Lupin the 3rd: Treasure Of The Sorceror King – PS2 – Preview

Who is Lupin the 3rd? Master of disguise? Thief? Secret agent? Lost member of
the Mission Impossible team?

Well, a lot of one and a little bit of the others. You see Lupin is a
world-class thief, who has Interpol and a bumbling, self-pretentious inspector
on his trail. He is also the star of the game Lupin the 3rd (Treasure of the
Sorcerer King), a PlayStation2 title from Bandai, Banpresto and Eia slated for
release after the first of the year.

It is early evening in the Heldeliedschloss train station. A young countess
sits on her luggage waiting to board when her attendant approaches to ask her to
get on. She declines stating she would like to watch the people a while. In the
bustle, a porter wanders past with a statue that he tries to load into a car
that is reserved for a priceless piece of art the countess is using to enrich
the lives of young children. It was collected by her wandering father, who has
disappeared.

The statue is finally placed in the baggage car at the rear of the train.

Meanwhile, a gruff inspector from Interpol approaches and gives the young
countess the low-down of the world-class thief he is tracking, Lupin the 3rd.
The inspector has reason to believe that Lupin (whom the countess seems smitten
with) may be in the area, but as a precaution, he is there to protect the train.

Finally, the train begins to move. The statue, in the final car, moves and
the plaster falls off to reveal Lupin. He is ten cars from the painting, and
there is a host of police officers along the way.

Let the adventure begin.

Lupin is the leader of a band of thieves, each with their own specialty.
Together they are able to combine skills to pull off daring robberies. The core
character in this game is obviously the suave, and slightly sarcastic Lupin. He
will wise-crack, and displays more street-wise kid attitude than debonair
cat-burglar.

The game itself is a blend of puzzles and some minor action. Lupin can sneak
very well, and if he gets close enough, he can use his array of non-violent
weapons (like his sleep gun) to stun or knock out opponents. He can also use
disguises to move through those bent on stopping him. But his disguises can be
seen through. In order to keep up appearances, he must role-play a bit, put
minds at ease, and then use his skills to further his schemes. He may don the
disguise of a police officer, and getting close to one of those stationed aboard
the train may allow him to pick the pocket and gain vital information for him to
continue.

The puzzle set-up is not overly complex and players, by paying attention and
looking around, will certainly discover what is needed to advance. To this end,
the camera will allow players to switch from third-person to first-person
perspective.

The environments of this title offer a rich array of three-dimensional hiding
spaces to use. In the opening segments, which act as a tutorial, Lupin can sneak
up the train, ducking into the areas where the seats are to hide from the
officers. There is some graphical disparity between the character models and the
environments. The characters bear some resemblance to Japanese anime characters
while the look and feel of the environments is Western Europe.

The game sound is solid, but some of the jokes seem forced and while overly
funny do set a mood and tone for the lead character.

Lupin the 3rd is setting itself up to be a different style of game, both in
its graphical presentation and script. The game has a really solid feel and a
unique style that is certain to garner numerous looks. Even in this early build
it is apparent that the game is focused on fun and light-hearted entertainment.