I'm absolutely in love with Atlus, a game company after my heart.  They typically either create or publish games that are unique, unusual, very "Japanese," extremely difficult, or a mix of some or all of the above. 

One of their freshest titles exemplifies at least three of these qualities, if not all of them - the Dark Spire.  This game is definitely NOT for everyone, and is reserved for only the most hardcore, self-deprecating pale-skinned dungeon dwellers out there.  Not that I'm like that or anything ;)

Premise of The Dark Spire

OK, so how about this - you have to delve into the evil wizard's Dark Spire and um, kill him.  That's about it for the plotline, and frankly - that's all I need.  In my famous quote to my sister (in response to her general preference for RPG's with deep plots):

"It doesn't have any of that stupid storyline crap."

Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a good story - just don't mix it in with a hardcore dungeon crawler, it doesn't work.  By now, I'm guessing you've already figured out the premise... navigate a dungeon (using only 90 degree turns,) level grind, find items, and delve as deep as you can into the tower.

Gameplay

The Dark Spire plays like a true dungeon crawler should - controls are simple and sparse, and about as "old school" as you can get.  It controls like an 8-bit game with a fresh look.  As you navigate the dungeon, you'll encounter lots of nasty enemies, which you'll beat down with repeated presses of the A button after choosing your combat option.  The Dark Spire adds options for certain weapons; for example, a sword might have a "Lunge Attack" option.  Other than that, there isn't too much in the way of revolutionary gameplay... just the way I like it.

Graphics and Sound

Lovers of old-school in any form will squee in delight at their first look at the Dark Spire.  I immediately switched in to "Classic" mode to see the wireframe, Wizardry-like dungeon, pixellated enemies, and awesome chiptune soundtrack.

Wait, I didn't mention that you can re-skin the whole game? It's the landmark feature of this gem, in my opinion.  Simply changing from "Modern" to "Classic" mode and back again is easy as a simple menu option, and the soundtrack and graphics immediately change.  Overall, I like the "Modern" version better, but the "Classic" mode is irrestible when I'm feeling the urge for nostalgia.

Overall Impression

I'm several hours into the game and have barely ventured beyond the first hallways of the first level.  That should give you an idea of what this game is like.  It's savagely brutal, starting you out with only a few hitpoints and woefully weak party members.  Creating your own party is even harder, given that the pre-installed party is level two, and creating them from scratch starts them at a ridiculously waifish level 1.

Get ready for hours and hours of level grinding, nail-biting at every step, and lots of death - and most likely a crappy, simple ending.  But it's not the end that matters in a game like this... it's the journey.

Pick this up if you've ever liked Wizardry, Rogue, Larn, NetHack, Etrian Odyssey, or similar dungeon crawlers... or if you just like to punish yourself (in a good way, of course.)

The only improvement I can think of making to this game is to make it a true Roguelike... and give it randomized dungeons.  For some reason, most of the new abyss-dwelling dungeon-style RPG's do not incorporate this feature... why?  It would give the game infinite replayability and you could still include various plot elements, just make them randomized.  Hopefully, some game publisher out there will hear my plea for a slick, modern, RANDOM dungeon game!

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