This game melds card collecting with property management to great effect and the result is rewarding and challenging.
User Rating: 9 | Culdcept II Expansion (PlayStation 2 the Best) PS2
Culdcept belongs in many categories while creating its own. The gamer sets out on an adventure through the lands with a spell book loaded with cards and a will to win. Each stage is a board-type play area where sprites move from single file square to square after rolling the die-like orb.The player selects which magical cards will be used from the Book of Culda at the beginning of each match. Only fifty can be selected and playing through the stage randomly brings those selected cards into your hand one at a time. Each player holds cards which correspond to fire,earth,water or wind elements and can be either creatures, power-ups, potions or upgrades. Each square on the board belongs to one of these elemental properties. The player places a creature card on the territory and in doing so lays claim to it. If a sprite lands on a square that contains one of these cards a payout or battle ensues. Cards face off against one another with the player surreptitiously selecting add-ons to be placed to the creature. It can be a shield enhancement, maybe a weapon, maybe even a super potion to eliminate opponent card strength. The variety of different cards and upgrades are plentiful and combining cards can alter the outcome of battle from disadvantaged to conquered. This is a board game. This is a card collecting game. This is a strategy game. This is an adventure game. This is Culdcept.
The above synopsis does not do the game justice. It is both complex in its construction and simple to get into. This is a fantastic game of thinking, randomness and management. Luck does play a factor in this game which may upset the control freaks out there, but dice do have an inherent randomness to them and this only reinforces the board game feel of Culdcept. The important element of random dice rolling, always switches up the game and keeps things interesting. The graphics are quaint, the sound simple and the gameplay rock-solid. With a small North American print run of only 30,000 copies , players who take their games seriously and are looking for a fun and challenging experience should snag a copy if it pops up. Up to four players can battle, and that not only makes this solid game more enjoyable, it increases the already abundant replayability factor ten-fold. I am addicted to this game and treasure it as one of the best in my collection. A great star-jewel for your gaming crown. 
