Tales of the Abyss (PS2) Preview
Posted by Ashish on 08.08.2006
The series continues on! Get details on the game and check out some screens!
Namco Bandai is set to release Tales of the Abyss for the PlayStation 2 on December 5th in the U.S. The game focuses on Luke fon Fabre, the only heir of a powerful family in Kimlaska who gets kidnapped seven years ago by the Malcouth Empire. His memory is erased and when he is eventually found, he is confined to the safety of his family's estate. Too bad for him though that a woman named Tear invades one day and triggers a hyper-resonance. What does this hyper-resonance do? Well, it transports the pair to another part of the world. Duh! Now don't you feel stupid for asking? In a totally new environment, Luke sets out to find Ion, the leader of the Order of Lorelei (the global religion), to discover who he is and what his role is in an ancient prophecy.
The game is built around battles. This title has freely roaming characters which is new for the series. The freedom allows players to sneak up from behind enemies for attacks.
The game also gives importance to Fonons. Fonons are subatomic particles that make up the technology of the world, and are built out of six elements: light, dark, air, earth, fire and water. Players can score Fonons by use of magic. Depending on how often you launch a particular elemental strike, you'll quickly build up greater numbers of these particles on the battlefield, which will allow you to power up these fields. Once you've collected enough Fonons of one type, any attack or skill associated with that element in a field will be boosted, transforming into more effective skills or attacks. However, monsters can also wander into these fields and be similarly augmented as well, so you'll have to plan your strategy accordingly.
You can also gain AD skills by different means including using a particular ability multiple times. These can be augmented with one of four kinds of gems, such as upgrading how much damage it will do, decrease the use of TP, or increase your mobility. This lets you level up each skill in four different ways, allowing players to customize how abilities will be used in battle. Unlike titles in Symphonia that provided level bonuses, each one of the six party members in Abyss has what's known as a capacity core which gives new stat boosts to each character.
Titles will remain important and will unlock new costumes and grades, which can be redeemed at a grade shop for new game tweaks (ie more experience for monster beaten for example). Shortcuts return as well, and you'll be able to not only set your battle preferences via shortcuts, but also cooking shortcuts to replenish your health and TP after a fight.
Some 60-95 hours of gameplay are expected as well as bonuses for multiple playthroughs. Up to four players can play at the same time using the multi-tap with each player controlling one character.
Check out some screenshots below.
Credit to IGN.com for much of the above information.
