[PSP] - Kingdom Hearts : Birth By Sleep (USA)

Developer(s)	Square Enix Product Development Division 5
Publisher(s)	Square Enix Ubisoft (AUS)
Distributor(s)	Disney Interactive Studios
Director(s)	Tetsuya Nomura Tai Yasue
Producer(s)	Patrick Chen Yoichi Yoshimoto
Artist(s)	Takeshi Fujimoto
Writer(s)	Masaru Oka Daisuke Watanabe
Composer(s)	Yoko Shimomura Tsuyoshi Sekito Takeharu Ishimoto
Series	Kingdom Hearts
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable PlayStation 3 (HD)
Release date(s)	January 9, 2010
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Birth by Sleep is an action role-playing game that introduces a gameplay aspect to the series called the Command System. This system allows players to customize a Command Deck with techniques and abilities that they can perform at will, called Deck Commands Performing ordinary attacks and Commands fills a gauge displayed above the Command Deck. When certain requirements are fulfilled and the gauge is full, the player's basic attack is changed to the "Surge" Command, which racks up powerful combos depending on what Command Style is activated. Filling the gauge a second time replaces the "Surge" Command with the more powerful "Storm" Command.

Unlike previous games in the series, the game does not utilize Magic Points (MP) for spells or magic casting. It instead uses a system known as Focus, which is displayed in an orange gauge on the interface. The player can use Focus to perform a technique called Shotlock with which the player enters a first person mode where they target enemies to cast homing spells that differ with each character and technique, depleting the gauge relative to the number of enemies targeted. Once depleted, the Focus gauge gradually refills with every attack and Deck Command the player lands on an enemy.

Another aspect introduced in the game is the Dimension Link (D-Link), measured in a blue gauge on the interface. It is used to draw power from certain companions who the player characters meet during the game, such as Experiment 626, temporarily replacing the commands in the player's customized command deck with a pre-determined set of commands that differ with each D-Link. Once the command gauge is filled while performing a D-Link, a powerful finishing move is activated to take out enemies. Each finishing move has two levels which can render a finishing move more powerful than before, similar to that of the Command System. The D-Link can only be used when its corresponding gauge is filled completely, and can be activated by pressing right on the directional pad to access the D-Link menu, followed by selecting the chosen ally.

The game also features the Command Board, which appears whenever the player completes a world, and can be accessed from save points and the world map once unlocked. Each world has its own unique Command Board with its own tricks and mechanisms. The Command Board plays like a regular board game where a die is thrown and the player moves, with each space having its own unique effect on the player. Various Disney characters from throughout the game also appear on their respective Command Board to either aid or hinder the player. Special panels in the board game can trigger "special events" when landed on by the player.

PREVIEW :