Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga – WII – Preview

E3 2009 PreviewE3 2008 GameZone Previews


The lands of
Eldar have long been known as the origin of chaos, a place where monsters and
demons wreak havoc, indiscriminate in their madness.


Welcome to Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, the third title in the Valhalla Knights
series, and the first time the series has appeared on a home console – in this
case it is coming to the Wii in the fall of this year. Developer K2 (the Tenchu
series) has teamed up with Marvelous Entertainment for this adventure, which
features real-time battles playing out on the field map all while keeping
customization at the forefront of the game design and allowing for players to
explore this vast world.


Though the game does have quests, the story is not really linear, but is instead
pretty open ended. XSEED product manager Jimmy Soga stated (during a
demonstration of the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo is Los Angeles)
that if players only choose to work through the main quests associated with the
central story arc, there is about 30-40 hours of gameplay, but if an attempt is
made to accomplish all quests, players are looking at closer to 60 hours spent
in the world of Eldar.


The basic storyline is pretty much stock material – the main characters in the
game have to take up the mantle of hero, reunite the four races featured in the
game and restore peace to the land. However, while the central story is pretty
much standard, there are expectations that the actual story might offer a bit
more depth considering that the scenario writer in this instance was the same
writer who penned Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy XII.


Game features include fully customizable characters. There are five basic job
classes (fighter, mage, priest, thief and bard) but through skill and ability
trees, as well as weapons and armor to change the appearance, players can
achieve unique character designs. The storyline begins with players taking on
the role of a human but as the game progresses, and the other races are
unlocked, players can choose between dwarves, Halflings and elves as well – each
with specific strengths and weaknesses.


As players level, they can assign stat points the way they wish and the game
does have a party system with players adding mercenaries to form a group. And
because the game takes place in real time, players will be able to see how big
or imposing potential enemies might be before engaging them.


The game also features a co-op mode and online connectivity.


The game looked pretty solid during the demonstration at E3 and the sound was
able to drive the game, as well.


Look for Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga to hit the Wii in the fall.

 


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