Spring has arrived, and with that, another PAX East has sprung up,
inviting gamers and game developers from all over the world to Boston,
all to show upcoming games and revel in what the industry has in store.
We at Third Rate Minion were there, and we got to try out a sampling of
what was there on the showfloor!
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Interview with Alex:
Gameplay (Single Player Demo and Multiplayer):
In the midst of PAX East's Indie Megabooth, developer Heart Machine was present to show off its latest playable build of its debut title, Hyper Light Drifter. We got to speak with Alex, the head of the project, and we also got to film a full playthrough of the single-player and some multiplayer gameplay. Unfortunately, we were pressed for time to play it, but it certainly looks like it will be a sweet game when it is completed.
For more on Hyper Light Drifter, check out the official site here.
It has been a year since we last spoke with Muteki Corporation's head Adam Rippon about his upcoming RPG Dragon Fantasy Book II, and what a year it has been! We got to speak with him about the game, its unique contents, and the process of bringing it onto Sony platforms. You can see that in the interview above.
Dragon Fantasy is a series starring the previously-retired hero Ogden who is pulled out of retirement to help save the world once more. Book I told the beginning of the story through a collection of three chapters (and one bonus chapter exclusive to other platforms), while the upcoming Book II will be played as a complete adventure, although Rippon noted it would be effectively chapters four through six (and a touch of seven).
Book I was originally released on mobile devices, PC, and Mac, but now it is being released on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The game's 8-bit graphics and soundtrack have been completely reworked to fit a new remastered 16-bit style, but players can swap between the styles at any time. The game's status system has been reworked, and the PSN edition will also have a new dungeon added in, as well. From playing the demo, I found the ability to change styles on-the-fly to be quite nifty, and other than that the game played like a pretty standard RPG of the age it reflected. Of course, it was a short playthrough, but it still particularly reminded me of the older generation RPGs of yore.
Meanwhile, Book II will be a PlayStation Network exclusive, releasing for both PS3 and PSVita. By this point in the series, the heroes are being pursued by the Imperial Armada and in the southlands quickly find themselves split up into three groups. These three groups end up venturing throughout the land and discovering the mysteries of the war between the Kingdom of Tundaria and the Empire of Sandheim. Will all our burning questions be answered? Potentially.
Book II will still follow the same humor and storytelling style of its predecessor, but the gameplay has been greatly changed. The battle system of old has been replaced with a more real-time-based battle system akin to Chrono Trigger. While a battle rages on, enemies wandering the world can join in the fray to join their comrades, and the same can be said for the game's heroes, especially using the game's multiplayer capabilities. On top of that, the game now features ship battles, in which players must battle other ships by using whatever they can find (or knock out) on the ship's deck. While I did not get to play the ship battle, I did get to play a little bit of the more traditional segments. The battles seemed quite active, as characters would bounce and move within the battle zone, although I am not sure if it had any effect to their abilities in-battle. Graphically, it looked sharp for an indie retro RPG, and I anticipate seeing more soon.
Both PSN games will have cross-save features, allowing people to transfer saves between the Vita and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, and there is also a You Only Pay Once deal for the games, as well (buy one, get the other free).
Dragon Fantasy Book I will be on PSN April 16th, and Book II will be available in the summer of this year.
While Sony was present at PAX East this year with a collection of The Last of Us booths, what was more interesting was the booth off to the side of the showfloor completely covered in construction paper and papercrafts. No, this booth was not a misplaced crafting booth in a gaming convention; this was the booth for Media Molecule's Tearaway. We got to speak with Community Manager James Spafford about the game, and you can see what he has to say in the video above.
Tearaway is a PlayStation Vita adventure game where you help messengers deliver messages to a very special recipient: you! In order to reach you, however, they have to travel through thick forests and treacherous lands made of paper. Thankfully, you can assist with more than mere control; you can physically press up into the world with your fingers and even tilt the world to send enemies flying every which way. Interaction with the PlayStation Vita is key in this adventure.
Whereas level creation was a big factor in LittleBigPlanet, creation takes a different role in Tearaway. As players go through the game, they will encounter beings in need of colors or designs, and with the PSVita's camera, players can take pictures to cover the beings and help. Also, as the game progresses, papercraft plans will be made available to players to physically print and create, acting like small trophies for completing specific goals in the game.
Tearaway is slated for release sometime this Fall, exclusively for PlayStation Vita.
Well, 2012 is now done, or rather, it was done about a month ago. Before we let that year go away altogether, the two of us decided to sit down and talk about the year's popular gaming topics, an evaluation of our predictions, a look at the games that came out, a pick for Game Of the Year, and a set of predictions for the new year.
So, without any more commentary, here are the videos. Feel free to just listen to us talk instead of watching us talk to a camera for the videos. We'll be prepping something podcast-like in the near future. Meanwhile, yes, we are doing more videos very shortly, don't you worry!
Almost a full year after we received the Nintendo 3DS, our newest next-generation handheld has arrived: the PlayStation Vita. Announced in January 2011, the PS Vita, previously the NGP, was meant to be both an evolution of the PlayStation Portable while also bringing itself closer to the growing mobile audience of smart phones and tablets.
The PS Vita launched in Japan this past December, but a few months later, Americans got their hands on the Vita for the first time. A special bundle was released a week early to pre-orders, consisting of the 3G/Wi-fi model PS Vita, a special carrying case, a 4GB Memory Card, a microfiber cloth, and a copy of BigBig's Little Deviants.
It was on February 22nd, 2011, that the PlayStation Vita became available to all, and just over a week later, we here at Third Rate Minion would like to show you a walkthrough of multiple programs which span its OS, including free downloadable games available in the PlayStation Store since the Vita launch. Check the videos after the break and enjoy (or follow to our Youtube Playlist)! For our written impressions, check below as well.
