level5
Latest
'Professor Layton and the Curious Village' comes to iOS and Android
Today, the beloved adventure game Professor Layton and the Curious Village is out for both iOS and Android. Studio Level-5 remastered the classic puzzle game in HD and optimized it for mobile. You can pick it up today for $10 from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Volvo's autonomous concept car is about more than commuting
Autonomous vehicles are supposed to make our daily commutes more pleasant and potentially quicker. But Volvo wants to take that idea a step further with its 360c concept vehicle. Unveiled at its Gothenburg, Sweden headquarters, the automaker envisions a world where cars become mobile offices, sleep quarters and even a way to skip the airport for short trips.
Phantom Auto will drive your autonomous car if it gets confused
Imagine, you're sitting in your autonomous taxi when suddenly the power goes out and the traffic signals in your area no longer function. To keep things moving, traffic officers arrive at the intersection, waving cars through and the vehicles with human drivers move on without too much trouble. But your robot-controlled car stops.
Next 'Layton' game is coming to Android and iOS before 3DS
Last we knew, the new Professor Layton game's differences from prior releases were relegated to its protagonist and the absence of its original puzzle designer. Now word is out that Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaire's Conspiracy will arrive on Android and iOS this July 20th, ahead of its stateside debut on Nintendo's 3DS handheld. According to publisher/developer Level 5 (spotted by Kotaku), the only way to play on 3DS at launch will be with an imported version and a Japanese console. Domestically, a localized version will release at some point after the mobile versions.
VW's 'Sedric' self-driving car could chauffer you or strangers
Volkswagen is planning for the future. Today the automaker laid out its plans for Sedric -- short for "self-driving car" -- a sort of hybrid between car ownership and ride-sharing. The boxy, Level 5 autonomous vehicle (no need for a human driver) is summoned by a remote dubbed "The Button" and from there "a single touch of the button guarantees mobility for everyone, at any time and at any location," according to a press release.
'Yo-Kai Watch 2' invades the US this September
Yo-Kai Watch 2 is on the horizon, and it's headed to the US this September, with a second season of the anime series to follow. Originally launched last November for western audiences, the 3DS title served up decadent and accessible role-playing goodness, with collecting elements for the youngsters and meaty side quests and commentary for adults.
Professor Layton meets Phoenix Wright in crossover 3DS game
Professor Layton VS Gyakuten saiban -- the Japanese name for a new crossover 3DS game that features both Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton -- was revealed last night by Level-5 during a press conference in Tokyo. The game is being developed in collaboration with Capcom, though Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi will be heading up writing. It appears that this marks the beginning of Level-5 and Capcom's much teased collaboration, and one of the four surprise titles Level-5 said it would reveal during its Vision 2010 event currently taking place in Japan. 1UP's liveblog details the gameplay of Professor Layton VS Gyakuten saiban as a "combination of puzzles and crime mystery," while Level-5 president Akihiro Hino characterizes the collaboration by comparing it to "two TV shows getting together and making a movie." The game's official website is scheduled to open officially on October 20, but we've embedded a shaky cam video of the reveal trailer after the break, courtesy of 8-4's Mark MacDonald.%Gallery-105411%
Professor Layton DLC already on the cartridge
We're sure that many of you inquisitive DS owners out there have spent countless hours with your eyes peeled to your handheld's twin suns, waiting for Nintendo to post the latest downloadable brainteasers for Professor Layton and the Curious Village. This same group of puzzle junkies may be upset to learn that what they're actually downloading is a code to unlock puzzles which are already on the game cartridge -- essentially meaning that there's a set number of puzzles on the game (162, to be exact).GoNintendo discovered a supposedly complete list of the game's riddles to back up this claim. You can check out every single puzzle featured in the game, and even choose to sneak a peek at every solution as well -- an action we can't help but feel would be frowned upon by the eponymous scholar and his pint-sized associate.
Professor Layton and the awesome promotional flyer
It saddens us to say that none of us are wealthy people. If we were, we'd fund the purchase of a ludicrously expensive high-end color printer, which we would then use to print this fantastic promotional poster for Professor Layton and the Curious Village. We'd laminate it, pin it proudly to our wall, and then do the same for all of our friends.Yes, even the promotional material for this game rocks. This flyer was circulated as part of a recent Nintendo email, and is just like the game it promotes: inventive, quirky, and a little bit different from the usual promotional baloney we encounter.Hit the break for a far bigger version, and see how quickly you can solve the puzzle.%Gallery-12504%
Start solving Professor Layton's puzzles early in these new screens
For the last few months, we've had no choice but to pore over screens and scans of Professor Layton and the Curious Village that contain nothing but indecipherable kanji. But no longer! This morning, Nintendo issued the first batch of English language screenshots from Level 5's professorial puzzler.Rather than showing off the game's beautiful manga art, all three depict some of the puzzles we'll encounter when the game hits North America in February, and Europe ... heck, whenever.Check the new shots out in the gallery below, or go past the break for a clip from The Office that we couldn't help but be reminded of upon seeing the wolf/chick puzzle to the right.%Gallery-12504%
Inazuma Eleven site scores a GOOOOOAL
The website for Japanese super-soccer romp Inazuma Eleven has got some stuff going on for the few of you who're as excited for the game as we are. There's a complete character section, explaining all of the different participants in the title. There is also an explanation on the game's controls, plus all of the indecipherable Japanese text you can try to read.
Fresh Famitsu scans for Inazuma Eleven
After getting our peepers knee-deep in some Inazuma Eleven, we knew this game was for us. Not being as obsessed with soccer (football or futbol, to some of you) as the rest of the world, we're still convinced the game will be a big success, because the gameplay looks sound and, of course, it's being made by Level-5. Hopefully menu navigation won't be a pain, because we're pretty sure we're going to have to import it.For the full scans, head past the break.
Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village dated Feb 18
Here's a concept: take Brain Age and write a story to it. Level-5 did just that, creating Professor Layton for DS, a combination of classic brain teasers and an adventure-style narrative driven by irresistible Totoro-esque looks -- the celebrated developer even got a University professor to slap his seal of approval on it (but stopped short of making Prof. Akira Tago the game's antagonistic talking head). The first game in the trilogy, Professor Layton and the Curious Mysterious Village, was released in Japan back in February (its sequel arrives this week, with the third game not far behind) and became the envy of westerners keen to the next Ouedan or Gyakuten Saiban breakout hit. Like those series (known as Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright in the US), Professor Layton will be localized for western audiences. Today, we have the date: February 18th, 2008.If you can navigate through the language barrier, there's a playable demo on the official Japanese site.
Inazuma Eleven and Professor Layton 2 trailers
Level-5's Inazuma Eleven gets us interested in soccer the only way anything could: by adding RPG elements and extreeeeeeme anime-ness. Seriously, we'd totally watch soccer if there were more screaming and speed lines. We haven't seen a sports RPG this fun-looking since Acclaim's cancelled Hit the Ice RPG for the NES. Have we even seen a sports RPG since then? No idea.In other delightful Level-5 news, there's some new footage of Professor Layton and the Devil's Box, courtesy of video recorded from a Level-5 presentation. [Via GoNintendo]
Professor Layton and the Excellent Screenshots
We haven't even gotten the first Professor Layton adventure yet, and we're already seeing screens of the sequel. Professor Layton and the Devil's Box looks much like the first game, which is to say, gorgeously lush.The game's scope is expanded from that of its predecessor: the professor and his student Luke have access to a train, which acts not only as a vehicle for traveling to multiple towns (or multiple Curious Villages, if you prefer), but is also the venue for its own puzzles.These screenshots are best coupled with IGN's preview of the game, for the complete screenshot/description package. The Famitsu page has the same information, but in a less convenient language.
Rumor: Another Level 5 title set to create new genre
If you've been wondering if Level 5 is up to anything other than getting themselves knee-deep in White Knight Story programming code, we've got some good news for you today. Seems a preliminary list of RPG's to show at the Tokyo Game Show compiled by RPGFan denotes a few Level 5 titles, one of which has yet to claim a title of its own. The interesting thing is the description released in the game listing: "set to create a new genre". That's pretty ambitious.What could this game be? What platform will it land on? We don't have any answers yet, but since Level 5 has a strong connection with Sony and a lot of their time is going into White Knight Story, we don't think it'll be another PS3 title, rather, a PSP title. Yeah, it's not as exciting that way, but do you really think a company would really want to work on two PS3 titles at once? Leave us your thoughts, hypotheses, or guesses![via PS3 Forums]
Rumors: new Bionic Commando, and four RPGs from Level 5
The latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly's Quartermann rumor mill is coming with a fresh set of rumors to peruse. The juiciest hearsay is that Capcom's Bionic Commando, once rumored to be getting the remake treatment, is now being developed as a full-fledged installment for the PlayStation Network.Dark Cloud developer Level 5, whose current PlayStation 3 project White Knight Story has been outside of the limelight since wowing us with footage from last year's Tokyo Game Show, is rumored to be announcing four new RPGs at this year's TGS in September. And they're not necessarily PS3 games, either.Also mentioned? Incoming Dragon Quest remakes, but this isn't exactly a rumor since we heard Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada explicitly say remakes were coming before Dragon Quest IX. The Quartermann does add some details, however, reporting that the first remake will be Dragon Quest IV for the DS.
White Knight Story details explain character customization
Yesterday, we wrote up a story on some new White Knight Story screenshots. Today, after our readers cleverly deduced our assumption regarding character customization was correct, Level 5 has issued a statement regarding that very device as well as hinting at what to expect, gameplay-wise. Shall we listen in?The player customization is exactly what we wanted to hear -- you create a character to travel with the main party. That means we've still got a static main character and other party members, but you create your own self-image to travel with them. This is a fantastic move, if you ask us. Our reasoning is complicated, but if you're curious enough, we might type up a rant about it should it be requested. This character customization mechanism was actually used to create the main protagonist as well as over 1,000 NPCs.Finally, gameplay. Level 5 indicates that, aside from the White Knight transformation, battles will play out similar to Rogue Galaxy. We've noticed a few subtle differences, though. Battles seem more organized in pacing, less "mash square and triangle" like RG often forced us to do. It was square and triangle, right? Been a while. What we really think was meant in this comparison was this: action-based RPG battles with seamless loads between battles and map-wandering. The crutch of a standard hard drive in the PS3 will help in shattering any sort of load times and we believe if anyone can pull it off, it should be Level 5. We'll keep you posted with more details as they arrive.
A triumvirate of White Knight Story screenshots [UPDATE]
Today is a good day for us. First up, the strangely addictive and get-nothing-accomplished gameplay of Disgaea is making its way onto the PS3. Secondly, donuts were buy two, get one free this morning. Thirdly, we've got some White Knight Story screenshots to share with you, courtesy of IGN. They are awesome, because we're finally starting to get a sense of scale for the great White Knight himself. At least, that's who we imagine is featured in one of the screens.Another screenshot is what appears to be a shop menu, but ... for some reason, we can't help but think it's a character creation screen. If someone could translate the menu, we'd know for sure. Does this mean you create your main hero, or perhaps create your own personal party member? If so, that would be the coolest thing ever. It's like putting yourself in the shoes of not the "silent protagonist", but "that guy who happened to travel with the world's greatest hero." We know, that sounds odd, but from a writing standpoint, it's a nice touch that we hope is what we assume it is.[UPDATE] Word has reached us the White Knight Story will be playable at the Tokyo Game Show in September. We'll report back to you with our hands-on impressions during the event.
What other RPG studios are plotting PS3 releases? Where's White Knight Story?
This is a great bit of news for anyone out there who has been itching for some next-gen role-playing action, but like to stay away from the "MTV of RPG: Final Fantasy" stuff. A bunch of Japanese developers sat down and discussed their plans for now regarding the PS3 and you may be happy to know that a lot of studios have started moving on to the new console. We'd talk about the bits mentioned on The Last Remnant or the Final Fantasy XIII games, but it's all stuff we've heard. With that in mind, we'll go on to more obscure titles and studios.Level 5 has remained hush on their upcoming RPG White Knight Story ever since the showing at the Tokyo Game Show last year, but they've finally issued a statement on the game and what we can expect at E3. Level 5's president Hino Akihiro says their development is progressing well and "should be able to show everyone something really soon." In addition to that, he said the graphical quality shown at TGS is just a taste of what's to come. We're fairly sure he's referring to the scope of the enemies and places in the game. We recall hearing about a giant turtle with a city on its back?Other studios voiced their thoughts and plans also. Gust, makers of the Atelier games as well as Ar Tonelico, have new games currently in development. It should be noted that Gust and Banpresto are finishing up Ar Tonelico 2 for the PS2, but there's no word on whether or not it will come to America. If Nippon Ichi Studios is nice, they'll bring it over even though it'll probably stay on the PS2. Please! It was an amazing first game. We gush, but we were moved by it somehow. Other studios working on titles include: Takuyo, Namco Bandai, Hudson, Sunrise Interactive and of course, Nippon Ichi. We'll keep our eyes peeled for any info on their games because we loves us our RPGs.
