Glory of Heracles

A couple of small things help set Glory of Heracles apart from other Nintendo DS role-playing games. The first is the setting and characters. Most role-playing games work with purely fictional locations and heroes, but this one draws on players’ familiarity with Ancient Greece to create what seems like a more believable world. Second, and perhaps more important, certain attacks can receive boosts if the player successfully plays a little mini-game, such as sorting roman numerals or rapidly tapping the centre of a circle. Consequently, there’s more to do than just tap out instructions to move the narrative forward.

Of course, these aren't novel features. The real draw of any role-playing game is its story and characters. Glory of Heracles’ narrative and presentation are competent and polished up nicely, but they don't really stand out from the pack. The characters are caricatures (the amnesiac, the egoist, the burly warrior), and, without giving too much away, their epic quest (or something like it) has been seen before in many other games. Luckily, the young-ish gamers at whom Glory of Hercules is targeted probably won’t be familiar with many of them yet, so it very well may seem fresh and exciting to them.