Agaju: The Sacred Path E3 2005 Hands-On Report

We got a very early first look at Agaju: The Sacred Path from Gizmondo, a game that utilizes Gizmondo-specific features to create an entirely unique gameplay experience. Agaju, at the moment, is little more than a tech demonstration, so we only got a chance to see how the gameplay would work when fully implemented. If it comes along as planned though, Agaju will be quite unlike any game you've ever played before.

The section we played highlighted two aspects of gameplay, notably the exploration and puzzle-solving elements. There was little information on the story except that it seems to be set in South America, and it has Indiana Jones-esque scenery such as temples, ancient symbols, and archaeology. Apparently it will tie into the real location of Agaju, although it's not quite clear yet how that will come about.

The game will feature a good amount of exploration, in the first-person perspective, through tunnel environments. This ties in with the Gizmondo's Augmented Reality and Gyroscopic Camera technology, which means that as you walk through the environment and wish to turn left or right, you'll need to physically move the Gizmondo to the left or right to do so. The Gizmondo is remarkably responsive to your movement, and we found this to be quite an interesting experience.

After a brief bit of level exploration, we found a light at the end of one of the tunnels, which, when walked into, brought the Gizmondo into camera mode. At this point in the game you are brought into the real world so that you can initiate some of the puzzles the game has to offer. Agaju will be particularly responsive to certain environmental symbols, which will come physically packaged with the game on hand-sized pieces of paper. When in camera mode, if one of the symbols is held up in front of the Gizmondo, a tiny character jumps up onto the symbol and you can interact with him. This is quite an interesting way of incorporating both gameplay and reality.

Although there was not much to Agaju at E3, there is a lot of potential, and it's nice to see a game fully showcasing the Gizmondo's unique capabilities.