From the Abyss First Look

A few days ago, Aksys Games paid a visit to the GameSpot offices to give us a look at their upcoming DS role-playing game, From the Abyss. There's still a ways to go until the game's December release, but we spent enough hands-on time to get a basic feel for where the game will be headed. In short, you should expect to see a game that blends elements of traditional action RPGs with a few features more closely associated with modern games, like stylus-driven combat and a co-op campaign.

Those who have spent much time with action RPGs in the mold of Secret of Mana should find the gameplay in From the Abyss at least somewhat familiar. You choose from among a selection of class-based characters and venture into a world of randomized levels and real-time combat. A top-down angle gives you a view of the 16-bit-era visuals, which look nice alongside some of the more elaborate spell effects. The level we saw may have been set outdoors, but it definitely had the feel of a dungeon crawler with labyrinthine pathways and dead ends strewn all about.

The general combat and movement is done through the directional pad and face buttons, while the stylus is used to quickly navigate your assorted menus so as not to put a stop to the action. We noticed that using this menu system in the heat of battle was surprisingly easy. All the information you need is laid out simply and without excessive details cluttering the screen. It's also fairly easy to cycle through the different screens such as items, status, and commands. The latter screen actually lets you adjust your skills in battle by using a simple drag-and-drop technique. If you want to swap the spell that's currently mapped to the Y button, for example, you can simply drag another technique onto that button slot using the touch screen. There's no delay to how quickly you can use this new command; if you swapped in a healing technique you can boost your life meter right away, then swap it back out for something a little more offensively focused. Weapons used in combat include the traditional swords, axes, and arrows.

From the Abyss will also let you enlist the help of a friend in the form of co-op gameplay. If your teamwork skills are up to the task, you can make it through the entire story with a second player. The action is much the same--rather than one character hacking and slashing through these randomized levels, it becomes two. This proves to be a good way to spend time leveling up your character, because you can go back and replay levels you've already completed while in co-op mode. In fact, you might end up doing so whether you want to go back or not--the pair of players can advance only as far as the player with the least progress in the game. So if you're on the last level but your buddy is only starting out, you'll have to help him along from the very beginning.

These details should give you a basic idea of what the gameplay will wind up feeling like. Unfortunately, we can't yet pair our hands-on experience with any details regarding the game's story. At this early stage, Aksys remains quiet on what to expect out of the game's plotline. Of course, that can't stop us from speculating. If the close adherence to traditional action RPG gameplay proves to be any indication, we should see plenty of medieval RPG archetypes. In the meantime, you can expect to see more coverage for From the Abyss leading up to its December release.