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| John Tucker |
Marvelous has something a little different in mind this time around.
04.01.11 - 11:32 AM
In late 2009, Marvelous Entertainment released a game that defied nearly all classification: Half-Minute Hero. And although it was quirky, it was still a great game - we named it our PSP Game of the Year. In August 2010, a sequel was announced that will place an even stronger emphasis on role-playing. Unfortunately, that game has seen multiple delays, and although it was originally scheduled to hit stores in Japan last November, it is not available yet. Perhaps to make fans feel better about the delays, Marvelous Entertainment announced yet another sequel today.
The new sequel is currently titled Half-Month Hero, in which players will have a quest to complete within 15 days of real time gameplay. According to Marvelous' press release, the game cannot be paused or saved, and standby mode will be disabled while playing it. This means that players will be forced to leave their PSPs on for 15 days straight. It is unclear at this point whether players will need to continue actually playing for 15 days or whether they will be able to leave the console alone for periods of time while they sleep. It's a surprising direction for any game to take, and it appears to draw some inspiration from an unreleased Penn & Teller game from 1995: namely the "Desert Bus" segment of Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors, in which players would have been required to drive a bus from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in 8 hours of un-pausable real time driving. Penn & Teller's game was intended as social commentary, but only time will tell if Marvelous Entertainment has similar designs for Half-Month Hero.
Half-Month Hero is expected to release in late 2011 for the PSP, and there's rumor of an enhanced version in the works for Sony's NGP as well. Look for a review from RPGFan at least 15 days after release.
