Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360)

E3 2008: Infinite Undiscovery Hands-On

There's so much of the world to undiscover.
Jul 15th, 2008 - Square-Enix's Infinite Undiscovery kicks off a quartet of games coming from the famed RPG developer. Coming in September, Infinite Undiscovery mixes modern touches, such as real-time combat, with some classic elements. One of these classic elements is locking out content to gamers who play on lower difficulties. Play on easy and you will be warned that some content will not be a part of your experience. Choose normal and you will see"most"content. That means there are some bonuses for playing Infinite Discovery on hard, a concept that was quite the norm back in the'80s.
You play as Capell, a member of the Liberation Force. The game begins with you escaping through the dungeon of a castle. Early on you meet your first companion, Aya. You don't get to play as Aya (or any of your party members), but instead must rely on the AI to accurately back your play in combat.You can offer some guidance to Aya. Hit the right bumper and you bring up the connect menu. From here you can direct a character to use specific"connect actions"in combat. For Aya, that means long-ranged attacks such as the Ravaging Raptor and the Peacock Plume. While Capell is moving in for melee attacks, Aya will assist as instructed.Combat is fairly simple. It's light and heavy attacks which can lead to some brilliant animations in the proper combination. Some of the finishes are truly impressive. What's not so impressive at this stage is the framerate, which dips when more than two enemies are on screen. Square-Enix has time to smooth this out, which will need to happen for gamers to truly enjoy the real-time combat.Along with a sword and some slick combat moves, Capell has a flute at his disposal. Over the course of the game, you will learn new tunes, which will act like spells. It's unknown how many tunes you can learn or if there is any sort of upgrade system for the flute.Inventory management appears to be an important element of gameplay. That's going to make things tough, since the inventory screen opens in real time. So if you are in the midst of a heated battle, you're going to get worked pretty hard going through the menu system. So prep before you hit combat.In the demo, which shows off the start of Infinite Undiscovery, you and Aya must make your way up a series of stairs while a massive red ogre (with blue tribal tattoos no less), charges after you. Along with a number of guards attempting to block your progress, there are wooden barriers closing off the stairs that need to be destroyed. The ogre will charge from behind, but will also climb up the sides of the stairwell to get at you.

Eventually, you and Aya are cornered. You have no choice but to battle the ogre and remaining guards. Fortunately, someone lined the walls with explosive barrels. Have Aya take them out with her bow and you can do some serious damage to the ogre without getting smashed.

RPGs are always difficult to judge at a show like E3. Ten minutes of play doesn't give a very good sense to the game world or even the RPG elements. The combat, while simple, is fun. The production value seems to have the same quality Square-Enix gives to every title. Expect some gorgeous CG cut-scenes and a heavy dose of story. So, in other words, it will probably be awesome.But without having more significant time with Infinite Undiscovery, it's hard to say for certain that Square-Enix will deliver. Let's hope so.

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