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Freedom Wars does battle in NA, Europe on October 29
Freedom Wars is coming to the PlayStation Vita on October 29 in North America and Europe and on October 31 in the UK. The action role-playing game is a collaboration between God Eater creators Shift, Street Fighter X Tekken co-developer Dimps and Sony's Japanese Studio. Participating retailers are offering "the same pre-order DLC as the original Japan release," a post on the PlayStation Blog announced. Ordering the game gives players access to a limited edition costume, powerful starter weapons, limited edition in-game sticker set and a combat pack item. Digital purchases between October 28 and November 11 will include the bonuses. When Freedom Wars found its way to stores in Japan this past June, the game climbed to the second-highest debut for the PlayStation Vita in the region, selling over 188,000 copies. Not a complete shock for a Monster Hunter-style game in the region where Capcom's franchise is king. Freedom Wars is priced at $29.99/ €29.99/ £24.99.
Europeans free to buy physical copies of Vita's Freedom Wars
Sony Europe U-turned on its decision to only release Freedom Wars online, and now the Vita action game will be available on European retail shelves. In one of those all too rare cases of publishers listening to consumers, Sony says it gave in to demand for a physical edition. The game's already confirmed to hit retail in North America. To recap, Freedom Wars isn't a recreation of Braveheart, but a futuristic online multiplayer game in the vein of Vita entries Soul Sacrifice and Toukiden: The Age of Demons. In the game's totalitarian landscape, you play as one of a world of prisoners who are born into million-year sentences. Since a million years is pretty dang long, you'll want to reduce your incarceration by completing missions for your "Panopticon" penal community.
Vita action game Freedom Wars offers Japanese audio only
The Western version of Freedom Wars features Japanese audio with subtitles in multiple languages, but no English dubs, says Producer Nick Accordino, who also revealed a physical edition of the sci-fi Vita game is "definitely planned" for North America. Sony's also published a new subtitled story trailer, which you'll find below the break. Freedom Wars is set in a dystopian future where players are born into penal communities called Panopticons and have to fight to earn their freedom. Completing the game's action-RPG, Monster Hunter-like missions helps to reduce your incarceration, but - and it's a but big enough to please Sir Mix-a-Lot - your sentence begins at 1 million years. Bit harsh. From a gameplay perspective, there is an interesting regional difference to do with the Panopticons. In Japan, where the game just released, there are 47 Panopticons based on the country's real-life 47 prefectures. According to Accordino (possible sitcom?), the West's Freedom Wars features 50 Panopticons based on cities across the globe, and players can choose which one they'd like to be placed in.
Sony's Freedom Wars spins single player in the US in 2014
Freedom Wars outwardly looks like a near and dear family member of the Japanese monster hunting clan. Grand pappy Monster Hunter set the trend on PSP, and descendants like PS Vita's Soul Sacrifice and Toukiden have carried it forward with aplomb. Those games tend to sing based on their multiplayer joys, though. The solo experience is ancillary to teaming up with friends to fell towering freaks in local and online sessions in those games. Freedom Wars, meanwhile, is a heavily single-player affair as explained by Sony at E3. They're keeping it under wraps, though. Nick Accordino, producer on Freedom Wars, confirmed that the PS Vita exclusive is still planned for 2014 in the US but it's not guaranteed. When it arrives it'll let you play through a long, bizarre story on your own in addition to teaming up with others. Unlike in a game like Monster Hunter or even Vita-mate Soul Sacrifice, the two are separate. Four-player cooperative sessions and eight-player versus matches will let you collect goods to earn your custom character new weapons and gear-or years off your million year prison sentence-but these missions are wholly separate.
Vita online combat game Freedom Wars makes a break for the West
A year after being announced for Japan, multiplayer action game Freedom Wars gets a surprise confirmation that it's coming to North America and Europe later this year. Co-developed by Devil Dice and God Eater 2 studio Shift and Sonic veteran Dimps, Freedom Wars blends unusual sci-fi with fast-paced combat for up to four players ad-hoc and eight players online. Players take on the role of people suffering a dystopian totalitarianism, where the world is depleted of resources and population growth. These people are born into a sorry life of imprisonment and a rather harsh, somewhat impossible 1 million year sentence. They are doomed to spend their lives in penal communities called Panopticons, which as they sound are filled to the brim with surveillance. To become free of their lengthy incarceration, players complete rescue missions with their friends to reduce their sentences, bit by bit. Maybe not the most well-thought out regime, but it makes for an interesting-sounding game. Freedom Wars is due to hit Japan on June 26, while today's news didn't bring word of a concrete date for the West. Today Sony also confirmed suspicions it's bringing Soul Sacrifice Delta to the West - May 13 in North America, May 14 in Europe - and that it's also ferrying RPG Ore no Shikabane wo Koete Yuke 2 to Western shores at some point as Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines. The Vita game is a follow-up to the 1999 PlayStation game, and it's based around yet another set of cursed individuals, this time a Japanese clan of people who only get to live for 2 years each. So, if you're in a Japanese Vita game you either get 1 million years in prison or 2 years of living - good deal. [Image: Sony]
'Panopticon' is Freedom Wars, a Vita multiplayer action game due in 2014 [update]
Sony's Japan Studio followed up last week's mysterious 'Panopticon' trailer with a second offering today, unveiling the project a a Vita multiplayer action game called Freedom Wars. The trailer also revealed it's coming to Japan sometime next year. The new trailer is an embellishment of the first one, providing more context. Panopticon seems to be the region Freedom Wars takes place in, a totalitarian dystopia in the future. The world is devastated by dwindling resources and zero population growth - maybe because hundreds of millions are dying in war. The YouTube blurb denotes Freedom Wars as a "multiplayer action" game. A collection of screens on the game's website show what looks like skirmishes taking place across regions in Japan. One screen is a Yahoo Maps snapshot of the Shibuya region in Tokyo, but with icons superimposed on it indicating particular in-game locations. Freedom Wars remains shrouded in mystery - although at least we now know it's a Vita game. The website indicates more info will be spilled later this month. Update: Here's a bit more info, courtesy of a press release translated by NeoGAF. According to it, Freedom Wars supports 8-player co-op and competitive modes, supports both Adhoc and Wi-Fi, and use the Vita's GPS and Near tech - which may explain the Yahoo Maps screen (see above). Freedom Wars is a brand new game which aims to offer a new gaming experience in the popular multiplayer action genre by taking advantage of the PS Vita's unique functions. The player is a criminal in a post-apocalyptic near future, sentenced to a million years of hard labor, fighting for his freedom. By completing missions where you rescue civilians and allies who have been captured by huge enemies known as Abductors, you can reduce your sentence. The game supports a maximum of 8 players at a time in both co-op and competitive modes, and supports Adhoc and Wi-Fi Online functions so players all over the country can play together. The game will also support the GPS and Near capabilities of the PS Vita to enhance the gameplay experience.
Sony's Panopticon countdown ends with mysterious trailer
The PlayStation Japan website just unveiled a trailer for what's apparently a new Japan Studio game, possibly called Panopticon going by the page name. The unveiling followed a week-long countdown, which was more like a count-up since the timer eventually ticked up to "1,000,000 years." It did just that at 6AM ET, with this trailer in its stead. The trailer depicts a futuristic, totalitarian world where citizens are seemingly identified by virtually visualized ID numbers. There's no indication of any platforms or release date. Earlier this year, it was spotted SCE Europe trademarked Panopticon. The word traces it roots to the Greek language, and means to "include everything visible in one view."
