Gamertell

Amazon is doing a great job of turning me into an every day lurker because it just keeps surprising me with its unbelievable deals on video games. In what I assume is an ode to Cyber Monday, Amazon is currently offering some great role-playing games (including brand new releases and pre-roders) at rock-bottom prices. This means that in addition to taking advantage of these thrifty sales tags, shoppers will also save on sales tax and receive free shipping so long as the order totals $25 or more.

It’s hard to say how long these prices will stay up, so you had better act fast and take advantage of these bargain bin finds. It looks like RPG fans will be able to stuff themselves full of something else besides just turkey this holiday season…

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Title: AWAY Shuffle Dungeon
Price: $29.99
System: DS
Release Date: November 6, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Majesco (Mistwalker/AQ Interactive)
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
Pros: New twist on dungeon crawling, gorgeous design, high production values
Cons: “Shuffle” concept gets annoying, repetitive gameplay, shallow story, unimaginative dungeons and bosses
Overall Score: Two thumbs sideways; 73/100; C; 2 out 5.

AWAY Shuffle Dungeon is a game based on a gimmick. There’s no getting around that, especially considering the gimmick is built right into the title. (The dungeons shuffle, okay?)

The problem with such games is that the gimmick often isn’t enough to sustain game play. AWAY Shuffle Dungeon tries to avoid this trap through high production values and a decent mix between 2D dungeon crawling and 3D world exploration but the game ultimately doesn’t rise far enough above its gimmick…

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There were many games available for play at this year’s Namco Bandai booth but there were a particular few that caught my eye: Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo, Taiko no Tatsujin, Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, and The Idolmaster SP.

Click through for a hands-on look at all four games…

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In the latest Tales installment, Tales of Heart (ToH), a peaceful empire is terrorized by a monster that consumes everyone’s dreams and eats into people’s hearts. In order to protect itself from danger, people’s hearts (known as Spiria) create complex labyrinths known as Spir Mazes. Only those who possess the power of Soma are allowed entry into the depths of the Spir Mazes.

ToH will be released exclusively for the Nintendo DS on December 11, 2008, in Japan. There will be two versions of the game with one featuring cut scene anime produced by Production I.G. (Blood: The Last Vampire, Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, Ghost in the Shell). The other will feature CG produced by Shirogumi. This will be the first Tales to incorporate…

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Title: Infinite Undiscovery
Price: $59.99
System(s): Xbox 360
Release Date: September 2, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Square Enix (Tri-Ace)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for mild blood, mild language, suggestive themes, use of alcohol and violence.
Pros: Charming characters, addictive item creation system and lush environments
Cons: Sluggish plot development, poor lip-synching during cut-scenes, ambiguous directions and slow-downs during battles
Overall Score: Two thumbs sideways; C-; 70/100; ** out of five.

Even for all its faults, Infinite Undiscovery can be considered a decent role-playing game for Xbox 360 (since it doesn’t have that much competition). IU had the great potential to be exactly what it set out to be a unique RPG experience, however, it seems as though all its strong points were chiseled down to familiar, if not tiresome, run-of-the-mill attributes.

Click through for the full review…

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Two sleeper hits from Konami and Atlus are coming to grace the US market this year with confirmed dates. Konami’s Time Hollow is slated for a late Summer 2008 release while Atlus’s Persona 4 is scheduled to appear on store shelves early December 2008.

Click through for an in-depth look at both releases…

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Gamers interested in 90 more minutes of spacey Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect can now download the “Bringing Down The Sky” dlc from Xbox Live. According to Ars Technica, the 253.40 MB download will set you back 400 MS points ($5), and includes 90 minutes of new gameplay with a new planet, a new race, and 50 new achievement points to… well, achieve.

The new scenario involves foiling a terrorist group (the first ME appearance of the Batarians) before they can destroy a colony world. From the post:

“Batarian extremists have hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only you can save the human hostages on the asteroid and reroute it before it crashes into the world, killing millions of innocent civilians.“

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Sega has just announced that Valkyria Chronicles, a real time tactical RPG, will be released only on the Playstation 3 sometime in the third quarter of 2008. Although the game, also known as Valkyria of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles, has not yet been released in Japan, Sega apparently has enough confidence in the forthcoming title to release it worldwide. Valkyria Chronicles has been built and developed with the “CANVAS” engine, which generates 3D graphics which also are reminiscent of images seen in a watercolor painting. So, like Okami, Valkyria Chronicles will be like playing a piece of art.

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Atlus Games revealed January 17, 2008 that Rondo of Swords will be released on North America. Rondo of Swords is an original, strategic RPG for the Nintendo DS that features multiple story paths and endings. It is currently expected to be released April 15, 2008.

Rondo of Swords‘ storyline is standard RPG fare. The king of one kingdom, Bretwalde, just died and another kingdom, the Grand Meir Empire, figures that is as good a reason as any to start expanding. The player must lead armies against Grand Meir to defend Bretwalde. Nothing new, but some of the game’s features are. Party members with nothing to do can be sent exploring on quests to level up. Another interesting concept is that battle skills not only effect single fights, but also complete battle strategies.

Atlus is famous for releasing quality games in the US, and it looks like Rondo of Swords will be yet another gem. The box art alone makes me want it. Plus the DS has proven perfect for strategic RPGs like Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Luminous Arc and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, so Rondo of Swords will be in good company.

Read [Go Nintendo] Also Read [DS Fanboy] Also Read [Siliconera] Site [Rondo of Swords]

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Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, the RPG being developed by German developer Ascaron Entertainment, has been delayed by several months. The game, which was expected to be released in the first quarter of 2008, will now be released in September, 2008. It has been announced by the game’s developer that the release of both the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game have been postponed.

The developer broke the news of the game’s delay on the official Sacred 2 website. According to the announcement, the development process had to be extended to meet quality and stability requirements. Ascaron didn’t want to release to release an unpolished version of the game, which would have required a lot of patch work later. It clarified that it wanted to inform gamers much earlier about the delay, but had many reasons not to.

The game is the second full-fledged game in the series, which is set in the fabled continent Ancaria. Sacred, the first game in the series, was released in 2004 and was followed by two expansion packs. It has sold 1.6 million copies to date.

Read [Shacknews] Site [Sacred 2]

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