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Give In To The Grind With Valhalla Knights 2

Fans of .Hack, Crimson Tears, Diablo and massively multiplayer online RPGs can rejoice in the Valhalla Knights 2's upcoming October release. Marvelous Entertainment, the offbeat developer behind the Harvest Moon series, No More Heroes and the DS adventure game Contact, is responsible for both the original cult hit and its sequel. With a story by Miwa Shoda (a scenario designer for games in the classic Final Fantasy, Mana and SaGa series), the game seems to be a sure thing for PSP-owning JRPG fans, especially on a platform with very little serious competition.

As much as the 'form a party, quest, get loot and XP' model of Valhalla Knights 2 should appeal to the MMORPG set, it's also an ideal fit for fans of another runaway PSP hit – Capcom's Monster Hunter. Although, stateside, Monster Hunter: Freedom and its sequel aren't the massive phenomenon they are in Japan, the mission-based giant-monster-killing gameplay is deep and appealing, and it's no wonder why Marvelous is putting its own twist on the game model.

Valhalla Knights 2 isn't a direct sequel to last year's Valhalla Knights, but rather a new story in a new world with similar gameplay elements, much like the various entries in the Final Fantasy series. Players can choose party members from dwarves, halflings, robots and even dogs (yes, dogs – according to early hands-on reports, there are several breeds and they wield tennis rackets and giant mallets as weapons) among other, yet-to-be confirmed races. Valhalla Knights 2 also has a robust job system that will require players to switch back and forth between several character classes in order to progress through the game.

If VK2 manages to be more of the same level-grinding, dungeon-crawling fun of the first game in the series, it should keep its fanbase very happy. Valhalla Knights 2 is set to ship in early October 2008, so keep watching GameQuestDirect.com to order your new, factory-sealed copy as soon as it becomes available.