Away Shuffle Dungeon Announced for DS

Scribbled on July 8th, 2008 by Jonathon Howard
Filed in Nintendo DS, Press Release, RPG

Majesco has announced that they’ll be publishing the oddly named Rogue-like RPG, Away Shuffle Dungeon for the DS. I’ve never heard of the game either but it’s developed by the capable folks over at Mistwalker and AQ Interactive (Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon DS), people like Hironobu Sakaguchi, Naoto Oshima, and Nobuo Uematsu! It was released in Japan back in February, but now will be making its way to our fair shores, which is good you can never have enough Rogue-likes.

If you don’t know what a Rogue-like is, Rogue was an old RPG where you you’re your character through randomly generated dungeons. It’s a genre that has been popular with a certain hard-core subset of the gamer population. Popular Rogue-like are NetHack and ADOM. The Diablo games are descendants of Rogue, though writ large.

(Click “Read more…” for the rest of the article and the full press release.)

Away Shuffle Dungeon will have you running through a mix of 2d and 3d dungeons collecting loot and rescuing people before the dungeons re-organize themselves hurting anyone left inside. A dungeon crawler isn’t that interesting as a game idea; the timed run is, as you’ll have to make decisions on what to collect and who to save in order to get through in time.

One last note, have you noticed the revival of Rogue-likes recently? When did this become a popular genre? In the last year, we’ve had Etrian Odyssey 1 and 2, Shinra the Wanderer, and now this. Perhaps the genre is well suited to DS tech… I’m surprised though considering the steep learning curve that rogue-likes require. Look for a review from me when this one finally comes out!

PRESS RELEASE

EDISON, N.J., July 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ — COOL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — Majesco Entertainment Company (Nasdaq: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, in partnership with leading developers Mistwalker and AQ Interactive, today announced premier RPG AWAY Shuffle Dungeon for Nintendo DS(TM). Players take control of the young hero “Sword,” the sole resident left of the once booming Webb Village, who must rescue as many kidnapped townsfolk as possible from a mysterious unknown that has been slowly “spiriting them away.” AWAY Shuffle Dungeon includes creative contributions from renowned industry visionaries: RPG creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, character designer Naoto Oshima and composer Nobuo Uematsu.
“We are very excited to be working with the collective creative talent of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Naoto Oshima and Nobuo Uematsu,” said Jesse Sutton, Chief Executive Officer, Majesco. “Their experience creating high quality, best-selling games means that AWAY will be well-positioned for success when it hits retail this fall.”

In AWAY Shuffle Dungeon, an unknown force has stripped Webb Village of its residents, and now the sole heroic survivor, Sword, must rescue the stolen villagers from the ominous dungeons as he strives to expose and defeat the mysterious thief. Sword must first collect and use various objects including musical instruments to reveal the secret dungeons where prisoners are being held. But successfully saving them is another challenge altogether given a unique timed “shuffle” mechanic that reconfigures the dungeon prisons and hurts Sword and any survivors still caught within when the time runs out. Saved villagers will lend assistance to Sword’s quest, as will the magical ‘Fupongs’ and dungeon treasure he finds that lets him shop in the village specialty stores for armor, weapons, health, medical aid and more.

AWAY Shuffle Dungeon allows players to navigate in both the 2D Shuffle Dungeons and the 3D Webb Village, and features voice-over cinematics that breathe life into the characters in this extraordinary mystery.

AWAY Shuffle Dungeon for Nintendo DS(TM) is expected to release this fall. For additional information about Majesco’s exciting line of products, please visit www.majescoentertainment.com.

About Majesco Entertainment Company

Majesco Entertainment Company is a provider of video games for the mass market. Building on 20 years of operating history, the company is focused on developing and publishing a wide range of casual and family oriented video games on leading console and portable systems. Product highlights include Nancy Drew(TM), Cooking Mama(TM) and Cake Mania(R) 2 for Nintendo DS(TM) and Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii(TM) system. The company’s shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: COOL. Majesco is headquartered in Edison, NJ and has an international office in Bristol, UK. More information about Majesco can be found online at www.majescoentertainment.com.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period(s) or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate” or “continue” or the negatives thereof or other comparable terminology. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. These factors include but are not limited to, the demand for our products; our ability to complete and release our products in a timely fashion; competitive factors in the businesses in which we compete; continued consumer acceptance of our products and the gaming platforms on which our products operate; fulfillment of orders preliminarily made by customers; adverse changes in the securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to release publicly the results of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

SOURCE Majesco Entertainment Company

http://www.majescoentertainment.com

Share and Enjoy: