Update: Xseed Still Loves You, Wizardry Fans – You Just Need To Get With The Program…

Well, it looks as if Wizardry fans in the US hoping to see the upcoming Labyrinth of Lost Souls as a retail release will have to go all in on the digital version instead. I poked a note Xseed's way a few days ago and got back this reply:

Hi Greg,

Good to hear from you, and please excuse the late reply as things have been pretty busy with the launch of TiTS.*

Didn't see this article of yours before our Wizardry announcement, how funny. Unfortunately, we have no plans to release it on disc right now so no use holding a survey just yet, but perhaps we can consider something similar to Japan where the first one did so well as a digital game that they released it and its sequel together on one retail package later (of course that means sales here will have to be above expectations too for us to consider this).

Thanks for posting the news, glad you liked our announcement.

*Er, for the record… TiTS refers to The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky, the new PSP role-playing epic just launched a few days ago. That acronym is banned on GameFaqs, as i amusingly found out while updating a post there with this news. My evolving thoughts over this (which may be helpful to the resolute die-hards grumbling away about a download-only release) can be distilled HERE. Read more »

Commentary: Why We ALL Need Wizardry Back!

Sometimes, I just hate Japan, but in a decidedly more “grrrr… how come they get THAT game?” manner (and not anything more overly dramatic than that, mind you). While the Wizardry franchise hasn’t seen a new Western-developed PC game in the states since the ill-fated, (but mostly well-rated) Wizardry 8 (back in 2001!), since the late 80’s, Japanese gamers have had nearly 40 ports or completely original Wizardry games and side-stories created by an assortment of developers for a number of consoles, portables and even cellphones.

More recently (as in a big, fat “what the what?!”), the Nintendo DS in Japan has gotten their own original Wizardry games in the form of three titles that will probably never, ever see the light of day in English unless they get fan-patched translations (*grrrr!*). You can keep your Angry Birds, and other “casual” games, folks – I’d rather play something with real meat on its bones.

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Agetec & UFO Announce Way of the Samurai 3 for PS3 and 360

In a unique co-publishing agreement, Way of the Samurai 3 is set to hit stores on October 13, 2009 thanks to the fine folks at Agetec (PS3 version) and UFO (Xbox 360 version).
According to the press release, Acquire’s latest entry in the ongoing swordplay saga is an all-new Action/RPG that promises a “completely new, highly refined style of gameplay, a rich weapon crafting system, beautifully detailed graphics and a deep branching storyline that that will unfold multiple endings based upon player’s actions.”

With that in mind, here’s a look at the game’s story (click the pic to enlarge and read) and characters (ditto) as well as a nice set of screenshots and a pair of CG stills from what looks like the intro movie. In addition, an exclusive iPhone/iPod Touch app has also been announced – see below the jump for all the  details…

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