Here’s a brief look at one of my very favorite game developers since 1994 when I first saw Japanese screenshots of King’s Field and later, Armored Core. The company has done a wide assortment of games since then, but it wasn’t really until Demon’s Souls and now, Dark Souls that they’re a household name among more gamers. Of course, the terrifyingly difficult Dark Souls will probably garner them more than a few curses from those that hop in unprepared or expecting the game to have a super-easy mode… but I think From wants those players to learn something about they way games used to be made.
Asura’s Wrath: CyberConnect2 Interview
Capcom sits down with the developer’s CEO and producer for a few minutes of chat time about the upcoming action game set to hit the PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2012. So far, the game seems to be quite like an anime in terms of the storytelling and over the top action sequences. I happen to like the visual style quite a lot and I’m also curious to see how it all fits together once the game is completed and ready to ship. By the way, if you don’t see subtitles, just click on the “CC” button on the video bar for English text.
Dragon Quest X Announced As A Wii & Wii U Online RPG
Holy Final Fantasy XII, Batman! Or something like that. Twitter practically fell over dead after the DQX news was dropped by andriasang a few hours ago. Rather than join the bird-buzzers out there, I’ll cut to the chase. I don’t think I’d like it (I’m not a big MMO fan) unless it has an offline mode and a decent story to play through. That said, it’ll probably do really well in Japan, as pretty much ANYTHING with a DQ logo will sell there. As for the US, well, that depends on stuff like subscription fees, gameplay and how data is shared between Wii and Wii U consoles if one upgrades down the road after buying the Wii version. Let’s see now: Akira Toriyama character designs? Check. 3D environments reminiscent of the lovely DQ VIII? Check. Interestingly enough, Square Enix seems to be developing the game in-house. While Final Fantasy XIV was pretty controversial in terms of a number of flaws in its online play, there’s little doubt that the development team is focusing on making the game a far better experience. I’d also imagine that the game is going to be programmed for multiple languages in order to get it to English-speaking gamers in as many territories as possible soon after the Japanese version ships sometime in 2012.
Everything else such as story, number of players online and other features will be announced soon (no doubt TGS will reveal more and probably some awesome DQX-related swag).
Curb Your Enthusiasm May Have Explained George Lucas’ REAL Issues (But Probably Not)…
Tinkering with film history thanks to a possible OCD and making longtime fans dislike all that futzing around isn’t Lucas’ ONLY worry according to last night’s episode of Larry David’s brutally hilarious HBO comedy. In the episode titled Mr. Softee, Larry’s psychologist name drops a wee bit to much info about the director’s addiction to prostitutes and his er, shortcomings in those encounters. All more than likely not true at all, but I was laughing so hard that I can only hope to hell that David let George in on the joke before the episode was shot. If not, I’ll expect the more irate Star Wars fans will use that not so true info as yet another reason to hate him. Hey, when you have that much money lying around, I guess everyone needs a hobby. His is “updating” his movies until he thinks they’re perfect… then updating them some more until the nostalgic factor vanishes under a heap of spectacular CG effects (and soon to be 3D effects). As to the title of the episode, well it has nothing to do with Lucas, but once you see it, it’ll make you laugh and/or cringe when you see and hear that familiarly annoying tune warbling from one of those white trucks…
Bill Kunkel: 1959 – 2011
Wow – this ht me over the head a few minutes ago, so I'll need a bit of time to let it sink in. Back around 1992 or 1993 when he was writing for Electronic Gaming Monthly as The Game Doctor, I'd sent in a few questions about random game stuff I'd been thinking about and much to my surprise, Bill not only printed my letter, but sent a nice note not too long afterward answering my questions in greater detail. Shortly afterward, he ran a contest asking readers of his column to draw up a Game Doctor picture and send it in. The winner would get his or her work printed in the magazine along with a prize package of random goodies, which was a big thing back in the day. I recall JUST making the deadline with a nice watercolor pic of some futuristic-looking guy in a green “surgical” robe. I didn't win the contest, but Bill liked my piece so much he ran it anyway, which made me quite happy. What made me happier was getting a small box packed with random items and a signed note on Sega/Capcom stationery that I still have here filed away. If I can track it down, I'll post the note for historical purposes, as the image on the note has Mega Man and Sonic shaking hands (now THAT would have been a great game had it ever gotten made)…Read more »
Sony’s TGS 2011 Lineup Brings The Games (Now About That Affording Them Part)…
Sony is definitely showing up for this year's Tokyo Game Show more than prepared, that's for sure. As the list below the jump notes, the company is leaving none of its consoles out of the lineup (although PSP pickings are slim this year, I expect a few third party publishers to show off a few more titles). According to siliconera, some 32 PS3 titles will be shown, so the 13 on the list is only the beginning of what's looking to be a solid lineup. While The Last Guardian is nowhere to be seen on this list, I'd bet my entire games collection that there will be at least a trailer or some new info dropped at the show. Hell, there's always at least ONE surprise at TGS and and TGL news would be just that for the more rabid fans who crave every drop on information about the Team ICO developed game.Read more »
Onechanbara Z Kagura Coming to Xbox 360 (In Japan): Hey D3PA, Don’t Leave Us Hanging!
Thanks to YouTube user kqgaming2 for posting this video!
Yeah, yeah, this sexy hack & slash game isn’t for every taste, but I happen to love the cheesy, bloody zombie killing by the boatload goodness of the Onechanbara series. I actually own all of them except for the PSP import and while they’re not the best action games out there, there’s just something to be said about scantily clad zombie killing gals with attitude, ridiculously challenging bosses and tricky to complete side quests. Well, we’ll have to see what D3Publisher’s US arm thinks about all this. I’d love to see this one hit the 360 here as a budget release on a disc and not JUST a quickie XBLA download. Granted, it probably won’t get a manual (like the 360 version of Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon), but hey, at least more people will get to enjoy the crazy ride. Actually, it WOULD be nice to see the series head back to a Sony home console, as that’s where the first four games appeared…
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 2: Innocent Sin Trailer
Sometimes, abbreviating a game name just doesn’t work well. Case in point: SMTP2IS looks and sounds like a license plate number to me. Anyway, Atlus is set to knock it out of the park again with yet ANOTHER great RPG to devour all your free time. September 20, 2011 is the date and yes, it’s yet another PSP exclusive. Color me giddy that publishers such as Atlus, Xseed Sony and others are making this the best year for the portable.
Resistance 3 Doomsday Bundle & "Radio" TV Spots
Two great commercials for Insomniac’s upcoming FPS – As usual, Sony can really put together some memorable ads for the same game and approach each one from a different angle. That and yes, the Sharpshooter works like a dream for yet another PS3 shooter. No doubt R3 will be the biggest game yet in the franchise and if it’s the last, it also looks as if it’s the best.
Aliens: Infestation Launch Trailer: WayForward Wows Once More
What’s looking like one of the last great Nintendo DS games is winging your way courtesy Sega, WayForward Technologies and Gearbox Software. No flashy gimmick here, folks – just good, solid old-school gameplay, amazing 2D visuals and plenty of action. This one is definitely in the running for portable game of the year in my book. I really hope a PSP version is in the works, as this game is too good to be relegated to a single platform…
