Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga

Eldar Saga happens to be the third installment in the Valhalla Knights series. I won’t lie to you. The first game in the series, which was released on the PSP in 2007, was pretty much horrible; or so every major video game reviewer agrees. And, believe it or not, Valhalla Knights 2 was unanimously considered far worse. The game’s issue? Well, game play. The graphics may be stunning, and the customization may be deep, but the game play itself is that of the incredibly tired and innovation-needy dungeon crawler. Mind you, not all dungeon crawling rpg’s are bad, but Valhalla Knights 1 and 2 were. Still, I suppose I would do well to give Eldar Saga the benefit of the doubt, especially considering that this time around developer K2 is taking an almost entirely different approach in terms of game play.

In fact, there are many stark differences that may account for the probability that this new game will break K2′s losing streak. The first is that while the original Valhalla Knights games were on the PSP, Eldar Saga will be on a home console for the franchises first time, and that home console is the Wii. The change of systems should allow not only for better graphics, but also more content, and conceivably, superior control.

Unlike in past games in the series, Eldar Saga’s game play and story will be somewhat open-ended due to vast amounts of side quests and optional content littered throughout the game’s world. As for the central storyline…well, details are vague, but know that the writer of Final Fantasy XII was chosen to write the story this time around. This should be of comfort to RPG gamers, along with the fact that the length of time it takes to complete the main storyline has estimated at thirty to forty hours of game play. The main story plus all the side quests, however, should clock in at around 60 hours. That sounds like a pretty big game.

For additional replay value, characters are also fully customizable. Starting classes include the Fighter, the Mage, the Thief, the Priest, and the Bard, each with their own respective strengths and weaknesses. And yet, thanks to a complex skill tree, you can develop each of the starting classes over time in a fashion so that each character is vastly different from the last.

In any case, publishing company XSEED Games intends to release the game on September 8th 2009, so we will all see how this turns out then.

Related posts:

1. Heroes Of Telara: Something New in an MMORPG?
2. About “Rabbids Go Home” For Wii