Persona 4 Arena Is Looking Mighty Cool For A Game I Was Ignoring…

OK, I’m guilty! Although I’ve been ignoring all those character moves trailers for a while just because I’m too busy with other stuff, after finally watching this latest trailer I can safely state that Arc System Works + Atlus’ key JRPG franchise = instant classic for genre fans of all skill levels. I’m terrible at most fighting games, but I’ll give this a shot because it looks like fun and I’m a Shin Megami Tensei fan from the Super Famicom days. Granted, I still prefer Kaneko Kazuma’s more unique art style over the art in the series since Persona 3, but I’m not crazy enough to ignore a good game over something like that. Anyway, August 7 is the release date and yes, you can pre-order the game and get a nice bonus (par for the course with an Atlus release). Hmmm. perhaps Persona 5 or a future Shin Megami Tensei title will feature a fighting game engine based on this game instead of a turn-based combat system… that would be a total trip, wouldn’t it?

Atlus Wants YOU To Win This Cool Persona 3 Artbook…

Hooray for free stuff, as it’s a nice Monday brightener! Atlus is going to be making 25 lucky, lucky random winners across the U.S. of A. (only, sorry overseas folks!) VERY happy with this lovely Persona 3 Official Design Works book published by Udon Entertainment (a $39.99 value!) simply by signing up as a new member (or already being a current member) of the Atlus Faithful and keeping their fingers and toes crossed when the drawing is held on July 16th.

I’d have my own fingers and toes crossed, but I need to type and I also have to go to the bathroom as soon as I finish posting this.

 

Atlus Is Having A Half-Off Sale On PSN This Month. Yes, You Should Grab A Bunch Of Games While You Can.

OK, you’ve got a few short weeks to get in on some cool games for your PS3 and PSP (and you should be able to run these downloads on your Vita), so get to it. North American gamers only on this deal, so that’s another cool Independence Day deal, I suppose.   Hmmm… I may have to get Hexyz Force and Crimson Gem Saga as both are insanely tough to find cheap as UMD releases. Speaking of… Hey, Atlus! Put Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner up on PSN as well at some point, as hell, someone stole my complete copy a few years back and it’s impossible to find another one (that’s not going to cost me an arm and a leg), grrrr!

Random Game Never To Play Alone (Or Else) #1: Dokapon Kingdom

I have a stupidly long list of article idea and as usual, not enough time to get them all written, but every so often I’m going to post the occasional test article for your perusal. Here’s one goofy idea I had ages ago while writing for another site about games that made for a terrible time when played alone. I thought about reviving the idea recently while listening to some folks in a game shop arguing about what was the worst game to play alone and getting a chuckle that every game mentioned in their discussion revolved around survival horror, MMORPGs or assorted shooters (with every game mentioned in the latter two genres geared for multiplayer gaming). The first game I thought of was Atlus’ 2008 US release of Sting’s 2007 hybrid board game/RPG, which some have very incorrectly labeled a straight Mario Party clone. The Dokapon series was around a bit longer than Mario Party and Dokapon Kingdom is more or less a polygon-based reworking of a Super Famicom game from 1994 called Dokapon 3-2-1: Arashi o Yobu Yuujou, which is equally challenging as a solo play experience. Now, neither are anything resembling “bad” games at all. They’re fun to play and funny, but are both just designed to work better with more than one person playing them…
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E3 2012: Two From Atlus: Zeno Clash II & The Testament of Sherlock Holmes

Like plenty of publishers these days, Atlus has been diversifying its games lineup for a while now with unique games in assorted genres outside the ones they’re know for in the US. Here are trailers to two titles from their lineup, one a sequel to a PC, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade fighter/action/shooter hybrid (that i REALLY wish would be put on a disc with the first part so MORE can play it) and the latest in the Sherlock Holmes game series ported from PC (which has ZERO to do with that bizarre BBC show everyone seems to like save for Holmes purists). Oh yeah, my Game of Thrones review will be up once all the E3 madness subsides, it’s not as bad as some sites are saying… you just need a great deal of patience and not mind at all that the game takes itself REALLY seriously (for the most part)…

Is Game of Thrones Another Euro-Sleeper RPG Hit? I Think So…

Oops. Until today, I had no idea that Cyanide Studios had been working on their upcoming RPG, Game of Thrones on and off for about seven years (yes, even before the mega-hit TV show was around, this one was in the pot cooking away). As you’ll can see from the video link, the dev team members are not only huge fans of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire, they’ve done the smart thing and not based their story on the books or HBO series. Crafting an original tale and spending quality time tinkering away on things for so lone, THEN going in to add in some familiar faces plus a multi-path dialog system takes some dedicated work that deserves a play through or two (or more).  Well, I guess we’ll see how the game is next week -I’m looking forward to seeing how well it fits into what’s already in place…

Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time: The PSP Is Going Out Fighting, That’s For Sure…

Atlus is one of those smart publishers keeping the PSP alive and kicking and PACKED with stellar import RPG/SRPG experiences like this one. I’m not a huge anime fan, but I’ve always loved Satoshi Urushihara’s lovely game artwork since the Langrisser and Assault Suits Valken days (two more favorite games of mine). Anyway, GWoT is set for a “Summer 2012” release, so I say start saving up those pennies if you still have a PSP around the house and want a pretty cool strategy game experience that packs a hefty amount of content and challenge.

Gallery Update: Game Of Thrones

Focus Home Interactive and developer Cyanide Studios are making me a bit more thrilled about their upcoming game in each new set of screens. The upcoming action RPG is looking nice and dark in tone here, which matches much of the show’s look. Still, my kingdom for a torch or two to lighten the mood! Atlus is bringing this one out stateside sometime this spring for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, making this a super addition to their lineup if the game is anywhere near the quality of the books and HBO series.  More screens to some as the roll out – stay tuned…

 

Devil Survivor 2 Trailer: Atlus Asks That Eternally Unnerving Question…

No, not “Why are they STILL making games for the Nintendo DS?” (ha ha), but “How Would You Like To Die?” Gee, thanks guys… It’s not as if I have anything better to do than NOT sleep at night because I’m afraid of NOT waking up or anything like that. Well, if you have to know, I’m not going to tell you, as I don’t want you to get any ideas. Anyway, click on over to the official Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 website to find out more about this sinister sequel to one of the best DS games to date. If it’s anywhere as spectacular as the first game, it’ll be a real winner as well as a keeper. February will be here sooner than you think and I want you all to be prepared when the game hits stores…

Seven MORE KOF XIII Trailers (Atlus Keeps On Rolling…)

Yes, these are going up a bit later than planned, but I was busy playing a few games and got sidetracked. Such is the life of the one-man operation. Here you go – seven more characters from the upcoming fighter. These are pretty short, so like the first nine, you won't need that beer and chips or have to worry about falling asleep halfway through. Hell, one of these guys or gals will slap you silly if you did anyway…

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