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lost odyssey
Some Lost Odyssey DLC was released in Japan last month. For 400 MS Points, they got a new dungeon with one new boss and one new item. Nothing to really set your goodness gracious great balls on fire, then, but it's better than nothing. Good for them. So when do we get it? Yeah, the headline gave it away. It'll be available this Friday, May 23. Same stuff, same price.
lost odyssey dlc
While English speakers are waiting for some of the better Lost Odyssey DLC to be localized, we will be getting a small offering to tide us over. The Triple Bonus Pack is available today for 200 points. It includes a new dream sequence called "The Shattered Beyond," a "memory lamp" to view dreams (we're assuming from anywhere on the map) and a Battle Ring for fighting magic weaponry.
Surprisingly, the multimedia book dream sequences may have been my favorite part of Lost Odyssey. Every time I discovered a new dream, I'd say, "Geeze! Not another one!" And then, I'd lock the doors, remove a carton of Ben & Jerry's from the freezer and weep in solitude, my face covered in salty, melted chocolate.
xbox 360
While many in the United States are just finishing their first play-through of Lost Odyssey, the third piece of DLC is now available in Japan. The new dungeon, Seeker of the Abyss, is available to those on the fourth disc. Battling in this underwater tunnel will eventually reward you with the Eternal Magic Engine, an accessory that allows immortals to cast unlimited amounts of spells at the price of exactly 0 MP.
It's a powerful accessory for sure, but is the timing a bit off in giving the player such a powerful item when they're done with the game anyway? I'm not so sure how wonderfully that typical, granular DLC meshes with deep, story-driven RPGs yet. I want more than a bonus mission with the promise of a neat item or two. But for 400 points, the price isn't necessarily all that unreasonable.
Lost Odyssey DLC [Xbox via Siliconera]
lost odyssey
review
Sometimes the best judges are those sitting outside of the situation, looking on with an objective eye. Or, at least such would explain my wife's succinct review of Lost Odyssey (which she offered for no charge as I played last night).
Whenever you play this game, you say you're about to be done and then you play for an hour, and then you get mad because you die.It's true. The only thing she missed was my persistent perspiration as I await another unavoidable disc read error—probably out of politeness.
xbox 360
Target's weekly ad has some pretty sweet deals this time around. The Rock Band Special Edition bundle for both PS3 and 360 is going for $149 (in store only) which is about $20 off the usual price. Also featured is a $40 gift card with the purchase of the 40GB PS3 and a $10 gift card with the purchase of one of eleven different games. Here's some of the highlights:
Devil May Cry 4 (PS3, 360)
Heavenly Sword (PS3)
Assassin's Creed (PS3, 360)
Call of Duty 4 (PS3, 360)
Halo 3 (360)
Mass Effect (360)
Lost Odyssey (360)
If you're feeling like a shopping spree you could pick up a couple games and use those gift cards to put towards that Rock Band bundle bringing the price down to a comfortable $129.
Best of the Sunday Ad Video Game Deals (2/17 - 2/23) [CheapAssGamer]
ON LOST ODYSSEY LOAD TIMES - I've been reading various stories and posts around the internets over the past few days concerning Lost Odyssey's battle load times, and how some press outlets have reported regular load times of 30-60 seconds (which has obviously affected their reviews). Well, if this is putting you off, I can tell you the discs I received about a week and a half ago were final, retail discs, not "review code" for a debug unit, and the average load time for a battle is between 12-16 seconds. Which is totally bearable.
Here's a turnup for the books. I got my copy of Lost Odyssey about a week ago, and with memories of how sick I got of Blue Dragon still lingering in my mind, popped it into my 360 and prepared for the worst. As one hour became two and that became four, it was looking like I'd prepared adequately.
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Lost Odyssey comes on four, count 'em, four discs. Which creates a packaging dilemma for the folks at Xbox HQ. In Asia, the problem was solved by releasing a slightly fatter case, which housed all four discs on two little trays. An elegant solution. But the American version? They cram three discs into a case then stick the fourth in a paper envelope. Not so elegant.
lost odyssey
With Lost Odyssey I had a desire to make a game which could evoke the player's emotion. To pursue that desire, I decided to adopt my traditional style in game system rather than taking a risky attempt.Does he succeed? That's up to you. People who get into the whole effeminate warrior/epic saga deal may well find their tears jerked by Kaim's tragic tale, but those who don't would probably trade the emotion in for even a pinch of "risk" in Mistwalker's conservative game design.
Nice little collection of titles coming out this week. My money is on Professor Layton although Lost Odyssey seems rather intriguing. On the PC side of things, the new episode of Sam and Max is on its way as well as a new version of RPG Maker. What will be taking money out of your wallet this week?
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)
Lost Odyssey (X360)
Conflict: Denied Ops (PC, X360, PS3)
Jumper (X360, WII, PS2)
Dungeon Explorer: Warrior of the Ancient Arts (PSP, DS)
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements (X360)
Spaceforce: Captains (PC)
Sam & Max Episode 203: Night of the Raving Dead (PC)
Carrier Strike Force (PC)
XIII Century: Death or Glory (PC)
Wipeout Pulse (PSP)
Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon (Special Edition) (PS2)
RPG Maker VX (PC)
china
Thanks, Mick!
I was rather put off by the thrashing Mistwalker's Lost Odyssey received upon its release in Japan, and while part of me is convinced the technical issues are enough to get me to reconsider my purchase, the other, simpler part of me is still entranced by the graphic style of the title. If only there was a way I could get all of the graphical goodness without having to actually play through the game...oh wait - here comes Microsoft with renders and concept art for all the characters, locations, and several cinematics from Lost Odyssey! How terribly convenient!
Microsoft recently held a huge Lost Odyssey event in Tokyo. It was announced that the game has gone gold and will be out December 6th in Japan. Also, there were orchestral renditions of Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey music as well as fantastic facial hair. Kotakuite Adam was in attendance and picked up a copy of the book The 1000 Year Dream, which consists of 32 short stories by award-winning novelist Kiyoshi Shigematsu that have been incorporated in Lost Odyssey. In order to help non-Japanese speakers understand what kind of stories these are, Adam has done a nice job of translating one of them. That after the jump!
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