When I first played Rune (known as Lost Kingdoms in US) at a demo kiosk, I found the controls sluggish, and the system complex. Therefore, I really never took a strong interest in the series. At TGS, I had a chance to understand the game and figure out the system with the help of visual aids.

After a good 20 minutes with the game, I realized what Rune is all about. (I also received a free portable fan thanks to From Software.) The visual presentation of the game is slightly above average. The ocean in the background moves slowly. Mists surround the castles when seen from far away. There is nothing stunning about the graphics, but it is enough to get the atmosphere right. I did find the graphical details a bit bland. I could not really distinguish the features on faces of people in the game.

The graphics do not really affect gameplay though. At the heart of Rune is its unique battle system. In each stage, you begin with a deck of cards. You are able to have in hand four of them at once. The four cards are assigned with a button (A,B,X, or Y) and displayed on the right corner. You can use the cards by pressing the assigned button.

Replacing a card in your hand from your deck can be done by holding down R and pressing the respective button. At TGS there were about 15 cards in the deck to begin with. The cards are divided into five categories: weapon, summon, self-functioning, transform, and assist. Weapon cards can be used multiple times per card. These cards are the bread and butter of your offense, since they are short and fast attacks. One weapon card involves a bird flying out to attack your enemy as you throw out the card. Another one involves a knight appearing from behind you and thrusting its lance at the enemies. Summon cards allow you to summon monsters. Self-functioning cards call out helper creatures that follow you and attack enemies. Transform cards transforms your character into a creature (this type is new to the sequel), and assist cards call out creatures to replenish your life and such. Every category, with the exception of weapon, comes with a cut-scene. They are generally decent, but they can get a bit repetitive.

One feature that I was surprised not to find, especially since it is a card based game, was that I could not pause and look at descriptions of my cards. The cards on the screen only display what category they are, with a picture of the creature. I frequently had to refer to the chart they posted by the game to see what each card did.

Once you understand the system, the game becomes quite interesting. Parts of the stages are designed so that you have to use some of your cards to clear them. For example, there was a gap on one bridge that you cannot cross. To cross the bridge, you have to use one of your transform cards to turn into a bird-like creature to fly across the gap. In another instance, you had to summon a creature to act as a placeholder for a switch so that the gate will stay open for you to cross. I used one of the assist cards, which summoned a tree that replenishes my character’s life if I am close to it.

The game is not without its problems though. Weapon cards are executed once at a time, which does not allow rapid attacks. Remember that this is still an action game, which means that you are going to have situations where you are surrounded. There is no lock on system like Zelda, and coupled with some camera problems such as sudden auto-zooming, the game can be frustrating at times.

I did not get the chance to try out the versus mode of the game, but it should be great, since you can use your deck from your own save to play against other players.

Action fans should definitely check out Rune. It is not perfect, but its innovative card system might just be enough to get you coming back for more.