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Gintama no Sugoroku PSP's 4th Promo Highlights New Characters

Namco Bandai Games' official channel began streaming the 4th promo for Gintama no Sugoroku, the first Gintama game in five years, on Monday.

The "slapstick sci-fi board game with laughs and tears" recreates the world of Gintama in which players advance on the board, sabotage rivals, and battle each other with card attacks. The game has several stages devoted to MADAO (flee MADAO with money), Shōgun, "Bakudan-Otoko" (inspired by Bomberman with board-leveling explosives), Kintama' (with the Kintoki imposter), and a Popularity Contest.

The game uses the same Live2D computer-animated technique that Namco Bandai Games has used in Haruhi Suzumiya, Oreimo, Haganai, Tokimeki Girl's Side, Madoka Magica, Macross, and Tiger & Bunny software to animate 2D characters' expressions as if they were 3D.

The game will include an original story mode with new characters, created in collaboration with manga creator Hideaki Sorachi. Yūki Kaji, Yōko Hikasa, Satoshi Hino, and Takehito Koyasu voiced the new characters. While a single player can enjoy the story mode, multiple players can play against each other via an ad hoc network.

A downloadable "drama maker" bonus lets players create their own original drama mini-episodes by assembling dialogue, characters, backgrounds, music, and storylines in Live2D.

The game will arrive on the PSP on January 24 for 6,280 yen (about US$79). The download code for "drama maker" bonus comes with the first copies of the game.