iTZKooPA recaps his impressions with Sega’s upcoming DS line-up.
It’s been nearly a year since DS gamers on the other side of the Pacific were invited to the Phantasy Star universe. The wait is almost over for Phantasy Star 0, and I was able to take it for a spin during GameX.
Phantasy Star 0 was developed by Phantasy Star Online creator Sonic Team, which becomes obvious thanks to the correlations between the two titles, visually and mechanically. All your typical PSO mechanics are included, with the battle remaining a hack-n-slash festival. Only this time, gamers can equip themselves with over 350 weapons. The cache includes two forms of weapons never before seen in the Phantasy Star universe, Shields and Gunslashes.
The title is presented in the typical 3D graphics of the newer titles of the Phantasy Star franchise. The franchise’s visuals just don’t work well on the DS, causing the characters to look a bit blocky. At least the title ran smoothly in battle and in towns.
The demo was a stand-alone machine, therefore I was unable to test out the multiplayer capabilities, including the “Visual Chat” system, or the pair of multiplayer modes.
Phantasy Star 0 will finally make its way to North America on November 10.
Gamers received their first taste of Sands of Destruction at TGS 09. During the show the developer, imageepoch, announced that Sega USA would be publishing the localized version of World Destruction. Sands of Destruction, the localized name, revolves around Kyrie, a man who possess the power to destroy the world. During his journey he runs across a wide variety of characters and factions. One such character is Morte, the leader of a group hell bent on destroying the world to prevent the Ferals, anthropomorphic rulers of humans, from continuing human slavery. We’re sure to see power struggles and character clashes in the multi-character parties throughout the story.
Sands of Destruction diversifies itself from the developer’s other titles, mainly the Luminious Arc trilogy, by blending your typical turn-based RPG battles with fighting game elements and time-sensitive tasks. I was stuck in a dungeon during my play session, enabling me to become very familiar with early fights and the overworld (If you are wondering about battles, yes, they are random). Battles are incredibly intuitive, with each face button mapped to an attack or support item. There appears to be little or no usage of the DS’s touch screen capabilities.
Compared to its RPG cousin above, Sands of Destruction is a appealing to the eyes. The standard JRPG artistic style is present with 3D characters running around faux 3D maps and towns. Battle animations are smooth and well executed.
The nigh unheard of title has become quite a sensation in Japan, spawning a full soundtrack CD, manga and anime. With its interesting multi-faction plot, unusual yet intuitive battles and smooth visuals, Sands of Destruction may become a sleeper hit on the DS when it is released in January 2010. Hopefully it can scratch my Golden Sun itch.
Bleach DS 4th: Flame Bringer:
Let me come clean before we start this one. I haven’t played any of the Bleach games previously released, and am not a fan of the anime/manga. I’ll keep it short, and stick to the facts for this, rather than your usual preview.
Bleach DS 4th: Flame Bringer is following the precedent set by The 3rd Phantom, taking the series to a new genre. Instead of the common fighting games, or the RPG play of The 3rd Phantom, Flame Bringer is delivering a side-scrolling platform experience. At least that’s what the press kit told me.
In actuality the game plays more like a beat-em-up, one that isn’t relegated to just left and right, but also up and down. Although I know very little about Ichigo Kurosaki, he certainly came off as one bad ass dude. The controls are intuitive, and the powerful special maneuvers and attacks allowed me to lay waste to those stalking me. The game came off as a bit too easy, at least in the early going.
Bleach DS 4th: Flame Bringer release date remains unknown.
Gamer Grenade Popular Posts