Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner  Preview - Page 1

- William Usher, " Cyguration ", Senior Staff Writer

Monday, October 09, 2006

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Title: Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner .............................................. System: Playstation 2 .............................................. Genre: RPG .............................................. Publisher: Atlus .............................................. Developer: Atlus Co .............................................. Release: 10/10/2006 .............................................. Online: No .............................................. ESRB: Rating Pending (RP) .............................................. While the next-gen race has already started a lot of talk within the gaming community, there’s one thing that Sony has stuck to throughout all the banter: Each of their systems is backed for ten years. Whether you like Sony or not, you have to admit that they have consistently pushed content out for the PS2, even with the PS3 looming in the not-too-far distance. Software sales also prove that the PS2 seems to have a lot of life left in it, and publishers are aiming to make the best of this situation. With a lineup of top tier titles like Okami and Diseaga 2 on capturing consumers' attention, and a later season lineup of quality titles like Bully and God of War 2 soon to hit store shelves, it’s no wonder Atlus wanted to get in on the action. The name of the game is Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner, and it's due out this fall. Based on the show of the same name, this addition to the RPG series takes players on a deep journey into the profession of demon summoning. Set in the early 20th century in Japan, the story follows the main character who is given the title of Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th. The title relates to the tradition of demon summmoners. Players will follow Raidou on his quest to uncover the strange happenings taking place in Japan. Specifically, the gateway between the real world and the dark realm is on the verge of disintegrating. So it’s up to Raidou to stop the demons before all chaos breaks loose. These are very bad guys The game starts with players in the Kuzunoha training hall, where after picking a name for their character, they are taken through some rudimentary gameplay tutorials. Unlike previous iterations of the Megami Tensei series, this game is an action-RPG where the battles take place in real-time. Players will have a handgun and a sword as their primary weapons, and Demon Summoning as the focal point of their skills. To keep battles entertaining, combat sequences can vary based on combos and uses of the gun. Players can mix and match attacks for more powerful combinations. As for Demon Summoning--first players will have to capture a demon. Capturing monsters/demons/spirits in Megami Tensei is identical to capturing Pokemon in the RPG Gameboy games: players must first weaken a demon and then use the circle button to repeatedly pull it into one of Raidou’s tubes. Guns and elemental attacks are essential for stunning demons, which allows players to quickly capture them. All of this is covered in the training at the start of the game. Afterward, players are assigned to the Narumi Detective Agency, which specializes in abnormal occurrences. Things kick into gear after a young girl calls up Narumi and Raidou and ask them to kill her. But before the two can do anything, armored guards appear out of nowhere and take the girl away. The story generates from the standpoint of players having to investigate the disappearance of the girl, while uncovering the oddities behind demons crossing over from the dark realm. The game is played like a classic Playstation action-adventure game, with 3D characters in pre-rendered scenes. Like Dino Crisis, Parasite Eve games, or earlier Resident Evil games, players will have to move around from scene to scene. NPCs are around and about the city in which players can talk to and gather information from. The game’s talking feature is identical to most RPGs, however the story arc is more adventure-oriented. So players will have to do a good deal of detective work and a lot of talking to different NPCs within various parts of the game world. For some cases, players can bring out captured demons to help interrogate NPCs. Even though the demon may follow players around on the street, only Raidou can see them. For instance, a fire-demon can be used to “ignite” the spirit of an NPC, which can cause tight-lipped persons to spill the beans about certain happenings or situations. Other demons can be used to find hidden items or search areas to uncover clues. Pages 1 2

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