Graphics: 9
Gameplay: 7.5
Sound: 6.5
Controls: 8
Replay: 4

The Xbox is not exactly a hot spot for RPG's. What few there are have either been mind blowing (Morrowind, KOTOR, etc) or extremely disappointing (Metal Dungeon, what were they thinking?). For Sudeki, it doesn't belong in either of those categories. If this game were to be rated as nothing more than a dungeon crawler, it would been simply amazing, yet rated as an RPG it ends up being right around average. Average RPG's had to come to us eventually, right?

The gameplay is full of amazing elements and some let downs. Let's kick it off with the combat system. First of all, this combat system is not for everybody. You need to be forewarned on this. Basically, there is really no way to stop the combat and give orders (like in KOTOR). If you want to open up the menu, all it does is slow down the gameplay. So you have to be smart about when you do it because if you go in too late to try and save a dying character, you might end up letting him die before you can get in to save him. On a plus note, this makes the combat system challenging and people who enjoy a challenging yet rewarding system will love it.

Of course, that is really the only complaint people can have about the this combat system. Because the rest of it is simply amazing. After about 5 hours into the game you will have all four characters, two melee and two distance fighters (one uses magic while the other has "guns"). Using these characters is just plain fun, to say the least. As the melee characters, there are tons of different combos you can mix together to tear up your enemy. The combos are simple to use as there are only two attacks buttons, B and X. Also, melee fighting takes place in third person to make the action easier. If you decide to be one of the distance fighters (the two chicks in the game), you will be in first person view mode and you can switch through the different spells and weapons using the X button. Then, you can have a blast tearing apart your enemies from the safety of being away from the battle while letting your brutes fight up close.

Micromanagement, as in most RPG games, is very important in Sudeki. You will earn experience points (big surprise!) by fighting and you can use these either to upgrade certain attributes or to buy new combat skills (combat skills can be used in battle to unleash devastating amounts of damage, but you have a bar off to the side that limits on how many of these moves you can use with that character). Having the right attributes and skills is critical to surviving some of the harder battles in the game.

The disappointing aspects of the gameplay are found in the storytelling and the puzzles. The puzzles can be summed up quickly: they are boring, extremely easy most of the time, and pretty pointless. The storytelling is a mixed bag because the story itself is actually surprisingly attracting, yet the way it is presented is not exactly the most impressive. In addition to this, your characters really aren't given any background. Unlike other RPG's like Final Fantasy, where characters have deep and interesting histories that tie into the game, this game leaves you kind of wondering what makes your characters so special. This again comes into play when rating an RPG, because if Sudeki was simply an action game the story and characters wouldn't be so important, but as an RPG these elements can make or break the game.

Graphically, this game is nothing short of amazing. This is by far the best looking RPG of any console and one of the best looking games on Xbox. The characters are all highly detailed and look very good, however some of their animations can be pretty stiff, making them look less realistic. More clean, smooth animations would have made the combat and movement look much better.

The environments are all very well done. All of the colors are bright and in your face which gives the game a very vibrant look. It really paints a perfect picture of the fantasy world that your characters are in. But the really impressive part of the graphics is the special effects. The spells are just beautiful. It makes you want to keep on using them just so you can see how well detailed and animated every one of them is.

Sound wise, the game isn't overly great or disappointing. It is sort of right in the middle. The music is pretty good and the battle music tends to match the situation pretty well, however it suffers from a certain degree of occasional skipping and looping. A more epic sound score could have really helped out this game, however.

The voice-overs are fairly well done for most characters. All of the main characters have solid, convincing voices and a good deal of useful dialogue. However, you never know what you are getting yourself into when you talk to an NPC. While they do have a healthy amount of dialogue, the different voices range from solid to extremely crappy. Most of the characters have European accents.

There is really no replay to be found in the game. There are some side quests that can be completed to offer a total of about 25 hours or so of gameplay. But once you are done there is no incentive to play through the game again. So, in the end, this game is definitely worthy of a rental, especially from avid Xbox RPG fans who have been searching for a game to play, but most other games probably won't find too much to love in this one.