The first time you play Oceanhorn, the more mature gamers might get a sense of deja vu, as if you ever played the Legend of Zelda games The Wind Walker or A Link to the past, you'll spot the similarities instantly. Basing the design of your game on such classics, whether you call it an homage, clone or inspiration, means the developers Cornfox & Bros hit the ground running with a theme that will still be new to many Xbox players.
You play an unnamed Link-alike boy in a standard journey to adulthood rite of passage, who when his dad buggers off on a quest, takes on the burden of finding the 3 ancient emblems that will save the world from evil. You start by exploring your home island, talking to your guide The Hermit and finding your dads old sword and shield and setting off on your adventure. The world is made up of a series of islands that you will sail your little boat between, and as you uncover more of the story and talk to NPC's, more islands will be revealed to you and pop up on your world map.
The game is standard dungeon fare in that you explore new areas, solve the puzzles to open routes, defeat the boss, recover the quest item and then you move onto another island. Everything skips along nicely, and although its a challenge, the monsters arent too difficult to defeat and the puzzles not too taxing enough to keep you bogged down in one area too long. The bright and beautiful graphical style and great voice acting and soundtrack means each area is a pleasure to discover and although the gameplay might be repetetive you never really notice it as each island feels very different and you can't wait to explore the next one.
Although there is the main story, its up to you where you travel, and because theres no indicator on where to go for the next quest it encourages you to explore every inch of the island in the hope of finding the main quest item or extra treasure in chests. Each island you land at has three challenges, such as finding a certain NPC or killing a set number of enemies so you try and achieve these as you go (or come back to later), to be rewarded with extra coins you can use to buy items and supplies at one of the islands.
The controls are nice and simple, swinging your sword as your main weapon, plus the ability to throw bombs or a bow and arrow for long range attacks, and you also can pick up rocks or the many urns lying around and fling them at your enemies to cause damage. As you progress you level up your abilities and it seems perfectly matched to the increasing fierceness of the enemies you're up against.
Its certainly not the most original game but who cares when it looks this good and plays this well. Hardcore gamers might want a more of a challenge but on the whole its a joy to play that'll you want carry on though to completion.
Developed by: Cornfox & Bros
Published by: FDG Entertainment
Price: £11.99
Many Thanks for XCN for providing the review copy