dungeon crawler
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Kingdom Lores, 3D fantasy on the iPhone
This one's been poking around since last week, but we haven't touched on it yet here on TUAW: Kingdom Lores is what looks to be a fully 3D, fantasy adventure game for the iPhone, and it looks hot. The game is being developed by Marco Giorgini, and uses a custom OpenGL rendering engine to let players do all the normal dungeon crawler stuff: kill monsters, run around, collect the loots, and generally be the fantasy hero. The game is available for download right now, though you do have to jailbreak the iPhone/iPod touch, and right now you've got to manually install the thing.If you're not courageous enough to try and install it yourself (raises hand), there are a few videos available to show off how it plays, and while it is very clearly an early alpha, it does look like fun. Unfortunately, the chances that we'll see it in the App Store are about nil -- Giorgini doesn't even have a Mac, and he's doing it all using the Win toolchain.Surely someone can get this guy a MacBook and a developer kit, right? Or at least get a port rolling? A year from now, we'll probably all be playing iPhone Spore and laughing at how primitive this looks, but right now, when it comes to running 3D on the iPhone, this is a dungeon we'd love to crawl.
Blue Dragon, Away: Shuffle Dungeon confirmed for U.S.
As if our recent poll regarding Blue Dragon Plus and Away: Shuffle Dungeon hadn't already put you on the spot enough, now you'll have to choose one for really reals. AQ Interactive's latest financial report confirms that both will hit North America in this fiscal year, and also mentioned a localized version of the Korg DS-10 (which we already knew about).Incidentally, there's a further four third-party portable games being brought over by Xseed, and Siliconera reckons that those could include Flower, Sun and Rain, Lux Pain, and Dungeon Maker DS. As European versions of the first two have both been rumored, we'd tend to agree!
Meet the heroes of Lagaard
Atlus revealed some of the characters and classes in the upcoming Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, and while Etrian veterans will recognize the Alchemist and Landsknecht classes, there's also a new Gunner class in the game. As you might imagine, Gunners are marksmen who use guns and ammunition to deal out single-target damage. On the other hand, the Alchemists are magic users and Landsknechts specialize in swords and axes.Based on those descriptions, you should be able to tell which class each character belongs to by their pictures. If you'd like to give them a look, then, be sure to check out our updated gallery below.%Gallery-15249%
Izuna 2 screens simulate gameplaying experience
Do you see the tears in this screenshot? This is a message. Don't be fooled by Izuna's pink-haired cuteness -- this girl isn't as easy as she looks. The first title was all about kicking your ass (and having a laugh about it), so we fully expect the same challenge from Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns. The big zero next to the hit points here gives us hope.If, like us, you enjoy a challenge, make your way into the gallery below for the latest screens from the upcoming title.%Gallery-15250%
Take a trip to the Dungeon of Windaria
After getting wind (yes, we know) of Dungeon of Windaria, we were intrigued. Maybe because we like the visual style we were presented with, or perhaps its our unnatural love for the act of crawling about in dungeons and killing countless enemies. Whatever it is, this new video isn't helping.Unlock most Japanese teaser trailers, this one is longer than 10 seconds. The rub is that about half the trailer won't be understandable to any of you who cannot read Japanese. Still though, nestled deep within is some tasty gameplay footage. We know how you all like that!
Wii Fanboy Review: Baroque
I'll be frank -- when I first started Baroque, I hated it. Being thrown into such a strange and ugly world with the barest of backstories was completely disorienting. I had no idea where to go or what to do, and didn't have the luxury of taking my time to explore because my vitality meter was plummeting from the get-go. One character (known as the Coffin Man) kept yelling "goddamnit!" at me, and when I finally got to the place where I was supposed to be, it wasn't long before I died.If I hadn't been reviewing this game, I probably would have quit right there. But, since it's (clearly) considered bad form to write a review after only twenty minutes of playtime, I trekked on -- and I'm extremely glad that I did. Once I delved deeper into the world of Baroque, I realized that first impressions aren't always the best impressions.Now that you've kindly read through my personal aside, let's move on to the actual review, shall we?%Gallery-11716%
Europe gets Baroque
We're impressed with Rising Star, who have been bringing a lot of niche games to Europe. The most recent one on the publisher's list is Baroque, which will be hitting the continent on June 27th. We're sure that Rising Star is hoping that the game will sell decently, but after seeing how it was received in Japan, the company might be a little worried. Of course, it can't do any worse than that ... can it?In any case, we're sure that at least some of you folks in Europe will be glad to get the chance to play Sting's hardcore roguelike on your Wiis. Gallery: Baroque [Via press release]
Baroque announced for the Wii, RPG fans rejoice
A dungeon-crawling, action RPG for the Wii? Well, we certainly can't complain about having more of those around. Sating our thirst for the genre is Atlus, who announced that their formerly Japan-only title Baroque will be coming to North America on the Wii, as well as the PS2. The game, according to the press release, features "an innovative story progression system in which death is not the end, but rather, the means by which to move the story forward." Although the game will be a PS2 port, we'll be glad to get some more RPG action on our Wiis.Baroque is scheduled to release in February 2008.*Note: The video and screens are from the PS2 version of the game.[Via press release]%Gallery-11716%
Hudson bringing Dungeon Explorer Warriors of Ancient Arts to North America
Originally a TurboGrafx16 title, the Dungeon Explorer franchise is receiving a revitalization on the DS and PSP come February. Being developed internally at Hudson, the differences between the PSP and DS versions should be distinct enough, however the DS will only feature 60 different fighting arts to the PSP's 150. On the plus side, the DS game probably won't take 30 minutes to load a dungeon.Be sure to hit up our gallery below for some shots from the DS version of the game.%Gallery-10382%[Via press release]
Hudson revisits Dungeon Explorer on PSP, DS
Hudson's Turbografx-16 title Dungeon Explorer was one of those games that blew us away when originally released in 1989, but when revisited on the Wii's Virtual Console nearly two decades later it proved that some games are best left alone, looked back on through rose-colored glasses. Despite this, however, Hudson is at it again, this time with a laboriously-titled sequel, Dungeon Explorer Warriors of Ancient Arts, currently in development for both the PSP and Nintendo DS for release this coming February.While Atlus handled the development reigns on the original action RPG, it's unclear what studio is tackling this portable follow up. What we do know is that the game is expected to keep with the original's hack and slash theme, offering "many unique fighting styles" and "deep and customizable multiplayer adventuring," as both versions will also support up to three players simultaneously. Interestingly, however, both the PSP and DS versions look to offer distinct differences as well, with the PSP version including 150 different "fighting arts" to the DS's meager 60, such as the "Big Bang Arts," which may or may not be just a theory.[Update: A Hudson representative has contacted us, letting us know that Dungeon Explorer Warriors of Ancient Arts is being developed internally at Hudson Soft.]
Unemployed ninja seeks job, finds web site
The official site for Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja is up and running today, showcasing everything from sketches to screens to the game's twisted sense of humor. What's that, you say? Deviant humor in a game from Atlus? Yeah, it's good to see Atlus branching out like that with the games they publish. Not that we're complaining here; someone needs to localize silly Japanese action RPGs so that we can enjoy them as well, and it looks like there's going to be a lot to enjoy in Izuna. We've tucked a few screens away after the jump, but there's loads more content at the site.
Metareview - Dungeon Siege II: Broken World
It would appear the lines are starting to blur between episodic content and bona fide expansion packs, as evidenced by the relatively short and uninspired campaign in Dungeon Siege II: Broken World. 2K Games probably should have hacked and slashed ten bucks off the $30 price tag and labeled this one "DS2: Episode 1". It's all in the marketing. GameSpot (63/100) was disappointed that Gas Powered Games failed to break new ground: "After the lengthy and far-reaching campaign of Dungeon Siege II, this short and narrowly focused 10-hour expansion feels like more of a throwaway side quest than a compelling new chapter in the history of the troubled world of Aranna. Beyond the dungeons, the story brings nothing to the Dungeon Siege universe and could just as well go untold." IGN (63/100) enjoyed putting the beat down on the grunts, but the build up had no payoff: "As inventive as the rank and file enemies are, the bosses aren't as dramatic as they could be given that you face each of them multiple times. Every time you kill a boss, you're going to have to face another one just like him somewhere down the road. In a few cases, you're even going to fight him in a location that looks the same too." 1UP (60/100) thinks it's time for a shiny new engine: "Broken World is using, essentially, a 3-year-old graphics engine. So, like most 3-year olds, it can be unpleasant to deal with (and look at) -- especially when it comes to framerate issues and those pesky camera angles." See also: Metareview - Titan Quest
Dungeon Siege II toolkit released
If you've been bit by the modding bug while playing Dungeon Siege II, Gas Powered Games has released an official toolkit to help you begin crafting your own adventures. They've also opened the doors to Siege University II where you can learn all about Flick scripting, town portal restrictions, and map building. Nice curriculum!
