S&S; Indie Review: Battlepaths

Title: Battlepaths // Format: XBLIG // Release Date: 06-2-12 // Developer: Key17 Games // Price: 80 Microsoft Points //Violence: 1/3 // Sex: 1/3 // Mature Content: 1/3
I always enjoy a good old school style RPG that I can spend countless hours in, with a good story and great gameplay.  So far, Battlepaths just doesn't satiate my need for more good retro style rpgs.  
Presentation and Gameplay: When you first turn on Battlepaths, you're quickly thrown into the game's world.  You first have to choose your Attribute distribution for your character.  You have the option to choose, Power, Agility, Damage, Mind, or just go with Balanced. The developers really wanted to give each player the choice to play the way they want too.  From what I see, they did a good job creating unique experiences for each style.  After you decide what style you'll be playing, you have to decide what realm you'll be playing in.  Its not really like you have a choice when you first cut the game on, you have to select the first realm of Babatula.  After you finish certain quests in the first realm, you'll unlock the next one.  This continues through to the last realm as well.  When you finally get into the game you'll see that Battlepaths sports a top down 2D style look thats similar to games like A Link to The Past.  The gameplay is really simple and feels right at home, you receive a quest, and you must complete it.  There are your typical monsters that will try to halt your progress like goblins and other mythical creatures.  The combat is turn based, with each of you taking turns swiping away at one another.  Its pretty boring if you ask me, I found myself drifting off thinking about other games while fending off pretty big goblins.  There is a surprisingly deep inventory system to say the least, which is a plus in my mind.  The art style is the one of the only bright spots in the game, the 2D sprites all look good, including your laid back hero.  Environments look solid as well, it never really causes you stop and gaze at the scenery though.  I like the music in the game, it has to carry the load since there is no voice acting in the game.
Final Thoughts:
Battlepaths could have been a pretty good game if it had an actual story in the game,  besides the ultimate goal of hunting the illusive Chaos Overload.  The combat is flat out mundane and mind-numbing, you just can't have that in a RPG.  There is lots of potential for a sequel in this game somewhere.
S&S Rating: 6/10