i just thought i'd let everyone know that it's out on the japanese playstation store. if you don't know how to make a japanese account, go to this link. i haven't played it yet, still in the tutorial.

http://blogs.ign.com/xheavenxsentx/2006/12/09/39684

edit: btw, the text is japanese, but the voice over is in english. thank god for that.

edit2: actually, once you're in the game, all the text is in english. it's a pretty sweet game, as it's totally different from anything i've ever played before.

The game is really cool, seeing how to manipulate the camera to change perspectives. I just don't know if it has lasting power. I will definitely buy it once it comes out, but will probably play through it in a day or two, and never look back.

That being said, check out the demo, its a really cool and unique game.

Also, here are some tips.

X button speeds the man up
Triangle makes him stop so you can move the camera around without worrying about him jumping off a ledge.
R1 moves the camera faster, and L1 activates six-axis.

I think there might be a few other buttons, but those are all the ones off the top of my head.

Very fun game. I like it a lot. If you haven't already, go download it.

I was really looking forward to this but was a bit disappointed. The camera controls didn't seem very smooth at all... in fact, I found them a bit jerky.

And I noticed that a few "perception" tricks actually did not work, when they should have.

One example was two beams at two different levels that you could use a foreground beam to hide the gap and then the up/down camera to level the two beams. You should have been able to walk straight across, but your character just a walked into an invisible wall behind the beam. The whole point of this game is that something like that won't happen.

So it lost some creative appeal to me there when I figured out that there are some of their own "rules" that they somehow forgot to account for.

Yeah, I noticed that too freestyle, but then came to realize that there was a set way that the developer's wanted you to solve the level. It took me a little while until I figured out what I was supposed to do, and even then I thought it was pretty cool.

There are some things that won't work the way it "should" but that would probably help us in the long run on some more difficult stages so we won't go where we shouldn't in order to defeat the level.

Yeah, I noticed that too freestyle, but then came to realize that there was a set way that the developer's wanted you to solve the level. It took me a little while until I figured out what I was supposed to do, and even then I thought it was pretty cool.

There are some things that won't work the way it "should" but that would probably help us in the long run on some more difficult stages so we won't go where we shouldn't in order to defeat the level.

That was the genius of the design (I had previously thought). The rules seem arbitrary now.

I guess it was harder to program then they had thought. lol

eh, that's crap. as long as you get it just right, the perception tricks work. at least for me they did. maybe you guys found a glitch in the demo. as for jerky controls. you do know that l1 (or r1, can't remember which) activates sixaxis controls, yes? regardless, i'll buy it when it's 20 bucks. a game like this isn't worth any more than that, IMO. however, don't take this as a dis to the game, because i really like what they've done here.

If you want this demo in English it's available on the Hong Kong region PS Store. You can set up an account like for Japan, just choose Hong Kong as your region. Looks like everything on there is in Chinese and English, and that one gets almost everything that Japan does at about the same time.

I think the game is gonna be really good, just need to polish a couple of control things. Lots of things can change between demo and final.

If you want this demo in English it's available on the Hong Kong region PS Store. You can set up an account like for Japan, just choose Hong Kong as your region. Looks like everything on there is in Chinese and English, and that one gets almost everything that Japan does at about the same time.

I think the game is gonna be really good, just need to polish a couple of control things. Lots of things can change between demo and final.

That's the one I played...

And actually going back, it isn't as totally rigid as I thought... There are a few ways to do each thing... but some ways are limited arbitrarily... I can make a beam look perfectly straight and the character will bounce back.

But I think it will be a fun play... Seems like a 4.99 game... but I think I'd pay up to 9.99 tops.

Before playing the demo I thought I would pay $19.99 for the PSN version, which I hear will have 50 puzzles. Now I would probably pay $9.99. Once you figure out the "trick" there will be no reason to play it again. I kind of remember reading that they will allow player made puzzles. Is that true? Player made content could keep the game fresh, especially if they have a ranking system that allows the better maps to be easily found.

Oh and I d/l'd the game off the Japanese store and the games voice overs are done in English. No problems there.

Theres gotta be more than one way to solve a puzzle. Its not infinite but more than one.

Does anyone know a US release date? When in May, I guess.

I agree there is more than one way to solve the puzzle. I haven't read anything about a US launch date.

This game is fun...Only thing that drives me crazy is dropping through holes, i find that a lil difficult to find the exact spot. But i managed ...

The idea behind this game is great, which will probably be an idea used in future games...

Any yea, there is more then one way to solve the puzzles..ive solved a couple of them a couple different ways, both just as annoying but fun

This game is fun...Only thing that drives me crazy is dropping through holes, i find that a lil difficult to find the exact spot. But i managed ...

The idea behind this game is great, which will probably be an idea used in future games...

Any yea, there is more then one way to solve the puzzles..ive solved a couple of them a couple different ways, both just as annoying but fun

I still like the game, I just don't think it is as wide-open as I hoped. You can DEFINITELY solve puzzles in different ways... just not in *all* the ways that you should be able to.

One example is a gap AND a vertically offset pair of walk ways... You can move the walk ways to appear level... and then block the gap... it looks like a perfect path behind the block.. but the guys stops. That's just in the demo... I don't know how often things like this might happen.

But I like it and would probably pay 9.99 max for this puzzle game...

Btw... i think they changed the woman's voice in the US version... I liked the voice in the Hong Kong version better... lol (both were speaking english btw)

And yes, using the sixaxis helps the controls.. You hold L1 and can rotate closer into place.

I'm still undecided between the PSP and PS3 versions.

If I had a PSP, I'd get both. Great time killer when away with this game.

It looks like IGN has a release date for May but no date.

I think it's due out "summer."

I'm a lot less impressed by this game than I hoped I'd be. It's a great idea, but the puzzles themselves aren't as great as the concept.

Sure, the demo only includes some basic introductory levels, but even in those I never felt the same sense of "oh, I get it!" that should come with a good puzzle game (like Portal or Zack & Wiki). Looking at some of the more advanced levels (in the menu screen and in screenshots), it looks too open-ended and meandering to have those great "clicking" moments.

Controls still need polishing. Edges aren't always clear, and some things that should work, don't. In one of the demo levels you can line up two separate pathways and join them "behind" an upright, but this isn't a technique the game allows you to do. You can bridge gaps separated by width by using an upright in the foreground, but you can't join two pathways separated by depth, even if they line up perfectly. Hard to explain what I mean without showing it. Believe it or not, that one flaw ruined the game for me. It brought the whole gimmick of the game crashing down.

Best part of the game? The music. It's fantastic. Very Philip Glass-esque.

It might be worth $10 just for the music.

For those the in "That should've worked" situations, have you tried using the Snap function (Square Button)? It automatically lines things up when they're close, but not perfect.

My "should've worked" scenario doesn't fit in with their "5 golden rules" set, but it should. The game is built around perspective illusions, so it really should work, but it doesn't because it's not one of their "5 golden rules."

I was just over excited for what the game promised, but it doesn't look like it will quite deliver on that promise.

the demo is on the US store FYI I just DL it last night. I HOPE they have DL levels too... I can see this being fun, but you will need something to keep it fresh

A bit harsh on a demo to judge the game.

I'm more excited for this game's release than most others.

What a brillant idea. I'll have alot of fun solving these puzzles.

Plus level creation?

10 bucks is a steal.

At $10 it is mine. Now I just hope they release Patapon on the PSN.

boring as crap imho.

:)

boring as crap imho.

:)

Yeah, solving a puzzle probably doesn't give you the same thrill as beating a hooker to death, but it's probably better for you.

From IGN: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/870/870838p1.html

Of course, nobody will notice with GTAIV threads everywhere :rolleyes:

[EDIT] Here's the Playstation Blog entry mentioned in the IGN article: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/04/30/echochrome-arrives-tomorrow/ It talks about user-created levels and how "top user-created levels will be available free each week from PSN (PS3 version only)". Pretty cool stuff!

free levels makes it an easy buy for me.

Wow, what a lousy time for the game to be released. Hopefully it stays on the front page for a couple weeks as people get over their GTA4 fix.

The game is really cool, seeing how to manipulate the camera to change perspectives. I just don't know if it has lasting power. I will definitely buy it once it comes out, but will probably play through it in a day or two, and never look back.

That being said, check out the demo, its a really cool and unique game.

Also, here are some tips.

X button speeds the man up
Triangle makes him stop so you can move the camera around without worrying about him jumping off a ledge.
R1 moves the camera faster, and L1 activates six-axis.

I think there might be a few other buttons, but those are all the ones off the top of my head.

is there an option to make the controls normal and not inverted? that was really frustrating, and will be a deal breaker.

is there an option to make the controls normal and not inverted? that was really frustrating, and will be a deal breaker.

Yes, you can turn off invert for either horizontal or vertical rotations.

Wow, what a lousy time for the game to be released. Hopefully it stays on the front page for a couple weeks as people get over their GTA4 fix.

So true... I just downloaded this and went to the freeform option (picks a stage at random for you, but based on a difficulty you choose). When it showed me the puzzle, I felt a headache coming on. I then decided that I'd rather do something mindless so I popped in GTA4 and picked a fistfight with some pedestrian instead.

That being said... my first impressions of it are quite positive; the menus are simple and clean. It checks if there are any new puzzles each time it starts up (presumably user submitted puzzles, but I'm not sure). You have a portfolio to keep your own creations and puzzles from friends. For your own creations, you can upload them to a public server (I don't know how they are reviewed and included for others to download), but you also have an option for sending your puzzle to friends on PSN (via a message attachment). Puzzles that are downloaded from their public server are put into a random rotation with the standard puzzles when running the freeform mode. As far as I can tell, you can only selectively pick the standard 56 puzzles, plus your own creations, or those sent to you from friends via the PSN; I couldn't see how you can play on demand the puzzles that were downloaded from echochrome's public server.

So true... I just downloaded this and went to the freeform option (picks a stage at random for you, but based on a difficulty you choose). When it showed me the puzzle, I felt a headache coming on. I then decided that I'd rather do something mindless so I popped in GTA4 and picked a fistfight with some pedestrian instead.

That being said... my first impressions of it are quite positive; the menus are simple and clean. It checks if there are any new puzzles each time it starts up (presumably user submitted puzzles, but I'm not sure). You have a portfolio to keep your own creations and puzzles from friends. For your own creations, you can upload them to a public server (I don't know how they are reviewed and included for others to download), but you also have an option for sending your puzzle to friends on PSN (via a message attachment). Puzzles that are downloaded from their public server are put into a random rotation with the standard puzzles when running the freeform mode. As far as I can tell, you can only selectively pick the standard 56 puzzles, plus your own creations, or those sent to you from friends via the PSN; I couldn't see how you can play on demand the puzzles that were downloaded from echodrome's public server.



The puzzle creation gives this almost endless replayability.

I'll be interested to see what cool puzzles PSN users come up with.

Lovely game. If my ps3 controller wasn't gimped making the camera pan endlessly unless I bash the damn controller until it stops, I'd love it even more.

I LOOOOOVE the music. The soundtrack is just spot on with the mood of the game.

The game is fun when you don't feel like doing anything but maybe relaxing, letting your mind think for a spin.

I couldn't see the psp version out in the PSN store until AFTER I bought the ps3 version. I really wanted it more for the psp, but I'm not gonna spend another $10 for it. Blegh. I just thought the PS3 and PSP version were interchangeable. Brainfart I guess.