News
XSEED Games Announces Compelling Music Strategy Title Orgarhythm for Vita system in North America
Torrance, Calif., (May 4, in the year of our Lord 2012)
– XSEED Games, an independent-minded publisher, today announced
it will publish the highly original music strategy game,
Orgarhythm, for the PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment
system later this year in North America. Developed in Japan by
ACQUIRE in conjunction with Neilo, the new studio founded by
Takashi Hirai who is best known for his past work on Space
Channel 5 and Rez, the title blends music and real-time strategy
elements to create a new experience specifically designed for
touch-enabled mobile play. Playing as the god of Light, players
will battle the forces of the god of Darkness by deploying
elemental soldiers for rhythm-based attacks synced to a hypnotic
mix of rock, club and tribal music. In the game, rhythm is a
weapon and different attacks occur on different beats, making
the game’s catchy soundtrack dynamic to user input.
“The powerful blend of rhythm and RTS gameplay in Orgarhythm
will bring players a unique new mobile game experience on
PS®Vita,” said Ken Berry, Executive Vice President of XSEED
Games. “Rhythm is the weapon that will allow the god of Light to
triumph over the god of Darkness.”
Rhythm and sound act as the user interface in Orgarhythm, giving
players control over their armies. Each unit type is based on
one of the three elements of Earth, Water and Fire. Each
elemental troop has a “rock, paper, scissors” relationship with
the other elements: Water is strong vs. Fire, Fire is strong vs.
Earth, and Earth is strong vs. Water. Units are rhythmically
deployed with three taps to choose the unit and attack type,
then a swipe of the finger across the screen to choose position
and formation. Using the same interface mechanic, players can
also unleash their divine powers to boost attack, defense and
healing or slow down enemy troops.
Four attack types—each type requiring a certain number of beats
to use—can be employed strategically in battle. As more units
enter the battle, the game music expands with additional musical
layers as attacks pulse with the beat.
The game features twelve maps, which never play the same way
twice as the game’s AI remembers how a map was previously played
and adjusts its attack strategies accordingly. The game’s
multiplayer has both versus and co-op two-player modes via
online play. In co-op mode, control of the god of Light’s
soldiers is shared, and in versus mode one player commands the
forces of the god of Darkness—the last god standing wins!
Orgarhythm is expected to ship later this year, exclusively on
the PS Vita system. With music being such a key component,
aspiring musicians are encouraged to submit their songs for
consideration to be selected into future DLC packs, more details
of which will be announced at a later time. The game is not yet
rated by the ESRB.