Game Card
Fading Shadows (PSP)
- Publisher:
- Ivolgamus
- Developer:
- Ivolgamus
- US Release:
- 02.2008
- EU Release:
- n/a
- Number of players:
- n/a
- Type:
- Puzzle
- Extra:
- Platform
- Age:
- Ancient Times
Preview
Fading Shadows Preview
Balls. As old as time itself and perennially fun to play with, there's something about manipulating spherical objects that just appeals to a basic human level of intrigue and amusement. Maybe it's a golf ball in some kind of perpetual motion between the week-old coffee cup and the stack of unfinished paperwork on your desk, or a tennis ball repeatedly bouncing off the wall before smashing the plate that had been narrowly missed for the previous three days; whichever your particular elliptical poison, there is no doubting that we're all creatures of some universally accepted, yet strangely fascinating habits.
It's no surprise then that the simple act of rolling a sphere around a pre-set environment still figures heavily in our play patterns. Games such as Marble Madness, Super Monkey Ball and Kororinpa have all proven the value of this simple mechanic, and the Lithuanian development team behind the new PSP puzzler 'Fading Shadows' is all too aware of the inevitable comparisons to be made with such luminary titles, offering up a fresh attempt at ball control as a result. (insert your own joke here).
As a rule, you can generally split ball-rolling videogames into two types; those that allow the player to manipulate the sphere directly through the control scheme (Marble Madness), and those that allow manipulation of the environment (Monkey Ball) in order to affect direction and inertia. Fading Shadows attempts to take a different approach, providing the player instead with a controllable 'beam of light' which acts as a gravitational beacon to which the ball is drawn. Move the beam closer or focus the energy to a more concentrated state, and the sphere will move faster towards your god-ray; move it further away or lose the focus and the effect becomes less pronounced.
From the brief play test provided to us, this actually works out a lot better than it might initially sound. Whilst an element of precision is inevitably lost without any direct control of the ball, the focus instead has been shifted onto other aspects of design rarely explored in a puzzle title of this nature, creating a nice hybrid of differing game types.
As an example, moving the beam further away from the ball will result in the gravitational pull becoming void, allowing the player to explore the stage independently and affording the developers a chance to include several environmental puzzle mechanisms not directly related to the ball itself. Bridges can be burned, mirrors can be lit up and switches can be activated by focussing the beam on specific hotspots, all of which provide some respite and fresh challenge from the skill-based manipulation of the ball.
As an extra layer of depth, the sphere itself can take on any of three different forms (wood, glass or metal) activated by rolling over special blocks in each level, with the properties of the ball affected accordingly. To reach a switch at the bottom of a lake for example, it may be necessary to change to a metal form in order to sink, but then alter back to a glass state in order to rise to the top and successfully negotiate a path into a delicately balanced lift on the surface. Whilst the puzzles we played were all of a very basic nature in this regard, the focus of the team seems to be very much on providing a tough yet logical challenge, so latter levels are fairly assured to provide some brain-teasing moments.
On that note, Fading Shadows is currently set to offer up 40 single-player stages, along with 10 competitive multiplayer maps for ad-hoc wifi support. Unfortunately the plot wrapped around the single-player campaign is of the usual quality for a game of this type, leaving Puzzle Quest unchallenged at the top of that particular pile of one. If there is one comparison to be made with any currently released game however, it'd have to be the oft-overlooked mercury series, which shares more than a few of the design elements detailed above, and a similar feel in execution.
Given the fairly innovative approach to puzzle design, and the close involvement of Sony with the development process, I can't help but feel that this will be one to look for in the otherwise relatively quiet month of February. Check out the trailer and screenshots on the site in order to get an idea of the concept, and PSP owners can seemingly now look forward to another exclusive and potentially quality puzzler. Who ever said this system was dead?
 |
 |
|
| The tutorial levels have a distinct Tomb Raider-esque setting | Collectable gems throughout the level give the player extra lives |
It's no surprise then that the simple act of rolling a sphere around a pre-set environment still figures heavily in our play patterns. Games such as Marble Madness, Super Monkey Ball and Kororinpa have all proven the value of this simple mechanic, and the Lithuanian development team behind the new PSP puzzler 'Fading Shadows' is all too aware of the inevitable comparisons to be made with such luminary titles, offering up a fresh attempt at ball control as a result. (insert your own joke here).
As a rule, you can generally split ball-rolling videogames into two types; those that allow the player to manipulate the sphere directly through the control scheme (Marble Madness), and those that allow manipulation of the environment (Monkey Ball) in order to affect direction and inertia. Fading Shadows attempts to take a different approach, providing the player instead with a controllable 'beam of light' which acts as a gravitational beacon to which the ball is drawn. Move the beam closer or focus the energy to a more concentrated state, and the sphere will move faster towards your god-ray; move it further away or lose the focus and the effect becomes less pronounced.
From the brief play test provided to us, this actually works out a lot better than it might initially sound. Whilst an element of precision is inevitably lost without any direct control of the ball, the focus instead has been shifted onto other aspects of design rarely explored in a puzzle title of this nature, creating a nice hybrid of differing game types.
 |
 |
|
| The art direction promises to alter throughout each section | Some of the puzzles will be more traditional-based mechanisms |
As an example, moving the beam further away from the ball will result in the gravitational pull becoming void, allowing the player to explore the stage independently and affording the developers a chance to include several environmental puzzle mechanisms not directly related to the ball itself. Bridges can be burned, mirrors can be lit up and switches can be activated by focussing the beam on specific hotspots, all of which provide some respite and fresh challenge from the skill-based manipulation of the ball.
As an extra layer of depth, the sphere itself can take on any of three different forms (wood, glass or metal) activated by rolling over special blocks in each level, with the properties of the ball affected accordingly. To reach a switch at the bottom of a lake for example, it may be necessary to change to a metal form in order to sink, but then alter back to a glass state in order to rise to the top and successfully negotiate a path into a delicately balanced lift on the surface. Whilst the puzzles we played were all of a very basic nature in this regard, the focus of the team seems to be very much on providing a tough yet logical challenge, so latter levels are fairly assured to provide some brain-teasing moments.
On that note, Fading Shadows is currently set to offer up 40 single-player stages, along with 10 competitive multiplayer maps for ad-hoc wifi support. Unfortunately the plot wrapped around the single-player campaign is of the usual quality for a game of this type, leaving Puzzle Quest unchallenged at the top of that particular pile of one. If there is one comparison to be made with any currently released game however, it'd have to be the oft-overlooked mercury series, which shares more than a few of the design elements detailed above, and a similar feel in execution.
 |
 |
|
| The story comes complete with cut-scenes and Prince of Persia style camera walkthroughs | Focussing or defocussing the beam alters the gravitational pull towards the orb |
Given the fairly innovative approach to puzzle design, and the close involvement of Sony with the development process, I can't help but feel that this will be one to look for in the otherwise relatively quiet month of February. Check out the trailer and screenshots on the site in order to get an idea of the concept, and PSP owners can seemingly now look forward to another exclusive and potentially quality puzzler. Who ever said this system was dead?
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Debut Trailer
Posted 26.11.07
Length 02:47 Views 882
