Gallery: Dawn of Heroes


I thought this one sounded familiar… Montreal-based developer Wicked Studios’ DS exclusive Tactical RPG was initially announced for a June 2009 release, so I thought I missed out on it entirely. However, It turns out Majesco is actually publishing it on December 1, 2009, so here you go: the first game trailer and a nice batch of screenshots – enjoy!

I’m really liking the character customization aspects as well as the nice character art, which looks a little inspired a bit by the great Susumu Matsushita’s work. Hmmm… I feel another developer interview coming on. It looks as if I’m off to bug some PR folks…

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New Mass Effect 2 Character Revealed


Meet Subject Zero… don’t ogle her tattooed glory too long or she’s the last thing you’ll see… and no, you probably won’t die with a smile on your face, either. Mass Effect 2’s latest character reveal is this deadly lady who has “been around, ran with gangs, wiped out some gangs.”  Yikes.

Updated intel from BioWare notes this:

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Magnacarta 2 Goes Gold for Xbox 360


Ah, it’s the ol’ “Cross platform hijinx that makes some console owners want to rip their hair out, but it’s all good in the end” department: Magnacarta 2 has gone gold for the Xbox 360 (and for now, ONLY the Xbox 360). The RPG series which got its start as a PC game in Korea followed up by a PlayStation 2 sequel (and a 2006 PSP port of the 2nd game which was never releases stateside) now gets its next installment as an Xbox 360 exclusive. Well, the 360 can use another decent JRPG, so I’m all aboard the MC2 train…

Press release below – images to come this weekend when I have more free time to post ’em. Yup, I can’t wait to play this one, as well…

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F1 2009 Wii Trailer

Nice bit of a tease for Condemasters’ upcoming F1 2009 showing of the new Singapore Course. Color me impressed at that frame rate and number of cars on the track. Fingers crossed that it’s got true simulation as well as arcade aspects so everyone can dive in and play.

More on this one as new info arrives – stay tuned…

Left 4 Dead Crash Course DLC Now Available (And Of Course, Valve Is Giving You Something A Little Extry)…

Let’s say you don’t already own a copy of L4D for the PC but you want to buy it NOW. Well then, pardner, boogie on over to Steam, sign up today and you can get L4D for 50% off of the retail price. You’ll be wiping out hordes of zombies within minutes and “Cha-ching!”, you just saved some money in the process! Of course, this is a LIMITED time deal, hoss – it expires October 1, 2009. SO get cookin’, chief.

As to that new DLC mentioned in the header – read on for details (links below as well):

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Release Calendar: 9/28 – 10/2

Here we go – pretty much from this week onward, it’s going to be crazy in terms of new releases. Lots of top quality stuff this week along with a few sleepers.

Dead Space Extraction should creep you out with not only how good it looks “for a Wii game” but also with some really scary moments that give the game a nicely cinematic feel. Obscure: The Aftermath brings the teen horror flick to the PSP in fine form with co-op play and lots of monsters trying to kill the hell out of you and your AI (or second player controlled) partner.

Give Tornado Outbreak a whirl (it’s a lot of fun and not a Katamari Forever clone at all), Valhalla Knights Eldar Saga should please RPG fans who love to grind away for levels, The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road DS is one of the best-looking games on the handheld and a unique entry level JRPG variation on the classic book and film. Risen looks and plays wonderfully, so give it a try if you’re a PC role-player (360 owners have a few months more to wait for their version).

Midnight Club Los Angeles: Complete Edition is a great deal for racing fans of any stripe. Speaking of racers, if history is any indication, Gran Turismo PSP might boost up sales on the handheld a bit (as well as sell a few more PSP GO! units), Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will wow the Square-heads while Battle of Giants: Dragons and Undead Knights look intriguing to me… I’ll have to look into getting review copies on those two.

Anyway, here you go…

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Namco Bandai Announces Enslaved for PS3, 360

It looks as if Namco Bandai has figured out one more new gaming equation: Ninja Theory + Andy Serkis = one hell of an interesting game experience. Enslaved is the next game project the respected Heavenly Sword developer is currently working on for a 2010 release on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 and based on the concept art and early screens, the game is looking mighty fine indeed.

Aesthetically, I’m not sure if the Jak meets Wolverine look of Monkey clicks until I see the game in action, but it’s a definite “Yes!” in my book for Trip’s athletic yet “normal” figure (i.e., no pudding-filled pontoons stuck to her chest). Also, the bigger questions in the end to some may be this: can Ninja Theory deliver a second killer game, this time out, successfully as a cross platform release while making sure it looks equally good on both consoles? My money says yes they can. Anyway, to the press release!

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Today: Live Dead Space Extraction Demo/Dev Commentary/Q & A!


How’s this for fan service? Just in time for today’s launch of the Wii-exclusive Dead Space Extraction, Visceral Games is hosting an hour-long live webcast featuring gameplay demos of the cinematic sci-fi horror/action hybrid along with a Q & A session with members of the game’s development team that you (yes, you) can be a part of. The fun begins at 12 noon, PST (that’s 3pm Eastern Time if you’re in New York), so click away on that link above and enjoy the show.

We’ll have a full review of Dead Space Extraction after our review copy arrives.

Gallery: Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble

In case you didn’t know it yet, Atlus really wants all your money… and they know how to get it while making your gamer grin grow wider in the process. This year has been especially prime for the publisher, thanks to everything from the wacky fun of 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix to the upgraded classic RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Persona to the upcoming instant classic for the ages masterpiece Demon’s Souls (which is so spectacular, it’s worth buying a PS3 for).

Another cool-looking game headed your way (on November 10, 2009, to be more precise, so go pre-order the game!) is Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble for the PSP, a portable beat ’em up that should remind a few of you classic gamers out there of the good old days of River City Ransom and other non-stop knuckle-fest titles. I have a couple of these sort of high school beatdown games in my Super Famicom collection, but I’m too buried under new games and such to go dig them out. Anyway, seeing these screenshots made me laugh, but for all the right reasons – this one looks like it’s going to be hilarious. Take a look for yourself…

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Risen Teaser Trailer #1

Here’s a thrilling, nicely edited ad that has parts of the opening cinema. Makes you want to run out and buy this, huh? Trailer # 2 gets posted on Thursday, by the way. Risen ships out to retail shortly for an October 2, 2009 release. The Xbox 360 version is coming early next year and nope, there is no PS3 version as far as I’ve heard (unless that’s the reason for the delay… but I doubt it).