Matsuzo Machida / Nautilus Shadow Hearts: Covenant

Plot

The year is 1915 and with the assassination is thrown into a world of chaos and war. The German army advances to take over a small quiet village called Domremy. Things don't go as planned, and the German forces are defeated by the "Demon of Domremy".

The German forces, headed by young Lieutenant Karin Koenig, with the help of what appears to be a Knight Priest of the Vatican, Nicolai Conrad must try and defeat the Demon of Domremy. But to their surprise, the Demon of Domremy is Yuri Hyuga, the main character of the first Shadow Hearts game.

Yuri and Karin's fates are now intertwined as they become involved with a secret organization bent on taking over the world and the infamous Émigré Manuscript, a tome that brings the dead to life but for a price.

Gameplay

Unlike traditional role playing games that use the old control time based system - Shadow Hearts: Covenant uses the Judgement Ring. It determines how many attacks you can make, magic and special skills (minus fusion) used, use of items, and purchasing of weapons.

The Push Rings and Event Rings have been removed. You can also customize the Judgement Ring to your own liking. There are three new items for the Judgement Ring:

1. Hit Area Expand which expands the hit areas.
2. Strike Area Expand which increases you strike area.
3. Attack Boost which increases the number of areas on the Ring.

The Judgement Ring will also test your hand-eye coordination and patience.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics are simply breathtaking in the movie cutscenes. Even in the regular cutscenes, the graphics are good. The playable graphics have definitely improved since Shadow Hearts was released in 2001.

The sound has even improved dramatically. Even though in every town you go to in Europe and Japan has the same soundtrack, there are minor differences. The music of minor battles in Europe are the same.

Overall: 9 out of 10

Official website at www.shadowheartscovenant.com.