The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
For our latest entry, we take a look at downloadable PSP outing Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness.
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Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Region(s) available: North America, Europe, Japan
Players: 1-2
Originally released on PlayStation 2 back in 2003, Disgaea was lauded among critics and gamers alike for its vibrant visuals and comprehensive strategy role-playing antics. Capitalizing on its success, developer Nippon Ichi churned out an updated PSP port, titled Afternoon of Darkness, a few years back throwing in an extra story mode, widescreen support as well as an all-new multiplayer component playable via ad-hoc.
Afternoon of Darkness weaves a quirky tale of a chap named Laharl, a spoiled-like-rotten prince of the netherworld oversleeps for two years and subsequently fails to inherit the title of overlord from his father. As such, he decides there’s only one thing for it – take the title by brute force. Laharl is joined in his mission by various groupies including love-obsessed assassin Etna and a space-bound justice fighter. Those of you who tire of the traditional JRPG narrative may find Disgaea’s humorous and frankly barmy story a refreshing take on the genre.
The game itself is divided up into chapters, each one centring on a specific goal that is ultimately reached by getting into scraps with various baddies dotted throughout the land. In between these battles you’ll be able to take a load off within the sanctuary of your citadel, where you can regenerate health, stock up on essential supplies and invest in new equipment. If grinding is your thing, then you can also return to past battlegrounds at any time to duke it out with your foes again in order to increase your stats and earn new items.
Combat centres on an isometric viewpoint, and you can plonk up to ten participants onto the battlefield from the base panel. Fighting itself is a turn-based affair, with rudimentary RPG staples such as regular attacks and magic being your main work horses, though you can also employ a few elaborate strategies such as chucking one of your characters at an enemy. You’ll always get first dibs on any battle, allowing you to deploy your combatants, position them and then unleash havoc upon your foes. Once this is accomplished, your enemy returns the favour. Rinse, wash and repeat. Combos can be performed every now and then if you possess allies adjacent to one another as they attack, while coloured panels contain bonuses or penalties to anyone standing on them, providing a geo symbol is affecting the panel.
Characters can be created and trained up by spending mana obtained by vanquishing bad guys, with Afternoon of Darkness providing ample classes to choose from; needless to say, you could conceivably spend hours and hours in this area if you decide to do so. Speaking of hours, the game’s main campaign is pretty substantial, clocking in at around 30-40 hours of play time. Once you finish the game you can start over with all of the equipment and stats you’ve earned, plus there’s an extra ending, optional areas and bosses and much more to be found through subsequent playthroughs.
If that wasn’t enough, you can also have a pop at the PSP-exclusive Etna Mode, which offers its own campaign and storyline to follow. Finally, Afternoon of Darkness also offers up ad-hoc multiplayer, allowing you to trade items with your mates and pit your armies up against each other. Furthermore, fights are fully customisable, allowing you to fiddle with various parameters such as determining what items will appear, turning fog on/off as well as victory conditions.
Tune in again same time tomorrow for another gander Inside PlayStation Network.