E3 Preview: Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City - Preview
by Daniel Share-Strom , posted on 20 June 2010 / 3,064 Views
Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City is an upcoming RPG for Nintendo DS from Atlus. They only showed us the game for about five minutes, so these impressions will be brief, but from what we saw, the game will bring a few unique ideas to the table.
The first of these is the fully-navigable, first-person-view 3D world. The textures of the ground and forest the character was walking through weren’t exactly high-resolution, but they got the job done, and this technical feat is impressive given the limitations of the DS hardware. “But exploring on land is so passé,” you say? Never fear—Etrian Odyssey III has you covered. The game places a large emphasis on naval exploration, often placing the player in the vast sea between each of the main islands. Speaking of the sea, it plays a large part in the story as well, since it centers on finding a sunken Atlantis-like city. Players need not worry about getting lost in this large world, as the game features a dynamic map system that adds new locations as they are discovered.
With regard to characters, the game lets you create five from ten available classes. Be wary of choosing a farmer, though—as PR and Sales Manager Aram Jabbari calls him “...a total pansy.” He is useless in a fight, and even if he survives, he makes the entire group get less experience. He does have his uses, though; the farmer has a habit of finding rare and valuable items in the field on a frequent basis. Those not wanting to embark on a seafaring adventure on their own can journey with up to four friends who have their own copy of the game.
You can set off on an Etrian Odyssey of your own on September 21.
