428: Fuusa Sareta Shibuya De (428: Blocked Within Shibuya) keeps getting more interesting. It’s a sound novel, which means you “play” the game by reading the story. Chunsoft added an actual “playing” mechanic by letting players switch characters on the fly. Despite the lack of interaction 428 got a perfect score from Famitsu. The story must be really solid.
Another neat innovation in 428 is how it supports Wii connect. Even though the game doesn’t have a Nintendo Wi-Fi logo you can opt in for hint messages from Sega on how to unlock an extra scenario done by visual novel studio Type Moon. Messages start going out on December 25 so if you have 428 don’t forget to turn on the message delivery option in the preferences menu. More messages will be delivered on Jan. 1, Jan. 15, and Jan. 29.
While this service might be unnecessary Chunsoft has a brilliant idea. Imagine a horror game where characters suddenly “e-mail” you from beyond the grave or an RPG where citizens of the world remind you to save them from destruction. More companies should use Wii Connect 24 creatively.
Images courtesy of Sega.
