TOKYO--Earlier at TGS 2005, we managed to check out Tales of the Abyss for the PlayStation 2, the latest entrant into Namco's classic Tales series. The companion to that game, if you live in Japan at least, is Tales of the Abyss: Adventure of Myu for mobile phones. Unlike all games bearing the Tales title, Adventure of Myu is not a role-playing game. In fact, on its own, it's not that compelling of a game at all. The reason for this is that the mobile version of Tales of Abyss is best thought of as an add-on to the PlayStation 2 game more than a game by itself.

　　The language barrier prevented us from getting the logistics on how this will work, but we were assured that the Adventures of Myu lets players trade information between their PlayStation 2s and mobile phones. Assuming all goes well, this will be the first game to ever do so. Taking full advantage of the benefits of mobile, Namco will facilitate a way for players to earn items and upgrades when out of the house, essentially taking their game on the go. In the game's three levels, players will be able to unlock weapons, potions, and up to 100 different items that they can then take over to their PlayStation 2 version of the game. However, the gameplay in Adventures of Myu is more like that of a traditional action platformer and not of the typical Tales RPG.

　　We ran around one of the levels with the cute little Myu, a rabbit-esque creature with excessively long ears. You can navigate in four directions, around environmental traps and through different screens and tunnels as you attempt to find items for the game. There are standard enemies that patrol an area that try to attack Myu, but given her fireball affront, enemies can be dispatched with pretty quickly.

　　On its own, Tales of the Abyss: Adventures of Myu is a little too simplistic to be considered either a worthy action game or a worthy platformer. However, it can be used as a way to unlock content for the PlayStation 2 game, which is a great use of mobile technology for gaming. Currently it's slated for a December 12 release in Japan, although no release has been scheduled for North America yet. We'll bring you more information as it becomes available.