GameFAQs poster Cuccoo asks an imperative question about Infinite Space’s offerings. All that in-depth ship building and crew management is great and everything, but the dude wants to know if the virtual honeys will be in full effect (not quite sure what that means).
Cuccoo adds, “Girlfriend quest is a must in any epic rpg. Most games are lacking this feature these days. Sigh.” I had no idea this was a dealbreaker for some gamers!
This reminds me of a quote I heard recently on The Wire (which I’ve been watching so much in recent weeks thanks to HBO on Demand) by Detective Freamon: “I don’t wanna go to no dance unless I can rub some tit.”
As for Cuccoo’s question, I’m not sure if you can get a girlfriend in Infinite Space, but it’s definitely on the sci-fi RPG’s bullet list of features. It’s like a 30+ hour game, though, so who knows, maybe developer Nude Maker managed to sneak something in there; they have a bit of history in the H-game space, after all.
How do you feel about the girlfriend feature? Has it become an RPG requirement ever since you played Baldur’s Gate? Did Harvest Moon convince you that it makes every game better? Or would you rather not have it at all, something left to Love Plus fans and animu dweebs?
Infinite Space launch trailer. The narrator dropping some back-story knowledge at the beginning of this clip reminds me of ’80s/early ’90s cartoons in which the heroes quickly explained their show’s ridiculous premise as the theme song came in and a montage of their adventures played (see: Battletech and Dinosaucers).
If you’re clueless about what all this “Epitaph” talk is about — none of the previews or even anime episodes I’ve seen really discuss is in depth — you’ll find a description of the item in the Zero G Commander’s Guide:
A cubic object (about ten centimeters in dimension) made of an unknown matter excavated from ancient ruins. It is told that ‘thee who owns it shall earn great fortune;’ ‘it is the source of power to unify the galaxies;’ or that it can ‘open the gateway to god;’ among other great claims with little or no empirical evidence to support them.
Of course, Infinite Space’s hero somehow inherited one of these extremely rare artifacts.
Though you wouldn’t know it by the lack of non-print reviews — the ever-competent marketing folks at Sega waited until the last minute to send review copies to online outlets — Infinite Space releases in the U.S. today.
If you’d like to learn more about what this sci-fi RPG has to offer before you put down any money for it, here are two great online resources you can look to:
The Commander’s Guide, which is available as a downloadable PDF on Sega’s Infinite Space page, offers a useful reference for the game’s characters, interface, commands, and more. It even has a list of all the modules you can install in your ship. Speaking of, you can apparently build accounting offices, science labs, and nature domes! Why is this exciting to me?!
The manual also offers this gem:
“Those who explore space are commonly referred to as ‘Zero-G Dogs’ — simply because they prefer exploring the untamed, ‘Zero-Gravity’ lifestyle that space has to offer.”
Real talk: the first crewman to greet me with “What’s up, Zero-G Dog?” is going to get punched in the face. The same goes for space swingers trying to entice me into their Zero-Gravity lifestyle.
One neat thing Sega’s doing — well, depending on who you ask, it might be the only neat thing Sega’s doing — is running a personal blog for Yuri, the hero of Infinite Space. It started off as a corny project, but the latest batch of entries, especially “The Terror of Space”, have really helped me get a feel of the RPG’s sci-fi setting.
I’m really excited for this game’s week release next week! ONM ran an Infinite Space preview this morning, and though it’s a bit fluffy and doesn’t offer much info on what to expect, I found much promise in these paragraphs:
“There’s a lot to be said for the delights of kitting out your space-bound attack carrier with stat-boosting rest and recreation rooms to keep your crew fighting fit and happy. It’s almost a game within itself as you try to pack as many different components into your ships so as to create a highly specialised warship.
And then there’s the huge satisfaction at taking your vessel out to battle, where you’ll experience a properly tense game of chicken as you dare your enemy to hit ‘fire’ first. It’s barmy, especially when you factor in hints of gender confusion and the perils of getting drunk.”
Infinite Space trailer for nerds. Finally, now that the nonsensical anime episodes and videos filled with fluffy dialogue are out of the way, Sega put together a trailer that appeals to the sort of geeks that shiver with pleasure whenever topics like starship classes, hull durability, and galactic domination enter the discussion.
Also, I hear at least one stock sci-fi sound effect in there that was also in X-Com: UFO Defense, which, believe it or not, is enough for a game to win over my heart any day.
The game releases on March 16th, two weeks before the date we initially predicted! At least Sega is doing something right with one of its games. Sorry, Yakuza 3, Sands of Destruction, and probably Sonic the Hedgehog 4.
I just wanted to give you guys a heads-up that preorders for Infinite Space, Platinum Games and Nudemaker’s sci-fi RPG based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End, is now priced at $27.99 at Amazon, a slight discount from its list price of $35. The expected ship date is March 31st.
While you’re at Amazon, it’s worth noting that the online retailer also marked down the preorder price for Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (Wii) to $36.99. That’s not much of a cut from $40 but still worth mentioning.
The ship customizing and fleet commanding look way engaging, but I’m unsure what to expect from the story/dialogue, at least based on what this trailer offers:
Yuri: “I want you to take me through the gate!”
Kira: “Yuri… Not the gate!”
Also, I’m unconvinced that this “gate” isn’t code for something else. Mysterious doin’ it…
Infinite Space’s U.S. and Japanese boxarts compared.
The Japanese cover looks classier, but at least this isn’t a Shiren-grade debacle, an irreversible dishonor passed down thousands of generations. In the Year 20XXX, a young cephalo-borg will bolt to his home galaxy faster than the speed of synth-light, tears in its many eyes, unable to cope with the ridicule of Sega’s U.S. box for Mystery: Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, a shame he never asked for but nevertheless inherited when he was conceived.
Anyway, the fleet of ships on the Japanese packaging reminds me of an image I created years ago for an article that briefly mentioned Star Trek: Conquest:
Fourth and final dubbed episode from Infinite Space’s web anime series. This space RPG isn’t shipping to U.S. stores until next Spring; now that Sega has already blown its wad with publishing all of the promotional episodes, how will it promote the game for the next six or so months? I hope localizing the online board game is part of the plan.
Third dubbed episode from Infinite Space’s web anime series. I have no idea what’s going on here. Basically, a bunch of dudes are in space eating french fries.
I doubt these scenes were in Childhood’s End, the Arthur C. Clarke novel this sci-fi JRPG is based on.
Second dubbed episode from Infinite Space’s web anime series. This doesn’t make any more sense than the subtitled version, and I’m not sure what happened in between the first episode and this bit, but the shots of battling space fleets looks pretty enough.
Also, there’s a pirate who sounds like Captain McAllister from The Simpsons, and an unexplained eyeless purple dinosaur with a skull necklace. Weird!
Though Platinum Games and Nude Maker’s Star Trek-esque space opera RPG already released in Japan several weeks ago, don’t expect Infinite Space to ship in North America until next Spring.
That’s a long wait, but Sega of America is making an effort to help you pass the time by localizing the online anime episodes it used to promote the title in Japan. I know anime nerds totally hate it when their cartoons are dubbed, but this official translation somehow makes much more sense than the baffling subtitled versions I’ve posted:
Apparently the “G-Effect” is actually the “Bridge Efect”? Does that make the U.S. version less gangsta?
