The only worthwhile Wii game that was playable at PAX this year was [i]Tales of
Symphonia: Dawn of the New World[/i]. I would've been happy if MadWorld was
available, but alas, it wasn't. Anyway, the exposition I've researched is it takes place two
years after Lloyd and friends united the two worlds with the Giant Kharlan Tree, but the
unification has caused the denizens of the two worlds to fight each other. Many blame
Lloyd's actions for all of these events and it's up to a new hero named, Emil, and his friend,
Marta, to set everything right again.

My time with the demo took place in a forest area, fairly early in the game. You can guide
Emil by either using the control stick or pointing and clicking a cursor in the direction you
want to go. You can also use the cursor to fire the Sorcerer's Ring at objects and enemies
to stun them.

Battles are pretty traditional, where it's set on the linear motion system, but it's in the same
form as Tales of the Abyss, where characters aren't restricted to movement on the
rail. Normal attacks are executed with the A button and special attacks are made with the
B button. A new feature to the series, is the ability to tame and use monsters in the field.
You can capture one by meeting certain conditions in battle. These monsters can then fight
alongside you in place of another party member. All in all, the battle system is shaping up
to be the highlight of the game.



Dawn of the New World caters to fans of the original, by having all of the main
characters from the original game be playable in some form. However, not all of the
original actors will be doing the voices for their respective roles. Another bonus is finally
the inclusion of voices during the skit scenes that appear throughout the story.

This title is getting me pretty excited this fall and I'm glad I got to check it out and share all
the juicy info to my buddies who are also huge Symphonia fans.