E3 2011: Heroes of Ruin First Look Hands-On Preview

Developed by n-Space and published by Square Enix, Heroes of Ruin is an upcoming fantasy action game for the 3DS. We got our first taste of it today in the Nintendo booth at E3.

What It Looks Like: Like so many games that focus on hacking and slashing monsters and collecting loot, Heroes of Ruin is presented from an isometric perspective. The visuals are sharp and crisp, and the overgrown forest we found ourselves in during the demo had collapsed bridges and other details that suggested the word "Ruin" in the title belongs there.

What You Do: Heroes of Ruin will ultimately feature four playable classes, but our time was spent playing as the gunslinger class. True to his name, he has numerous projectile attacks at his disposal; we made liberal use of both a spread shot attack and a more powerful, focused shot. As we ventured through the forest, monsters frequently appeared, and a bit of handy text at the top of the screen provided helpful information about the creatures and their attacks. Defeated monsters occasionally left loot behind, and we were given an at-a-glance appraisal of whether equipping that loot would enhance our stats or reduce them. When we wanted to equip a new weapon or piece of gear, we were able to do so with the press of a button, keeping the time spent fiddling in menus to a minimum.

How It Plays: The controls were responsive, and an evasive roll helped make our character feel agile and fun to move around. The ability to instantly equip looted gear is a smart touch.

What They Say: Heroes of Ruin will allow for multiplayer with voice chat and will make it easy for players to send items to their friends. With procedurally generated levels, four customizable characters, and free daily updates, Heroes of Ruin is a rich experience that will keep you coming back to its world.

What We Say: Our brief time with the game was promising. Heroes of Ruin seems like it might offer hack-and-slash action that's deep, addictive, and accessible. We look forward to learning more about the game as its release, currently projected for early 2012, gets closer.