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E3 '07: Orcs and Elves invading DS

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

[UPDATE] John Carmack teaming with Fountainhead to bring acclaimed fantasy-based first-person RPG to Nintendo's handheld, available later this year; Orcs & Elves II announced.

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--When John Carmack revealed development was under way on Doom RPG for mobile phones in 2005, his project raised more than a few eyebrows from gaming enthusiasts. After all, the programming wunderkind is widely credited as the founding father of modern-day first-person shooters, having been the lead programmer on id Software's seminal early-'90s classics Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, and the mobile platform isn't exactly reputable among core gamers.

Of course, Carmack built his reputation on technical innovation, and Doom RPG ended up wowing audiences, winning accolades such as GameSpot's 2006 Mobies, among others. Carmack's follow-up project, Orcs & Elves, met with equal success, and in February it was anointed Mobile Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

Earlier this week, Carmack revealed to UK-based publication Guardian Unlimited that his award-winning Orcs & Elves would be making its way to the Nintendo DS. Responding to whether a PlayStation Portable or DS version was in the works, Carmack said, "We are working on a DS version of Orcs & Elves right now. I laid the groundwork for the 3D engine last month, and the Fountainhead team is hard at work." Carmack did not address the possibility of a PlayStation Portable version for the game.

Again teaming with Fountainhead Entertainment, Carmack's latest project will be published by EA. Orcs & Elves combines first-person action and turn-based role-playing in an original fantasy setting. Aided by a talking magical wand, players must navigate an ancient dwarven stronghold in search of adventure and treasure. No release date for the game was mentioned.

[UPDATE] Early today, EA sent official word confirming the Nintendo DS project, as well as announcing the next installment in the series for mobile. Orcs & Elves II will continue the story begun in the original game, and players will be able to explore seven unique environments through the fantasy world. The announcement also revealed Orcs & Elves II for mobile phones and Orcs & Elves for the DS will be available this holiday season.

Tom Magrino
By Tom Magrino

Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.

32 comments
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cyber_sonix
cyber_sonix

damnit. I was hoping for wow on my ds.

smithy1185
smithy1185

This has been rumored for quite a while so no surprise here but anyway, I can't wait for it to be released. Doom RPG and Orcs and Elves are the only games I play on my cell phone and Orcs and Elves was a really great game.

DouglasBuffone
DouglasBuffone

I don't know, EA seems not to put a lot of thought into thiese quickie games. It seems like they just want to make money off of the success of the ds and the wii

chrono_wind
chrono_wind

Ever since Deep Labyrinth, I got kind of worried about Mobile games on a portable gaming device such as a DS. It's nice to see another RPG on the DS, but there's also plenty on the PSP to be released too. More portable gaming for me when I'm back to my busy days.

Pete5506
Pete5506

DS is getting everything

Dark_Link142
Dark_Link142

So many DS RPG's. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Finaly Fantasy Tactics A2, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Dragon Quest 9, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker,Final Fantasy 4, Etrian Odyssey, Xenosaga, Naruto RPG, Sonic RPG, Tales of the Tempest, ASH, Ragnarok Online DS, and Rune Factory. Makes my head spin. But in a good way.

Big_piggy1
Big_piggy1

The DS needs a good RPG, hopefully this will be it.

Proman84
Proman84

Heh, I read this and immediatly thought "Warcraft"! Silly me!

PostedOval
PostedOval

I have been playing these game on my Ravr for weeks now and I absolutely LOVE IT. What a great RPG game...and it should be a lot of fun on the DS!

lamprey263
lamprey263

fugori, modern fantasy elves have little to do with elves in folklore, so besides just calling them elves, there's really no tradition there.

chrisdojo
chrisdojo

rpg's for the DS would be nice...

fugori
fugori

@Iamprey263 Do humans get old to you? Horses? Cats? There's a real tradition there, in elves, that dates back a long time. Nothing wrong with continuing to use that, and alter it.

lamprey263
lamprey263

Jeez, fantasy genre just can't seem to shake off the orc and elves archetype. Heck, not even Star Trek could. Vulcan's are basially space elves since they live for a long time, are peaceful, got pointy ears, and androgynous. Klingons are space orcs since they're a hideous masculine warrior race. And it never seems to get old to anyone else.

BosoxJoe5
BosoxJoe5

Maxx this all stems back to when Nintendo would not let id develop Super Mario Bros for the pc.

Mp5slipknot
Mp5slipknot

This is kind of cool because the Cell Phone game was actually really good. Dunno how good of a DS title it would make though but you never know.

Maxx_the_Slash
Maxx_the_Slash

Strange. I thought John Carmack and his teemmates at id Software had no interest in Nintendo's platforms. Now, why can't we get a decent Wolfenstein 3D port to the DS instead?

comthitnuong
comthitnuong

I just got a good cell phone. I may try it out.

Robio_basic
Robio_basic

If it?s coming from John Carmack it?s got to be good. He?s got the nicest hair in the whole world of software development, and that counts for something after all.

mark_unix
mark_unix

meaning he's also working on a PSP game.

Nharia12
Nharia12

My cell is one of those no-frill types that's just used for making phone calls so I can't wait to play this on my DS.

EPaul
EPaul

my cell wont handle these games

fugori
fugori

Awesome. I've wanted to check out Carmack's mobile games, but lack a capable cell phone.

A7Xfan
A7Xfan

i have it on my phone and its one of the best cell phone games there is. Suprising to hear its coming to DS but given that brothers in arms did it I guess why not this too, right? To make a successful handheld game though they definitely need to change stuff around to suit it better to handhelds and of course ramp up the graphics some as I see they have been.

axia_777
axia_777

[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

coollizy
coollizy

Carmack, eh? If nothing else, it should LOOK pretty good in action.

DSJAM
DSJAM

Interesting,I never even heard of this game,but with Carmack involved I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

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