E3 '07: Orcs and Elves invading DS

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Jul 12, 2007 11:49 am PT

[UPDATE] John Carmack teaming with Fountainhead to bring acclaimed fantasy-based first-person RPG to Nintendo's handheld, available later this year; Orcs & Elves II announced.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--When John Carmack revealed development was under way on Doom RPG for mobile phones in 2005, his project raised more than a few eyebrows from gaming enthusiasts. After all, the programming wunderkind is widely credited as the founding father of modern-day first-person shooters, having been the lead programmer on id Software's seminal early-'90s classics Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, and the mobile platform isn't exactly reputable among core gamers.

Of course, Carmack built his reputation on technical innovation, and Doom RPG ended up wowing audiences, winning accolades such as GameSpot's 2006 Mobies, among others. Carmack's follow-up project, Orcs & Elves, met with equal success, and in February it was anointed Mobile Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

Earlier this week, Carmack revealed to UK-based publication Guardian Unlimited that his award-winning Orcs & Elves would be making its way to the Nintendo DS. Responding to whether a PlayStation Portable or DS version was in the works, Carmack said, "We are working on a DS version of Orcs & Elves right now. I laid the groundwork for the 3D engine last month, and the Fountainhead team is hard at work." Carmack did not address the possibility of a PlayStation Portable version for the game.

Again teaming with Fountainhead Entertainment, Carmack's latest project will be published by EA. Orcs & Elves combines first-person action and turn-based role-playing in an original fantasy setting. Aided by a talking magical wand, players must navigate an ancient dwarven stronghold in search of adventure and treasure. No release date for the game was mentioned.

[UPDATE] Early today, EA sent official word confirming the Nintendo DS project, as well as announcing the next installment in the series for mobile. Orcs & Elves II will continue the story begun in the original game, and players will be able to explore seven unique environments through the fantasy world. The announcement also revealed Orcs & Elves II for mobile phones and Orcs & Elves for the DS will be available this holiday season.

32 Comments

  • icytower Site moderator

    Posted Jul 15, 2007 10:33 am PT

    I'll pass on this one.

  • msudude211

    Posted Jul 14, 2007 9:11 am PT

    Hah. Sorry Cyber, no WOW.

  • cyber_sonix

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 9:17 pm PT

    damnit. I was hoping for wow on my ds.

  • smithy1185

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 2:15 pm PT

    This has been rumored for quite a while so no surprise here but anyway, I can't wait for it to be released. Doom RPG and Orcs and Elves are the only games I play on my cell phone and Orcs and Elves was a really great game.

  • DouglasBuffone

    Posted Jul 13, 2007 1:42 am PT

    I don't know, EA seems not to put a lot of thought into thiese quickie games. It seems like they just want to make money off of the success of the ds and the wii

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 10:35 pm PT

    May think about it for the holiday season

  • chrono_wind

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 10:05 pm PT

    Ever since Deep Labyrinth, I got kind of worried about Mobile games on a portable gaming device such as a DS. It's nice to see another RPG on the DS, but there's also plenty on the PSP to be released too. More portable gaming for me when I'm back to my busy days.

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 8:21 pm PT

    DS is getting everything

  • Dark_Link142

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 5:26 pm PT

    So many DS RPG's. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Finaly Fantasy Tactics A2, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Dragon Quest 9, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker,Final Fantasy 4, Etrian Odyssey, Xenosaga, Naruto RPG, Sonic RPG, Tales of the Tempest, ASH, Ragnarok Online DS, and Rune Factory. Makes my head spin. But in a good way.

  • Big_piggy1

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 4:33 pm PT

    The DS needs a good RPG, hopefully this will be it.

  • Proman84

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 3:55 pm PT

    Heh, I read this and immediatly thought "Warcraft"! Silly me!

  • PostedOval

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 3:39 pm PT

    I have been playing these game on my Ravr for weeks now and I absolutely LOVE IT. What a great RPG game...and it should be a lot of fun on the DS!

  • lamprey263

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 3:23 pm PT

    fugori, modern fantasy elves have little to do with elves in folklore, so besides just calling them elves, there's really no tradition there.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 3:08 pm PT

    rpg's for the DS would be nice...

  • fugori

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 3:04 pm PT

    @Iamprey263
    Do humans get old to you? Horses? Cats? There's a real tradition there, in elves, that dates back a long time. Nothing wrong with continuing to use that, and alter it.

  • lancelot200

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 2:59 pm PT

    That game has some potential.

  • lamprey263

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 2:57 pm PT

    Jeez, fantasy genre just can't seem to shake off the orc and elves archetype. Heck, not even Star Trek could. Vulcan's are basially space elves since they live for a long time, are peaceful, got pointy ears, and androgynous. Klingons are space orcs since they're a hideous masculine warrior race. And it never seems to get old to anyone else.

  • BosoxJoe5

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 2:36 pm PT

    Maxx this all stems back to when Nintendo would not let id develop Super Mario Bros for the pc.

  • BulletProof007

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 2:26 pm PT

    This game is now on my radar.

  • Mp5slipknot

    Posted Jul 12, 2007 2:04 pm PT

    This is kind of cool because the Cell Phone game was actually really good. Dunno how good of a DS title it would make though but you never know.

Doom RPG Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Videos | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum

advertisement
Doom RPG Boxshot
Doom RPG

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement