While the story really is too disturbing-and beautiful-to go untold, it does have its share of flaws. Tru
Gameplay: This is where Rule of Rose lacks any real enjoyment. You go around the airship picking up scent trails from your loyal dog, Brown, to get from item to item, and then the "chapter" ends ( and they sometimes have a boss battle). Now, the only things that block your path from trying to reach item to item is the worst thing about this game-the combat with enemies. I'll just say that it tries to take a Silent Hill approach to combat, but Rule of Rose doesn't execute it well. Wost of all, the only weapons Jennifer, the main protagonist, uses to defend herself with ranges from a silverware fork to a steel pipe-that's right, there aren't any guns in RoR (with one exception at the end). Another bad thing, too is...does anyone actually run like Jennifer in RoR? It's such a shame that the gameplay itself is what brings down RoR so much. 4/10
Graphics: There's really nothing to complain about the visuals. The FMV's are really nice, and except for a few goofs I've seen, the real-time visuals are okay enough. RoR also incorporates a "Noise Filter" seen in games like Silent Hill, which is a nice addition, too,but it just makes me feel that it was taken from the SH games. 7/10
Story: Oh my *bleep*, the story is absolutely AMAZING. I have never seen any other horror game (well, besides Silent Hill 2) have such a creative and well done storyline. Without giving too much away...taking place in the 1930s, Jennifer (the main character) is riding a bus alone in the middle of the night when a mysterious boy runs off the bus into the woods,and she chases after him, ending up in an abandoned house. Soon later, she is captured and brought up to an airship by the Aristocrats of the Red Crayon, a government led by children. Jennifer has to give them a present each month, or "else". There are a lot of twisted stuff that happens in the game, and an even more shocking twist near the end. RoR's story is the reason that you'd want to keep on playing. 10/10
Sound: Not exactly another strong point of RoR. There's barely any voice acting except for the FMVs, and the music does tend to get annoying (especially since it's the same background music all the time). It's just really average. 6/10
Replay Value: There are unlockable costumes for you and your canine companion and hidden items when you finish the game, but since you'd finish the game for it's story, you wouldn't really want to replay it for the fighting sections. 6/10
All in all, this is a game that shouldn't be missed out of. It's too bad that it was banned in the UK, just like Manhunt 2, just because of the fact about children in the game and a sexual relationship in the story. Still, don't even think you should miss out on this game if you enjoy games with excellent stories.
Final Score: 6.6/10