Record of Agarest War is Less Porn, More Strategy
If you've been wondering what the deal is with Record of Agarest War, details have come out revealing it to be a far cry from a porn game.
It seems like only yesterday that I was questioning how porn-filled two days ago [http://www.amazon.com/Record-Agarest-War-Xbox-360/dp/B003KT0ACG/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1280175720&sr=1-2], and was sparked by the announcement of the game's Xbox 360 limited edition which will come with an anime girl mouse pad featuring boobs that serve as a wrist support. Thanks to an interview Kotaku did with Aksys Games' PR rep Cherie Baker, we now know that it's less of a porn game and more about hardcore strategy and tactics.
The marketing campaign [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97174-This-Is-the-Second-Best-Japanese-Porn-Game-Trailer-Ever] is apparently just trying to be silly, and pulling it off by the way, rather than showing what Record of Agarest War has to offer at its core. Baker says: "Make no mistake, Agarest is a pretty challenging and hardcore strategy RPG at its heart... It's just got a little more sex appeal than most. Contrary to what you think you might have seen in the debut trailer, you don't get to see any naughty anime bits, much to everyone's dismay."
Baker may have shot Aksys in the foot here, as there are no doubt legions of consumers that were planning on purchasing Record of Agarest War just to sneak a peek at some imaginary cootch. Is there really any reason to purchase Record of Agarest War anymore? Aksys says possibly for the gameplay, which is a good thing because Agarest War is a videogame. Baker reveals:
It plays similarly to other Japanese SRPGs that have come before it. The main difference lies in the Extended Area and Extended Attacks, which give you a lot more options on the battlefield, such as being able to link slow characters to allow them to act sooner than normal or linking a character that is out of range for an attack. Also, this system allows you to discover special combo attacks called Arts in which the player has to use different (or the same!) characters' skills in a specific order.
Baker also says that gameplay and tutorial trailers will hit the streets before Record of Agarest War is released, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have some blurry anime women in them too just as a little bit of humor. Another key piece of information made known in the interview was that the PlayStation 3 downloadable version of the game (which could clock in at around 10 gigs) will not only be cheaper, but most of Agarest's DLC will be completely free on the PlayStation Network. This is presumably to make up for the Xbox 360's retail limited edition release (not available for the PS3), which doesn't make sense from a consumer's standpoint to me. Xbox 360 owners will have to pay more for the retail disc, and then also pay for DLC that is free elsewhere? If this turns out to be the case, I would almost forgo the boobed mouse pad in this situation, almost.
Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5458989/theres-more-to-record-of-agarest-war-than-sex-appeal]
Permalink
If you've been wondering what the deal is with Record of Agarest War, details have come out revealing it to be a far cry from a porn game.
It seems like only yesterday that I was questioning how porn-filled two days ago [http://www.amazon.com/Record-Agarest-War-Xbox-360/dp/B003KT0ACG/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1280175720&sr=1-2], and was sparked by the announcement of the game's Xbox 360 limited edition which will come with an anime girl mouse pad featuring boobs that serve as a wrist support. Thanks to an interview Kotaku did with Aksys Games' PR rep Cherie Baker, we now know that it's less of a porn game and more about hardcore strategy and tactics.
The marketing campaign [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97174-This-Is-the-Second-Best-Japanese-Porn-Game-Trailer-Ever] is apparently just trying to be silly, and pulling it off by the way, rather than showing what Record of Agarest War has to offer at its core. Baker says: "Make no mistake, Agarest is a pretty challenging and hardcore strategy RPG at its heart... It's just got a little more sex appeal than most. Contrary to what you think you might have seen in the debut trailer, you don't get to see any naughty anime bits, much to everyone's dismay."
Baker may have shot Aksys in the foot here, as there are no doubt legions of consumers that were planning on purchasing Record of Agarest War just to sneak a peek at some imaginary cootch. Is there really any reason to purchase Record of Agarest War anymore? Aksys says possibly for the gameplay, which is a good thing because Agarest War is a videogame. Baker reveals:
It plays similarly to other Japanese SRPGs that have come before it. The main difference lies in the Extended Area and Extended Attacks, which give you a lot more options on the battlefield, such as being able to link slow characters to allow them to act sooner than normal or linking a character that is out of range for an attack. Also, this system allows you to discover special combo attacks called Arts in which the player has to use different (or the same!) characters' skills in a specific order.
Baker also says that gameplay and tutorial trailers will hit the streets before Record of Agarest War is released, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have some blurry anime women in them too just as a little bit of humor. Another key piece of information made known in the interview was that the PlayStation 3 downloadable version of the game (which could clock in at around 10 gigs) will not only be cheaper, but most of Agarest's DLC will be completely free on the PlayStation Network. This is presumably to make up for the Xbox 360's retail limited edition release (not available for the PS3), which doesn't make sense from a consumer's standpoint to me. Xbox 360 owners will have to pay more for the retail disc, and then also pay for DLC that is free elsewhere? If this turns out to be the case, I would almost forgo the boobed mouse pad in this situation, almost.
Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5458989/theres-more-to-record-of-agarest-war-than-sex-appeal]
Permalink
