...That is the time you will be given to finish 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors before its sequel Virtue's Last Reward comes out on the 23rd.

So, about eight months back I made a very excited blog post to celebrate the announcement that Virtue's Last Reward was coming stateside. As we are now nine days out from its release, it felt appropriate to return my sig to Sigma and Phi (sorry Forum Mentor Newb banner) and repeat my explanation of the series:

For those not in the know, both games focus on a group of 9 people trapped in a sealed location (a sinking ship in 999, a locked-down warehouse and laboratory in VLR) and forced to play a life-or-death game, the Nonary Game. In 999, each player is assigned a number via a bangle strapped to their wrist, and must create groups whose digital roots are the numbers painted on the locked doors before them. Break the rules, and a bomb implanted in the player goes off.

 

VLR instead opts for a version of the prisoner's dilemma; each player has a certain number of "bangle points", visible on their bangle; players who reach 9 or above can open the '9' door and escape. Each round of the game sees three groups of three form (in one pair and one solo player); at the end of each section of the warehouse, sides can choose to betray their partners or cooperate. Betrayal by both sides nets nothing for anyone; cooperation by both grants everyone two points; one cooperation and one betrayal nets the traitor(s) 3 and penalizes the betrayed 2. Drop to 0 points, and your bangle injects you with a lethal poison.

 

...And between making the life-or-death choices of who to group with or who to betray, there's some very fun escape-the-room gameplay going on, and it's all wrapped up in a plot that has no problem with bending your brain into a pretzel. Good stuff.

So yeah. If you have a DS, definitely try and track down 999 if you can. It's rated M for a reason, but it's absolutely mindblowing by the end. And definitely pick it up if you're interested in VLR, since I hear VLR spoils most of 999's story - and that's not something you want to happen.

Oh, and if you have a Vita, you can grab the demo of VLR right now. Go! Do it! Our gasmasky friend Zero up there demands it.