or even climb on ledges or duck under tables to protect himself. The same with the enemy. Most objects in the battle scene will be interactive, thus having different results in the process. For example: Vanderre is fighting a dextrous thief that just climbed on a wooden plank above the hero's head to avoid his attacks and in return attack Vanderre without problems. Vanderre's only means of reaching him is some sort of spell Kronos gave him, but inflicts almost no damage to the specific enemy. He will have to destroy the wooden plank the thief is standing on, thus inflicting damage from the fall and also bringing the enemy to Vanderre's level.

Tony Christou
picasso@internet.gr

I liked this story. Kinda reminded me of Soul Reaver in some strange way. The battle scenes could be pretty kewl as well. Have you thought of adding magic moves that only can be done when you and the enemies stand in certain formations? (Chrono Trigger, remember?)

Idea Reviewer:
-Eivind Støylen-

Sins of the Past - gameplay is a cross between an RPG and an adventure game