E3 2007: Hands-on with Folklore

Folklore was developed by Tokyo's Game Republic under Yoshiki Okamoto, who executive produced Onimusha and Resident Evil. In it, you can play as either Keats or Ellen, each of which have their own unique background stories. The two strangers are drawn together in a town called Doolin on the border of fantasy and reality, which sets the dark fantasy tone of the game and introduces the story. The game has heavy fairy tale influence, which completely sucked me in right off the bat.

The title looks breathtaking graphically and control is fantastic and fluid. Your character has the ability to draw souls (and therefore powers) from the creatures you fight, who you will then equip and use the powers of as you battle. With over 100 creatures to capture, that could keep you busy for a while. You actually use the Sixaxis controller to "pull" the souls from the creatures by flicking the controller upwards, making each battle interactive and preventing the boredom associated with countless battles. It has been a long time since I have had the pleasure of playing a game that interested me so completely with it's content. I tend to be drawn to unusual hybrid titles, especially RPGs that  take a different route than the standard medieval-save-the-princess story.

 Folklore has a totally unique look and style and totally wraps you in it from the start. Rather than just offering two different characters to play, the decisions you make as one character directly impact the story of the other. Speaking of story, I can't wait to delve into that that -- it looks completely fascinating. I never thought I'd say it, but....it makes me want the PS3. I'm going to have to get into some shady business to be able to afford to own one though. If you know any drug traffickers hiring, shoot me an email.