Warren Spector’s Disney Epic Mickey Headed to Wii in 2010

Deus Ex creator Warren Spector’s Junction Point Studios has been working on a top secret game project for Disney Interactive Studios for a while now and it’s been on my radar for as long as JP has been working away quietly on it. Now, the first official huge chunk of information and assets have now become available. Here you go: the complete press release and a nice set of images including a dev team photo, character renders and a few pieces of concept art.

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General Generic Non-Threatening Update Time!

In the process of moving a ton of games off the walls here for the big repair job that starts Friday, so updates will be slower this week. Still finishing up a few older reviews that SHOULD get posted before Friday (when I won’t be posting at all unless the worker leave early enough for me to upload/download stuff).

Cooking up a Holiday Gift Guide for November as well as some more interviews and such, so stick around for that…

Games On TV: Left 4 Dead 2 Gamestop Baseball Bat Premium TV Ad

Hilarious L4D2 promo spot featuring the American Baseball Bat GS promo – check it out:

Review: Fairytale Fights

Platform: PS3/Xbox 360

Developer: Playlogic Game Studios

Publisher: Playlogic

# of Players: 1 – 4

Rating: M (Mature)

Official Site

Score: B

After a long development cycle it’s finally here, it’s pretty darn bloody and it’s a hack ‘n slash fan’s dream game. That is, provided your dreams are candy-colored and packed with mutated puppets dishing out damage on an epic, nasty scale. Fairytale Fights packs in its entire running time with tons of humor plus more gallons of blood and severed limbs than you’d find in certain zombie-killing franchises. Although the game probably isn’t going to impress those jaded players looking for total perfection and “innovation” seeping out of every corner, it’s got more than enough style to keep those who love the sub-genre playing ’til the cows come home. As a single-player arcade-style experience, it’s supremely hysterical, but can feel a bit lonely after a few hours. However, with up to three friends, the game is a complete blast to play – provided everyone’s platforming skills are up to the game’s deathtraps and occasionally brutal boss battles.

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Review: Nostalgia (Nintendo DS)

Platform: Nintendo DS/DSi

Developer: Matrix Software


Publisher: Ignition


# of Players: 1

Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Official Site

Score: A

An excellent game for entry level players or seasoned JRPG veterans who can recall the “good old days” with a wistful smile, Nostalgia is one of the best games in the genre this year. The Matrix Software developed Tecmo/RED co-produced project, some ten years in the making, just feels right from the moment you start playing and it only gets better as the hours zoom by. What makes the game so outstanding are the combination of well-worn genre elements spiced up by a rewarding skills-based battle system and a huge game world absolutely packed with stuff to do and secrets to uncover. The game rarely misses a note throughout and despite a few minor flaws can easily stand up to some of today’s console JRPGs in terms of bang for the buck.

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Fairytale Fights Free DLC Arrives Along With Game

BAM! Just as Playlogic’s hybrid hack ‘n slash/platformer hits stores, here comes the first DLC – go sign up and get it, folks! My review is coming shortly…

FAIRYTALE FIGHTS® DLC BONANZA!!
Playlogic Offers Bloody DLC for FREE Within 90 Days of Release

October 27, 2009 – Amsterdam/New York – Playlogic Entertainment, Inc., an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, are thrilled to announce today that its highly anticipated hack’n’slash gore-fest Fairytale Fights will have FREE DLC for all gamers available for a limited period of time (90 days after release). Gamers who buy the game within 90 days of launch can receive exclusive FREE DLC valued at over $15 by registering on the Fairytale Fights official website. Once the downloadable content is available, bloodthirsty Fairytale Fights fans will receive exclusive redeemable codes, courtesy of Little Red Riding Hood!

Part of the FREE DLC will be exclusive to those who register:

Fairytale Fights FREE DLC (for registered users) includes
· 4 Brand New Playable Characters
· 3 Brand New PvP Arenas

For all those that don’t register, we’ll be announcing our FREE DLC release plans for Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store in the coming weeks so be sure to check the Fairytale Fights official site on a regular basis for news and updates.

Fairytale Fights is now in European stores for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and will be available the 27th of October in North America!

Random Art II: Bloodrayne Halloween Sketch

 

I did this piece a few years back for fun – the original is probably hanging in an PR office somewhere or socked away somewhere safe… one of these days I’ll get to drawing on a more regular basis.

Dragon Age: Origins Update: Oghren (Plus Gold!)


It’s all done and gone gold, folks. Dragon Age: Origins has gone into production, so those final retail copies are only a short time away from your hot little hands. BioWare has also announced a DA:O social network which you’ll be able to read more about below this week’s character update. Anyway, without further adieu, heeeeeeere’s Oghren!

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Review: The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road


Platform: Nintendo DS/DSi

Developer: Media Vision

Publisher: Xseed Games

# of Players: 1

Rating: E (Everyone)

Official Site

Score: A

Thanks to the very wise folks at Xseed, Media Vision’s RIZ-ZOAWD has finally come to the US retitled The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road and it’s one truly gorgeous JRPG both genre and Oz fans will love. The game balances classic turn-based combat with a great, innovative stylus centered control scheme that’s sure to be copied in the future by other developers. Nearly everything about the game is grand and feels just right. What’s here is basic enough for entry level players, yet the level of challenge in some spots can make the game tricky enough for RPG veterans to appreciate. This revision of the classic Oz tale doesn’t overstay its welcome either, as the adventure clocks in at a decent enough length and has a nicely done ending that resonates long after you’ve watched the end credits.

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Armored Core 3 Portable Hits PSP As PSN DLC Only


From FromSoft, with Love (BOOM!), Department: PSP and PSP go owners can do the happy dance while folks who want their retail UMDs are crying in their root beers. An all new PSP Armored Core game is here and ready to go over the PlayStation Network, so drop the fifteen clams on this one and get with the customizing and mecha blasting action, whydontcha? Now, I’m hoping that FromSoftware sees fit to localize and release King’s Field Additional I and II in the US via this method one of these days (especially with Demon’s Souls blowing up the charts all over the map)…

Press release and images below:

FromSoftware Inc. today announced that Armored Core® 3 Portable, the latest installment in its popular mecha action game series, will be available for download on the North American PlayStation®Network on October 22, 2009. The Armored Core franchise has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide, and the original Armored Core 3 for PlayStation®2 has stood the test of time as a fan favorite.

In Armored Core 3 Portable, players battle as members of the mercenary organization “Raven,” piloting customizable mecha Armored Core (AC) units. The ACs are customizable with different weapons and machine parts that can be reconfigured as necessary to complete a variety of combat-intensive missions.

Features:

* Over 50 action-packed missions
* Enhanced menu interface and in-game visibility
* Pilot a fully customizable AC unit, configuring weapons, parts, armor color and emblems
* Over 200 parts available to assemble and create your own machine, including parts from the previous games in the series
* PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) Ad Hoc Network support; easily battle up to four friends using a wireless connection
* Challenge opponents nationwide over the Ad Hoc Party on PlayStation®3 (PS3™)
* A new opponent from the Japanese Armored Core novel
* Future-proof data can be saved and transferred to future Armored Core PSP titles

Armored Core 3 Portable is rated T for Teen (Violence) by the ESRB, and has a purchase price of $14.99.