E3 2009 Preview
For the first time ever,
Disney is allowing players to take control of Jeena and Rallen, the protagonists
in the Spectrobes series, in their debut in a third-person action title.
In comparison to their turn-based predecessors on the Nintendo DS handheld,
Spectrobes: Origins should open up a new avenue for newcomers to enjoy the
series.
Rolling around and
fighting against enemies on the battlefield, players are able to interact with
their Spectrobes at all times. An example of their interactivity with their
currently selected Spectrobe includes the ability to call them over to assist in
a battle. Usually, the Spectrobes can freely fight on the battlefield, but if
you find yourself in danger, a quick whistle and their on their way to fight
right by your side.
Outside of them having
battle alongside you, you can assign them to find items in the game, which, in
turn, allows them to gain experience. Taking advantage of the Nintendo Wii
motion controls, the player is able to command them via movements with the
Wiimote and nunchuck.
Picking up where the
first two titles left off, newcomers to the franchise won’t need to know the
events in the original to understand where the story is. It’s a fairly simple
story arc, so I don’t see many getting confused at the events and why they are
unfolding.
Revolving around the
Spectrobes and their evolving from their child forms to their ultimate forms,
players will need to pick up minerals and fossils to find all 100 Spectrobes
within the game. If players take their time to find all 100 Spectrobes, they’ll
be looking at more than 20 hours of gameplay. If they’d rather rush through and
finish the game without extracting every single Spectrobe, then it could take
somewhere around 10-12 hours to finish.
When in battle, players
will be allowed to have five Spectrobes in their rotation to call into battle.
They all have their own unique properties such as fire, rock or plant-like
features, so it’s a battle of rock, paper and scissors as you battle and try to
exploit an enemy’s weakness.
Fossil extraction is a
mini-game in its own right with six tools to unravel the little beast underneath
all the rocks. From a hammer to a bomb, the tools each have their positives and
negatives to them since players will want to avoid damaging their Spectrobe.
Aiming for a holiday
release, Spectrobes: Origins is set to release exclusively on the
Nintendo Wii.
