Take-Two Interactive has announced it’s bringing a PSP version of fantasy role-playing game Silverfall to Europe in June, complete with a head-to-head multiplayer for four players and co-op mode.
Originally released on PC earlier this year, Silverfall sees you thrown into a bitter battle against the forces of evil. During the course of your adventure you must decide whether to rely on the powers of nature or the wonders of science, which determines how you fight and the spells you can cast, as well as your path through the game.
Featuring a tactical approach to combat, Silverfall has more than 80 character attributes, which allows for a high level of customisation. This freedom to create the ultimate warrior or indeed mage proves invaluable as you fight your way through 35 creatures and seven bosses, each with specific strengths and weaknesses.
“We are thrilled to be working with Monte Cristo Games to bring this title to European consumers,” said James Ellingford, international managing director of Take-Two. “Silverfall is another great game for the PSP system and we’re confident players will find this pure action RPG adventure highly rewarding.”
Fans of hack-n-slash games have few choices when it comes to Sony’s handheld. Like first-person shooters, most developers have shied away from them. Players have a choice between Untold Legends and, well, the Untold Legends sequel. Which is strange considering the portability of action games. No matter – players have a little more choice now, thanks to Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony.
Coming out of SuperVillain Studios, Throne of Agony takes the original Dungeon Siege formula from the PC original and tweaks it for a portable audience. And it did a good job of it, too. It still plays like a Dungeon Siege game, which should please old-time fans, but it also welcomes new players through a few critical changes. This makes Throne of Agony play differently than its predecessors, make no mistake about it, but it certainly feels like an extension of the series, and not something completely different. It also looks and sounds damn good, so it definitely shares in the high-quality presentation of its older brethren.
Chief among the changes is the way characters actually fight. Instead of simply clicking an enemy and watching the hero attack him, players now execute each blow manually by pressing the appropriate button. This makes combat far more dynamic and visceral – something that mobile gamers will really like. Throne of Agony also grants full control of characters through the analog stick. Players can access everything from magic spells and special attacks to healing items and map control from within the game. Aside from serious micro-management of items and inventory players never need to pause the action. All that matters is beating the snot out of demons and assorted evil things.
The game starts with a choice between three characters. Players can choose between the mage, fighter and ranger archetypes, and thankfully each plays very differently. After choosing a character class, the game offers secondary choice involving pets. Every bit as important as character selection, pets can greatly swing the flow of battle. The developer made them an essential part of the experience and it’s therefore a super important decision. They all make sense, too: if a player choose to play a mage, for instance, their pet selection will include a total bruiser, like a giant goon made of a stone. Conversely, should someone choose the brawny fighter, then their pet selection will include a mage for healing.
And it doesn’t stop there. Each pet gains experience just like the main character, so that opens a new venue of customization. Each pet, from the agile archer to the powerful mage, has their very own set of special attacks and abilities. It’s entirely up to the player which attributes and techniques to enhance, which is done through a simple point system, like in the average role-playing game. Players acquire multiple pets, too. Eventually there’s a small army of pets to choose from, each with individual strengths. It’s then a matter of choosing the right one for a specific situation, which adds a good deal of strategy to the game. True, it would have been cool to have a greater selection of main characters, but the game makes up for it through the in-depth pet system.
Combat itself is fast-paced and just the thing for hack-n-slash fans. In addition to a character’s main attack, Throne of Agony lets one assign special techniques individually. Players can define the circle and square buttons, as well as a combination of face buttons and shoulder triggers. This helps maximize the potential for each ability since they’re all super easy to use.
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