OmiyaSoft
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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%
Famitsu deals out Culdcept scans and info
Almost a month since Sega announced it'll be publishing a Nintendo DS version of OmiyaSoft's Culdcept Expansion, Famitsu has revealed the first screenshots and details for the CCG/boardgame hybrid. Far from a straight port, all of Culdcept Expansion's cards have been reviewed for balance, and every returning character has been redrawn. Culdcept DS will also receive new cards (now over 370 in total), Cepter symbols, and an achievement system. Since this will be the first portable version of the game, more focus will be placed on its versus options, nixing out any hopes for a new story mode.The big question now is, "Will there be any support for online matches?" It would be a terrible decision to ship this sort of title without it, in our opinion. Roll the dice and hop past the post break for the scanned magazine pages and to see how this Monopoly-meets-Magic-the-Gathering title plays out.
