Anima: Shadow of Omega
Anima: Shadow of Omega An adventure card game from Fantasy Flight Games
Reviewed by: Marc Shayed
Anima: Shadow of Omega is a new card game from the gaming brain trust known as Fantasy Flight Games. In this game, players travel the world of “Gaïa” and save it from destruction. For countless years trapped in the Tower at the End of the World is the creature known as the Omega, and if it frees itself, the world is doomed!
You gotta love a mission like this… no stress!
As you and your party of heroes travel the world, seeking other heroes, powers and the clues you need to make your way to the Tower, you must defeat monsters, win encounters and explore the exotic world of Gaïa. However, other would-be heroes are doing the same, so it is a fight for your life, and a race against time to be the one who will win the day!
From the website (listed below):
“Journey to the Tower at the End of the World and prevent the emergence of Omega, the omnipotent destroyer of all! Get lost in the streets of Archangel, plumb the depths of the Dark Forest, and contend with the might of a Dragon God, all while experiencing some of the finest art from the top names in Japanese illustration”
The Basics:
Each player controls a party of heroes. The object of the game is to be the first player to complete the final mission. Each party will start with a starting (basic) mission; this mission will take them to locations and through an adventure. Missions can be to find the Village and stay there, and win two consecutive rounds of combat with raiders, or to travel to the forest, find the demon and beat it. All the while other players can make your missions harder and even make you fail. But success does have rewards, allowing your party to become more powerful by gaining advantages, new members, or (if you are feeling powerful and lucky) to go right on to the final mission.
The best way to think of this game is as a role-playing game, played with cards. You are adventuring and using powers & skills, reaping rewards, suffering defeats, it really has it all.
Again… from the website:
“Eventually, the players will be strong enough to attempt the Final Mission! The first player to complete the Final Mission and save the world from the menace of Omega is the winner!”
There are three final missions, and the final mission for your game is drawn only when someone completes a basic mission, and then decides to attempt the final mission. Failure means often death of a party member, or being forced out of the location you are adventuring in. So missions that fail, often have to be restarted from the beginning.
The game is essential all cards, and with all good card games, the art has to be good. Anima is no exception. The art is a very cool blending of Manga-styles with standard fantasy and Lovecraftian themes. The Art for this game is really good, tends to be really dark, both in color and theme. I like it.
So… what does Marc really think?
Card games that are near-roleplaying adventure games are not new to the gaming world. The two that pop to my head instantly (because I play them a lot) are Third World Games’ “The Testimony of Jacob Hallow” and Atlas Games’ “Dungeoneer” series of games and expansions. These games are also rank pretty highly with me because of the game play, and the overall themes and ‘feels’ of the games. These games also tend to keep players coming back for more, because they usually don’t play out the same way very time, and there lots of variations during the game. It’s not just “roll-then move, roll-then move…” or what most CCGs have become “I flip a card, I attack, you flip a card, you attack, I flip a card…”. These games have substance and are a lot of fun.
So what does this rant all mean? Simply, I like Anima quite a lot. It was fun to play, not hard to pick up & learn, priced right and it has a lot of the elements I look for in a game. While not completely original in concept, the execution was perfect, giving me the belief that we’ll be seeing expansions & other sets for the Anima card game, which I will have to pick up… as long as they keep the art top notch, the game easy to play, and the price easy on the wallet.
Above all I suggest you judge for yourselves. Check out Fantasy Flight Games and their new card game Anima: Shadow of Omega at their website
http://www. FantasyFlightGames.com and at all your local game stores!
Anima : Shadow of Omega
From: Fantasy Flight Games
Type of Game: Card Game
Retail Price: $ 19.95 (US)
Number of Players: 2-5
Game Includes: 110 game cards, 5 player tokens, 2 six-sided dice & rules booklet
Player Ages: 12+
Play Time: 40-100 mins
Product Number: ANC01
Website:
http://www.FantasyFlightGames.com Review Score: 8 out of 10 points (4 stars)
Reviewed by: Marc Shayed
Review Editor
http://www.GamingReport.comMShayed@GamingReport.comMShayed@GMail.com
Onimusha
