Looking super sharp and like a ton of fun in these videos, Namco Bandai’s not quite reboot but re-versioning of its classic arcade racing game should be in stores (and hopefully, in your hot little hands) as you read this. Will Bugbear’s expertise at racing games where stuff wrecks up quite well be accepted by the masses, or will even the awesome-looking City Editor fail to capture the attention of the jaded RR maniacs who ONLY want ONE type of game in their libraries? Suspense!
(But I’m guessing the former will win out amongst those with half a head full of common sense)…
Team Ninja set itself up with quite a paradox-shaped pickle when they set about designing Ninja Gaiden 3. The particular problem plaguing them? How to make a game for new casual players (and those who hated the supreme challenge of the older Ninja Gaiden games) and while pleasing the more hardcore fans of the franchise (some from the arcade and NES days) who wanted something brutally difficult that took a great deal of effort to master. Now, some of those more loyal hardcore Ryu Hayabusa fans would simply say “screw the noobs!” or something far less print-friendly. However, these days it’s getting much harder to sell some “core” games so far within a niche and make a decent profit. Yes, that’s pretty awful if you think about it, but broadening the base has worked well for certain other franchises and genres, right?
NISA is rolling out some really fun-looking RPGs of a few varieties in 2012 and 2013 (that I wish were allarriving on discs, but what can you do these days but hope?). The company announced three new titles for the PS3 and/or PSN that include:
Legasista (Summer 2012), which SOUNDS like a 70’s Legosploitation flick (har har), but is actually a lovely rogue-like tactical RPG coming from developer System Prism exclusively to the PS3 via PSN:
…which sounds like some import tuner muffler company sticker you’d see plastered on some goofy looking tricked out street whip (oh, I’m on a roll, aren’t I?), but it’s actually a very cool looking PS3 Strategy/RPG from Compile Heart (the folks behind the Hyperdimension Neptunia games) and GCREST.
And finally…
The Witch and the Hundred Knights, an Action/RPG set for a 2013 release on the PS3, has some lovely stylized visuals and while early, has “BUY ME” written all over those screenshots on the teaser site…
Add in a few more intriguing games such as Clan of Champions (Spring 2012), Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention for the PS Vita (Spring 2012), Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland (sooner than you think!) and a few other surprises and that’s actually even MORE of a galore! OK, my work here is done – now go pre-order something or get that wishlist updated already!
To be frank, I stopped counting (and watching) Wrath of the Titans ads when they jumped from 14 to 27 different ones or so in less than a day on YouTube, but this reboot/remake of the hilariously campy yet compelling dramatic modern Gothic soap opera (say THAT three times fast) actually looks as it’s going to be worth the ticket price. Tale that stake to the heart, you glowy teenage “vampires”, grrrr!!! Of course, my OWN dream project for Mr. Depp is for he and Tim Burton to get cracking on remakes of both Dr. Phibes films with perhaps a third film to make it a trilogy. Granted, I’m sure both guys would prefer a one-shot, one film deal that crams both stories into one extended movie over a sequel (or sequels) that demand geometrically increasing box-office tallies for each one made. Anyway, let me switch off my wishful thinking meter before I start going into Mega Millions mode…
Just seeing those cars flipping around, blasting and otherwise demolishing each other is causing my poor back to seize up, Sony. No wait, that was all those koo-koo crazy rumors about the new console not doing certain things that will piss off anyone without a huge online data plan and a lot of throwaway cash to spend. Hmmm. One day that will all get sorted out (I hope), unitil then, folks – keep your fingers crossed that this digital deal we’re all being shoehorned into will be somewhat (hah!) “safe” as we throw all our (not so) private personal info into that BIG cloud-shaped blender and HOPE it’s OK…
Er, the game looks nice, by the way. Reminds me of Team 17’s Stunt GP, a dash of Twisted Metal and Argonaut’s Red Dog on the Dreamcast. Nice…
And a nice trailer for good measure (in case you haven’t seen it yet). I’m liking this sequel a lot based on the stuff I’ve seen and heard because it has actual voice acting and what’s looking like a pretty cool story. Of course, that it doesn’t look bad at all helps out quite a bit. Traveler’s Tales Is doing what looks to be its most polished work for current gen platforms, but the game is also hitting nearly every other platform (except the PSP). So, if you’ve got something to play games on that’s not a phone or tablet, you’re DEFINITELY covered.
OK, my back was fine (splendid, even) for a few hours after seeing and playing Sniper Elite V2 (it’s REALLY great – Rebellion and 505 Games have a REAL winner packed full of 3rd person stealth/action/ and first-person sniping bliss here, go pre-order it ASAP, I say) and it was fine while I was writing up the preview and working on beating Ninja Gaiden III on the hardest mode (and wrecking my PS3 controller in the process, grrr). But, a few twists and turns and getting up from a slightly cramped position and (*creak, groan!*), it’s ouch-time once more. So, down I go for the night (well, a good eight hour rest, at least) with some grandpa-scented medicated stuff on my back, an aspirin or two and the alarm clock set, as I may be getting a package tomorrow with a certain “surprise” inside… Oof and goodnight!
While Transformers games have been hit or miss with the ones based outside the films being superior to the ones tied directly to them, it’s pretty clear that Fall of Cybertron will be the all-out killer app fans have been dreaming of (unless they’re still in cheesy 80’s Transformers mode, then they just need a cookie and a nap). High Moon is doing some pretty impressive work as you can see here and below, and with a Fall 2012 release creeping up, I’d say there’s not all that much to be worried about unless the game somehow misses its ship date and drops into 2013 (which shouldn’t happen, right Activision?). Back with more later…
(mild ouch): Well, I’m up for about an hour already and my back is a bit better (whee!). Going out to see a new game (in this case Sniper Elite V2) always helps ease the pain when it strikes. I’d also forgotten that Xenoblade Chronicles ships out next week for the Wii, so I ended up putting in a pre-order just now, Thank goodness I came into a little money out of the blue (Whee!), so at least one of the last important Wii titles will be winging my way shortly… OK, enough gloating and preening (moderate ouch!), off to be productive. Back in a bit, ladies and gents…
As a longtime JRPG fan, I can safely say that this crowdfunding thing IS getting a whole LOT more interesting. A few weeks and months back some writers and game folks online made note that it would be IMPOSSIBLE to fund a console or portable game project, citing all sorts of reasons. Well, thanks to Victor Ireland (formerly of Working Designs infamy), Gaijinworks and MonkeyPaw Games – Class Heroes 2 Deluxe is not only a reality, it’s coming to the PSP as a digital release. Even better, gamers can expect a physical UMD as well… provided the project goal of $500,000 is met by April 27, 2012. Now, half a million may SEEM like a lot of loot, but hell, getting a physical copy of any game out these days does cost a chunk of change. Getting a DELUXE version of the game out with all the swag listed in the Kickstarter page will make that total seem small when you consider that the game will be a truly LIMITED release with the high probability of completely selling out as a physical game (and being worth a mint shortly thereafter).
The original Class of Heroes was an interesting Wizardry clone developed for the PSP by Zerodiv and initially published by Acquire in Japan in 2008, then Atlus in North America in 2009. While not quite a “classic”, the game’s old-school charm and lengthy quest made up for a few flaws here and there. From reading the funding page, it looks as if COH 2 Deluxe will fix a few things and add others the original developer left out of the first game. So far, the project has raised around $27,000, but still has a long way to go. Can the team get the overly skeptical crowd that SUPPOSEDLY loved JRPGs yet somehow doesn’t understand what a truly limited edition means to clam up and shell out a few bucks so they can get this out AND tackle future projects? Or will the game be doomed to a digital-only release that gets swallowed up in the PSN vaults? We shall see, I suppose. OK, back to bed for me – my back is still out of whack, but I saw this news and had to get my two cents in…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 