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Culdcept's card art, release date exhibited
Sega just announced the Japanese release date for Omiya Soft's DS iteration of their card-battle series Culdcept DS: October 16, for 5,040 yen ($47). Fans of, uh, looking at Culdcept who happen to be located in Japan can build even more anticipation for the game on August 9 and 10, when a special exhibition of card art from the series will take place.For those two days, the UDX Gallery in Akihabara will host the Culdcept Card Art Exhibition, a free event celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the series. The free event should prove popular among people used to staring at tiny images of the cards, who wish to experience the novelty of staring at really big versions of them.
Joystiq interview: Namco Bandai stacks the deck with Culdcept Saga
By all accounts Omiya Soft's Culdcept franchise has no business being as fun as it is. An admittedly bizarre meshing of board and collectible card game antics, the resulting gameplay potpourri comes across as one big happy accident, but one that has endured since well before the Saturn was pushing up daises. With iterations released in Japan for Sega's final console pair as well as the original PlayStation, North American gamers got their first taste of this unique hybrid in 2003 when NEC released Culdcept for the PlayStation 2 to modest critical acclaim. Since that time, however, the franchise has faded into obscurity, but will soon be given another chance, this time under the banner of Namco Bandai for the Xbox 360. Culdcept Saga, which has been available for some time in Japan, marks a decidedly different sort of experience for Xbox 360 owners, one usually associated with XBLA downloads rather than a full-on retail release, though even trepidatious players may find the $39.99 price difficult to pass up, especially those looking for something different to play during their FPS downtime. In advance of the game's early February release we managed to corner Namco Bandai's Nobu Taguchi, who is spearheading Culdcept Saga's localization here in North America. Taguchi was more than willing to set us straight on a number of topics, from the title's multiplayer gameplay to changes made regarding how DLC will be handled...and more. Check out the full interview after the jump. %Gallery-13956%
Sega dealing Culdcept to DS
As champions of hybrid-genre games (e.g. Puzzle Quest), we've ached for a portable version of Culdcept ever since Penny Arcade's Tycho began touting Culdcept II for the PS2. That was over four years ago, but good things come to those who wait, as Sega announced today that it will publish Culdcept for the Nintendo DS in 2008. With Namco Bandai planning to bring Culdcept Saga for the Xbox 360 to North America early next year, there's actually a sliver of a chance that this DS entry to the niche series will also see localization.For those of you unfamiliar with Culdcept, and we assume that's pretty much all of you, it's a board game/collectible-card-game mix that would be best-described as Monopoly meets Magic: The Gathering. Players roll a die to travel around the game board, summoning creatures to defend their property. Other players who've landed on your property can pay a toll or battle your monster to win the square. Of course, there are spells and items which can also be brought to play. Slap some online functionality on this bad boy, and this will be a day one purchase for us. [Via Famitsu]
