Hey folks, Valkor here. Though E3 2010 has come and gone, all the good times that were had shall remain in my heart. Believe me it was my best year doing the meet and greet, hangin with my boys from 2D-X, and slappin fives with the gang from DualShockers, The BitBag, and mad ups to the guys over at Ironstar Movement. What did I think of the show overall: I thought it was brough back to its original form. Last year, it just seemed to be a little tight, this year it was more spread out. Lots of booth babes this time around; I didn't get any shots last year as they were not as prominent this year… either that or I just didn't pay close attention. Either way E3 does, what E3 does best and that's deliver the gaming goods on a large scale and I'm glad to be a part of it.
Continuing our coverage, we take a look at XSeed
I've had the pleasure of checking out most of their titles - most, if not all, of which you should definitely pick up such as the coolness that is Lunar Silver Star Harmony, Half Minute Hero, and just to give you a chill… Ju-On The Grudge. In the coming months XSeed is about to give RPG lovers a real treat. But first, one unique title from Ex-Sega game maker Yuji Naka.
Ivy The Kiwi (Nintendo Wii, DS) – Of all the games this guy has created, this has to be one of the most unique and oddest titles to date… though Ecco the Dolphin was an interesting one. In Ivy the Kiwi… well you play as little lost Ivy, trying to find her way home. On the Wii you'll be using the Wii-mote to create the vines and on the DS it's all about the stylus. The trick is you don't control Ivy, more like guide her to the goal by creating and manipulating vines to get past obstacles and enemies. If there's a pit of spikes, you just create a vine bridge for Ivy to cross. If there's blocks you need to get over, either create a vine stairway or turn the vines so you sorta give Ivy a boost. You can also use the vines like a rubber band and bound Ivy over obstacles. On screen you can have up to 3 vines at once with each level growing increasingly difficult as you progress. On the onset you'll have 50 levels, but complete those levels and you'll unlock 50 more, plus there co-op and competitive play. After getting some hands on time with Ivy, controls will definitely take some getting used, with the DS being easier than the Wii. Because you don't have control of Ivy, you have to focus on everything around you from pit fall traps to other enemies, and at times you have to be quick in your thinking, because you don't wanna react to slow on the vines or else trouble. Competitive play is just as frantic because your enemy can place vines on your screen to throw you off. But of course you can do the same to them. Ivy the Kiwi is due out in August so keep a look out for this one.
Ys – If you've ever played any of the Ys titles in the past then you're in for a real treat because XSeed isn't bring not one, not two, but three of Falcom's Ys titles to the PSP – And I yearn for the last one, but first up we have Ys I and II where you play as Adol, which is an action style RPG where you'll do a lot ramming into enemies to defeat them. Ys Seven, which is the latest in the Ys series, seemed way more interesting as you'll play as multiple characters in real-time battle situations, including Adol in up to 30 hours of gameplay. Lastly there's Ys: the Oath of Felghana, which is the remake of Ys III: Wanderers of Ys, looks to be the game that will burn the drive in my PSP this year. Again you control Adol, in an overhead world action rpg, where you'll hack and slash your way through enemies. Controls were spot on and so easy to get into that if I could have stayed and played the game till the end… I would. It was that awesome! Each game will be given a spread out release, meaning one month you'll get a game then a couple of months another and so on.
XSeed, you've made this RPG lover very proud by instill new life onto my gaming system that doesn't much to show for it in terms of RPGs. Look for more on these titles soon and check back with TOV as we'll be sure to get you a full review.