Ys I & II Chronicles "Hair Metal" Trailer + Soundtrack Bonus Prove A Point…


Ys I & II Chronicles is coming on February 15, 2011, but Xseed Games wants you to start the party NOW. Dig the rockin’ trailer above and pre-order the limited edition “Hair Metal Pack” and get your head-bangin’ on while those classic game tunes (you may or may not remember depending on your age) are wailing away. Awe-some! Yup, Xseed is adding a CD soundtrack packed full of classic Ys tunes to the RETAIL version of the game ONLY. Oh, SNAP. Take that, digital downloads! Go Xseed!! (and nope, I’m not being sarcastic… some things are just better in a big ol’ box and CD case).

Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle Coming to PSP


I still have ringing in my ears and a mild headache from all that Hyperdimension Neptunia(aaa*cough!*) stuff yesterday, so I missed running this nice cover art and screens from NISA’s upcoming PSP strategy RPG. According to Amazon’s listing, the game will feature “new story chapters, characters, items, better graphics, and a revamped user interface”. In addition, the game is now “more user-friendly and packs more content for over 100 hours of game play”. March 18, 2011 is the release date (unless something changes). With UMD games looking as if they’re on the way out after next year, folks like me will be grabbing what great games we can, that’s for sure.

While the official website for the game is still in the works, the cover art and four screens are here for your approval. There are a bunch more shots from the game over at Amazon (in case you didn’t click that link above already), so go peek at those if this one’s up your alley… Back in a bit – the post office is calling me…

Hyperdimension Neptunia (aaaaaaaaaaaaa!) Official Trailer: Nippon Ichi Is At It Again…

Say it with me, folks (big voice, now): HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!)

Yes, that name absolutely demands the echo chamber effect at the end. Grrrrrr… Why does Nippon Ichi continue to tempt me so? Yet another too cute for words RPG, this time on the PS3 from a whopping what, five studios? Lots of flashy battle effects, that snazzy Gust 2D artwork (I expect my usual ten layers of parallax scrolling backgrounds, thank you) mixed with 3D characters, randomly generated dungeon maps, eyeball-rolling town names (Gameindustri? ha bloody ha), ESRB T (Teen)-rated “partial nudity” and “sexual themes” should make this one a nicely niche hit. That is of course, provided the gameplay is solid and the story has the highs and lows genre fans expect plus whatever bells and whistles those random dungeons offer. Oh, and ALEX KIDD??? Holy cats, that’s an instant buy just for the Janken mini-game flashback I had while typing this. The other Sega characters in the game will keep me playing just to see who else is hidden on the disc.

I’ll take a dozen to go, please… with a copy of Prinny 2 on the side.

Unique Console Patron Units… Engage! sometime in Spring 2011, by the way.

SSX: Deadly Descents Divides (The Fanbase) and Conquers (Much of Their Sanity)…

Nice trailer… but, Holy Belfry, Batman! You'd think that EA drove over a an entire block full of little kids carrying baskets of newborn puppies while on the way to a church bake sale after visiting Grandma. Twice. Some of the responses I've seen to the SSX: Deadly Descents game trailer and new direction the formerly goofy and always exuberant fan fave are probably arrest-worthy and yes, completely unnecessary. Game History 105: Radical Entertainment (Prototype 2, among other cool games) and THQ tried out a mix of action movie and snowboarding on consumers “way” back in 2001 with a little game called Dark Summit. While it didn't exactly blow any sales doors off (or gain a huge enough following to warrant a sequel, for that matter), it received mixed (but mainly positive) reviews, was fun to play and manged to get in a bit of humor during the story. Hell, the whole game idea was pretty funny in a “Hey you kids, get off my secret government test area snow-covered lawn!” kinda way.

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Prototype 2 Xmas Card Is Mildly Creepy (Yet Also Subtly Hilarious)

While it’s indeed a quiet holiday scene, there’s a nicely lurking sense of impending dread in this card from Activision’s PR department. I wonder what Alex Mercer’s card looks like (er, provided he’s even sending one out this year)… Prototype 2 is in development at Radical Entertainment and should hit stores sometime next year, barring incident.

MLB 11 The Show Announce Trailer (It’s A Hit, For Sure)

As much as a non sports game fan as I am these days (a bit of personal burnout from the general overkill of 24-hour sports), I’ll still have to give it up for SCEA’s upcoming baseball game in terms of how spectacular it looks. Sony Santa Monica just may have a huge home run (without the steroids) when the game ships in 2011. Will it get me to pick up a controller again and swing for the fences? I guess we’ll have to see, huh?

P.S. It’s nice to see that a PS2 version is also on the way, Sony! Even though the bigger games are PS3 exclusive, it’s great to see that the company STILL recognizes that not every single PlayStation owner has made the jump to the PS3.

Mass Effect 2 PS3 Hands-On: BioWare, Beautiful & Brilliant


PS3 owners may have missed out on the original Mass Effect, but the stellar sequel plus four DLC chapters and a little something extra (plus a LOT of something extra under the hood) is headed your way in a great standard edition pack that's bound to fly off store shelves faster than the new Normandy hits light speed. I had the opportunity to play a demo version of Mass Effect 2 and was immediately floored by the visual upgrade (thanks to what was recently revealed as the Mass Effect 3 engine), the tweaked puzzles and a few other niceties BioWare has seen fit to add. I'd have to safely say this is going to be the definitive console version of the game and even if you've played the Xbox 360 version, you might want to snap up a copy of this one, provided you also have a PS3 in the house.

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Dead Space 2 Multiplayer Hands-On: A Visceral Experience, Indeed


As if the thrills, chills and very bloody spills of Issac Clarke's upcoming single player adventures in The Sprawl weren't enough, Visceral Games is tweaking Dead Space 2 with a rather interesting multiplayer component that can be somewhat accurately described as tactical run & gun meets Left 4 Dead. I'll admit to being initially skeptical that any sort of online multiplayer modes added to this decidedly story-driven horror action franchise would be nothing more than another excuse for loudmouthed losers to run around shooting each other in the head while yelling all sorts of M-rated insults. However, I'm indeed thankful to report that I was proven dead wrong.

At Sony's Holiday 2010 event last week, I got to go a few rounds with the multiplayer demo and was very impressed by the experience. What's here is fun, fast, frantic and frequently freakish, thanks to the back and forth player swapping that takes place during matches.

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Hunted: The Demon’s Forge "The World of Hunted" Trailer

InXile’s upcoming co-op focused action/RPG is looking to be one of the more memorable releases of 2011 whether you’re a fan of the genre or not. Here’s a look at a few of the different environments you’ll be adventuring in and around – text below courtesy of Bethesda. Keep this one on your radars, folks…

Welcome to the World of Hunted.

Tempted by riches, the warrior Caddoc and huntress E’lara will travel through a sprawling empire beset by evil. As their path twists through the once thriving town of Dyfed and towards the mighty capital city of Llyr, they will face a corruption that is spreading across the land. The kingdom’s ancient ruins have become overrun with foul creatures, and innocent villagers are being driven underground into dungeons. As they draw closer to the ruins of Kala Moor a dark army gathers, threatening everything in its path.

L.A. Noire "The Technology Behind Performance" Video

Rockstar shows you how it’s done in this excellent clip. As you can see, new tech is indeed a blast when the right folks get their hands on it. Note: If you somehow can’t see the video, click the post title and BOOM – there you go.