Never before have I written, or read for that matter, a review in which the writer admits to not finishing the game in question. But, there's a first time for everything, right? Let me say this loud and clear: I did not beat, finish or complete Microsoft's long-awaited Xbox fantasy RPG known as Sudeki!

Why did I give up on beating the game? Try as I might, I could not summon the will to continue fighting against Sudeki's brutal difficulty level. Specifically, the frequent real-time battles where wave-after-wave of enemies assaulting you is what did me in.

Twitch gameplay is not something one finds in many RPGs. Sudeki simply overwhelms the player with reflex-testing and fast-paced melees. Sounds fun, right? Hey, it actually did to me ... on paper. In practice, it's something altogether different. And this constant challenge is thrown at the player within the first 15 minutes of the game.

I can only assume things get more difficult further into the "product," but after playing and replaying the first hour or so of Sudeki (with numerous attempts at the battles), I had had enough. Hacking my way through a dozen enemies at a time while being shot at by additional, off-screen opponents isn't my idea of fun.

Oh, and while all this is going on, it's your job to pause between attacks (in an attempt to time your button presses correctly) and pull off combo strikes. If you get hit between presses, you're screwed. Pressing the B button elicits a sweeping, enemy-clearing knockback, but I found the response to be hit and miss. Sometimes it worked; sometimes your frantic button press is ignored.

With some games, even though certain gameplay aspects may frustrate or anger, the player is compelled to soldier on, eager to uncover an interesting plot or explore a wondrous new world. No such luck here. I just couldn't seem to dredge up enough desire to continue onwards.

Sudeki follows a very linear path (you quite literally cannot deviate from the road in most places) and opportunities to backtrack and engage in random battles to level your character (Tal) are non-existent (at least early on in the game).

In addition to my time with the full game, I had the chance to play the Sudeki demo, and it features a few later-game events. Namely, more endless waves of enemies and a tedious, block-pushing puzzle. I'm glad I gave up before I encountered more of these "fun" brain twisters.

To give fair props, not all I experienced in Sudeki was awful. The combo attacks, when they could be pulled off, were well-animated and fun to watch. Some of the voice work was well done (it's always nice to hear authentic British accents), and the menus were thoughtfully laid out and shiny in all the right places. Overall, the environments were attractive to look at as well.

Now, I'm sure some of you may be thinking, "You probably just suck at these types of games, Noob!" and you may be right, but let me say this: Third-person action and RPGs are my favorite console genres, and I've put countless hours into the Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto series as well as fast-paced action games such as Freedom Fighters and Red Dead Revolver and have beaten them all. None of them have kicked my head in like Sudeki.

I've even spent a few years in the game-testing business so, yeah, I've played these types of games for a living!

Let me wrap up this ranting review with two wee suggestions;

To the game developers of the world:
Offer difficulty settings on all games. You know, easy, normal and hard ... that type of thing. And if that's too much to ask for my $50, then could ya please ramp up the difficulty in a reasonable manner? Focus testing with gamers of varying ages and skill levels also might help.

And finally, to the potential Sudeki purchaser:
Consider renting Sudeki before plopping down your hard-earned sheckles. Unlike me, you may blast through the game loving every second of it — then again, you may need to buy a new TV after throwing your Xbox controller through the screen.