Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls

Wizardry: The Labyrinth of Lost Souls is a game developed by ACQUIRE Corporation, a Japanse game developing company known for various other games such as Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. The game is the first part of a new trilogy intended to revive the Wizardry franchise in Japan, intended to retain some of the original gameplay and mechanics while providing improvements to graphics and user interface.

The game is settled to release in Spring of 2011 in the PlayStation Network store, through the U.S. publisher XSEED Games. The announcement was done on March 23, 2011.

Game Information
According to the game site, the story deals with a group of adventurers seeking the ancient artifacts of a lost race known only as the "Draguun". The game retains some of its predecessors' traits, such as the dungeon exploration, character creation and "home site" towns, but its gameplay format is expected to be similar to the latest Wizardry games, such as Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land.

Story
As presented on the game site:

"This is the story of a faraway land, 2000 years before the current era.

''Avrul, god of Creation, made the Draguun, a race of beings bearing the bloodline of the dragon gods. They excelled in the mystic arts and built a prosperous civilization, ruling over the world for many years. However, the Draguun were also an arrogant people, and eventually fell to the powerful magics that they themselves created. After the disappearance of the Draguun, wars broke out amongst the remaining uncontrolled races until in the land of Athals, the empire of Darua united the people.''

Thus began the age of Athals.

''In the 100th year of Athals, however, the emperor of Darua fell into madness; and in the wake of this, his empire quickly collapsed. The land was divided amongst three factions - the Kingdom of Diement, the Council of Qhopati and the Haersant Federation. Working together, the three countries built a strong alliance, and created peace in Athals.''

The people found happiness in a world without conflict.

''However, over time, monsters that were supposedly sealed away by the angels long, long ago in the time of legends, began to appear once more. And not only monsters and beasts now roam, but demons known as the "Elder Ones" also turned their attention to Athals.''

The sages say that 'Something which had once sealed away the Elder Ones is losing its power', and the fortune tellers say that 'The balance of the world has begun to collapse', but no one can be truly sure of the reason for their return.

''The people hold on to their visions of peace while living in fear of the unknown. But among them, some stepped forward to search for the artifacts left long ago by the Draguun, while others pursued monsters to collect their bounties. These men and women, with strength and skill above that of regular folk, wielding the powers of magic and ancient martial arts, became known as 'Adventurers'''.

As the many adventurers travel over the lands of Athals, yet another dark shadow looms over the horizon..."

The game has the player choosing amongst 10 protagonists, a male or a female of the five playable races, each with their own reason to adventure. As well, the player may create their own character, much as the preceding games, and adventure on their own. Much like on Wizardry: Tales of the Forsaken Land, the player and their character are expected to be the center of the story and their actions to hold relevance, unlike on earlier games where the story was simpler and group-focused.

Races and Classes
The game is expected to have all five original playable races (Human, Dwarf, Elf and Gnome, with Porklu being the equivalent of Hobbits) and all 4 base and 4 advanced classes (Fighter, Mage, Cleric and Thief, alongside the more advanced Bishop, Samurai, Lord and Ninja) available, although with a few differences from the original games. For example, Fighters will be capable of executing special maneuvers which didn't exist originally in the game (and that are reminiscent of similar contemporary games such as The Dark Spire), such as "Trick Attack" (an ability that allows the character to execute multiple attacks against random enemies). Thieves retain their utility regarding treasure chests, but they also have similar combat tactics such as "Backstab" (an ability which allows increased damage and a chance to steal gold from the target). Mages have also acquired the ability to charge their spells for increased effect.

Gameplay
The game will retain most of its predecessors' traits, such as dungeon exploring and combat, but with a vastly improved set of graphics which combine drawn illustrations alongside 3D dungeon surfaces.

Dungeon exploration will be similar to the original, advancing from a first-person perspective. The game has an integrated map option for ease of exploration, unlike the original Wizardry games, but the difficulty is expected to be similar, where hazards and secret doors halt the progress of the player and its party. The town will have its share of unique characters, much like Tales of the Forsaken Land, and there will be a quest-based system where the character is expected to gain gold and also to advance the story. All classes are expected to have utility outside of combat, unlike in the traditional games where the Thief and Bishop generally were the most useful.

Combat will be quite similar to the original games: a six-character group engaging groups of opponents through a first person perspective, with a defined Front Row and Back Row. The combat is expected to be "fast and strategical", although with the mention of tactics that may challenge the party much like in the games of old.

Additional Links
Wizardry: Labyrinth of Lost Souls main page