Magna Cum Laude
Atlus’ newest RPG has arrived.
Published: November 16, 2005
Gamers are constantly trying to make a case for games as art, and we fully support this. Games like Ico are as much pieces of art as anything you’ll find in a modern-day art gallery. Still, for all the talk of games as an art form, there’s precious little real artwork used in most games, and it’s a crying shame.
Korean developer Softmax can’t really be faulted for this. They’ve employed the talents of Hyung-Tae Kim for the past couple games, but it’s only now that US gamers will have the chance to see some of this thanks to Atlus publishing Magna Carta the game here in the States.
"Magna Carta sits triumphantly at the crossroads between art and entertainment," said Sonoko Saito, VP of Production, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. "The gorgeous character designs by renowned Korean artist Hyung Tae Kim leap off the screen, transporting the player to a breathtaking world both foreign and yet, with its tragic tale of love and loss, all too familiar."
It’s not all art, of course, but the stuff in place (and on the game’s official site) is too awesome not to comment on. It should be noted that there’s certainly a game to be had here betwixt all this nummy sketching, and it looks promising to be sure. So promising, in fact, that we can’t resist hitting ctrl+c, ctrl+v to tell you about it – why yes, we are lazy bastards.
“600 years ago, a strange disease spread across the land, turning its victims into stone. A war ensued, raging for several hundred years and continuing to this day. Tired of the fighting, one group set sail in hopes of finding a new place to live. After countless weeks at sea, the four boats landed on the continent of Efferia. The immigrants saw that the land had been blessed by nature, and so they decided to settle there and begin a new life—a fresh start for those who had lost faith
in humanity.
In Efferia, there was a race—the Yason—that closely resembled humans. Though not narrow-minded, they were not prepared to welcome these new settlers with open arms. The Yason and the humans maintained a respectable distance from each other, and went on with their daily lives. Though as time passed, they began to intermingle. However, the human population expanded rapidly, and marginalized the Yason. The Yason's hatred for humans grew until war finally erupted. Initially, the humans had the advantage because of their experience with war. But, before long, the physically superior Yason had turned the tables. After 30 years of fighting, the possibility for a peaceful resolution had vanished.
Calintz, the leader of a small, elite mercenary unit, the Tears of Blood,took up arms to avenge the destruction of his home. To end the war, the humans mounted a massive magic attack on the Yason's base, and Calintz's team played a key part. But, the attack was a failure, as the powerful Queen of the Yason was able to deflect the magic. Awakening after the attack, Calintz finds himself alone in the woods with a mysterious girl, Reith, who has lost her memory.
Little does he know, this chance encounter will change the future for all of Efferia...”
Seriously, how the hell were we going to sum all that up while doing it justice? Pasting, clearly, was the way to go here. Atlus is promising 50+ hours of gamely and full voice-overs for the cutscenes, and the official site has some killer screenshots of the real-time battle system, which we can’t wait to delve into. Expect a review shortly.
Korean developer Softmax can’t really be faulted for this. They’ve employed the talents of Hyung-Tae Kim for the past couple games, but it’s only now that US gamers will have the chance to see some of this thanks to Atlus publishing Magna Carta the game here in the States.
"Magna Carta sits triumphantly at the crossroads between art and entertainment," said Sonoko Saito, VP of Production, Atlus U.S.A., Inc. "The gorgeous character designs by renowned Korean artist Hyung Tae Kim leap off the screen, transporting the player to a breathtaking world both foreign and yet, with its tragic tale of love and loss, all too familiar."
It’s not all art, of course, but the stuff in place (and on the game’s official site) is too awesome not to comment on. It should be noted that there’s certainly a game to be had here betwixt all this nummy sketching, and it looks promising to be sure. So promising, in fact, that we can’t resist hitting ctrl+c, ctrl+v to tell you about it – why yes, we are lazy bastards.
“600 years ago, a strange disease spread across the land, turning its victims into stone. A war ensued, raging for several hundred years and continuing to this day. Tired of the fighting, one group set sail in hopes of finding a new place to live. After countless weeks at sea, the four boats landed on the continent of Efferia. The immigrants saw that the land had been blessed by nature, and so they decided to settle there and begin a new life—a fresh start for those who had lost faith
in humanity.
In Efferia, there was a race—the Yason—that closely resembled humans. Though not narrow-minded, they were not prepared to welcome these new settlers with open arms. The Yason and the humans maintained a respectable distance from each other, and went on with their daily lives. Though as time passed, they began to intermingle. However, the human population expanded rapidly, and marginalized the Yason. The Yason's hatred for humans grew until war finally erupted. Initially, the humans had the advantage because of their experience with war. But, before long, the physically superior Yason had turned the tables. After 30 years of fighting, the possibility for a peaceful resolution had vanished.
Calintz, the leader of a small, elite mercenary unit, the Tears of Blood,took up arms to avenge the destruction of his home. To end the war, the humans mounted a massive magic attack on the Yason's base, and Calintz's team played a key part. But, the attack was a failure, as the powerful Queen of the Yason was able to deflect the magic. Awakening after the attack, Calintz finds himself alone in the woods with a mysterious girl, Reith, who has lost her memory.
Little does he know, this chance encounter will change the future for all of Efferia...”
Seriously, how the hell were we going to sum all that up while doing it justice? Pasting, clearly, was the way to go here. Atlus is promising 50+ hours of gamely and full voice-overs for the cutscenes, and the official site has some killer screenshots of the real-time battle system, which we can’t wait to delve into. Expect a review shortly.
