Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland Prologue

Posted on January 16, 2012 by geelw

Gust Inc.’s swan song for Nippon Ichi looks to be their best game to date in the long-running Atelier franchise. Sure, it’s a niche game, but it’s got a nicely sized fan base that snaps up every entry. Check out the game’s official web site for more info and go pre-order a copy if you like what you see. I say absolutely let NISA know you’re one of those who’ll enjoy the game by getting it directly from their online shop as soon as possible. The game is set for a May 2012 launch, but if you’re getting the Prinny Bomb newsletter sent to your inbox, you’ll have a heads-up as to when pre-orderimg kicks off.

Gallery: SSX

Posted on January 16, 2012 by geelw

EA Sports’ Communications Manager Duke Indrasigamany looked pleased but slightly annoyed the last time I saw him a few months back at EA’s Holiday event here in NYC. He’d spent the better part of the day playing through a demo build of SSX for small groups of game journalists and it seemed that only a few of them were coming away excited. I passed by the demo area when I entered, planning to loop back around and get some hands-on time with the game, but it took me a while to get there. After a few hours of playing SWTOR (excellent), Syndicate (REALLY surprising), Mass Effect 3 and Battlefield 3’s multiplayer modes (awesome), Funcom’s amazing The Secret World (great, but needs an offline mode), and the Dragon Age II expansion (featuring Felicia Day, everyone’s favorite gal gamer/multimedia star du jour), I finally made my way back to the SSX station and sat down with Sir Duke for a bit of fun in the high mountain air…
Continue reading →

Capcom Digital Collection Coming To Xbox 360 (On a Retail Disc!)

Posted on January 14, 2012 by geelw

How’s this for Kismet-ic energy? Last month, I poked fun at Sega for releasing Sonic CD as a digital-only game, and now Capcom comes up and drops this cooler news in my lap. Eight of the company’s HD remakes formerly only available as digital-only Xbox Live Arcade exclusives are coming to retail on a game disc. Eight games for a mere $39.99 is a solid deal indeed, although in my humble indie opinion, this set would be even better (where applicable) if it had the arcade originals on the disc and a bit of history on the original games as bonuses. Of course, I tend to over-think any disc based release these days as something that should be filled to the brim with content just to please those of us who really don’t mind paying more for a physical product over straight digital-only content.

As to what’s on the disc, I’m posting the title cards and logos below:

and a nicely-sized screenshot gallery below the jump. It’s up to you to guess which screens go with which titles (although it’s not hard to figure out at all)…

Continue reading →

Super Monkey Ball Banana Splitz Trailer Is Slightly Nostalgic (Sort Of…)

Posted on January 14, 2012 by geelw

…Only because I’m ancient enough to immediately think of The Banana Splits (wait, they have an OFFICIAL web site? yikes!) and not the upcoming PS Vita exclusive. Still this is a pretty funny bit of CG, right? Of course, Sega wins in the end here, as just about any SMB game would be a lot better than a game based on a really kooky kids television show that’s older than most people who read this blog. Of course, Cartoon Network might prove me wrong one day (but I hope not!)…

Gallery Update: Asura’s Wrath

Posted on January 12, 2012 by geelw

Whoops. I forgot to run these screens with the trailer the other day, so here you go. The demo is out now, so go play it and groove on the weirdness and crazy action taking place. The funny thing about the demo is thanks to the score in one section, you can tell if someone’s playing it if they’re blasting their TV too loud. As I said already, I really HOPE people “get” what CyberConnect2 is doing here in terms of presentation, as the game breaks a few rules and sets up a few new ones that work for the story it’s telling…

Gallery Update: Game Of Thrones

Posted on January 11, 2012 by geelw

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…

Asura’s Wrath Demo Is Alive & Kicking (and Punching) Over PSN/Xbox Live

Posted on January 11, 2012 by geelw

POW! With its February 21, 2012 release right around the corner, CyberConnect2’s paradigm-changing cinematic action game finally gets a playable demo and it’s purely insane earth-shaking stuff of the gods. And it’s funny as hell, too. Go play it and enjoy the crazy ride it takes you on. Capcom’s got a mega hit here that deserves a wide audience, so hopefully folks who think games like GOD HAND are the best thing since sliced bread will be all over this and tell as many friends as possible how cool it all is. What, you’re still reading this post? Don’t you have a demo to download? Go on, shoo!

Gallery: Phantom Breaker

Posted on January 7, 2012 by geelw

With 2D fighting games on somewhat of a roll these days, it’s nice to see yet another developer enter the fray with a sweet-looking console title. Set to be published in North America this February by 7sixty Games, Phantom Breaker is an Xbox 360 exclusive from developer 5bp that, according to the press release, “takes its cue from classic 2D brawlers, offering a host of spectacular special moves, high-impact combos and a counter system that’s easy to pick up but takes a lifetime to master…” I’m pretty awful at fighting games compared to the top masters out there, but I do love excellent sprite-based artwork like the stuff found in the game trailer and screens below.

Also, for the collectors out there, the game will be available in a Special Edition that includes a mini strategy guide, desk calendar featuring characters from the game and two double-sided posters. Amazon has this listed at $39.99 (which is a steal for a nice set like that), so make sure to pre-order this pack if this looks like something you’ll be down with. Check out the game’s Facebook page and sign up if you like what you see – 14 pretty cool screenshots await below the jump…

Continue reading →

Update: And Miles To Go (Sort Of)…

Posted on January 6, 2012 by geelw

Well, I still have a few more (well, a lot more) pics to take of the collection, but here’s a quick peek at some of what’s coming once I find the time to get everything down and photographed. Yes, I COULD have done the US Sega Saturn and Sega CD stuff when I did the Jaguar/Lynx games a while back, but I got busy right afterward tackling another project and haven’t been able to get to that other stuff since. It’ll get done, don’t worry…

Soulcalibur V Goes Gold (Well, Yesterday), In Stores 1/31

Posted on January 6, 2012 by geelw

OK, I’m a bit behind in news (what else is new?) – anyway, controversy over a rather silly ad I won’t run here aside (when will game companies learn that using boobs to sell an otherwise fine fighting game is a no-no in this era of gamer equality), the game is looking sharp and should be another fine installment once players get used to the new stuff Project Soul has added. I’m not sure how I feel about Ezio from the Assassin’s Creed games being in the mix, but hey – it’s better than Yoda, Darth Vader and a few of the other guest stars that have popped up in the series (although they all were fun to use, mind you).

And yes, there will be a number of special pre-order bonus items available, based on which retailer you’re headed to. Press release with info on that below the jump…

Continue reading →