Culdcept is a name that won't be familiar to many people -- well, unless you've recently spent time in Japan or keep yourself wired in with the pop culture fads of the country. In a sense, Culdcept could be compared with the Magic: The Gathering phenomenon in the States. It is a popular Collectable Card Game in Japan that combines elements of Yu Gi Oh (creature casting, battles and spells) with the mechanics of Monopoly. Although the combination may not sound like a good one at first, it turns out to be an addictive and unique gaming experience.

Culdcept looks nice, but won't exactly blow you away with its presentation. The game uses a very simple graphics engine which is reminiscent of old school RPG's or more recent games like Final Fantasy Tactics. The graphics are bright, cheery and do a great job of representing the game world. Character designs ride the line between cute and quirky -- it just depends on how you look at them. Unfortunately, this feeling doesn't carry over onto your character -- which is rather bland looking in comparison. Though a wide selection of character models are offered for you to choose from, they all come off as generic looking and lack the personality of your opponents. The real star of the game is the 500 cards you can use to build decks and battle with, or more to the point -- the artwork on each card. Unlike games like Yu Gi Oh, which feature the same general art style, Culdcept features the work of various different artists. The variety of artwork offered adds to the collectable aspect of the game and can also serve as motivation to play through another round just to see some new cards. Card battles, which are typically rather boring, sport some enhancements to make them more exciting. As cards fight, sword slices and bite marks appear on each card. After the battle, one card is either torn or sliced into ribbons.

The musical selection is fitting and features a whimsical feel that goes along with the look of the game. Sound effects are limited, but work where they have to. The voices that announce the name of each card and do a sort of play-by-play (just reading out the abilities or spells used), are nice, but wear thin later in the game.

The concept behind Culdcept is a mix of Monopoly and Yu Gi Oh. Each player begins at a castle on a board. After rolling a die, players move a number of spaces on the game board. Once on a space, players can either lay claim to or battle for control of the space. If the space is unoccupied, you can cast a creature on the space and take control of it, making the creature the guardian of that space. Controlling a space generates Magic Points, which can be used in a variety of ways. These points not only allow you to win the game (after accumulating a number of them and returning to the castle), but also give you the ability to cast monsters and upgrade your controlled holdings. When you are in control of a particular space, you have the option of transforming it into a different color or increasing your presence there. Infusing Magic points into the guardian, making it more powerful, does this. Upgraded holdings will also generate more Magic points.

Just as in Monopoly, spaces are grouped by color. Obviously you want to own as many of a particular color line as possible since it gives you a bonus in the number of Magic points you gain from it. Monsters are also color-coded. Monsters can be cast on any space, but matching a colored monster with a like colored square gives it an added bonus. Creatures can also be swapped out in the event you draw a colored card later in the game. Controlling areas is similar to having hotels in Monopoly. If another player lands on your spot, he must give up some of his Magic points. However, the other player also has the option of challenging you for control of the space by casting his own creature. If you are able to successfully defend your territory, your opponent must pay the toll and lose his card. If you lose the duel, you not only lose control of the space, but must also give up some of your Magic points. This, of course, is just a quick overview of the game -- a full rule set is included in the game and can be accessed from both the main menu as well as from the in-game options.

The main part of the game is its lengthy Story mode. The Culdcept is a magical book, which was created by the Goddess Culdra containing the powers of both destruction and creation. Control of the book is battled over by Cepters, individuals who can summon creatures. If a Cepter is able to get control of the book, they will become a god. For centuries, Cepters have battled over the Culdcept, creating and destroying many worlds in the process. However, Culdra has foreseen that one Cepter will gain control of Culdcept and use its power to destroy the universe. You play the role of a Cepter trying to stop this from happening. Story mode consists of a group of scenarios, some linked and some that just happen, that share the same common backdrop. The story is about as quirky as the character designs and manages to weave an interesting narrative, but don't expect anything too deep. Although the story is enjoyable, it loses something due to the generic look and lack of back-story for your character. A central character -- such as Ash in Poke'mon or Yugi in Yu Gi Oh -- would have helped the story. During the Story mode, you can unlock new cards and build custom decks which can then be used during Multiplayer games. During Multiplayer, you play the same game you would in the Single-player campaign, but with up to three friends. Multiplayer games also give you the option of creating AI controlled bots or custom rules. It's a real shame an online multiplayer option wasn't included.

The AI in Culdcept is very, very good and susceptible to the same strokes of brilliance and dumb moves as a human player. This helps to keep games balanced and never makes you feel like the computer is cheating. Winning matches in Culdcept is just as much luck based as it is skill based. Of course, you can help your luck along by building a good deck, but it's really hard to consistently dominate matches. The variety of map types and layouts also helps to give each battle an interesting feel. The biggest challenge in Culdcept is finding a balance in your deck. Overloading it with monsters will give you a disadvantage when it comes to battles, whereas item or spell heavy decks won't be able to hold land. Deciding the range of creatures in your deck also presents a challenge. Building a deck consisting of mostly low-cost creatures will allow you to get multiple holdings quickly, but won't allow you to hang in the late game when bigger creatures hit the board. On the other hand, a deck consisting of mostly bigger, high-cost creatures will face serious disadvantages since you won't be able to generate the Magic points needed to cast them.

Much of the strategy in Culdcept comes from building your deck. Decks are made up of 50 cards, consisting of creature, item and spell cards. Creature cards each have an affinity to one of four elements (water, fire, earth and wind) or can also hold no affinity. These make up most of your deck since they are required in order to claim, battle for and hold territories. Spells can be used at the beginning of the turn and allow you to gain small Magic point boosts, inflict damage on creatures, or alter the die roll by predetermining the next die roll. Item cards are used in the beginning of card battles to bolster your health or damage ratings. Around 500 cards are available for use in the game, allowing for a wide variety of deck types. Card battles last for one round and are simple comparisons of attack rating versus health ratings. Some cards have special abilities that will help them gain the upper hand in battles, like regeneration or the ability to strike first.

At the beginning of each match, you draw the top six cards from your deck. You can also draw one new card at the beginning of each turn, but can never have more than six cards in your hand at any time during the game. In the event you run out of cards in your deck -- something that is more common in battles consisting of three or four people rather than two -- you can reshuffle your deck.

Overall, Culdcept offers a different experience in the PS2's library that is hard to put down once you start. After a few rounds, it's very easy to see why the game is so popular in Japan and makes me wish it would pick up here with the same fervor that imports like Yu Gi Oh and Poke'mon have in the past. The first night I had the game I intended to only play a round and well, let's just say I was very tired the next morning at work. This one is highly recommended for fans of CCG's, board games or anyone looking for a really fun game to play with the whole family.