Since the release of the Xbox 360 and PS3, all the talk has been of hi-res graphics and their importance to the overall quality of any title. However, the ever-growing popularity of the less powerful, standard definition Nintendo Wii would suggest that fun often comes before looks for many consumers. It is interesting though that few look at the significance of art design in games and its undoubted importance towards the completion of not only a quality game, but in many cases, a believable virtual world.

The fact of the matter is, technology will always move forward, and the tools at developer's disposal will always become more and more advanced, thus increasing the potential for greater beauty with each incremental improvement. Therefore when looking back, it is not the games with the highest polygon counts or clearest definition that will successfully stand the test of time, but the games that have been thoughtfully and carefully crafted. That is why Super Mario World still looks so fresh over fifteen years after its original release, why Shadow of the Colossus will still be breathtaking years from now and why, regardless of polygon count, Turok will still look boring and uninspired.

For these reasons more than any other, Odin Sphere will be remembered long after many of the so-called 'next-generation titles' have long since been forgotten. Regardless of the fact that it's running on eight-year-old technology, Odin Sphere is one of the prettiest games you will ever encounter and a true testament to Atlus's art design and unique approach to the visual design of Odin Sphere's enigmatic world.

The graphics of any game may seem like a strange place to start a review, but when they are as memorable and lovingly crafted as in Odin Sphere, they demand special attention. The characters and backgrounds have all been painstakingly hand drawn, successfully giving the game the impression of a beautiful painting that has come to life; from the ice tipped mountains and fiery underground lairs of Erion to the highly detailed, delightfully drawn characters and huge, larger than life, screen-filling enemies, Odin Sphere never falls short of being breathtakingly memorable.

Adding to the Odin Sphere's brilliant overall presentation is its magnificent audio. The orchestral score is pitch perfect, fitting the settings and onscreen drama almost perfectly. The voice acting, available in both English and original Japanese, is also well above the average for this kind of game, and when combined with the beautifully subtle collection of ambient noises and incidental effects, you are left with a game that sounds as stunning as it looks.

Sadly, while the art team should be commended at every possible opportunity, the same cannot be said of the technical team; for as striking a game as Odin Sphere undoubtedly is, it often falls very short in technical terms. The worst of there faults comes with the slowdown; although most gamers will put up with a little slowdown every so often, the amount to be found in some of Odin Sphere's busier battles and boss fights borders on the ridiculous, making certain parts of the game almost unplayable. It should also be noted that underneath the beautiful visage lies a reasonably basic side scrolling beat 'em up. Now, when I say this, I don't mean a beat 'em up in the image of say Final Fight or Streets of Rage; Odin Sphere doesn't feel like an arcade game in any way. Thanks to its length, RPG-lite upgrades and multiple routes, it actually has a lot more in common with Treasure's Sega Saturn classic, Guardian Heroes.

Odin Sphere is set in the world of Erion and uses the familiar Atlus template of magic, monsters and warring kingdoms. You start the game playing as Valkyrie, the daughter of the King, although four more characters become available as you progress. With these five characters in tow, you are tasked with, well, killing everything in sight, moving on and repeating the process. This continuous brawling is broken up nicely by a rather compelling, largely cliché-free story that will keep you hooked for all of Odin Sphere's epic forty-hour playing time.

As you fight your way through the world of Erion on its 2D plane, you will notice how the levels, much like in Viewtiful Joe, are built as one big circle. This means that by continuously moving from left to right through the level, you will eventually find yourself back at the beginning. This is because each level in the game does little but task you with the destruction of absolutely everything that crosses your path. Kill all the enemies, defeat one of the many hard-as-nails bosses and then move onto the next level. This probably sounds a bit repetitive - and to a certain extent it is; you will spend most of the game smashing on the square button repeatedly as you hack through a seemingly endless horde of foes. You can also jump to unleash mid-air combos, but these are again achieved with little more than the continuous pounding of just the one button. Odin Sphere is kept fresh however via its RPG mechanics, basic magic spells and web-like multiple route system.

As you defeat each enemy they release magic energy that can be absorbed and saved up so that you can let loose an array of simplistic but fun magic spells to help you on your quest. The fact that the levels are split up into branching stages allows for exploration and unique approaches to each level, keeping things fresh overall and allowing you the choice of heading straight for the boss or powering up by finding treasure and defeating more enemies. Although this design does give the game a unique flavour of its own, it also suffers from the drawback of Odin Sphere's excessive loading times. Although each stage only takes about ten to fifteen seconds to load, many stages can be passed through in well under a minute, meaning that it can become a bit of a nuisance, especially during a period of extended play. Another thing likely to keep you on your toes for the duration of Odin Sphere is the extreme challenge that offers to even the most ardent of beat 'em up fans; you will rarely feel completely safe, and thanks to the huge amount of enemies and tricky boss battles, players of all skill levels will have stay on their toes if they want to stay alive.

Beyond the basics of fighting and rudimentary magic spells, Odin Sphere also tasks you with treasure hunting for items such as artefacts, seeds, fruits and money, along with the option to synthesise these items in an attempt to get the best out of them. Well, I say the game gives you the option, but if you plan on getting anywhere in the land of Erion, you are going to have to be well equipped at all times, especially with food to replenish your health. Further than replenishing your health, food also earns experience for your characters. As you earn experience, your characters level up, thus increasing your hit-point limit. On your travels you will have to pick up items to synthesize to create stronger items that provide higher levels of experience upon use. To help you in your successful synthesis of items, restaurants show up throughout your travels, offering the chance to combine items and recipes to make ever more potent meals.

Although item collection does add a bit of depth to the gameplay, Odin Sphere's technical options are called into question thanks to the lack of an option to map items to a specific button for quick use. There is also an extremely low limit on the amount of items you can carry at any one time; item planning may be fair enough, but when you have to continuously cut from the frantic action onscreen to the laborious and poorly crafted inventory options, it soon starts to feel like an unnecessary and time consuming chore.

Even with the technical deficiencies that Odin Sphere suffers from, it is still a largely enjoyable game with some of the best visuals seen on any console for quite a few years. The slowdown may be annoying and the stop-start of item management may be arduous, but the combat is fun and the story, along with its magnificent score and great voice acting, is a joy for the full forty or so hours of playing time. Pros and cons aside however, Odin Sphere is a game that deserves to be played and is more than worthy of your time.

Reviewed by Liam Pritchard for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).