Third Rate Game Play: Ape Escape 3

Game: Ape Escape 3 System: PlayStation 2 Developer: SCE Japan Studio Publisher: Sony Player: Tony Experience: Played Ape Escape 1/2 before

Game On: Let's Play 3.11 - Rez

Game: Rez System: Playstation 2 Developer: United Game Artists Publisher: Sega Player: Alex

After the treacherous adventure through Super Monkey Ball: Step and Roll, a game had to cleanse the feeling that pervaded throughout the apartment.  While there were a few games to choose, Alex chose to go to one of his favorite and short experiences available to gaming (and to them, as well), Rez.

Third Rate Game Play: FantaVision

Game: FantaVision System: Playstation 2 Developer: SCEI (Ape Escape) Publisher: Sony Player: Alex Experience: Blind

The year was 1999. The first gaming generation of Sony was ebbing, and with the company being victorious in capturing the mindshare of consumers and developers alike, it looked like the second generation was going to be that much greater. Sega was releasing Dreamcast worldwide, but Sony would use that year’s Tokyo Game Show to let the world know who really dictated when the generation started. While no major game was truly demonstrated at the show, a myriad of Playstation 2 tech demos revealed the strength of the system and how it fared against the Dreamcast in graphics.

The tech demos ranged from water effects to animation prowess. To show off reflective surfaces and water effects, Sony showed off a demo involving a submarine, a rubber ducky, and a large sink. Meanwhile, third parties helped create their own tech demos, ranging from the dance scene in Final Fantasy VIII to the leading lady of Ridge Racer. However, the only demo which really emerged as a full game right at the Playstation 2's launch was a demo which featured explosions of color and fireworks to demonstrate the system’s particle effects to the TGS audience. That demo would become FantaVision.

Before FantaVision was created, its Designer Katsuyuki Kanetaka had worked on the Playstation adventure title Ape Escape, in which a young boy named Spike must catch monkeys who have spread havoc across time in an effort to rule the present and ruin humanity. The game’s biggest focus was demonstrating how to use the DualShock controller, which debuted late into the Playstation’s original lifecycle. FantaVision does not share much design-wise from Ape Escape, however. Whereas one is an adventure platformer, the other is an arcade puzzle game.



"Fireworks are launching across a city's skyline. In this puzzle game, you must connect them quickly to have them explode. Earn more points for detonating more fireworks at the same time. You can also work against another player to see who can gain the most points. Be careful, as control of the screen can shift and one player could be left with few fireworks to explode."



FantaVision is an arcade title in which players must trigger firework flares after they are launched into the air and before they fall away from the player’s view. The single player campaign features eight levels of increasing difficulty, each with their own unique song and pathway through a number of environments. The first few levels take place in a city, and as the game progresses, players will see fireworks on the Moon and into the farthest reaches of space. However, if the player fails once, the game has to be played from the beginning, leading to a very difficult experience for some.

As the screen moves along a fixed path, flares of different color are shot into the game screen. Players control a reticule which moves in the direction of the DualShock 2’s Left Stick once a button is pressed. Once locked onto three or more of the same color flare, the player can ignite the fireworks and create explosions of color in the sky. Some flares have different explosive properties, including ones which burst into many smaller explosions. If explosions and a flare of the same color collide, that flare will also ignite, giving potential for larger and longer combos. Once enough flares are lit right, players trigger Starmine, which gives them the ability to create massive combos for high scores. There are also power-ups which can greatly benefit players as more flares arrive than can be triggered at one time.

The North American and European versions of FantaVision both have a sufficient 2-player versus mode in which both players attempt to trigger a select number of flares first or get the most triggered in a specific time. Unique power-ups, including a screen flip mechanic, change the limits in which each player’s reticule can go, helping or hindering them in the process of creating explosive colors in the sky.

A unique aspect of the game is that the music differs from each region of its release. The North American, European, and Japanese versions of FantaVision all have their own soundtrack.



FantaVision was received modestly, with its minimal presentation and basic game design. It was Sony’s only launch title for the Playstation 2 in America, but other companies such as Agetec and Tecmo took the liberty of making its launch more than acceptable in consumers’ eyes. Of course, having DVD playback options helped, too, as DVD players were equally expensive compared to the PS2.

In Japan, FantaVision had a special rerelease called Futari no FantaVision, or FantaVision for You and Me in 2002. This version added the previously-excluded 2-player mode from the NA and EU versions of the game. The music was also remixed to provide a new experience for those who had played the first game. Some refer to this game as FantaVision Version 2, as it is a more complete and altogether better product than what was pushed out quickly at its March 2000 Japanese launch.

After developing FantaVision, the team went on to work on a similarly-designed title with less puzzle elements into the mix. This game, Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball, was released in Japan in 2003. The game would come out the following year in Europe through Ubisoft and 2004 through Capcom for the US. In Flipnic, players go through a number of uniquely-designed pinball tables with an “evolutionary” twist throughout the game. Designer Katsuyuki Kanetaka later acted as support for Ape Escape Academy and Ape Escape: On the Loose for the Playstation Portable, but since then he has been inactive in game development, based on MobyGames information.

Sony was wholly successful during the Playstation 2’s reign, outpacing Nintendo’s new console, effectively killing Sega’s last console, and moving forward against Microsoft’s first console venture. Having sold over 150 Million consoles, the Playstation 2 is seen as the highest-selling console of all time, let alone in the previous generation. With over two-thousand games over the past eleven years, the system is one of the most diverse and highly-competent video game consoles of all time. Since the Playstation 2, however, Sony has been met with some conflict. The PSP, Playstation Portable, was made to win the handheld space owned by Nintendo, and while it has gained a foothold in Japan, the device failed to make a mark against the Nintendo DS worldwide. The Playstation 3 launched with an infamous price of $599, ultimately yielding sales to the similarly-powered Xbox 360 and the much cheaper and unique Wii. Of course, with this generation still proceeding onward, it is unknown as to how the Playstation 3 will be remembered relative to the other two consoles. Currently, the NGP, or Next Generation Portable, is in production and will be releasing at the end of 2011 in America. Regardless of what is happening now and in the future, many can agree that the Playstation 2 will be a console with the perfect lineup and most likely will never be eclipsed unless the gaming industry continues to expand.



FantaVision was something we had not expected to reach us in time, but the game appeared to us just as we were ending our runs through the PS2 launch collection of videos. FantaVision, being a puzzle arcade game, did not have a lot to demonstrate, but we decide to run in blind, which turns out to be a bit stupid in hindsight.

We explore the main game twice, once after watching a tutorial video and the other after watching more tutorial videos. After getting Game Over screens both times, we take a look at the multiplayer element of the game, just to get a feel of what the game has to offer. There is not much else with the game, so we make do with the little game content we have.



FantaVision was not entirely the game I expected, while at the same time, it fit perfectly within my perception. Graphically, it must have been a nice game to watch back then, but a decade later, the age is definitely more apparent. The game design is very unique, asking players to aim at flares and detonate them as fireworks and, through that, create chains. It took a few notes from other arcade puzzle games, and that I must admit makes it a better fit into the genre.

However, the game does not offer much. Unless you perfect the combo or powerup systems, you are bound to fail early into the game. This is definitely the type of game you have to try out several times in a row to actually complete. Seeing as we did not want to bore anyone, we moved forward as quickly as we could. The multiplayer aspect of the game was interesting, but the overall experience was something I would see in the downloadable space nowadays. How different the industry gets after only a decade!

3RM Says: This game blows my mind. Into many colors! Ooooo.

Third Rate Game Play 003: Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore

Game: Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore System: Playstation 2 Developer: Team Ninja Publisher: Tecmo Player: Tony Experience: Purchased, Played Before

The Dead or Alive series was brought into creation from the creative mind of Tomonobu Itagaki, who joined Tecmo’s development crew in 1995. While his first major project was Tecmo Super Bowl, his claim to fame would be the creation of the Dead or Alive series, which came about after he showed disdain toward the trend of fighting games at the time. The original Dead or Alive arrived in the Arcade, but ports were made to Sega Saturn and Playstation. Itagaki-san would grow up the ranks until, in 2001, he became the head of Team Ninja, the development team behind the Dead or Alive franchise.

Dead or Alive 2 would grow from the success of the original title, and Itagaki wanted to ensure that the game would be full of details barely seen in other fighters, including realistic body movements and intricate character relationships. Also an arcade-original, the game was brought to the Dreamcast in 2000, but Team Ninja was not entirely pleased by the results. After releasing multiple updates to the Dreamcast version online, a culmination of gameplay tweaks and additional levels and costumes would result in what became Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore for the Playstation 2.

Tecmo was formed in 1967 as Tehkan, originally focused on selling cleaning equipment. It changed its focus to look toward entertainment products a few years later. After some years of releasing arcade games, the company changed its name to Tecmo in 1986. Its major franchises up to Dead or Alive included Ninja Gaiden, Solomon’s Key, and Rygar.



"The world has become chaotic and disoriented since the tragic murder of Fame Douglas, the sponsor of the legendary Dead or Alive I World Combat Championship. Now it's up to you to ensure that the world returns back to a state of peace. With 12 characters to choose from, your mission is to win the championship and save the world from the Tengu Disaster that will take place at the end of the century. Your ability to battle using various fighting techniques will determine your character's fate."



Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore is a fighting game which is, for all intents and purposes, an enhanced port of the Dreamcast title, Dead or Alive 2. As stated in the Background, Hardcore features a large number of additional modes and extra content so as to create the ideal package of Dead or Alive 2. Characters were made more realistic, and fighting animations were tweaked for better performance.

The game, like the Dreamcast original, has a Story Mode in which players can explore each character’s influence on the greatly intertwined plot built within the series. On top of this, there is a Versus Mode, as expected, and a team-based battle mode in which players choose two duos to fight one another rather than the usual one-on-one match. There is also a survival mode, in which players continue to fight AI opponents until they lose, trying to get the most wins in a row.

Among the original Dreamcast modes, a few new modes were created specifically for Hardcore. For one, the game added an Items Collection feature, in which players earn and can view items as they play in matches, which range from food items to small tanks. A CG Gallery section was also introduced, featuring renders of female characters in various dresses and poses for players to watch at their leisure. Other additions include an increased framerate, more outfits, and new voiceover work.



Team Ninja and the Dead or Alive franchise thrived following the release of Dead or Alive’s next title, Dead or Alive 3, which launched with the Microsoft Xbox. Following the great Western success of the series on Xbox, Team Ninja focused almost all of its energy on producing games for that console. A remake of Dead or Alive 2 was made in 2004 with online capabilities and extra content from Dead or Alive 3, renamed to Dead or Alive Ultimate. When the Xbox 360 started development, Team Ninja was there to produce a fast-paced, HD experience by the time the new system would launch. This product, Dead or Alive 4, even included a Halo-based character, "Spartan-458” or Nicole, as well as a Halo-based stage for characters to fight in, further showing the company’s loyalty to Microsoft’s brand. Following Dead or Alive 4, however, the mainline series has remained quiet, but a new iteration for the Nintendo 3DS will be available in 2011, entitled Dead or Alive Dimensions. In fact, in a similar act to Dead or Alive 4 with Halo, Dead or Alive Dimensions will feature a Metroid-based arena in which fighters encounter Ridley and Samus Aran (and no, she is not a playable character).

Perhaps the big reason for the five-year disappearance of mainline Dead or Alive games is the departure of Itagaki-san himself. On June 3, 2008, the Dead or Alive creator left Team Ninja and filed a lawsuit against Tecmo, citing that Tecmo management had not provided him bonuses he earned for the success of Dead or Alive 4. Despite this, Tecmo stated that he was fired just shortly after his departure. After leaving Team Ninja, a number of employees left as well, forming what is now Valhalla Games, producing Devil’s Third for current generation consoles.

It should be noted that Team Ninja has produced more than just the mainline Dead or Alive titles since Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore. In fact, the developer created two spin-off titles using the characters of the franchise: Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (and its 360 sequel, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2), and Dead or Alive Paradise for Playstation Portable. All of these games involve interaction between the unseen player and a number of the Dead or Alive women, all dressed in scantily-clad bathing suits. Beyond the Dead or Alive franchise, Team Ninja produced the newest renditions of the Ninja Gaiden series: Ninja Gaiden (and Ninja Gaiden Black, its rerelease) Ninja Gaiden II, and Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS. Both mainline Ninja Gaiden games were enhanced for Playstation 3 as Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.

After rebooting the development team and shifting its focus after Itagaki left, Team Ninja released a Nintendo-collaboration project for the Wii: Metroid: Other M. Otherwise known as Project M, the game is a third-person shooter which puts Samus into a space station under attack from an unknown entity, facing her past and her future along the way. The game emphasized the story surrounding Samus’s early years in the Galactic Federation, and the game retained some Metroid gameplay elements while shifting toward Ninja Gaiden in some regard. Its reception has been met with some controversy among fans, but we will not delve deep into that here.

Tecmo grew slightly as a result of the Dead or Alive franchise and its success, but its financial problems grew as other projects failed and franchises ebbed. The company faced not only Itagaki’s lawsuit but another involving 300 employees who had not received particular wages promised by Tecmo. Square Enix offered to purchase the company, but Tecmo would later choose Koei as a merging partner. Together, in early 2009, the companies formed Tecmo Koei Holdings, which would oversee the works of both developers. Tecmo as a developer was disbanded in late February 2010, only to be reestablished mid-March as a game developer under the Tecmo Koei publishing label.

Currently, Team Ninja, headed by Yosuke Hayashi, is working on Dead or Alive: Dimensions for Nintendo 3DS and is believed to be working on Ni-Oh, a massive action game taking place in 16th century Japan. Rumors say that a 3DS Ninja Gaiden is in the works, as is Dead or Alive 5. However, as of this article, only Dead or Alive Dimensions can be confirmed. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore director Itagaki, as stated above, is working on Devil’s Third for his new development company Valhalla Games, with THQ sitting as the current publisher.



In this third part of the Playstation 2 launch title series of episodes, we had to face the realization that we were going to be playing the game with minimal fighting game skill. Either way, the game was in our possession, and playing it would, therefore, be necessary.

In this episode, we explore through the game’s Story Mode with both Zack and Ayane. Afterwards, we bring the battle to each other in Versus, where you get to see which of the two is the least horrible at fighting games. We also watch a dual match between two computers to better show off the fighting styles of gamers who know how to play the game. Following that, we look at the Items Collection mode and take a gander at the CG Collection, sure to create awkward moments for everyone.




As a launch title, Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore was probably the quickest way to happiness for gamers. While it lacks a lot of flourish, the game plays quickly and offers plenty of interesting locations to demonstrate both artistic and technical beauty from a new generation of gaming. Being the only fighter at launch, it probably also benefitted catching the at-the-time niche console fighter market. Comparing it to the rest of the launch lineup, it seemed to have more polish but still failed to deliver when it came to content.

The amount of additional modes is welcome, but at the same time I feel that some modes were added strictly to pander to particular audiences. The CG Collection was clearly not a gameplay addition of high merit, nor was the Items Collection feature. The tweaked animations and additional graphical and audio upgrades were much more acceptable, in my opinion.

In today’s eyes, though, one has to compare it to the improvements made to both the genre and the Dead or Alive series in general. It stands as the improved version of what became the base of all Dead or Alive titles, and it would act as the doorway through which the fighting series left the arcades in favor of console online battling. I guess your mileage will vary with your enjoyment of DOA2: Hardcore, especially considering its lack of additional content compared to the swaths of characters and additions in today’s fighters (MvC 3, SSFIV, even DOA4).

If you like fighters and have a friend to play with, DOA2: Hardcore might be worth the pocket change. Otherwise, there are probably better Dead or Alive experiences out there for you to enjoy.

3RM Says: I'm not sure how you can be wanted Dead or Alive for a second time.
Not to mention that I'm apparently wanted to be Hardcore, too.

Third Rate Game Play 2: TimeSplitters

Game: TimeSplitters System: Playstation 2 Developer: Free Radical Design Publisher: Eidos Player: Tony Wanschura Experience: Played Sequels

TimeSplitters was Free Radical Design’s debut game, and it being a first-person shooter was not too surprising considering where the developer originated. Free Radical Design was formed in April 1999 by a number of Rare employees who specialized on the Nintendo 64’s major first-person shooter titles, GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. During Perfect Dark’s early development, a number of employees, including David Doak, Steve Ellis, Karl Hilton, Graeme Norgate, and Lee Ray left to form their own independent studio. The result was Free Radical Design. With a team of eighteen and a short time before the Playstation 2’s launch, the group worked together to create the first game in what would be the company’s main franchise.

Eidos, the game’s publisher, was formed in 1990 with a specialization toward video compression and non-linear editing systems (specifically for Acorn Archimedes computers). It was not until the company began a series of acquisitions that it would enter the gaming market. These acquisitions included Domark Group Limited, Simis and Big Red Software in 1995 as well as CenterGold (whose most prominent asset was Core Design, developer of the Tomb Raider series) in 1996. Over time, Eidos developed a large number of popular franchises, and with the release of the Playstation 2 on the horizon, the publisher turned to UK-developer Free Radical Design to bring out TimeSplitters as a launch title.



The TimeSplitters are an evil race dwelling outside of time and space. Roused from an ancient sleep, they cross the threshold from their shadowy dimension, ripping through the fabric of time itself to make humanity history. Can we unite against a common enemy? Or will we be condemned forever to a realm ruled under the shadow of the TimeSplitters. In the 1-player game you travel from time to time to collect different artifacts before the Timesplitters can. The multiplayer game is 4-player Deathmatch with the option of adding several bots.

In multiplayer games running on a single console you have to strike a good balance between looks and cost. The single-player game has to look different and original and has to show off the power of a next generation console. At the same time you have to build in an allowance for the fact that everything the game is doing will be four times as expensive in four-player, which is a significant load on any console. The graphics are designed to look great and to run at a consistently high frame rate.

– Karl Hilton on the splitscreen capabilities of the game, IGN Interview

TimeSplitters is a first-person shooter in which players travel around the world and through time in order to stop an evil race of monsters known as the TimeSplitters from removing humanity from time. The game is the first Playstation 2 game which allows for 4-players on one console, and it was the first first-person shooter for it, as well.

The basic concept for the main game is to retrieve a relic specific for the time period and return it to the starting point of each level. The game starts with three particular levels, and after all three are completed, another set of three are unlocked, and so forth. Once every “Story” level is completed, the game opens up a Challenge Mode in which more specific missions are introduced, such as killing enough of an enemy or preventing enemies from taking a relic back. These modes can be played by up to four players simultaneously.

The purpose behind the multiple difficulty levels and modes outside of multiplayer is to unlock a myriad of playable characters for multiplayer matches. The main focus of the game sits on a number of Capture-the-Flag-esque modes alongside the usual DeathMatch modes for first-person shooters. The most unique element of the game is the inclusion of an in-game MapMaker, in which players can very closely replicate levels developed by the original team or create even more intricate levels for multiplayer and single-player experiences.



The history of Free Radical Design goes far from here, seeing as this game was its first game created, so bear with us (no pun related to the banner above). After receiving great success from the launch title, Free Radical went on to produce a multi-console release with its sequel, TimeSplitters 2. With more time, the game itself could have cutscenes and a heavily-enhanced single-player campaign, using elements from the objective-based first-person shooters the team had worked on before. TimeSplitters 2 was claimed by many as the spiritual successor to GoldenEye 007, ultimately becoming the highest-rated and highest-selling of the franchise.

TimeSplitters 2’s great success would hasten the development of a third title, called TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. Unfortunately, the game was not taken by Eidos, which had undergone some changes in management since TimeSplitters 2, but Electronic Arts was willing to publish the game on all platforms. The gameplay retained some of the GoldenEye-based objective concepts, but character movement and longer missions related more toward the most-recent hit in first-person shooters, Halo: Combat Evolved. The game underperformed, however, and EA would later reject the publishing possibilities for future iterations. TimeSplitters as a series did not continue after Future Perfect’s 2005 release, as a result of Free Radical Design’s later projects.

Free Radical would work on two other franchises outside of the TimeSplitters IP. The first game was a third-person shooter with an emphasis on psychic powers: Second Sight. Despite TimeSplitters’ success, Eidos did not pick up the game for publishing, so Free Radical turned to Codemasters, another UK publisher, to release the game. Second Sight received fairly-positive reviews, but considering its quiet marketing, Second Sight most likely had a muted reception, sales-wise.

The second non-TimeSplitters game would be the company’s last. In an attempt to join the fight amid big first-person shooters on HD consoles, Free Radical Design developed Haze, a shooter focused on the conflict between a multinational war corporation and a set of rebel fighters surrounding around a unique sensory-enhancing substance known as Nectar. The game was originally planned for Xbox 360, PC, and Playstation 3, but the game was later pushed out as a Playstation 3 exclusive. Published by Ubisoft after months of delay, the game was poorly-received and sold just as badly. Because so much effort was put on the project, the company was put into financial limbo.

The deathblow for Free Radical Design was not just Haze’s poor reception, but the indirect results of its failure. The company had been working alongside LucasArts to bring Star Wars: Battlefront III out onto all consoles, but following the shake-up of Haze’s sales, LucasArts stepped back and canceled the project, cutting off any revenue source for the developer. Free Radical Design had been working on a TimeSplitters 4 at the same time, but without a secured publisher to fund the project, the company went into administration on December 18th, 2008, thus ending FRD as a developer in the industry.

The following February, it was discovered that Free Radical Design, headed by Karl Hilton, would be purchased by German developer Crytek, renaming the developer into Crytek UK. Since then, over forty of the original Free Radical Design developers have been rehired, and Crytek UK is now currently working on a number of projects. Its first major effort for Crytek was the development of Crysis 2’s multiplayer component.

Meanwhile, founders Dave Doak and Steve Ellis left Free Radical with some employees to found Pumpkin Beach, which vanished quietly some time later. Upon further inspection, it appears as though Pumpkin Beach was a flash MMO game akin to Club Penguin, based on a single screenshot released by the game’s 2D HUD artist. Doak and Ellis were later given funding to form ZinkyZonk, a Facebook game developer. The company’s only release to date is Gangsta Zombies, although it is reported that ZinkyZonk was given funding to develop Gangsta Pets.

Eidos has also changed a number of times since TimeSplitters released. In March 2005, the company received a takeover bid by Elevation Partners, but one day later it received another takeover bid by SCi Entertainment, the publisher most famous for the Carmageddon series. SCi would fully merge with Eidos that May. A few years later, the company had revealed that it was taking major losses, threatening the company’s existence. In 2009, however, Square Enix offered to purchase Eidos in February for £84.3 million, and its offer went through late April. While Square Enix stated that it would not change the company in any way, Eidos was recently renamed to Square Enix Europe, thereby ending the name of Eidos since its creation in 1990.

Currently, Crytek UK is starting work on at least one new game, rumored to be TimeSplitters 4. Eidos, now Square Enix Europe, is working heavily on Deus Ex: Human Revolution among other major Western-focused games.



Playing the game for the first time, Tony starts off the game right for the Story mode, hoping for something akin to the Story modes from its successors. It was quickly discovered that the Story mode took multiple players, so the first level was played with two-player cooperation. However, thinking a part of the story had been removed due to the cooperative element, the rest of the Story mode was played by Tony himself.

Following the completion of the first three levels on Easy, the second set of three was attempted. Once this was completed, a cooperative game of Multiplayer was demonstrated along with a swift attempt at the game’s MapMaker, with entertaining results.



It became swiftly obvious to us why the game did not get released onto other consoles. It was a swiftly-made game which clearly showed its roughness many years later. In our case, it only became worse considering we had played the much better games in the series beforehand.

TimeSplitters did not have a story, or at least it had a very hidden story. Furthermore, each of the game's missions consisted entirely of “get item and return,” essentially a Capture the Bag game for single player. What we did not know of was the Challenge mode with extra missions, but we could not get any further than the second set of levels, where the difficulty hiked up to the point where we would be incapable of progress within our playtime. The multiplayer was also less content-heavy than the other games, but the MapMaker seemed pretty close to the MapMaker in its future installments, clearly with less polish and themes to use.

It was not as humorous as, say, the Eternal Ring episode, but there are glitters of moments with plenty of laughter throughout. While disappointing in its delivery, the game's less-than-stellar presentation made our experience more interesting in hindsight.

3RM Says: Those monsters should be more careful. Splitting time is a serious matter.
Though time is separate from matter...

Third Rate Game Play 1: Eternal Ring

Game: Eternal Ring System: Playstation 2 Developer: From Software Publisher: Agetec Player: Alex Wanschura Experience: Blind

From Software was formed in 1986 by only four people, specializing as a company for business and software development, but the company first went into video game production in 1994. The company’s first major franchise was King’s Field, a first-person role-playing game released on the Playstation and subsequently Playstation 2. From Software is, perhaps, better known for its second, now much larger franchise Armored Core, a series of games in which players control large mechs through a number of missions for multiple missionary groups.

For the Playstation 2’s launch, From Software took it upon itself to develop a number of games. Armored Core 2 would appear at launch, but a new King’s Field was passed in favor of two new games in the company’s RPG repertoire: Evergrace, an action RPG with two unique storylines and an equipment-based leveling system, and Eternal Ring, a first-person RPG akin to King’s Field but with a unique ring-equipment system.

The publisher, Agetec, was originally ASCII Entertainment, formed in 1991 as the American branch for Japanese publisher ASCII. At the time, it had become popular for bringing over various Japanese titles including those developed by From Software. However, in order to focus more on American tastes, the company was spun-off in 1998 as "Ascii Game Entertainment TEChnology,” or Agetec. One year later, it separated from ASCII entirely, which in turn would cease game publishing in 2002.




"Who said fantasies had to be final? A young magician is sent by his king to investigate the strange happenings on the Island of No Return. Armed with his sword and his natural talent as a sorcerer, Cain attempts to be the first person to return from the island alive. Legend has it that magical powers are at rest on this island. It is inhabited by numerous beasts, enormous dragons, and magical items that were supposed to be buried long ago. As Cain, the player must solve several baffling scenarios whilst keeping his hide intact in his search for the ultimate magic ring."



Eternal Ring is a first-person RPG in which players control Cain Morgan, a young magician who is sent to the Island of No Return by the peaceful king of Heingaria in order to investigate a secret team sent to the Island by the kingdom's elders. The island is home to the legendary Eternal Ring, a ring with power well beyond mortal comprehension, and with little means to return, Cain must venture forth in search of the true intentions of the Heingarian Elders’ mission while perhaps learning more about his own past along the way.

At first, players only have the means to attack with a sword, but over time, they are capable of wearing magical rings which can boost abilities and allow spells to be cast. Furthermore, money is replaced by a number of elemental gems which can be traded in for items or used to make or improve ring powers and weaponry. Rings have set levels of strength, but adding elemental gems to them can boost their abilities to a degree.

The game itself is situated in a linear experience, guiding players into a cavern, then a town-like setting, and then into the first dungeon. Following that, the game leads players through a number of dangerous environments, encountering strange people and ferocious monsters along the way.



While there are no sequels to Eternal Ring, From Software has continued to bring role-playing games, including first-person variations, into the gaming industry. For Playstation 2, the company brought out King’s Field: The Ancient City (the fourth in the series, but the third to go overseas) and Forever Kingdom (which is a prequel to Evergrace); Shadow Tower Abyss, a sequel to Shadow Tower and another first-person RPG, was disallowed an American release by SCEA. For GameCube, the company developed the Lost Kingdoms franchise, which was published in America by Activision. This generation, From Software earned acclaim for its unique and, at times, excruciatingly difficult RPG products: 3D Dot Heroes, an overheard RPG akin to retro Zelda games with a focus on pixelated graphics and basic gameplay design, and Demon’s Souls, a dark fantasy action RPG in which players can be brought back to life as a soul, although the game ultimately punishes them for dying in the first place. Many have stated that Demon’s Souls is a spiritual successor to the King’s Field series.

Agetec still exists, albeit in a more muted form than what it was when Eternal Ring was released. It continued to publish a number of Japanese titles for American audiences, including games developed by SNK and From Software, as well as smaller budget Japanese Playstation titles. While From Software got publishing deals with Atlus and other, larger publishers, Agetec continued to publish smaller titles for the company, the last of which was Cookie & Cream for the DS in 2007. While it focuses mainly on budget releases, it still exists. The site has not been updated heavily since 2009, but it continues to publish titles, including three DSiWare titles: Go Fetch!, Paul’s Shooting Adventure, and Paul’s Monster Adventure, all developed by small Japanese developer ICM. Its most recent release was Treasure Hunter X for DSiWare in February 2011, developed by SilverStar, whose other works have been brought stateside by Agetec, too.

Currently, From Software is developing Dark Souls, a game similar to Demon’s Souls, published by Namco-Bandai, alongside Armored Core V and Capcom’s Kinect project Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor.

Agetec’s current activities are unknown, but it appears as though it is primarily focused on DSiWare projects.



Originally filmed early September 2010, this was supposed to be completed by the 10th anniversary of the American Playstation 2 launch, consisting of a collection of four games which released that October: Fantavision, Eternal Ring, TimeSplitters, and Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore. Alas, Fantavision had not arrived yet, so we assumed it would not appear in time. As a result, we named it a three-part Let’s Play before it finally arrived. As a note, we had not yet named the show Third Rate Game Play yet, so any “Let’s Play” or “Quick Play” mention is referring to Third Rate Game Play.

Alex had no prior experience with the game beforehand, and he had only seen screenshots and one video clip before playing the game. All reactions are made on-the-fly as both experience it for the first time.

In this episode, Alex ventures into the Island of No Return and completes the Water Temple, the first major dungeon. The runtime approaches an hour, and while it does not provide much insight into the game’s ring system, it does provide a good look into the game’s other, core gameplay concepts.



Eternal Ring was a surprising affair for me. Having only seen a video of the game briefly played, I had no real idea how the game would turn out, so I was surprised to find that the game was actually a pretty good for a launch title for the Playstation 2.

The actual game itself was smooth in pacing, and while the game’s dialogue and presentation left something to be desired, the gameplay was accessible and unique from my perspective. While we did not get very far into the game itself, I can imagine there is a lot more strategy involved with the rings, which could improve or damage the overall experience. The world seemed simple, artistically speaking, and the characters were nearly pointless in their interactions. So, perhaps the best way to describe my feelings for Eternal Ring is this: the gameplay is solid, though the scenario could definitely be more polished.

The episode went very smoothly, and having no prior experience to the game, we had plenty of comments to make, further improving the overall adventure. While I stupidly died at the beginning and end of the playthrough, I think the deaths added to the humor, looking back at the episode today.

It was certainly a good way to start off the series of videos!

If you would like us to continue making episodes for Eternal Ring, feel free to comment on the video's Youtube page or this page.

3RM Says: Eternal Ring is a fun RPG, but the Ring itself makes a great Hula Hoop!