Hit the jump for hazy, disjointed hands-on impressions for Infinite Undisovery, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Damnation, Rise of the Argonauts, Lord of the Rings: Conquest, and Mirror’s Edge.

I literally got no more than 10 minutes with each title in the Exhibition Hall and with the exception of The Conduit, I didn’t get to chat up the demo-keepers for the usual details a journalist needs to report on her games. But since most of these titles are coming out soon, already have demos available or were previewed at E3 and Leipzig only a week or so ago, 10 minutes is really all you need to get to know a game for yourself, if you’ve been following it in the news.

Above: Tabletop... meh.

I bee lined for Infinite Undiscovery first thing, since it’ll be the first thing I buy in that list of games. This action JRPG is the closest replacement Square Enix has offered me to replace Kingdom Hearts, and while I could deal with the lack of Disney, I’m not sure I could deal with the art design. Like Lost Odyssey, everything was proportional and colors were muted for a more realistic-looking experience – to me, it seemed ugly, but we were only playing in two areas that weren’t very well-lit (caves and stuff). The combat served me well enough – button mashing is what I expect when someone says “action” RPG. I sort of liked that you could be strategic when it came to setting up your primary party and your secondary party, and even a third party to have in reserve – but then I realized all of these characters were onscreen with me as I ran off to locate hidden energy crystals. Talk about crowded! At least Goofy and Donald weren’t so far up Sora’s ass, you couldn’t see the boss.

Despite not being able to see the demo boss, I took him out in short order (the save featured over-leveled characters, huzzah!) and gave up the controller to the girl in line behind me.

Above: You catch more bees with honey... and more gamers with food.

Then it was on to Animal Crossing: City Folk, but that was only because the line for Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World was longer. Animal Crossing: City Folk looked like it was directly imported from the GameCube Animal Crossing, with a larger town area to run around in and different NPCs. I was the most fugly-looking little boy with a beanie and I spent most of my time in the demo, running around and trying to find my house so I could empty my pockets. Failing that, I just settled for dropping cherries, fossils and decorative end tables to make enough room in my inventory to put my watering can away.

Then the line for Symphonia abruptly got shorter, so I made my move. However, the guy ahead of me got his hands on the controls and played Dawn of the New World for a solid 23 minutes straight. Other people gathered around me, fidgeting, wondering when this guy would give it up – but nobody wanted to be the asshole who asked for a turn. So I watched him play and marveled that he couldn’t seem to get the motion controls to work. How hard could it be to point the cursor at the flower and press A to trigger the flower bridge? He kept getting attacked from behind as he struggled, and most of the battles he spent mashing on the artes button to send his character into aerial attacks. Dude didn’t even bother to change his elements the way Nintendo Power says you’re supposed to…

Finally, I got my turn and wandered around the world map, trying to trigger the flower bridges. But the motion controls sucked and I found myself piddling around just as much as the guy ahead of me had. The only difference was I gave up after only 10 minutes instead of making the poor bastards behind me wait another half hour.

In disgust, I wandered over towards the back of the Exhibition Hall, maybe to get another look at the Pink Godzilla store, but I got turned around and wound up getting my hands on Damnation – since there wasn’t a line. I’d read a little bit about the game and knew that it was supposed to be this big, open-world adventure that featured acrobatic-type stunts and stuff. But I hadn’t read anything about cowboys, so I was surprised to see myself playing as one – gun slinging some far-off enemy I couldn’t figure out how to target (yeah, yeah, I don’t do shooters, so kill me). A small cluster of 12-year-olds formed behind me and one of them told me to use my “spirit vision” to target the sniper I was having trouble hitting. When I couldn’t figure out how to do it, I handed over the controller and watched to see what he would do – but I’d left him in a bad place and the sniper took him out three seconds later.

Above: Mountain of Pink Godzillas!

I wandered away before the demo level restarted and found myself staring at Rise of the Argonauts. And my only question is: how have I not heard of this game before? I’m totally down with mythology and I even suffered through God of War and God of War II just because I get a fangirl’s thrill of watching Zeus interact with Hera (it’s like the original soap opera). The game is still in early days yet, so the graphics were a bit chunky and the frame-rate was crap – but it played pretty well as far as movement. The environments were rich with detail and the cartoon-ish style of the characters totally worked for me; so I was really loath to give up the controller after only 10 minutes. But I didn’t want to be a dick and there were a lot more games to play.

Later, I felt bad because I realized I hadn’t actually experienced any combat in Rise of the Argonauts – I just ran around a hallway and made slaves open doors for me. But when I went back for a second bite at the apple, the line had suddenly swelled to ten people (I guess that E3 Game of the Year Nominee sticker above the demo table got some attention). However, it turned out man friend had played through the demo from the start and he filled me in on what I missed later.

Apparently, this game is ultra-violent between light attacks and execution moves. “Like Ninja Gaiden II?” I asked. “No,” he said. “Like Conan – except all the animations are canned.” He totally dug the big ass mace, the big ass shield, the big ass spear and the smaller-ass sword. You can switch weapons in the middle of the combo, so if you start out hacking someone with a sword, you can finish by pulling out the mace and caving in a guy’s skull. “It’s a pretty big deal,” said man friend. The combos didn’t feel really fluid to him, but we agreed that that had more to do with the game being in early development stages as opposed to the game potentially sucking.

Oddly enough, man friend was sold on the deep-looking advancement system. I had Googled the game for info about the god-based affiliations, but he was talking about aspects related to astronomy. Whatever that means. I don’t care, because I’m totally going to get this game just based on my 10 minutes with it – never mind man friend’s experience.

Next up was Lord of the Rings: Conquest – and that’s only because Mirror’s Edge had a line out to next week. My man friend volunteered to start waiting while I wandered off, and the closest console available was where I wound up. There wasn’t much of a wait to play Conquest – I assume because everyone’s already seen it. Even I’d already seen it at EA’s last Showcase event; and not much has changed between then and now – it’s still a Star Wars: Battlefront-style of action game where you can get by with button mashing. It’s pretty, though.

Man friend stood on tiptoe and waved me over to him. I dashed, thinking he’d gotten his chance at Mirror’s Edge, but it turned out he just wanted to vent. Some Parkour expert had cut ahead of everyone in line and was being given the royal treatment by the demo handler. The guy right behind Parkour dude got a consolation shirt, but the rest of the the jilted line-waiters had to suffer.

“It’s because of his shoes,” I consoled my man friend, staring at the funky-toed footwear the Parkour guy was sporting. It certainly wasn’t because this guy was good with games – he died like half a dozen times. To be fair, the demo level started you off with a pretty serious jump and if you botched it, down you went. But after that, he was getting shot because he wasn’t running up stairs fast enough to get away and he kept over-balancing on the part where you’ve got to walk across a cable stretched between buildings.

“Why is everything red?” Parkour guy demanded. Clearly, he hadn’t read up on the game… Then the PS3 overheated and I thought he’d give up and go away. But the demo handler – anxious to please – restarted the demo for him and ran through the level to get back to the point where he’d left off.

I checked my watch. It’d been more than half an hour with just this one guy!

Finally, he finished the level and the line moved up. At long last, we got our turn with the game and I let man friend take it since he’d been a dear about waiting in line. Man friend says the controls were a lot simpler than he thought they’d be. He was really impressed by the sense of moment and speed – the faster you went, the better it felt. And the combat was very minimal, which fit in with the rest of the game. He disarmed at least three guys and stole their guns – but “it didn’t feel right” so he threw each firearm away and kept running. He also didn’t really use the “bullet time” feature because it made the free-running feel less fluid (even if it did make disarm moves look cooler). The little touches impressed him the most – the multiple paths through environments, the way Faith touched the wall before rounding corners. I thought it was kind of dumb that you had to punch open doors, but he didn’t seem to mind.

My favorite part? The dot they added to the middle of the screen to reduce motion sickness. Seriously – a life-saver.

Man friend finished the level in 10 minutes and I pried him away from the console, stressing my etiquette about not taking too much time. I felt like I had been pretty efficient with the whole day, but when I check my watch again, I realized three hours had gone by and I hadn’t even seen half the games on the floor.

And that’s why I’m glad Crecente had his magic yellow badge and that I had three friends with me at the convention. Because there is no way one PAX-goer could ever do it this year all without some way to cut in line or some way to be in four places at once.

Stupid Parkour guy…*mutter, mutter*

So, you know that Square Enix RPG that's coming to the Xbox 360? No, not that one. Infinite Undiscovery, which is actually being developed by Star Ocean developers Tri-Ace and published by Squeenix, looks rather like a Final Fantasy at first blush, which makes one wonder if it wasn't the backup plan in the event that Microsoft's much-prized (and Sony-disappointing) multiplatform deal with Square Enix for FFXIII didn't work out.

Nonetheless, in all of the FFXIII hysteria and hullabaloo, don't forget that Xbox 360 owners actually have more than one large-scale Square Enix RPG to look forward to.

The chill wind of neglect was blowing over the Infinite Undiscovery booth on the show floor last week, so I decided to stop in and give it a whirl.

You may recall that the original announcement of Infinite Undiscovery contained the promise that "every decision you make leads to a myriad of discoveries and affects every encounter." Lots of discoveries, huh? Possibly even infinite ones? Oh, wait, those are un-discoveries? Okay, okay, the title is somewhat confusing, but, moving on.

As I said, at first glance the game looks a little like FFXII — the bit I played featured a three-person party jogging across an expansive rolling meadow under a bright blue sky, with ruins dotted here and there, while creatures on casual strolls across the landscape could be attacked (or would attack) if the party got too close.

Unlike FFXII, though, the other two party members are largely AI-controlled, though there are specific buttons that can be used to instruct them to use specific techniques. Combat is entirely real-time, and you determine the lead player character's weapon combos through simple button combinations, rather than by choosing from a menu. At any time, you can tell your healer to heal simply by pressing Y.

My character was a handsome, sword-toting lad named Capell in the company of two beautiful brunettes — one seemed a range fighter, as I could instruct her to use an archery weapon, and the other seemed to use primarily magic-based skills. Needless to say, all of them had fabulous, gleaming hair.

It's a very appealing battle system, user-friendly, intuitive and fuss-free. It seems to follow a trend in JRPGs lately that seems to minimize menu-based combat in favor of optional AI with some control options — in other words, you can command the rest of your party if you like, but they can handle themselves well without your interference.

In fact, I enjoyed the real-time, action-style battles so much that I wish I encountered more enemies to fight. A good portion of my time with Infinite Undiscovery was spent jogging across the plain, watching my dot blip gently and slowly across the map in the upper right hand corner as I jogged, and jogged, and jogged. This gave the world a real sense of scale, but it also meant I spent a lot of time discovering nothing — undiscovering, if you will.

There were items in my environment occasionally, like a treasure chest that required I take a long detour through a largely featureless area just to descend a tall hill (my character couldn't hop down a small ledge and instead had to find a way around it). There are also occasionally herbs and plants around, that you can pick. You have to sheath your weapon using the right trigger, though, before you can pick something up.

My character had a cool ability — by holding the left trigger, he played a flute, which caused a white aura to spread about him in a narrow-radius ring. That ring, the booth staff told me, represented the range in which my character could search for special items concealed nearby him. I used the ability often as I jogged along, but I never did find anything.

I was slightly annoyed when my pretty archer couldn't shoot a nearby enemy when it seemed like he should be within range. He was in a bit of a depression in the ground, and it seemed to me they were not allowing me to engage with him because, with a ledge between him and me, he couldn't immediately fight back. Okay, fair enough, but what's the good of range fighting if you can't be at range? Archery switches to nearly a first-person view and lets the player aim the bow, which is very cool, but the aim didn't seem too precise at this stage.

Largely, though, there was a lot of jogging between fights, as I searched to try and discover more. At last I reached what looked like a castle wall with a heavy wood door in it — at which point the booth staff helpfully pointed out I'd gone all the way back to the entrance to the previous area, and couldn't re-enter.

Running and running endless miles across an expansive world has been a staple of this particular genre since the dawn of time, and perhaps I'm just terribly impatient in wishing there had been more to do in that great, big infinite area. The never-ending jog through huge environments was, in my opinion, one of the shortcomings in Twilight Princess.

Nonetheless, the quest to perfect the RPG's battle system without turning it into an action title has been a long evolution fraught at times with missteps, and it seems really worth something that Infinite Undiscovery has hit on a methodology that I found engaging, even addictive. I'm looking forward to seeing more than just a single segment of the game for a wider-lens view, especially as concerns the player-impacted environment promoted with the game.

Infinite Undiscovery Dated [Famitsu]

We know that Mistwalker is working on Cry On and a Blue Dragon sequel, so we may get some updates on that, but perhaps Microsoft has a megaton or two squirreled away. If you stay up late enough, you might be able to catch wind of what's going on, but rest assured that whatever drama awaits, it will be here in the morning. Get some sleep!

Heading to Japan on a jet plane [1UP]

[via Jeux-France]

With the news that Square Enix will bring tri-Ace's Infinite Undiscovery to the Xbox 360 this September comes an obligatory trailer full of emotional drama, pretty graphics and moody music. The lip syncing may be painfully off, but if you don't revel in valiant warriors shouting "Innuendo Dive!" or "Peacock Blue!" amid laser light shows and battles with giant floating octopi, there's something very wrong with you, pal. Get help. It looks better in HD, so catch that one if you're interested.

Infinite Discovery [GameTrailers]

Full press release, with additional details from Square Enix, follows.

SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES SHIP DATE FOR INFINITE UNDISCOVERY
INFINITE UNDISCOVERY is Unchained on Xbox 360: September 2, 2008

Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix™ interactive entertainment products in North America, announced today that INFINITE UNDISCOVERY™ for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft will ship September 2, 2008. The first in a completely new lineup of Square Enix titles for Xbox 360, this fantasy RPG (role-playing game) is a collaborative project with fan favorite development studio tri-Ace Inc. (STAR OCEAN® and VALKYRIE PROFILE®).

“With the simultaneous release of INFINITE UNDISCOVERY, Square Enix is entering an exciting new period of delivering great gaming experiences to our fans all around the world at the same time, creating new global communities,” said John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix, Inc. and Square Enix, Ltd. “This is something that we have aimed to do for a long time and we look to continue to deliver worldwide gaming experiences across all platforms well into the future.”

INFINITE UNDISCOVERY envelops players in an engaging real-time world where every decision you make leads to a myriad of discoveries and affects every encounter. The developers that set a new standard for RPGs by fusing exploration with battle in the STAR OCEAN series establish a new benchmark for the genre, perfectly integrating traditional tri-Ace elements with the technological power of Xbox 360. The experience is enhanced with a soundtrack by composer Motoi Sakuraba from the STAR OCEAN and VALKYRIE PROFILE series.

GAMEPLAY: DISCOVERY & IMPACT
Every discovery and action that players make has an instant impact on the world, creating an unpredictable gaming experience.

Situational Battles
As players are faced with a variety of episodic situational battles, they will discover that they may have to try various methods to defeat the enemy, where the most obvious solution is rarely the right move. Players can assemble parties from a pool of 18 characters, choosing those with the best combination of abilities for the job. Snipe distant enemies with the help of a bow-wielding ally or skilled magic user. Based on each player’s decisions, the intricate environments will offer a variety of experiences, presented in a way never before seen in RPGs.

A Seamless World and Real-time Action
Players are drawn deeper into the world as each act becomes more crucial to survival. To make careful decisions and advance, players will need to rely not only on sight and sound, but also scent. Combat, exploration and other actions will all take place within the same environment, seamlessly shifting between each game facet.

STORY
Known as the throne of the gods, the moon rested peacefully in the heavens. Man enjoyed great prosperity by harnessing the power of the celestial body.

Until one day...
A sinister force ensnared the moon with chains and fastened them to the surface, bleeding the life from the planet. The enchained lands were transformed into withering wastelands, and their once carefree inhabitants now lived in fear. Behind the world's plight were the Dreadknight and his menacing horde, the Order of Chains.

Deep in a forest, in one of the Order's prisons, a young boy named Capell was being held captive. His captors called him the "Liberator," though he had no clue as to what they meant. On the third day of his imprisonment, he was rescued by a spirited young woman named Aya. She was a member of a small band of brave warriors who had gathered under the banner of Sigmund the Liberator to free the world from the iron grip of the Order.

Upon meeting Sigmund, he was surprised to find a man who shared his very face and appearance. This meeting would change Capell's life forever and shake the foundation of the world itself.

The brand new trailer can be viewed exclusively today on GameTrailers.com at: http://www.gametrailers.com/game/5501.html. Additionally, starting this Thursday, the new trailer will be available in full HD on the Square Enix members site at http://member.square-enix.com/na/.

INFINITE UNDISCOVERY is not yet rated by the ESRB. Please visit the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) website at www.esrb.org for more information about ratings. INFINITE UNDISCOVERY will be available at North American retailers for the suggested retail price of $59.99(USD). The official website can be found at http://www.infiniteundiscovery.com/.

While the "underlying concept" of the game is discovery, the "overall concept of the game is that it's always going." The game's engine, in fact, seems to be its raison d'etre. Everything is in real-time, so that it's hard to separate the battle system from the rest of the game—it's seamless. For instance, weather and other outside forces can influence the battle, like a tsunami. World damage is persistent as well, so that if a wall or something is destroyed by a dragon, it stays that way. Interestingly, Ogawa said it's kind of like an MMO in that way, but single-player with a party system.

More specific details about the game's engine—in particular the battle mechanics—beyond that point were disappointingly scant. For instance, we were told you only directly control the protagonist during battle, but wouldn't elaborate on the "systems" you'll use to control your other party members.

Moving on, we talked a bit about the game's plot—or rather, they laid it out for us, since the teaser isn't exactly an expository wonder. Basically, the moon gives power to the people of the planet; some asshole (probably the guy with pink eye in the trailer) slaps some chains around it, causing the world to start to crumble. Naturally, a hero shows up for some questing action to cut the chains. But, you're not that hero. No, no, you just look exactly like him and find yourself sucked into 40 or so hours of RPGness spread across multiple discs. There's something "special" about your character, but you have to discover that when you play.

Frustratingly, "all business questions" were off-limits. To translate, "business questions" meant anything about how the game landed on the 360 exclusively as opposed to the system-which-cannot-be-named. They are hoping to make use of Xbox Live, though right now they're not sure how.

In a roundabout way we were able to ask about the development process, which goes back 10 years for the original idea, four years for active planning and two for full-steam ahead work on the game, which has been consuming "roughly" the same amount of resources as Star Ocean 4. When we asked if they've been able to stay within budget and timeframe, Kojima and Ogawa responded with some very hearty laughter. But they quickly added that is "no such thing as a smooth development process."

Oh, and the meaning of the game's title? Well, the opposite of a "discovery" is an "undiscovery." And they're sort of infinite. Yeah. Sorry guys.