Blue Dragon

July 22nd, 2006, 23:05 Posted By: shadowprophet

With the Xbox 360 on life support in Japan (it's performing even worse than the original Xbox there), Miscosoft desperately needs a game that will connect with the nation's gamers while still appearing to role-playing fans worldwide. That tasks falls on the shoulders of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Square Enix's legendary Final Fantasy franchise.

His new company, Mistwalker, is hard at work on several original role-playing offerings. The first one to reach gamers will be Blue Dragon, a whimsical RPG featuring character designs by revered artist Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z).

It appears to be standard-issue fare with perky anime kids battling monsters in a Technicolor fantasy realm, but these tykes harbor a killer secret--each character's shadow transforms into a powerful beast. these magical shadows reflect each hero's personality and offer unique skills and attacks.

For example, the game's lead protagonist Shu busts out a valiant blue dragon (hence the title) that handles all the heavy lifting and monsters slaying in the game's battles.

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Rpg Rumor's

July 22nd, 2006, 22:46 Posted By: shadowprophet

While its true the very word rumor alone indicates information to be taken with a grain of salt, MY research was through in these quick little tid bits of news, And are confirmed from reliable resources, None the less that doesn't mean that the (rumors) are officially confirmed or denied from the developers themselves. Still my sources have never failed at the very lest keep me entertained at there notions, So without further ado. I present this months RPG-Rumor's.


*Nintendo plans to release an earthbound compilation for the DS, Complete with touch screen functionality, No info on a release date yet.


*Another Mana game is in the works from the nice people at Square Enix, But the real kicker is, this one is rumored to be a MMORPG, and get this, Its going to be for the Wii!!


*In other nintendo News: If the upcoming Dragon quest games sell well on the DS and Wii, The 9th dragon quest may very will end up as a Wii exclusive.


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Castlevania Turns 20!!

July 22nd, 2006, 22:10 Posted By: shadowprophet

And what better way to celebrate 20 years of thwarting the forces of evil, Then With this interview found in the pages of the latest electronic gaming monthly!! in this interview EGM has a chat with Koji Igarashi, Lead programmer and producer of the castlevania that single handedly turned the entire franchise around forever, That's right. were talking about Castlevania symphony of the night!!

Let's look in on that retrospective and help celebrate 20 years of whip slinging,monster slaying,Dracula Stomping Goodness!!

EGM: Symphony of the night was the first game you directed. How did you end up in charge, despite having no real experience with the series?

Koji Igarashi: Ever since I joined Konami, I wanted to work on the Castlevania series. My desire only grew stronger as two castlevania game were being developed right next to our team, Which was focused on Tokimeki Memorial [ a dating simulator]. After our game was finished, I was fortunate enough to join a new castlevania project, but the game was cancelled soon thereafter. My boss needed to assign me to a new project, so I tried my hardest to move on to another castlevania game. I joined the Symphony of the night team as a programmer in the early stages of development and was able to take over as director when the original person in charge was promoted to another project. i was indeed very lucky.

EGM: Is it true that SOTN is connected to the doomed Sega 32X game Castlevania: The Bloodletting?

KI: Well there was another castlevania title being developed on the 32X, but I don't believe the title was the Bloodletting. The game was cancelled before the name was confirmed. This is actually the game I worked on after Tokimeki Memorial. The team for this game was disbanded, but several members, including myself, went on to work on SOTN.

EGM: Around 1997, developers began chucking 2D graphics in the coffin. Was there any internal resistance to such a "dated" game?

KI: There was no internal resistancefrom the team members. We never considered making the game in 3D. Everyone on the team loved 2D games.

EGM: The game's massive, especially with the optional second castle. Was thats something you had intended from the start?

KI: We has always planned on including this aspect of the game. This was a way for us to add more content to the game without creating new backgrounds or artwork which was good because we ended up behind schedule anyway. Our goal was always to get as much as possible out of the art assets that were made for the game.

EGM: SOTN's free roaming gameplay was unusual for Castlevania. What inspired you to take the series in that direction?

KI:There are two major reasons [we took] this approach. First, many members of our team loved action role playing games, so we wanted to have an action oriented game with new elements that added more depth. We also realized that a strightforward action game probably wouldn't take long to finish, and I wanted to give this new game more longevity then previous Castlevania titles. However, most action RPGs did not include as many enemy variations as we wanted, so we actually went beyond our template in that area.
Since SOTN was considered a side entry in the castlevania series, we were able to do whatever we liked.

EGM: Many fans were suprised that the belmonts took a backseat for SOTN. So, why Alucard?

KI: Our development team was fed up with whips-just kidding. in actuality , we wanted to redesign the series with more exploration elements, so I wanted to give the main character special abilities that would not be possible with a human. I looked through all the past castlevania characters and Alucard met our requirements perfectly.

EGM: Ayami Kojima's [SOTN character designer] art and Michiru Yamane's [SOTN composer] music are still considered some of the best. What role did they play in setting the tone of the game?

KI: I had worked on the PC Engine game Detana TwinBee [cutesy arcade shooter] previously, and I loved the game's music, but I never knew who created it. When we were working on SOTN, I found out that it was Michiru- the same composer who had been assigned to work on my game. I was very lucky from that standpoint. We selected Ayami as illustrator with the hope of giving a new breath to the series. Until that point, the castlevania series was all about macho characters, but we wanted to give it a more corrupted feel or vulnerable image while retaining a lot of the same visual cues. She became a key member of the team and really helped to establish the game's atmosphere.

EGM: The game's packed with a ton secrets; are there any fans have yet to discover?

KI: At this point, I don't think there are any more secrets to be found. If you do find something, let's just say its a bug. [laughs]

EGM: Well, some fans claim to have stumbled across hidden audio files for an ending in which Maria apparently becomes possessed.

KI: This is something that was considered in our initial planning sessions. We even recorded the japanese voiceover for the sequence, but we were not able to complete it in time.

EGM: SOTN's Japan-only Saturn version offered extra content, including new areas and the ability to play as Maria. But many fans feel it's technical issues make it inferior to the PS1 version. Were you involved in its creation? how do you feel about it?

KI: I was not involved with the Saturn version of the game--it was actually handled by a different studio, but I did request that they include the Maria mode. There are differences in the video output of both systems, so I am suprised that they were able to pull it off. There were other technical issues that held it back. for example, the PlayStation version relied heavily on transparent effects, but the Saturn was very poor with this detail, so compromises had to be made. I will concede that they did a fairly good given the drawbacks of the Saturn hardware and the deadline they were given. If they had [had] more time and experience, they could have done a better job.

EGM: What about the U.S. version? American fans feel the english localization hurt the game, with its lame box art and questionable voice acting...

KI: I don't speak or write english, so I was not heavily involved with localization and instead relied on Konami's localization team. Our plan had originally been to use only Japanese voices, but we were told that English voices were [also] required. So we quickly recorded the English sessions in Japan. This was my first experience in localization--I honestly didn't know what I was doing. I have since been told many times that the translation and English voice acting for SOTN [were] very poor, so now I try to be more involved with the localization and am in regular contact with our very reliable marketing staff in the U.S.

EGM: Nine years later, what is SOTN's legacy--its place in gaming and the castlevania series specifically?

KI: SOTN's legacy isn't just the game system, but is rather a basic philosophy of how to keep players entertained for an extended period of time. We really learned a lot working on the game, and its bloodline has been passed along to our more recent Castlevania games. It's hard for me to position SOTN, but I will say it was a transitional title rather than an end point for the series. I always like to learn from my past work [so as] to keep improving, and SOTN allowed us to pave the way for the future of Castlevania with a great game that our fans still look back on fondly to this day.

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Star Wars Galaxies gets Complete collection

July 22nd, 2006, 12:19 Posted By: wraggster

Later this year, Star Wars collectors will want to stop working on their dogs' Boba Fett costumes and head down to their local game retailers. LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment have announced that Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures will hit stores this November.

The collection, which will retail for $29.99, includes the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, as well as the PC game's three expansions--Jump to Lightspeed, Rage of the Wookies, and Trials of Obi-Wan.

However, it's the bonus DVD that's included in the package that will really tempt hardcore Star Wars fans. Gamers who pick up the collection will have access to an exclusive in-game item--the AT-RT, a personal bipedal transport. The DVD will also include a slide show featuring never-before-seen concept art, an excerpt from the SWG book From Pencil to Pixel, and the requisite interviews with the series' development team.

LucasArts and SOE have also promised to keep the game fresh through 2006 and into 2007 with regular content updates and downloadable missions.

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Endless Saga's saga ends

July 22nd, 2006, 12:17 Posted By: wraggster

While some fantasy freaks will argue that campy 1984 film The Neverending Story was blatant false advertising, the same can not be said for Webzen's Endless Saga. The game doesn't have an end--but unfortunately for fans, it's because it doesn't even have a beginning.

Webzen today confirmed to GameSpot that the PlayStation 3 and PC project has been canceled. The fantasy-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game was scheduled to hit stores sometime in 2007.

[UPDATE] A representative from Webzen phoned GameSpot to explain why the prioject was cancelled. "[Endless Saga] was under project review, and the board of directors decided [the game] wasn't as innovative as some of the other projects [Webzen] is working on," said the rep.

Endless Saga was being targeted for the Japanese audience, but its resources have now been allocated to more globally focused projects, like APB for the XBox 360 and Huxley for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Endless Saga was lined up to be one of the PS3's first MMOGs, but its absence leaves the genre fairly sparse on the console. PS3 MMOGs currently in the works are a DC Comics-based game, an untitled Square Enix project, and the ambitious X Quest, from former Halo creator Alex Seropian.

The rep was also clear that Webzen is not ignoring the PlayStation 3, and said the company is currently in discussions with Sony, though nothing has yet been announced.

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Modding News: MEV Balance Mod Update!

July 22nd, 2006, 07:22 Posted By: Kaiser

The MEV Balance Mod has been updated and now sits at version 1.02! The mod is basically MEV's way to patch up B4ME2. Here are some of the changes:

Wall Hubs:
* $100 for all (from 150 for isen+elves, 200 for men+dwarves)
* 30 seconds build time for all (from 20 elves+isen, 25 men, 30 dwarves)

Wall Segments:
* $20 for elves+isen (from 40), $30 for men+dwarves (from 50)
* 30 seconds build time for all (from 20 elf, isen, men, 15 dwarves)

Wall Towers:
* 40 seconds to build (from 20)
* cost 400 from 500
* garrisonable with up to one battallion of archers

Wall Catapults
* 60 seconds build time (from 30)
* 30 seconds to replace (from 15)
* build cost 1000 from 1200

via http://mevault.ign.com/

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C&C Modding News: Mental Omega 2.0

July 22nd, 2006, 07:18 Posted By: Kaiser

Mental Omega has released it's first public build of version 2.0. The newest version features a totally new campaign, followed by the storyline of the mod, enhanced AI, and 70 new skirmish maps. This is a vast improvement over version 1.2.

Check it out here.

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Come one come all !!!!

July 22nd, 2006, 02:25 Posted By: shadowprophet

RPG-NEWS is online!! http://rpg-news.dcemu.co.uk/

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FF Xii Day!!

July 22nd, 2006, 01:41 Posted By: shadowprophet

As many of you know the time draws near for Final Fantasy XII To grace us all with chocobos and summon spells and more moogles then you can shake a stick at lol. In fact many of us have already had a small FF Fix By playing the FF XII Demo that came with last years Dragon Quest 8!!

But what some of you may not know is Final Fantasy XII will be released in two versions, a specail collectors edition, and a normal no frills edition. Like we didnt expect that to happen,lol
So that leaves many with a choice to make, which edition, will you be picing up, come FF XII day?

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Sony Online Licenses Unreal Engine for DC MMOG

July 21st, 2006, 23:30 Posted By: wraggster

GameDaily is reporting that Sony Online Entertainment has licensed the Unreal Engine 3 for use in creating next-gen videogames. One title that is confirmed will be using the technology is their upcoming Massively Multiplayer game set in the DC comic universe. SOE has also announced a new complete version of Star Wars Galaxies, which will include Empire Divided and all of the expansions.

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Horde Paladins and Alliance Shaman in WoW Expansion

July 21st, 2006, 23:28 Posted By: wraggster

Gamespot has the news that Blizzard will be allowing 'crossover' classes with the new races promised for the Burning Crusade expansion. The Paladin class, up until now an Alliance class, will be allowed for the Horde race of Blood Elves. Likewise, the Alliance Draenei will be able to choose the Horde Shaman class. From the article:
"According to Blizzard, Horde paladins and Alliance shamans will have many of the same talents of their traditional counterparts, though they "will also enjoy some unique abilities to themselves, similar to the priest class' racial specialties." Since this new feature will fundamentally change the asymmetry between the game's two factions, it will presumably have a significant impact on the way the game is played, especially in competitive player-versus-player combat."
It's also likely to somewhat balance the preference between the two factions. A pretty race for the Horde, and what is considered (by some) a very powerful class for the Alliance.

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E3 2006: Final Fantasy III Hands-on

July 21st, 2006, 22:03 Posted By: shadowprophet

Square Enix reveals the debut of the only Final Fantasy game to not hit these shores.
by Craig Harris Via IGN
May 8, 2006 - Square Enix held its pre-E3 event in Los Angeles today where the company revealed for the first time the Nintendo DS rendition of Final fantasy 3, the only game in the Final Fantasy series that, up until this point, never received an official English language localization. Prior to its press conference, the company let us sneak backstage to get a hands-on with the Nintendo DS version two days before it hits the company's booth at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.


Unlike previous remakes of the Final Fantasy series, the Nintendo DS version of Final fantasy 3 isn't offering the old retro appearance of the original. Instead the company is retelling the game's story for a new generation of gamers, using the Nintendo DS system's 3D capabilities and touch screen controls to reintroduce the adventure nearly two decades since it originally hit the Famicom in Japan.


The Nintendo Ds Game is full 3D running at a smooth 30 frames per second, and enables players to fully control the action using the handheld's stylus. If you're a stickler for the classic control, you're free to use the D-pad and button combo throughout this role-playing game, but it's pretty convenient having the ability to wander through the environments, chat, and battle simply by tapping the screen. The game looks better than the original PlayStation version of Final Fantasy 7, and that's saying a lot considering that the first PlayStation Final Fantasy game utilized 3D sparingly with its use of 3D character models on top of prerendered backgrounds.


The version at Square's event was clearly tooled for the E3 convention, as the demo begins with a moogle greeting the player to E3. This demo is only a small sampling of the gameplay that will be in the full Final Fantasy III experience - it allows players to do a few random battles and ends with a final boss fight. The fights show off the 3D engine pretty well, and offer up some modest special effects for the attacks and magic elements.

The only disappointment so far is the fact that Square Enix is barely using the upper screen. When wandering around the overworld, the top screen is utilized to display a map to show where players are. But during battles and cutscenes, that upper screen remained black. Hopefully as the game progresses in development Square Enix will find some use for that extra display.

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Persona 3 Import Playtest

July 21st, 2006, 21:44 Posted By: shadowprophet

by Anoop Gantayat Via IGN

July 14, 2006 - I have a strict policy against playing games with the number "3" in the title. But I'm glad I made an exception with Peraona 3


In the third numbered entry in Atlus' popular Shin Megami Tensei spin off series, you play as a transfer student. During the day, you're just a standard student at a standard high school, but when the clocks turn midnight, the world enters into "Darkness," a period of time whose Japanese name is literally "Shadow Time." While most people sleep straight through this time and appear to be housed in coffins, you and a few of your fellow students who have the ability to control Persona alter egos, go to action, facing off against "Shadow" demons who emerge in the darkness and attempt to bring harm to people.

Your adventure is split into time segments, taking you through the school day and into Darkness. You start off your day in the early morning, and spend morning, lunch and afternoon periods in school. These parts of the game are mostly free of interaction as you view events and dialogue sequences, some of which provide clues for what you should do later in the day. Occasionally, during class, your teacher will ask a question to make sure that you're paying attention. A correct answer helps to build up your character's stats.

The real fun is to be had after class and on holidays, when you're free to explore school and the surrounding town. You can walk around school, going between rooms and speaking to people, and even taking part in after school clubs. By selecting locations off a map, you can head out to shops and train stations in town. During this part of the game, you build up "communities," which assist you in your subsequent battles.

When you're finished with your exploration, you head back to your dorm. The time automatically advances to night, and it's time for the game's name sake, the Persona support characters, to make an appearance. At night, by speaking to a particular character, you can enter Darkness time and head off to your school. Only this isn't the same school that you attend during the day. It's been transformed into Tartaros, a special tower that just happens to be the center for the Shadow creatures. Exploring as a party of three or four, you attempt to reach the top floors of the tower.


Come into contact with a Shadow creature, visible ahead of time roaming about the floors of Tartaros, and you enter into battle. Persona 3's battle system is of the menu-based variety, but with some Persona-influenced twists. In addition to a standard attack by your party members, you can call out your Persona alter-ego form for special skills. Enemies and Personas have elemental types, and with proper use, you can do extra damage to enemies, "breaking" their guard. Breaking an enemies' guard gives you a chance for another attack, which is why the battle system is referred to as the "One More Plus" system. By breaking all enemy guards, you can team up with your allies for a combo attack.

You have access to multiple Personas, which can be equipped like a standard piece of RPG equipment, giving you access to different skills. Each character has their own Personas, but only the main character can operate multiple Personas at once, giving him access to special "Mix Raid" special moves.

You can also combine Personas. By heading off to the "Velvet Room" during Darkness, you can combine two or three Personas into a new form that inherits the skills of its predecessor.

Persona 3 is a bit difficult to classify. It has school simulation elements, a battle system and dungeon crawling, but calling it an RPG would be somewhat of a misstatement. Following a couple of hours where the game holds your hand and leads you into your first experience with Tartaros, the title becomes pretty open ended, allowing you to move around freely and progress at your own pace.

The best way to classify Persona 3 would probably be simply as a Megaten game; Atlus could probably make the case for creating a genre out of the series. The game has all the trademarks of the franchise, from imaginative creature designs to the cold Megatenish characters. Presentation is full of style, from the menus to the voiced background music during battle.

And, of course, the trademark weirdness. You summon your Persona into battle by sticking a gun to your head and blasting away. That probably won't hold up too well in America, but everything else about this polished sequel should go over just fine.

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Level 5 Brings Joan of Arc to PSP

July 21st, 2006, 21:30 Posted By: shadowprophet

New simulation RPG from the maker of Dragon Quest VIII and Rogue Galaxy.

July 19, 2006 - The latest issue of Famitsu is home to an announcement that's sure to please PSP owners who love Japanese games (especially those perturbed by last weeks big suprize exclisive that turned out to be a game many already had guessed at.) The magazine has first details on Jeanne d' Arc, an original strategy RPG from Dragon Quest VIII and Rogue Galaxy developer Level 5. The game is set to be published in Japan by Sony Computer Entertainment.


Jeanne d' Arc takes place in a fictitious world inspired by the real life history of Jeanne d' Arc, known more commonly in English as Joan of Arc. The game's background story begins far in the past, during a long war that came to be known as the "War Against the Gods of Death." During this time, dark gods attempted to use their demon armies to enter the human world. Five heroes who were chosen to face up against the gods created five bracelets to seal the demons away.

The story jumps forward to the 15th century AD as France and England battle during the 100 Years' War. You play as Jeanne as a 17 year old girl. Just like the real life Jeanne, the in-game version was born in the village of Domremy in France's northern Lorraine region. Jeanne is taking part in a festival one day when she comes under attack by a demon, the likes of which she's never seen. She hears a voice from the heavens, ordering her to kill the demon. As Jeanne takes a sword in her hands and defeats the beast, a bracelet similar to the five created by the five ancient heroes appears on her right arm, and she finds herself unable to remove it.

Jeanne is instructed by the voice to summon her childhood friend Lian and Roger, a former soldier, and make a trip to Chinon Castle (Chateau de Chinon) in order to lead France towards victory against attacking demons and the English army.

Once you've gotten past all the story, Jeanne d' Arc looks like your typical turn-based strategy game. At a glance, the game resembles a Nippon Ichi title, except with full 3D visuals that appear to actually push the PSP hardware.

You start off battle by selecting the units you'd like to use. You then take turns with your enemy as part of player and enemy phases. When your turn comes around, you're free to move your units around and can make use of a variety of attacks in order to meet the stage's winning conditions.

Level 5 has added a few twists to the strategy formula. When you strike an enemy, it releases energy, which lands in a nearby square, turning it into what's called a "Burning Site." If a unit -- either an ally or enemy -- moves into that square, it receives a temporary shot of power.

On defense, you make use of a system called "Connection Guard." Units that are within a certain distance of one another have blue lights surrounding them. This indicates that their defensive stats have risen, as friends are in the vicinity to protect against incoming attack.

Jeanne d' Arc is being produced by Level 5 president himself Akihiro Hino and directed by Ken Honmura. The game is currently 70% complete and is being planned for Japanese release this winter. Stay tuned for more details to follow!

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Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth Review

July 21st, 2006, 21:22 Posted By: shadowprophet

Resurrecting this classic on the PSP is nearly as good as the original game.

by Jeff Haynes

July 17, 2006 - Take the limited run of a critically acclaimed RPG released almost six years ago. Now add to that the hype surrounding a title that regularly fetches more than $200 dollars online. Mix that with a lead-up to a forthcoming sequel and a new port over to the PSP and you get Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, the latest title from Square Enix. But is the game merely a simple port or a fully resurrected title itself? The answer to that is surprisingly both yes and no.


For those of you who weren't interested in RPGs in 2000 or, most likely, weren't afforded the opportunity to own the original title, allow me to provide you with a little backstory on the game itself. Players are cast as Lenneth, a Valkyrie (or battle-maiden) tasked by Odin to collect the souls of fallen warriors who are brave or skilled enough to be sent to Asgard. These resurrected soldiers would then fight for the gods against the hordes of demons, giants and other enemies foretold in the coming of Ragnarok, or the battle at the end of the world. Unfortunately for Lenneth and the gods, doomsday is fast approaching, and she only has a short amount of time to find, train and deliver these fighters known as Einherjar to Asgard's gates.


Concentrate to find soldiers or dungeons
To accomplish this goal, you'll need to travel Midgard, flying high about the ground searching for these fallen soldiers and discovering how they met their fateful ends so you can recruit them to Odin's cause. Doing so will require the use of Spiritual Concentration, which enacts the Valkyrie's heightened senses to detect the cries of the heroic dead in their final moments. While you can investigate these psychic flashes to find soldiers, you can also use them to track down towns or other locations to explore. Oftentimes, you'll find yourself returning to previous locations to flesh out the storylines of some of your party members, but you'll also use it to trigger specific events in the world or acquire special items or weapons, many of which are key to the success of Lenneth's mission.

Lenneth will also use this power to diócover areas of evil in the world, such as ruins, caves and other structures that threaten the safety of the people of the land. Here, you'll explore these areas, solving environmental puzzles by shooting ice crystals to form stepladders and platforms, as well as deflecting beams of light and freezing monsters to stand on. Any battles you engage in are turn-based, although there is an element of real-time action tied to the system: Each party member is tied to one of the four face buttons, and pressing it once or more triggers an attack from that particular character. By timing your attacks just right, you can perform combinations that will juggle your opponents into the air, only to land directly into the oncoming blow of a secondary or tertiary attack. Successful combinations can increase your hit meter, and once you've filled it in one attack round, you can trigger a "Purify Weird Soul" strike for extraordinary damage. Even better, if you manage to refill the hit meter with one of these strikes, you can perform a super powerful combination with members of your party, which can potentially result in items or experience point bonuses.


Triggering a special attack takes timing
Like other RPGs, you'll inevitably collect tons of items; however, instead of buying or selling these items in shops, you'll actually create the equipment you need. Lenneth's power of Transmutation allows you to take any item, weapon or elemental artifact you receive and convert it into something else that you might want. This is one of the few ways that you can constantly replenish your stores of health potions and resurrection items, as well as replace any weapons that might break under the strain of battle. Utilizing this power costs Materialize Points, but you can convert any piece of equipment that you don't need into additional MP if you're ever running low. However, you will discover a number of items that you'll come across in each dungeon aren't particularly transmutable or convertible. These artifacts are usually some special item that bestows its wielder with special abilities or powers, and can be useful to your party. There is one specific caveat, though: Asgard will request any and every single artifact that you come across, and in exchange for giving up these powerful items, it will bestow experience in an orb that can be allocated to any party member at any time to help them reach new levels. Leveling up characters gives them a pool of points that can be used to acquire new skills that can be used in battle, such as countering attacks from enemies, as well as strengthening character traits of Einherjar that might be particularly weak. While it might not seem like a beneficial decision to bolster these traits over skills, these character flaws play into just how valuable a warrior will be to the gods when they are fighting in their army in Asgard. Figures of weak character will more than likely fail or even be killed in the battles leading up to the last days, while those of fortified dispositions will be extremely successful in their otherworldly tasks.

While you can concentrate, recruit warriors and explore dungeons in any order that you wish, you should know that each primary action consumes a certain amount of time, known as periods, in each chapter you're in. With each chapter is comprised of 24 periods, and only eight chapters to achieve your goals, it becomes extremely important to decide what actions you'll undertake. As a result, you may have to deal with the fact that you've lost the chance to get a specific fighter if you have poor time management, while planning each move carefully should result in enough time to return to previously visited areas for new items or leveling up your party, which is essential for their success as the game progresses.


Don't let the blobs fool you -- those are dangerous monsters
At the end of each chapter, you are summoned in front of Freya, the Goddess of Fertility, who examines your progress and evaluates how well you're succeeding at your task of training and preparing your warriors. She will also gauge how many characters you've sent to Asgard, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Freya will also provide you with status updates on the war, especially if you've chosen to withhold artifacts that could potentially tip the balance of the fight. You can also get updates on previously transferred Einherjar, and specific skills that the gods need from your characters, such as negotiators, archers or spellcasters, in the upcoming chapter. While these hints about what the gods are looking for are mildly helpful, it's really up to you to decide how or if you'll even take them up on their wishes, sending those characters that you feel are up to the challenge of fighting for the gods.

This ability of choosing to follow the dictates of the gods or going on your own, along with the non-linearity of the gameplay is what made the original Valkyrie Profile so appealing, and the same can be said of Lenneth. The original difficulty levels of Easy, Normal and Hard make a return in the PSP version, which provides an added level of replayability. Additionally, the inclusion of three separate endings ensures that you have to play through the game more than once to get the full story of Lenneth's adventures on Midgard as she recruits for the army of the dead

However, while this is a near-exact port with a few minor adjustments to the visual and aural presentation, Lenneth stumbles into some of the same pitfalls that a number of other ports run into. For one, there is no new gameplay content included in Lenneth that wasn't found in the original title. We're talking no new dungeons, no new items and no new warriors to recruit, amongst other potential features that could've been added to the 40+ hour title. Nor will you find a clearer explanation of some of the gameplay elements in this title, which will inevitably cause a lot of trial and error for new players who've never picked up the game. What's more, while this is a six year old game, the title still comes with a significant load times, particularly around transitions between maps and in-between battle sequences and menus. At some point in time, you'd expect that the load issue that existed in the first title would be addressed in the port, but that's not to be found in Lenneth. The same could be said for the slowdown that creeps in every now and then in the game (particularly in battle when a strong spell is cast), but that hasn't been addressed in this port either.


Lenneth has never looked better, thanks to the new cutscenes
Similarly, while there is a beautiful 16:9 transfer to fit the PSP screen, as well as new CG cutscenes to illustrate key moments of the plot (including some hints to tie together Lenneth to the forthcoming VP2: Silmeria), the blurry and pixilated animation frames for opening certain doors or gates is somewhat detracting to the rest of the game. Fortunately, the re-mastered soundtrack and sound effects make up for some of the graphical issues.

Closing Comments
What Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth really comes down to is a matter of your personal experience with the original title. If you played the first game and you loved it, you don’t necessarily need to purchase this title unless you are a major fan of the series and want a hint about what to expect from Silmeria when it's released in two months or you want to take the original game on the go. If you weren’t lucky enough to get your hands on the game the first time around, this is a excellent way to check out a challenging non-linear title that has plenty of depth and story to back up a creative game experience. It’s a shame that only the visual and aural aspects were bolstered in the port from the PSX to the PSP, but what is included does make those particular game elements much more appealing than they originally were. That being said, this is still the best RPG that the PSP has received to date, and fans of the genre will definitely be pleased with this title.

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World Of Warcraft Crushing PC Game Industry?

July 21st, 2006, 01:42 Posted By: wraggster

Age of Empires co-creator and Iron Lore co-founder Brian Sullivan has been discussing his studio's first game, Titan Quest, but along the way has openly wondered whether World Of Warcraft's success is part of the reason for the decline of the PC retail game market. Sullivan commented: 'For retail PC games, I think the biggest problem is World of Warcraft... It is such a compelling MMO game that it sucks up a lot of money and time that would normally be spent on other retail PC games.' Does WoW's growth actually mean that PC games in other non-MMO genres may sell fewer copies?

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Medieval 2: Total War Designer Diary #1 - Introducing the New Diplomatic System

July 20th, 2006, 15:47 Posted By: Kaiser

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Tom Bombadil featured in LOTR Online

July 20th, 2006, 14:51 Posted By: wraggster

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar web site has been updated with some background info on the home of Tolkien fan favorite Tom Bombadil. While Peter Jackson may have felt this mysterious denizen of the Old Forest was unnecessary to the film's overall plot, Bombadil and his wife Goldberry will be most welcome by the virtual inhabitants of Turbine's forthcoming MMO. Shadows still has no release date, but the beta is expected to launch by the end of the summer.

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Cartoon Network to develop MMO with Grigon Entertainment

July 20th, 2006, 14:21 Posted By: wraggster

In a deal which marks the first time a US entertainment company has teamed up with a Korean developer, the Cartoon Network has signed an agreement to produce a new MMO with Grigon Entertainment.

The game, which is slated for a spring 2008 launch, will be aimed at children and will feature characters such as Mac and Bloo, Ben 10 and the Kids Next Door. The game will be free to download, with subscription and micro-transaction systems in place, and there are plans to add new content over the following years.

"This MMOG is a key part of Cartoon Network's growth strategy, and is an important complement to our mobile, broadband and our existing online business," said Cartoon Network's Jim Samples.

Senior VP Paul Condolora added: "Online games have been the most important driver of Cartoon Network New Media's success over the last few years. With more than 84 million US homes expected to have broadband Internet access by 2008, and Cartoon Network's reach and creative vision, we're excited to enter the fast-growing world of massively multiplayer online gaming."

Grigon Entertainment's previous games include Seal Online, a hit in China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Korea. CEO Byung-Kyu Cho said it would be a "great pleasure" to work with Cartoon Network, adding: " When I look at the globally adored characters of Cartoon Network getting together harmonically with the renowned strength and uniqueness of Grigon, I have all my confidence that we will proudly present an online game which will astonish the world."

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Gamespy preview: Pacific Storm

July 19th, 2006, 21:35 Posted By: Kaiser

Gamespy has done a pretty interesting review on CDV's upcoming Pacific Theater WWII RTS. Here's an excerpt from it...

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