Earlier this week Jeff Rubenstein from the Playstation Blog had a chance once again to talk with developer Level-5 about their upcoming PS3 co-op title, White Knight Chronicles.  In the course of this discussion, additional details concerning the online portion of the game were revealed, specifically the three online modes that will be available to players: GeoNet (a social networking hub for players to meet and form parties), Georama (think SimCity meets Dark Cloud), and Subquest (the co-op portion).  What's more, voice chat has finally been confirmed for online play as well!  Occasionally, it does pay to be the squeaky wheel.

As Kat reported (also courtesy of Mr. Rubenstein) back in May, the co-op mode for White Knight Chronicles works a little bit differently than the main game.  Players will create their own avatars at the start of their adventure and it will be these avatars with which players will tackle co-op specific quests online.  While the experience and items will carry over into the single player mode, it would have been nice to see a little better integration between the single play and co-op experiences.

Source: Link

Now imagine this, only double.

One week before E3, and we're already catching shiny new trailers poking their heads out at us. What could possibly be more shiny than an early peek at White Knight Chronicles? This PS3 exclusive trailer was leaked early, hopefully meaning Sony has a few tasty tricks up its sleeve for the official presentation at E3. Some delicious details on Co-op perhaps? Maybe a hands-on demonstration to get some legitimate previews out there to read?

Read More...

Maybe you're like me, and a few months ago you caught a glimpse of White Knight Chronicles in Japan, but wondered what was in store for the US release. The release in Japan was missing a few key things that we seem to need to enjoy the co-op aspects of a game, or needed to be explained in translated terms so we knew what was what. Playstation Blog interviewed the US Producer of White Knight Cronicles, Tsubasa Inaba to find out what we should expect state side.

Read More...

Several new videos from White Knight Chronicles are up at Gametrailers.com.  The game, an RPG from Factor 5, invaded Playstation 3 consoles in Japan in late 2008, and is due to hit the US in late March.  At first, the big draw for the game was the epic single player campaign, featuring a character who transformed into a giant, mecha-esque White Knight, as pictured above.  That alone made the game interesting.  However, we here at Co-Optimus are more interested in the four player online co-op mode, announced much later in the game's development.

The first video is in game footage of a boss fight, where the White Knight takes on what appears to be a four legged organic cannon.  (I'm pretty sure I saw him on Power Rangers once.)  The second, while less awe-inspiring, gives a good look at low level, party based gameplay, which is closer to what the online co-op mode will be.  Both videos are embedded after the break!

Read More...

I've been in love with White Knight Chronicles since I first heard of it.  Now that the game has launched in Japan, we can read some actual, hands-on experiences from those who have played the game.  1UP's preview is especially detailed.  It appears that the main story mode, featuring the enormous robotic warrior we've seen so much of, is just half the experience.  The remainder will be the 4 player online co-op mode.  While playing online, your avatar is the main story mode's character's companion.  You have full control of creating this characters look in the robust creation tools.  All in all, the game plays much like an MMO.

After creating a lobby, you join instanced rooms for randomly generated quests that culminate in a boss battle. You avatar retains the levels, money, and items gained and brings them back to Leonard's one-player Story Part. According to the manual, it even has social networking-style functions, like a personal home page where you can link to friends, post in-game photos, and blog about your adventures. It all sounds fascinating, and I look forward to trying it...whenever Sony fixes its servers.

The game may not quite reach the level of hype in generated, but it still looks like a solid single player RPG coupled with a nice co-op experience.  We're particularly glad to see that levels, items, and such will transfer between story and co-op mode (I'm looking at you, Fable 2).  Three trailers are embedded after the break, titled "Intro", "Field Battle", and "Character Creation".

Read More...

Japanese gaming mag Dengeki Playstation recently revealed that Level-5's upcoming PS3 RPG will be featuring a four-player online co-op mode! Players can connect to a central lobby and form groups of four adventurers to take on quests.

While we have no word on whether or not the online component will be tied to the single player content at all, the recent wave of Phantasy Star Online-like co-op modes in Japanese action RPGs (Monster Hunter/Phantasy Star Portable & Zero, et al) is reassuring.

Source: Link