Well, once the embargo is lifted on 3/13, actually. There’s nothing like getting a good game to review on a rainy Friday evening, that’s for sure. I haven’t quite fired this one up just yet, as I’ve been busy with some other stuff today, but it’s absolutely on the agenda for this weekend. As with other Tales games, I expect to get pretty occupied in getting through the game once for the review, then heading back in to tackle stuff I missed out on and whatever other surprises I can find on a more exploratory play through. Alrighty, then – back in a bit with some impressions…
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Dragon’s Dogma Demo Day Definitely Doable, Says Capcom

Capcom has revealed that a Dragon’s Dogma demo will indeed be made available over PSN and Xbox Live. Back in January, the company issued a press release stating the upcoming game’s release date (May 22, 2012 for North America) and the awesome news that it will come with a Resident Evil 6 demo. The demo will feature two classes (the melee-based Fighter and bow-wielding Strider) and two different areas, each with a huge boss to defeat. Additionally, players will get to check out the party AI system with three allies (Pawns) fighting alongside them. Based on my experiences with last year’s demo, those Pawns are quite necessary, as the bosses are quite mighty (and mighty cheap).
This updated news about the DD demo should please those who haven’t yet had the chance to try the game out at any of the conventions it’s appeared at. More on the game as soon as new news drops into the inbox here. I see that I have some cool DmC news from Capcom, but I’ll post that later today, as I’m about to head out the door…
Journey Developer Diary: thatgamecompany WIll Make You A Believer
Not only are the folks at thatgamecompany some of the nicest you’ll ever meet, they really know how to make some truly engaging games. While you’re waiting for Journey to drop onto PSN later this month (early reviews are out and yes, the game is a must-buy), take a look behind the curtain and check out what members of the dev team have to say about their baby and the games industry in general. I still think they need to slap all of their games on a Blu-Ray with an art gallery (maybe an actual art book) a soundtrack CD or download with selections from their games and some behind the scenes videos like this one just to get a few more folks who might want to get hooked onto their work up to speed.
Hawken March Update: Free To Play Has Its Good And Bad Points (Like It Or Not)…
Adhesive Games’ latest trailer to its now free-to-play online mech combat game shows off some even more impressive detail and based on the already crowded beta, this one’s bound to be a mega-hit the PC gamer crowd can call their own. That said, I’d love it a lot more if this game would show up on a portable platform with some cross-platform play so even more of you out there can experience it. Sure, THAT version won’t be free to get at retail, but I say people won’t mind paying for something that looks this awesome. When I actually have it, I like throwing good money at any developers I think are doing outstanding work (provided they also get a physical product out there at some point). I guess we’ll see where that goes after the game goes live at the end of this year. Of course, if the world ends in some form or another, the Internet most likely won’t be working at all and you’ll wish this WAS on a disc so you could at least play offline while you’re hunkered down in your bunker somewhere. I’m just saying…
Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time Developer Interview
After too many years without a new Sly game, it’s just really great to see the raccoon back in action and looking fantastic on the PS3. Love the different costumes and their effects, although I can hear the Super Mario 3 fans out there shaking their fists at the screen for some reason. No matter, I say. As long as the game is great and continues the fun tradition started by Sucker Punch, I’m all aboard and banging the drum as loudly as possible. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to brush up a bit and play Sly 3 again so I can make sure I’m not (too) terrible at the new game…
Sega’s Hell Yeah!: A Downloadable “What The?!” Curiosity Worth A Shot
Well, well, well… new IP is always a good thing in my book (and killer rabbits are hilarious to me for some reason), but I know the hardcore Sega fanatics are all doubled over backwards asking “Where’s Shenmue III?!!!” or whatever. I’m interested in seeing what’s up with this one as it gets further along in development and yup, I want to see some actual gameplay next time, guys. OK, radar activated, eyeball peeled, watch list checked. Thanks, Sega! Next!
Prometheus ‘Ted Talk 2023’ Video: What A Tease!
It’s actually pretty amazing how well Ridley Scott is playing his hand here, but I still don’t think a lot of folks quite “get” it yet. In setting up Prometheus as NOT an actual “linked” prequel to Alien (it takes place so far back in time that you more than likely won’t see the famous xenomorph some still expect at all) but a trip back to the building of the bookends, there’s a kind of meta brilliance here that makes the TED Talk even more intriguing. It also made me wonder if there will be a third film by Scott just to finish off any loose ends at some point in the near future. All I’ll say is he’s giving Fox a HUGE gift and they’d better not screw it up like they did with the franchise after Alien Resurrection (which had its flaws, but was still a fun flick to watch). June 8 is the date, so mark your calendars, folks. I think this one will have many minds blown by the time the end credits roll…
Unit 13 “How To Play” Video: Zip It, Haters.
Yeesh, so the game doesn’t feature some super crazy balls-out 100-player online death-match modes up the wazoo. I say big deal, as I don’t care for that stuff and this early in the Vita’s life cycle, I’ll also suppose any developer would need a bit more time to make sure any competitive MP was running as smoothly and with as little lag or load times as possible. It’s definitely not just a simple “cut and past from the PSP code” deal, I’d bet. Of course, the spoiled/jaded/cranky gamer crowd won’t hear any of this, nor will they face the fact that as much as they WANT the Vita to be a portable PS3, it’s not QUITE going to do that. Yet. For me, as long as any game this early on is well-made, I’m aboard with any compliments and complaints I’ll have placed exactly where they should be.
