ProductWiki

Civilization Revolution

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:15:18 -0400

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is the latest offering in the legendary award winning Sid Meier's Civilization series of strategy games since it's debut for the PC in 1994.

Civilization Revolution has been designed and built from the ground up for console and handheld systems delivering graphics, gameplay and controls that take full advantage of the hugely popular gaming platforms.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 15:45:13 -0500

Better known to American as Dragon Warrior 8, Dragon Quest VIII brings the long-running RPG series to the PlayStation 2 for the first time. In it, players are able to capture monsters that inhabit the battlefield. These beasts differ from the creatures you'd normally encounter in battles, as they have special names and abilities unique to them. Once a monster has been scouted, it's added to a growing arsenal of creatures that can then be assembled into teams of three for use as support characters in battle. Outside of using these monster teams in combat, players can also use them in Dragon Quest VIII's "Monster Battle Road" tournament grounds. Other new additions to the series include full day and night cycles for towns, first-person conversations, and the ability to look around the 3D environments.

Final Fantasy XII

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 17:04:56 -0500

As war looms on the horizon, the mighty Archadian Empire begins a campaign to subjugate its neighbors. To Vaan, a young man living on the streets of Rabanastre, the Empire is a hated enemy who took the life of his brother. Planning on exacting revenge by breaking into the palace, Vaan gets more than he bargained for as he runs into Princess Ashe, the sole surviving heir to the Dalmascan throne. Together, the two embark on an incredible journey tracing the mysteries behind the Archadian Empire's invasion.

Once again taking RPG players beyond imagination, the twelfth Final Fantasy's gameplay features include the Active Dimension Battle system enabling players to move seamlessly between exploration and combat. Characters act according to an intricate "gambit" system of actions and reactions that you determine. As they fight, characters earn license points that can be spent to broaden their knowledge of magic, arms and armor.

Empire: Total War

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 02:42:24 -0400

Empire: Total War is a turn-based strategy & real-time tactics computer game developed by Creative Assembly and released by Sega for Microsoft Windows (XP/Vista) on March 3, 2009. The fifth installment in the ‘Total War’ series, Empire maintains its predecessors’ interface & game-play style, including turn-based campaigning combined with real-time battles. In regards to the storyline, Empire: Total War focuses on achieving world domination in 18th century Earth. After selecting a specific ‘faction’, players then utilize military power, political diplomacy, espionage, and economics to slowly build power and eventually take over the entire world. Empire: Total War includes a standard campaign mode, a special campaign mode dedicated to early US history, a custom battle mode, and an online multiplayer mode whereby players can engage in real-time battles with other real life players. Sega later released a post-release ‘Campaign Multiplayer’ patch. Empire: Total War retails for $49.99.

Features

Turn-Based Strategy
Real-Time Tactics
Campaign Mode
Battle Mode
Multiplayer
Available on Microsoft Windows platform only

Blue Dragon

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:27:46 -0400

Blue Dragon is Microsoft's attempt at capturing a portion of the traditional Japanese RPG audience that is dominated by Square-Enix's Dragon Quest series. Microsoft put together an all-star development cast that includes some of the main minds behind the biggest JRPG franchises in the world. Hironobu Sakaguchi, who is the creator of the Final Fantasy series, acts as producer and writer. Akira Toriyama, the man behind Dragon Ball, Naruto and character designs for the Dragon Quest series, acts as character and enemy designer for Blue Dragon. Finally, Nobuo Uematsu, who is responsible for most of Final Fantasy's soundtracks, handles all music composition. Artoon, the studio behind Blinx and other non-famous games, handled most of the programming and day-to-day development.

Story

Blue Dragon follows a standard tale that sees the main character, Shu, and his friends try to save the world from a maniacal villain bent on destroying everything they love. Along the way the characters discover and develop their shadow powers which sees their shadows transform into powerful monsters that aid them in battle. The story is told through a combination of in-game cutscenes, character dialog and pre-rendered full motion cinematics. As a result of the high resolution video used, Blue Dragon is the first game for the Xbox 360 to ship on multiple DVDs, coming in at three.

Gameplay

The game is divided into two main sections: 1. exploration, and 2. combat. Exploration sees one character (representing the entire party) traveling around the world, speaking to people, gathering items, and moving from point A to point B. Unlike other traditional JRPGs, Blue Dragon forgoes random battles and displays the enemies on the exploration map. This allows you to avoid encounters, or perform special moves such as destroying the enemy without going into combat mode, or having a favorable encounter where you enter the battle in a better position. One ability is the multi-monster match where you can circle multiple enemies and fight them all at once. Depending on their attributes, the enemies may fight one another making the overall battle easier while gaining more points and items.

Once contact with an enemy is made, the game enters battle mode. Similar to other games of this genre the battle sees your party on one side of the arena facing a group of enemies on the other side. Characters take turns in sending out attacks and using abilities, with the ordering dependent on various character attributes. The standard attack, magic, and support menu items are found with the added twist that attacks can be charged. Charging an attack increases its potency at the cost of delaying when the attack actually occurs allowing the enemy to attack first.

Upgrading and improving your characters follows the streamlined approach that Mistwalker applied to the rest of the game. Instead of complicated item and ability systems, characters simply upgrade their shadow forms with new abilities and specialties. A "job" system is used that determines which abilities the shadow will excel at. Shadows can change their jobs at any time without losing any of the abilities they've gained.

Eternal Sonata

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:13:18 -0400

Released in Japan in summer of 2007 unde the title Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream, Eternal Sonata is a traditional Japanese Role Playing Game with a combination of real-time and turn-based combat. The story takes place inside of classical composer Frederic Chopin's mind three hours before he succumbs to tuberculosis at the age of 39. Inside this dream he finds himself in a world where people are gifted with magical powers but cursed with incurable diseases. Chopin meets with various characters on a quest to defeat an evil dictator that is oppressing the people.

Story

The game uses a contrast of real and fantastical, as the story is based on the real figure of Chopin and includes references and biographical information about the composer, while the fantasy world is represented in cell-shaded cartoon graphics. While the story itself is removed from Chopin's real world life, music makes a strong thematic presence throughout the entire game including the towns and villages you visit, to the weapons you wield. An optional side quest in the game sees you collecting bits and pieces of Chopin's music to accompany other characters in the game to gain new items. The linear story is told through real-time cutscenes that are fully voiced in either English or the original Japanese with English subtitles.

Similar to other traditional JRPGs the main gameplay is divided into two sections; the world exploration, and combat. Exploration sees you traveling to different villages, talking with people and gaining more information. You'll also traverse through dungeons collecting items, and encountering enemies. Unlike totally open world games such as Oblivion, the characters are limited to predefined paths and areas.

Combat

In Eternal Sonata the enemies are visible in the exploration mode allowing you to avoid them altogether, or approach them from behind for an advantageous position in combat. Touching an enemy triggers the battle mode where all of the combat happens. The combat itself is part turn-based and part real-time. Each character gets a turn to make their action while every other character in the arena has to wait. Real-time aspects come into play when a character's turn comes up. They have a set amount of time to move, attack, use skills, or items. All actions occur in real-time where pressing the button initiates the action immediately. Attacks can be chained together for more damage.

As you level up your characters and party new abilities are gained, and the strategic elements that go into combat are constantly changing. To add another wrinkle to the combat is the light/dark system that grants your characters different skills depending on whether or not they're standing in an area that is covered in light or shadow. Enemies are also affected by the light as they can change their form depending on the situation.

Extra Notes

Originally slated as an Xbox 360 exclusive, Eternal Sonata is scheduled for release on the Playstation 3 sometime in 2008. Any new features and additions to the PS3 port are currently unknown.

Enchanted Arms

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 16:51:57 -0400

Enchanted Arms, known as [eM] -eNCHANT arM- in Japan, is a science-fiction based role-playing game for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The game was originally released as an Xbox 360 exclusive, however the developer From Software developed a port for the PS3 which has been released in Japan, and will be released in North America by Ubisoft, the same company that published the Xbox 360 version.

How the game plays

Enchanted Arms follows in the footsteps of many traditional Japanese RPG games before it. Gameplay is split up into three different forms: there's the exploration part which involves the main character, Atsuma, wandering around the game world talking to characters, moving from destination to destination, and finding items. The second mode is managing the statistics and levels or your characters, as you level them up, add items and customize the characters to suit your play style. Finally, the last major type of gameplay is in the combat sequences: random battles play out using a turn-based grid style where characters use a variety of skills to destroy the enemies.

There are seven main human characters that you control in the game all of which have a major role in the story, and over 100 Golems which are both enemies and allies. Similar to Pokemon, Golems are monsters that you fight, and can also be collected to be used alongside with you in your battles. For the Xbox 360 version, one of the game's achievements is to collect every single Golem in the game.

There are a few changes to the traditional JRPG formula that make this game unique, and most of these changes involve making the game easier and more accessible for newcomers to the genre. Two additions speed up the battles, one is an automatic system where the computer controls your characters for you, and the second is the fast-forward system that speeds up the skill and magic animations.

Most of the story is progressed from characters speaking with pictures to represent who is talking, there are occasional real-time cutscenes, with full motion video (FMV) cutscenes occuring during special climatic moments.

There's also an online multiplayer mode where you take the golems you've collected and upgraded to battle one-on-one versus other people.

Story outline

1000 years ago there was a devestating war called the Golem War where machines infused with magic (known as Ether) fought each other and destroyed much of the world. Devil Golems were created that were significantly more powerful than any other kind of golem were created to put an end to the war, which they did. In the present you play the role of Asuma who is a student at the Enchant university in Yokohoma. One day Atsuma, with his two friends Toya and Makoto, decide to skip class to attend a festival, during the festivities an earth quake occurs and a mysterious force draws Atsuma to a forbidden location.

Following the force the three end up discovering and waking up the Ice Queen Devil Golem who is intent on destroying the world. It's up to Atsuma and his friends to stop the Ice Queen from waking up the other Devil Golems and killing everyone.

Differences between Xbox 360 and PS3 version

The PS3 version of the game contains more real-time cutscenes, 30 more golems to fight and collect, and the North American version of the game will include both the original Japanese voices, as well as a new rerecorded english track.

Interesting notes

[eM] is the first and only game to have "Only on Xbox" on the box art, claiming Xbox exclusivity, and still be released for another platform.

Enchanted Arms is also one of the only games released in North America that features a flamboyant and extremely homosexual male protagonist.

Final Fantasy X

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 20:44:45 -0400

The tenth installment of the RPG series Final Fantasy, and the first in the series to grace the Playstation 2. This is the first game in the series to feature fully 3-D areas instead of pre-rendered backdrops, as well as the first to have voice-over actors for the character dialog. The story centers around the seven main playable characters as they travel around the fantasy world of Spira on a quest to defeat the evil monster Sin.

The seven main playable characters are Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, Kimahri, Lulu, Auron, and Rikku. Each of the characters levels up individually using a sphere grid. Instead of just leveling up your characters stats after a set number of battles, you gain spheres and ability points which are used to move around the sphere grid. The grid is made up of hundreds of interconnecting nodes which several branching paths for each character. Each node has a different effect, such as learning a new magical spell or increasing you attack strength. Battles are turn based, meaning each character (or monster) takes turns performing an action (like attacking a monster or using a potion). You can only use three of the seven characters in battle, but you can swap them out for any of the different characters mid-battle.

Suikoden V

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:04:52 -0400

Suikoden V takes place in the Queendom of Falena, portraying the events of that region of the Suikoden world six years before the events in Suikoden and 144 years after the events in Suikoden IV (~IS 449). The Queendom of Falena is a relatively rich land sustained by the Feitas River, which connects its disparate parts and enables trade and communication .

It is ruled by Queen Arshtat and her husband Ferid, who have been a balancing and steady force since the demise of her somewhat rash mother. However, the tensions of the past have not been entirely settled. Arshtat's mother and aunt had been engaged in a covert struggle for power over the succession. Falena's government also has powerful nobles who maintain their own separate forces, loyal to them. Arshtat's hand in marriage was seen as key to gaining power in the future by the nobles; a civil war was narrowly averted when Ferid, a neutral outsider, won the Sacred Games and thus the right to marry Arshtat.At the beginning of Suikoden V, the time has come for Lymsleia's Sacred Games, a gladiatorial tournament in which the winner may ask for the future Queen's hand in marriage. (As a Queendom rather than a Kingdom, the first-born female is in line for the throne.) Aside from the many freelancers, suitors, and independent nobles who desire this prize, the two most powerful noble houses both bear a special interest in it; like with Arshtat's Sacred Games, Lymsleia's hand could prove a crucial advantage. The Godwins believe that Falena needs to be more centralized, powerful and perhaps expansionistic. The Barows seek more to rebuild and trade with foreign nations. The Barows faction has of late been somewhat on the decline, though they are still powerful; a recent war with the neighboring New Armes Kingdom was fought on Barows-allied lands, while the Godwins remained safe and untouched in the west of Falena, perhaps explaining the Barows wish to not further antagonize Armes. The royal family and others worry that if a Godwin or Barows were to win, it might well trigger another struggle.

A key part of the Suikoden setting is the existence of Runes, the source of all magic. Any person can have a rune inscribed on them, although some people are more talented in their use, and others can inscribe more than one rune (with three as the general maximum). In turn, all power from individual carved runes ultimately descends from the powerful 27 True Runes, which created the world in Suikoden's mythology. Falena's national treasure is the Sun Rune, a True Rune which can both bring prosperity and growth as well as destruction and calamity. Falena also controls the "child" runes of the Sun Rune, the Dawn Rune and Twilight Rune.

However, Falena's grip on the runes has gone somewhat awry. Two years prior to the start of Suikoden V, residents of Lordlake rioted and charged the East Palace, near the capital of Sol-Falena. In the confusion, the Dawn Rune, which was housed there, was stolen. Lordlake had previously been considered the most loyal of all the towns to the royal government and granted special privileges. With this seeming act of high treason by Lordlake, Arshtat took the Sun Rune upon herself, normally stored in Sol-Falena's palace on a pedestal, and used the Rune's power to scorch Lordlake's vegetation, wildlife, and river, killing its leader Lord Rovere in the process. Since bearing the Sun Rune, the normally compassionate Arshtat has grown more and more erratic in behavior, prone to mood swings and wild fits of vengeance.

The game features significant enhancements from all the previous installments in the series, including 6-member battle parties, multiple mini-games, the homebase system, and many other new features.

Dragon Warrior 7: Warriors Of Eden

Fri, 30 May 2008 21:53:50 -0400

Dragon Quest VII tells the story of a young boy, the son of a prominent fisherman in the small island town of Fishbel, and his friends. He begins his adventure when he discovers a mysterious fragment of a map his father brings home from a fishing trip. Further investigations lead him to discover that the world he lives on, which seems to consist of only his small island, used to contain many continents that have somehow been sealed away. Along with his friends "Mariabel" and "Kiefer" they are sent to different times to fix what had gone wrong with the continents, and make the continents appear in thier time.

Besides the hero, Mariabel and Kiefer there are three other characters that assist the hero on his adventure. There is Gabo a wolf who was turned into a boy and decided to stay human who also is very similar to the hero, Melvin a magician and swordsman who fought alongside god and helped defeat the Demon Lord, and Aira a Ritual dancer for the Deja Tribe who is also a great swordswoman and is not bad a magic.

Civilization IV

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:44:03 -0500

If you like world history, strategy games and like to pass time away, this game is for you. Civilization IV is part of the Civilization series. It has all the components of a fantastic game: great presentation with powerful new 3D graphics, great soundtrack and fun game play. You play a political leader in a fictious intention to take over the world. You start from the Stone Age and make your way through to the Space Age.

It is the best thing since Civ. III!

Generation of Chaos (PSP)

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:15:05 -0400

Idea Factor's first PSP title is based on the PS2 version of Generation of Chaos IV, but with a new storyline. Your goal is to collect powerful allies and both protect your kingdom and invade enemy territory. When heading out to battle, you can carry up to 29 troops in addition to your general, meaning massive 30 versus 30 battles await.

Shadow Hearts: From the New World

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:37:53 -0400

The third game in the RPG series, Shadow Hearts: From the New World follows Johnny, a sixteen-year-old detective who lost his father, sister and memory in an accident, accepts a request to find a criminal suspect who escaped from custody. As Johnny approaches the escapee, an illusion-like beast, who appears from a green light known as "The Window," swallows the escapee up. Johnny soon finds himself in a fight against the illusion-like creatures. Johnny has a female counterpart taking a central role in the story. Shania is a 21-year-old Native American who makes use of spiritual power when she fights. Sensing a strange power from Johnny, she decides to join him on his journeys.

Generation of Chaos 4

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:12:37 -0400

More than a sequel, Generation of Chaos IV is billed as a rebirth of the strategy RPG series. Featuring 30 on 30 battles, a new status and character upgrade system, and overhauled graphics. Released only in Japan.

Advanced Wars: Dual Strike

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 03:54:07 -0500

The Black Hole army is back and more threatening than ever when the battle spills over onto two screens. In this turn based stategy game, you must take control of Orange Star, Blue Moon, Green Earth, and Yellow Comet as you fight the Black Hole with a variety of futuristic weapons. In this game you can now take advantage of two generals at once, teaming up there speacial powers to create an even more devestating effect. Troop movement is quickened thanks to touch control (optional, you can use buttons if you like).

Age of Empires: The Age of Kings

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 16:49:59 -0500

Age of Empires: The Age of Kings boasts turn-based strategy gameplay as players move from the Dark Ages through the Middle Ages with one goal in mind: domination of the known world. Command one of five different civilizations: the Britons, Franks, Mongols, Saracens, or Japanese in this Nintendo DS game. Lead over 45 different types of units into battle -- from bowmen and monks to hand cannoneers, mercenaries and samurai, and control special 'hero' units such as Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood, Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan, whose special 'hero' powers affect the entire battlefield. The DS version allows players to construct and upgrade buildings to help their units learn new skills and create resources for their civilizations, as well as research over 50 technologies to advance their civilization. Multi-player scenarios allow up to four players to wirelessly battle each other.

Grandia III

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 16:29:36 -0500

The Grandia series continues, with Gamearts developing and former rival Square Enix publishing. Grandia III takes the adventure to the skies, putting you in the role of Yuuki, a young man with dreams of flying his own plane. Early on in the game, he does just that and, with his youthful mother Miranda at his side, he comes into contact with a girl called Alpheena. The pseudo real-time Ultimate Action Battle system returns, complete with new aerial finishing moves.

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 15:50:05 -0500

While this PS2 RPG isn't a new entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series (editions of Digital Devil Saga were released on the NES and MSX systems), it does borrow the look and feel of that series' world, adding many unique ideas to the mix. This latest entry places you in the role of Serph as you attempt to defeat five tribes and make your way to the paradise of Nirvana. You and your group encounter a pod which gives you the ability to change into demon form and suck up enemies. Use points that you've earned in battle to power up your character and his "Mantra," creating an original demon all your own. Also included is a "break" system that has you block enemy magic attacks, quickly gaining the ability to counterattack.

Generation of Chaos

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:08:29 -0400

The peace of Neverland used to be protected by the balance of power between three gods: Coriya, Ipsilon, and Janess. But when Janess was defeated by three human warriors, it upset the balance and threw the world into war. Luckily the battles ended, and for 28 years peace has been maintained. But the Neugard Demons have rebelled and conflict has engulfed the land once again. The world's only hope now is your power of unification as you select from nine different characters and 20 different kingdoms in Idea Factory's strategy/RPG Generation of Chaos. Manage domestic affairs, build your castle's defenses, amass a mighty army, but whatever you do, do it quick: as the fate of Neverland depends on it.

River King: A Wonderful Journey

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:09:43 -0400

An RPG centered on fishing, Kawa no Nushi Tsuri: Wonderful Journey is Marvelous Interactive's latest installment of its beloved Legend of the River King series. In it, players will assume the role of Boku: a kind young boy who wants to spend his summer vacation fishing the land's various bodies of water in search of the legendary "Master Fish." Similar in gameplay style to Natsume's Harvest Moon franchise, Kawa no Nushi offers its users a large variety of personable characters to play with, various towns and villages that are packed with different items, and more than a 100 different kinds of fish to be found in the game's many rivers and lakes.

Wild ARMs 4

Sun, 22 Jan 2006 12:08:35 -0500

The fourth chapter in the popular role-playing series first started on the original PlayStation, Wild ARMs 4 follows teenage warrior Jude Maverick and his faithful teammates as they set out on a mission to save the world of Filgaia from mysterious invaders from the sky. Featuring an all-new cast of characters, original storyline, and strategic HEX battle system not available in previous entries, Wild ARMs 4 also allows players the ability to manipulate time and use specially equipped items to solve environmental puzzles. Available exclusively for the PlayStation 2.

Galactic Civilizations 2: Dread Lords

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 09:50:46 -0400

The sequel to Stardock's hit turn-based strategy game, Galactic Civilizations II is a strategy game that takes place in the distant future where mankind has become a space-faring civilization and now must contend with other galactic powers who strive for domination in the galaxy.

The sequel includes numerous changes over the original, including the ability to design entire fleets of unique ships from research technology points, more variation in planets for greater numbers of choices on any class of planet, fleet command options, improved combat, and 10 playable races of characters. Galactic Civilizations II also features a vastly overhauled and scalable graphics engine that now runs in 3D (yet is still playable on low-end systems.)

Metal Gear Acid 2

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:05:59 -0400

Following the deep tactical strategy from the previous Metal Gear Acid game, Metal Gear Acid 2 features an improved card-based strategic gameplay system with card weapon upgrades and over 500 cards to use. The title delivers enhanced tactical gameplay and new visual effects, including an innovative 3-D mode packed with exciting gameplay and trailers that are viewed with special 3-D glasses. As the role of top-secret agent, Solid Snake, players will make calculated decisions to plan out their infiltration strategy and accomplish the mission in a turn-based game.

Worms 4: Mayhem

Wed, 28 Dec 2005 16:42:00 -0500

After the tactical RTS play of Worms Forts Under Siege, Worms 4: Mayhem is a return to the series' trademark gameplay and sees Team 17's core Worms design and development team regrouping for a 3D game of explosive annelid annihilation. With players controlling the worms in single player or 4-player team games, everyone's armed with a massive variety of wild weapons, as ingenious as they are incendiary.

The worms' armoury of brilliantly conceived classic weapons return and is built on with even more devilish devices, including the Poison Arrow, Sentry Gun, Tail Nail and the Bovine Blitz, which unleashes a bombing raid of cows. Customize your worm's character in an all new Worms creator feature and unleash annelid annihilation across 25 single-player missions and 20 multiplayer maps.

Note: Majesco published the Xbox version of the game.

Generation of Chaos 5

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:13:47 -0400

The fifth of the RPG series from Never-Land Company features a number of significant changes for the franchise. A new overhead world map divides up the quest, with a grid-based system for moving units across the land.

The game takes place in a completely new place called Edith and its separate worlds: the Sky World, the Land World, and the Underground World. The Underground World, where the story begins, is split into two empires founded on technologically-advanced civilizations, and the game will take the adventure out to the Earth-like Land World and the fantastical Sky World (with its split of Heaven and Hell domains.)

MS Saga: A New Dawn

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 09:45:05 -0400

MS Saga takes place in the near future, when the "G-System," a system by which people can create anything for which they have a blueprint, has brought Mobile Suits into the world. An organization has its sights set on using G-System for evil purposes, and it's your job to straighten things out. You play as Trush, a cheerful 16-year old who has created his own Mobile Suit. Joining you on your adventure are Eachie, a fourteen year old girl who was raised along side Trush, and Fritz, another young heroine who lost her memory and doesn't even know her own age. The world and characters of True Odyssey are different from what one may expect having seen the Gundam cartoons. The game looks like a fantasy-based RPG world, complete with towns and palaces, although the presence of giant Mobile Suits in the screenshots we've seen is unmistakable. The story is also separate from the main Gundam series -- you won't find the Zeon or Federation, for instance.

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

Sun, 25 Dec 2005 16:50:44 -0500

Experience the first console role-playing game set in J.R.R. Tolkien's fabled Middle-Earth universe with The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. In it, players will be able to travel in the wake of the Fellowship with a unique structure that allows them to explore their own path while periodically intersecting with the major events of the films. Encounter the demonic Balrog in the mines of Moria, defend the fallen city of Osgiliath, or try to destroy Helm's Deep -- the choice is yours. Players can even customize their own hero or villain and upgrade them with an in-depth skill tree system that will increase their special abilities.

Note: Griptonite games is responsible for only the GBA version of the game.

Tao's Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:01:58 -0400

In this fantasy RPG, players take on the role of Tao, a young magic student living on Bente Island, who must travel on an incredible journey to save his family and fellow village people from an evil monster curse that turns people into stone. In order to break the curse, Tao must find the egg of the ancient monster that cursed his family. With that egg, he can return to the village and save his family and friends, although if Tao does not return by the next full moon, the curse will never be broken.

Casting spells by using the DS touch pad, players battle dozens of monsters in order to save the village; compete in side quests to raise their reputation with the townspeople; and collect eggs and training monsters to assist in battles along their journey.

PoPoLoCrois

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 16:17:31 -0500

Sony Computer Entertainment's popular cel-shaded RPG series comes to the PlayStation Portable system with a return of the original adventures of Prince Pinon of the first and second PlayStation installments of the series, enhanced with new elements and updated details. Playing as Pietro, prince of the Popolocrois Kingdom, you head off on your first adventure in order to find a way to awaken your mom. Battles are now grided strategy, with you moving your party members in turn with enemies. In addition to standard attacks, magic attacks and character combination attacks, the game lets you summon beasts to help out. Dungeons also feature prominently in the game, requiring that you work through traps when not in battle.

Generation of Chaos 3

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 10:11:31 -0400

The third installment of the Generation of Chaos series. This game has not been released in North America and is only available in Japan.