Gallery: Tales of Xillia 2

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Elle&Lulu LudgerThe past year plus has been quite good for fans of Namco’s Tales series here in North America as we’ve been getting some nice games and more on the way in a relatively “speedy” manner. Granted, not ALL of the games in the long running franchise have made it stateside, but Hideo Baba did promise last year at the Namco event I attended that fans would see some nice surprises over time from the eternally busy Tales Studio.

Tales of Heart R is one big surprise for Vita owners and here, Tales of Xillia 2 is the other, as it coming this August exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Screens below the jump and that $129.99 Collector’s Edition is below. Yes, pre-ordering this or the plain vanilla standard edition is probably a good idea as some retail locations will only stock what their customers have actually put down some money for and Tales games have the tendency to sell out rather quickly.

ToX2_CE_ShotAugust isn’t really that far away, you know…

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The Only Problem With Dark Souls II On PC Is The Usual One For Any Hard Game…

 
I’m sure FromSoftware knows this already, but with Dark Souls and now Dark Souls II, they’ve gone and made a game that’s too hard for those “gamers” who can’t deal with the level of challenge, so yes indeed, hackers and cheaters will be rampant. Granted, once you buy a game you’re more or less free to do with it what you desire, but what’s the point in playing a game that’s supposed to be difficult if you hack up the ability to one-shot anything that comes at you, maybe survive a fall that’s SUPPOSED to kill you (to teach you a lesson in paying attention to the environment) and so forth and so on? I don’t mind messing with a game after I’ve completed it a few times (as I’ve played Diablo II offline solo with a bunch of crazy mods that made my characters invincible killing machines or I’ve changed up the gameplay in that gem to make it much more challenging). But I just don’t get the automatic urge to cheat one’s way through a game and claim “victory” when no actual hard work was done outside of dinking around with the game code to make it work in a way it wasn’t intended to.

Ah well, it’s not my problem, so I’ll just let it rest. Still, I’d love to see a developer cook up a game that can’t easily be cracked apart or at the very least, identifies cheaters with a nice big flashing neon sign so people who want to play legit can do so in peace. Of course, cheating is rampant in many console games as well, but in some cases, those people can be easier to avoid if one decides to stay the heck offline or just play with people you know where applicable…

Dark Souls II PC: Dead-ja Vu All Over Again… PREPARE TO BUY!

 
Well, SOME of you are already downloading or playing this as we speak (wait, we’re back on speaking terms? Okay, fine!), but to the rest of you holdouts with decent gaming rigs to run this who are on the fence, you need a kick in the pants (well, a light one, as I don’t want to get on your bad side again). Just BUY it and prepare for a super tough but rewarding game experience. A bit to a great deal challenging for new players, but a total corker if you love games that test you and don’t even bother to hold your hand as you explore at will.

Dark Souls II doesn’t tell you much other than “here you are, find out what to do on your own” and to some, it will be the ultimate in “PAY ATTENTION!” game experiences because once you take your eyes and ears off the ball, something is going to come out the darkness swinging something heavy and dull or heavy and sharp and your poor avatar gets knocked off, down or into something that kills it. Oops. You’ll learn to appreciate dying here whether or not you play the game with other live players dropping in to invade your game.

Tales of Hearts R: Your Vita Will Want You To Get This (Or Else)…

 
Now, I haven’t yet heard of any cases where someone’s Vita attempted to do them bodily harm, but I’d gather if anyone who does own one of Sony’s handhelds who considers him or herself a JRPG fan somehow doesn’t pick Tales of Hearts R up, there’s going to be trouble on the home front. If you don’t pre-order this or snap it up on launch day (or within the first week or so), you’ll be in the bath or shower and hear a noise close by… it’ll be your Vita trying to leap into the tub to literally give you the shock of your life. Hey, it COULD happen, you know.

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Granted, Hideo Baba and Tales Studio wouldn’t make a game that’s deliberately going to harm someone, but you know your Vita has a mind of its own sometimes. That would explain the games you buy on a few occasions, I’d gather… anyway, this winter, you’d best remember to get some Tales action up in the house or else…

Lords of the Fallen Gameplay Trailer: Been Around The Block Much Lately?

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A-ha-ha, little joke there. I figure if you’re going to be playing Lords of the Fallen, you’ll probably want to consider learning where the “BLOCK” button is on that controller or keyboard and learn to USE it wisely so you don’t end up like our poor test subject above. That, and knowing when to dodge or roll away from blows will more likely than not keep your character healthy and breathing for as long as possible.

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Of course, the Dark Souls/Dark Souls II crowd KNOWS this, but this isn’t that game at all, just the same publisher getting out a game that will have some making the usual comparisons just to waste time before they actually play it (if they actually get around to playing it)…

GRID Autosport Trailer: Probably The ONLY Time You’ll See These Cars Moving Slowly…

 
Codemasters’ Racing Studio certainly hasn’t been sleeping at all, getting this new GRID game out in less than a year since the last one. While this PC footage looks incredible, I’m gathering the game will also look quite lovely on whichever consoles it appears on. Namco Bandai rolled this one out as one of many upcoming surprises and with a June 24 release date in the US (June 27 in Europe), it’s sure to be one of those games of summer that keeps a few folks indoors sweeping around turns and playing passing games with that pesky AI and/or peskier live players.

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GRID_Autosport PS3 2D rgb pack_ESRB RP EF GRID_Autosport XB 2D rgb pack_ESRB RP EFI initially noticed that no console news popped up in that video, but I can’t imagine this series skipping home systems at all. Aha- poking about on the press site I see it’s also coming to PS3 and Xbox 360, so no worries at all about the series leaving out a rather hefty chunk of its fans. Anyway, updates to come, of course. Color me grinning and imagining gliding around a bend at 100MPH or so…

Namco Bandai Drops Loads Of Cool Game News (This Isn’t It – Yet)…

 
Any excuse to show yet another Dark Souls II trailer is a good one (and this ad is for the PC version), so I’ll use this as a convenient excuse. Anyway, I was a bit busy today, so I only read the email I got, fell out of my chair and went off to do stuff in the fresh air most of the day. I’ll post videos and descriptions of the games they revealed over the next few days, so pop back in starting later this afternoon for that. There’s a very nice set of varied new IP, sequels and returning favorites on the way this year for PC, consoles and handhelds, so stay tuned for more (and actual) updates. Now go to sleep already, you… it’s after midnight!

Surprise! Tales of Heart R Vita-Bound This Winter!

 
Well, now. This is great news for Vita owners, fans of Namco Bandai’s long-running Tales series and anyone who just wants a great JRPG to take on the go. Having met Hideo Baba, Producer on the Tales series a few times over the years, I can safely report that he’s just as happy, proud and easygoing about his work as he is in that video above. It’s cool to see a guy who knows his fans and wants to get them the games he makes whenever possible (and it’s certainly not easy to do at all in terms of “just translate and ship it!” like some fans think). So anyway, yeah – a new Tales game and the first one exclusively for the Vita in North America coming this winter and that’s one more reason for my cold-hating butt to stay the heck indoors!

Super Smash Bros. Direct: System Seller To Some, System Savior To Others…

 
While I think The Wii U and 3DS versions of Super Smash Bros. will do incredibly well, I’d bet a solid five cents that those numbers won’t be as huge as some are thinking. Granted, it’s been a while since a new SSB was released, but I’m thinking this, like Mario Kart 8, will appeal mostly to the already system-owning Nintendo fans more than it will anyone who’s yet to buy a Wii U or 3DS just to play it. Sure, I’m reading comments on boards from people waiting to buy a Wii U “just for this game”, but I take those with a whopping grain of salt, as if you’re a Nintendo nut, you probably already have a Wii U and are in the holding pattern loop waiting for more first party games to drop. Granted, there WILL be people snapping up a Wii U just for this one and MK8, but those numbers probably won’t be as massive as even Nintendo wishes them to be.

That said, with the 3DS version coming first this summer, it’s going to be a massive game launch and push for that handheld while poor Wii U only owners have to sit it out until the winter when that version ships. Granted, Nintendo also knows that many Wii U owners are 3DS owners (but it’s not a 1:1 ratio at all), so they get to make money twice selling two versions of the same game (although I’m betting there’s not a line of code shared between them in terms of visuals). Anyway, this video reveals a ton of stuff, so stick around for the whole thing, as there are a few minor surprises during the last third and at the end.

Dark Souls II TV Spots: Oh, The Places You’ll Go (Just To Die Over and Over)…

Heh. I get a phone call during The Walking Dead finale from a friend asking me “So, what’s this Dark Souls II all about?” right after this ad airs. Whee! Of course, I had to tell him to ring me back in an hour or so or just wait for a quick email. He’s not a gamer at all, so I’ll give Namco Bandai props for getting an ad out that gets people not into the hobby all hot and bothered. Amusingly enough, I actually don’t have a copy of the game yet – it’s in my backlog of stuff to grab for the PS3 once I make a bit more money. I’ve played a bit of it already thanks to walking another friend through the first two or so hours of the game as he grabbed it on launch day and was having a hard time because yep, it was his first time playing something that difficult. Anyway, I got to play and he got to keep the character I made, so that’s a fine trade off, I’d say. Naturally, he got the poor guy I created killed a few times since, but my tech support ends when I leave the premises. Otherwise, I charge a flat fee (and it’s not cheap), heh…