Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception

Players who love Japanese role-playing games laced with strategy might like this game's strong story, visuals, and music, but the repetitive combat can make gameplay boring. That said, while the battle system utilizes a familiar turn-based tactics approach -- selecting a member of your party to offensively or defensively engage with the enemy -- a unique twist comes with the Attack Chain moves, where you'll link a combination of attacks together for maximum impact. It's fun because you'll have to press buttons at the right time to trigger additional strikes with a weapon or magic, but it doesn't entirely save the combat issues, because most battles play out in exactly the same way: you'll move your party around a grid-based map, take turns, and manage your fighters' various attack ranges until you defeat the enemies in each area. Along with the Attack Chain mechanic, the progression system seems to work well as you advance your party over time, but after a while, this feels like it's all you do, reducing the interest in playing or wanting to continue on to the end. That's an unfortunate overall feeling to get, because if a story-heavy game with high production values is right up your alley, Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception will impress. But just don't expect unique or deeply gratifying battle sequences to fully sustain your interest if you don't get hooked into the tale.